Panasonic has showed a Consumer Electronics Show press audience a tablet, but it’s definitely not a PC. Instead, it’s an extension of a Panasonic connected TV.The android-based mobile device that was being formally announced Thursday in Japan and was due to reach global markets later this year, according to Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co. president Shiro Kitajima.
The company envisions the tablets as devices you can use to read eBooks and stream video. They’ll be designed to work with a Panasonic VIERA TV, letting you treat the tablet as a secondary display for pictures and data related to the programs you’re watching. In fact, Panasonic describes the device as a “tablet-type terminal,” which seems to indicate that it may just be a touchscreen controller and display for software that’s running primarily on your TV.
Panasonic says VIERA tablets will come in 4 to 10 inch sizes, will have shock resistant design, and long battery life.
No word on pricing, release date, or specs yet, but details on a Japan launch are expected to be revealed soon.
