WePad launched to challenge Apple's iPad

Neofonie GmbH's, a small German company of some 180 employees, is setting out to take on Apple's iPad with their new tablet PC that promises even more for your money. The WePad offers a bigger screen, a webcam, and USB ports. But Neofonie GmbH's founder and managing director, Helmut Hoffer von Ankershoffen, insists that the WePad is not an "iPad killer," as it has been dubbed in some blogs. "We are a different kind of device, we have more features, we are more flexible," he says. Apple's iPad will go on sale in Germany at the end of April, according to the company's Web site. This would give the iPad roughly a three-month lead on its German competitor. Neofonie claims it already has some 20,000 people interested in signing up for a pre-order, even though orders won't be formally accepted before April 27. The WePad is to be assembled by a manufacturer in Asia—which Ankershoffen refuses to name—that can ramp up production capacity according to demand. But what makes the WePad so different from the iPad is its 11.6-inch screen (compared to the smaller 9.7 inch screen of the iPad). This is powered by an Intel chip and relies on a Linux software which is compatible with Google's Android and all Flash applications. Ankershoffen says the WePad’s ability to play Flash will be a big advantage. "It is an alternative device to the Apple iPad, a so-called tablet PC with which you can consume multimedia at home, you can play (games) and browse the Web, also with Flash (applications)," he says. Another difference is the system's openness: two USB ports allow users to connect all kinds of devices with the WePad, from external keyboards to data sticks. The WePad's basic version, which comes with Wi-Fi and 16-gigabyte storage, is set to cost US $600, while the larger 32-gigabyte version with a fast 3G modem is US $770. In comparison, the iPad—which hit stores in the U.S. on April 3—is on sale there starting at US $499 for the smallest version, coming with Wi-Fi and a 16 GB storage. Unlike the iPad, which can only use specific applications, the WePad will come with a complete open-source office package. People who want to put music on their WePad do not have to have any particular software—a blow at Apple's devices that require particular Apple software like iTunes. Neofonie casts the WePad as helping the media industry find a way to market paid content and hopes to appeal to publishers, some of whom are disgruntled with Apple's pricing policy and restrictions. The device would allow publishers to sell their content on its platform without monopolizing the customer relationship, as Apple's iTunes or Amazon's Kindle do. For example, Gruner + Jahr, one of Europe's largest magazine publishers, already has a partnership with Neofonie, offering the company's flagship magazine, Stern, on the platform. The WePad is thus also entering in competition with other e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle. But the competition doesn't just ride on the iPad and the WePad. Tim Danton, Editor of PC Pro, says Dell is next in line to launch their version of a tablet PC. And the company already has a clear image of the customer they're aiming for: the suburban mother. "Dell is looking to create its own tablet and they think they found a completely new type of buyer. They think they found something called a suburban mum and they reckon that this suburban mum, she's currently got things like a phone in her bag and she's got a sat-nav device in her bag and they think they can throw that all away in favor of what Dell is going to be producing, which is a little 5-inch tablet device," he says. However, all these companies will have to prove that these new touch-screen devices will not only amaze the tech-savvy early users, but will also appeal to mainstream consumers at a time when people bearing the brunt of the global recession are already hooked up to smart phones, laptops, e-book readers, set-top boxes and home broadband connections.—AP