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BeBook Live Android tablet announced: 7-inch screen, Android 2.2, £229 price tag

The tablet announcements just won’t stop coming this morning. E-reader manufacturer BeBook has just announced that it’s getting involved with the Android tablet game with the arrival of it’s Live tablet.

Spec-wise the Live reads a lot like the Android tablets from last year – it’s got a 7-inch capacitive touchscreen, 2-megapixel camera and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo. It also looks to be available in just a Wi-Fi only flavour.

Other specs include 4GB of storage (expandable to 32GB with microSD cards) and a 1GHz CPU.

It’s not going to be able to give any of the Honeycomb crew a run for their money that’s for sure. But then again BeBook is pitching the Live more as an e-book reader than a competing tablet. So perhaps it’s fairer to compare it to something like Amazon’s Kindle.

Wi-Fi only Kindles are now going for £111 from Amazon, so a good £120 cheaper than the Live Tablet’s asking price of £229.

But the BeBook’s 7-inch screen is colour as opposed to the Kindle’s monochrome one and runs on Android, giving you access to things like Google Maps, Gmail and apps on the Android Market. In a sense, the Live Tablet is something of a Trojan Horse – an Android tablet that’s masquerading as an e-reader.

There’s also an HDMI port allowing you to read the Da Vinci Code in glorious 1080p Full HD. More realistically, you’d use it to play Angry Birds and watch high def YouTube content on your big TV.

Like we said, the BeBook Live won’t swing it against the Android 3.0 tabs. For £299, £70 more, you could order the more advanced LG Optimus Pad on contract from Carphone Warehouse for example.

But the Live might be a hit with anyone after a colour Kindle alternative. Those interested can pick up a Live tablet from BeBook from the 21st of June.

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