AlessiTab Android Powered Home Tablet Gets Priced, Dated

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Tablets have been getting a lot of air time recently and with good reason. On the consumer side of things, tablets are an intriguing new form factor that can have a seemingly endless array of uses. On the business side of things, popular tablets like Apple’s iPad have put up massive sales numbers and even higher revenues.

Thanks to this hype, several competing hardware manufacturers have come forth to bring their own tablets to the market. Samsung in particular is looking to stir up the industry a bit with their 7-inch Android 2.2 powered Galaxy Tab. On the other side of things, HP is looking to bring their own tablet to market running Palm’s webOS thanks to their acquisition of the company earlier this year.

While tablets are nice and hyped, users are yet to really find the best uses for them. With the addition of front facing cameras on devices like the Galaxy Tab, tablets will arguably become the most capable video conferencing units, but past that, what is there?

It’s usually left up to software developers to answer this question with their third party applications. However, some hardware manufacturers have been getting a bit creative with their offerings.

One such device is the Italian-designed AlessiTab. This Android 2.1 powered tablet is designed for use exclusively in the home. As you can see from its unique form factor it can sit nicely on a desk, counter or other surface with no need for a dock. This makes it a premiere reference device for things like looking up recipes, television show schedules or even the scores of a sports game.

Today, it was announced that the AlessiTab will be made available in Italy this November for €399 (~$535). In addition to running Android 2.1 it also features a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a webcam for video conferencing, WiFi and a DVB-T TV tuner.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether or not this device will ever ship internationally but with all of the buzz surrounding tablets, it wont be long until we see something just like it hit markets worldwide.