Monster launched its first tablets this week, 7- and...

Monster launched its first tablets this week, 7- and 10-inch models that will be sold exclusively through Walmart. On Monster’s decision to sell the tablets through Walmart only, CEO Noel Lee told us in an email, “Walmart has been a good retail partner and the M7 was a nice complement to the NCredible headphone line that they already carry.” With the new tablet line, the company is hoping to leverage its products already in the connected device market, including the brightly colored NCredible headphones, Bluetooth speakers and Monster Central devices. Monster wants to help consumers “maximize their experience with all their consumer electronics,” and provide products with “good value and performance,” Lee said. “More and more of Monster’s products are connected, and we will be able to continue to add functionality for better listening experiences as well as extending our Power Central ecosystem,” he said. The tablets pack Time Correct Bluetooth, which Lee said was developed with Monster’s technology partners to ensure synchronization of audio and video for game play and movie viewing. A Monster Central PowerControl app comes with the tablets and enables users to monitor energy usage of optional Monster Power modules over the 900-MHz band, he said. The $149 7-inch tablet began shipping this week, and a 10-inch model will be available later this fall. Distribution, price and specifications for the larger tablet weren’t available. Meanwhile, Nvidia unveiled its Tegra Note tablet platform, designed to bring features to partners’ tablets “they may not have been able to deliver on their own,” according to an Nvidia blog post. Suggested retail price of Tegra Note is $199, a price that “will help many more people experience the new technologies going into Tegra Note” and its Android OS, it said. Features of Tegra Note include a 72-core GeForce graphics processor and quad-core Cortex-A15 CPU with a fifth battery-saver core. It uses a 1280 x 800 in-plane switching display. The Camera Awesome app delivers 100 frame-per-second video with slow-motion playback, Nvidia said. For gaming, the integrated Nvidia TegraZone app provides access to games optimized for the platform, it said. The device also supports various game controllers for “console-class gaming,” the company said. Battery life is given as 10-plus hours.