First Windows Tablet Revealed By Viewsonic
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The battle in the tablet market has just moved up another notch with Viewsonic launching a 7-inch Android tablet and a 10-inch tablet that runs on both Windows 7 and Android.


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Priced at $699 for the 7-inch and $799 for the 10-inch model, the products will go on sale in January of next year by mass retailers in what is fast becoming a cluttered marketplace. Shortly after the Viewsonic launch to retailers, vendors like Toshiba, Acer and Research In Motion will bring their tablet offerings to the market.

While the strategy for the 7-inch tablet is clear, the marketplace for the 10-inch model appears to be clouded with issues as the device has to compete with the iPad which at this stage has a better screen and faster processor.

Viewsonic Australia’s Country Manager, William Tse, told ChannelNews that he is currently talking to carriers and retailers and that in 2011, Viewsonic will expand its display offerings while investing in the tablet market.

 

At this stage, Viewsonic has no deals with carriers, who appear to be reluctant to stock both tablets and smartphones made by PC vendors. Various PC vendors have presented smartphones to companies like Vodafone, Optus, and Telstra to have them rejected during the past 6 months.

The Viewsonic ViewPad 10 has dual operating systems: Windows 7 Home Premium and a Google Android OS running on an older version (1.6). It utilises an Intel Pine Trail-M N455 processor, has 1GB of RAM, offers 16GB of storage, and offers Wi-Fi. It also comes with two USB2.0 ports, a mini-VGA port as well as a 1.3-megapixel camera.

The Viewpad 7 is 11.5mm thin, weighs 375 grams and has a 7-inch screen with a native resolution of 800×480. It runs on the latest Android 2.2 operating system and is Google Mobile Service certified, allowing users to gain access to the Android Market, Google Maps, Voice Search, Gmail and Youtube. Users can also perform calls and 3G video calls, navigate using the GPS software, and edit documents on the go with the Documents-to-Go program. The ViewPad 7 also supports microSD card for maximum storage capacity and is equipped with Bluetooth for wireless communication devices.