ViewSonic ViewPad 7 Android Tablet Review

Name: ViewSonic ViewPad 7 Android Tablet Review - Page 2
Brand: ViewSonic

by Dave Altavilla — Monday, December 20, 2010, 11:07 AM EDT

A Closer Look At The ViewPad 7

Page 2: A Closer Look At The ViewPad 7

From a high-level design perspective, the ViewPad 7 has a rather sturdy, almost bulky feel to it. It's a fairly thick device for a tablet, measuring .45-inches thick, but overall, portability with this slate is significantly better than with a 10-inch tablet. The ViewPad 7 weighs just under a pound and has a thick, squared-off aluminum bezel around its perimeter that accommodates the devices multitude of IO connectivity and expansion options.

Click images for high res.

In terms of its available options for connectivity, access and expansion, you really couldn't ask for more from a tablet. Perhaps some might miss the availability of a mini-HDMI or Displayport but that's a bit subjective, especially for a device of this size. The screen on the ViewPad 7 is a standard TFT display with capacitive touch and contrast ratio of 500:1. Its viewing angle capability isn't nearly as good as some of the Super AMOLED displays on the market (the screen's native resolution of 800X480 is no great shakes either) but that's where ViewSonic was able to shave some pennies to keep costs in line.

VIewSonic has the device configured with multiple customizable home screens that you can swipe through for quick access to your favorite utilities and apps. Speaking of swipe, swype text input capabilities are available on the ViewPad 7 as well. Finally, a recent update to the Android Marketplace has made finding an app or game that you're looking for, much easier and the interface itself is coming along nicely. Apple may just have some serious competition from Android yet.

Next up, let's step you through some performance numbers...