ViewSonic ViewPad 10s now available at Harvey Norman
- — 22 March, 2011 15:44
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10s -- now available at Harvey Norman stores
A certain iPad 2 may be launching this Friday, but that hasn't stopped ViewSonic, the Taiwan-based manufacturer of notebooks and monitors, from announcing that its ViewPad 10s Android tablet is now available nationally from Harvey Norman retail stores.
Read our comprehensive ViewSonic ViewPad 7 review, and check out our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011.
Retailing for $599, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10s is a 10in Android tablet that plays back high-resolution 1080p video, and has a HDMI-out port enabling it to be connected directly to a high-definition television. It is powered by a 1GHz ARM dual-core processor and has a hefty 512MB RAM.
Unlike the competing Samsung Galaxy Tab, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10s doesn't have mobile phone capabilities, and only features a single 1.3-megapixel camera on its rear, rather than dual-camera. It also runs the Android 2.2 'Froyo' operating system, which has been designed for smartphones, rather than larger-screened tablet devices. ViewSonic has not stated whether the ViewPad 10s will be upgraded to the 3.0 'Honeycomb' version of Android, which has been designed specifically for tablets.
The ViewPad 10s is a 900MHz and 2100MHz 3G device, meaning it won't work with Telstra's Next G network, which runs on the 850MHz network band. Like the iPad, ViewSonic will sell the ViewPad 10s in two configurations — a Wi-Fi only model, and a Wi-Fi + 3G model.
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10s is the third ViewPad tablet to be sold in Australia — the company launched the ViewPad 7 Android tablet ($699) in January, and also released ViewPad 10 ($899) around the same time. The latter also has a 10in capacitive touchscreen but dual boots Windows 7 Home Edition and an older 1.6 version of Google's Android platform.
"ViewSonic is pleased to have the ViewPad 10s ranged in Harvey Norman stores," said William Tse, country manager, ViewSonic Australia. "Harvey Norman is one of Australia's top electrical retailers and with their support we are excited to be bringing our recent addition to the ViewPad range to consumers. The ViewPad 10s is a smart tablet that focuses on entertainment making it the perfect product for technology-savvy Harvey Norman customers looking for a personal multimedia device."
