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  • ViewSonic announces $250 ViewBook 730 tablet, steps on Nook Color's turf

    by 
    Sharif Sakr
    Sharif Sakr
    06.07.2011

    Does that bulky black plastic surround look familiar? It's becoming standard uniform for Android tablets at the $250 price point like the Nook Color and now ViewSonic's latest offering, the ViewBook 730. Basic specs also look pretty similar -- the ViewBook has a 7-inch screen (albeit with a 800x480 resolution, lower than the Nook's), 8GB of internal storage and an SD card slot. But the 730 does have some significant advantages over its older rival: notably a front-facing VGA camera and a faster 1Ghz Cortex-A8 processor (versus 800Mhz on the Nook Color) that claims to handle 1080p video and output it via an HDMI port. Plus there's full Android 2.2 instead of the Nook Color's walled-off ecosphere. Interestingly, the ViewBook also tries to distinguish itself with stylus support for note-taking -- akin to the HTC Flyer. Goes to show you can't judge a multi-function e-reader by its bezel. Hit the PR after the break to see if this budget tablet will tick your boxes when it arrives at the end of June.