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Viewsonic: There's no G Tablet 'manufacturing defect,' it's a user experience issue
In case you missed it, this weekend Staples announced that it was no longer offering the 10.1-inch Viewsonic G Tablet because of a "manufacturing defect." Well, as it turns out, Viewsonic is claiming there's really no hardware defect at all -- instead, the manufacturer of the Android 2.2, Tegra 2-powered tablet is reporting that there's really a "user experience issue." Nope, that doesn't sound much better, but according to Viewsonic's VP of Marketing Adam Hanin, the G Tablet saw a fair number of returns because of its sluggish software experience, which was caused by the preloaded Tap and Tap Android layer. A number of issues were also caused by the lack of Flash, which Adobe hasn't yet certified for Tegra 2 (we hear that's finally coming at the end of January). "We believe it is the user experience that caused all the returns, and we are taking important steps forward with the G Tablet," Hanin told us. So, what are those steps exactly? Viewsonic will be releasing an over-the-air software update before the end of the week and will also provide links for users to manually download and install a beta version of Flash on its support page. Naturally, we asked Hanin why the G Tablet was shipped in this half-finished state at all -- he told us that while Android and Tegra are great platforms, Google's lack of support for larger devices means that companies like Viewsonic have to "go out and put together their own software and app stores." We're not sure that's a great answer -- in fact, it sort of sounds like Viewsonic is trying to blame Google, Adobe, and NVIDIA for its own half-finished and laggy software, when it released the tablet on its own accord to retailers. Either way, we've now seen more than enough terrible "user experience" issues on the early crop of Android tablets -- Honeycomb, where are you?
Viewsonic G Tablet pulled from Staples stores, 'manufacturing defect' to blame
Oh boy, we've not been shy about our love for NVIDIA's Tegra 2, but the tablets that have opted to use it so far keep meeting the same miserable end: discontinuation from shop floor availability. First the Toshiba Folio 100 bit the British dust because of a bunch of quality control issues, and now Viewsonic's G Tablet is getting its marching orders from Staples, with only a "manufacturing defect" cited as the cause. If we weren't such charitable souls, we might suggest the defect was simply that this tablet wasn't very good yet someone still chose to manufacture it. Let's not be hasty, though -- it's a good idea to see what Office Depot does with its inventory before completely writing the G Tablet off. [Thanks, Rob]
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Tablets
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. You didn't think we'd let the holiday season go by without an official Engadget Tablet Gift Guide did you? Hey, give us more credit -- we know it's not 2009 anymore! The past year has seen an explosion in the tablet category, and while the iPad may still be the market leader, there's no shortage of Android and Windows 7 alternatives out there that let you surf the web, read books, and watch videos with just a flick of a finger. Sure, more are on the way, and all signs point to Apple updating the iPad in early 2011, but if you've got to have a touchscreen slab before the end of the year, we're here to lend a helping hand. Hit the break for a rundown of the best choices by price category.
Office Depot welcomes 10-inch ViewSonic G Tablet into the fold, slaps $399 sticker on it
If your tablet wishlist includes things like Tegra 2, Android 2.2, and 1080p video playback, you might want to drop by your nearest Office Depot some time soonish. ViewSonic's G Tablet has just been made available for purchase at the store's many outlets across the US and is also supposed to be up for grabs at its online portal. We say "supposed" because we can't find it anywhere on officedepot.com, but that's probably just a temporary issue. The main point is that $399 will buy you a seat on the Froyo tablet bandwagon, a very glossy 10-inch seat with 1024 x 600 resolution. Skip past the break for the full PR.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Video Cameras
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. Photos make great mementos for important moments, but a picture of your kid taking her first step or writing his first blog post isn't quite as meaningful as a full-motion video of the event in question. That's why a video recorder of some sort is a must-have, and while your average compact camera is capturing better footage than ever, sometimes you need something a little more dedicated. That's when you need a camcorder, and this year we even have a bunch of 3D models to choose from. Which ones are right for you and for your budget? Click on through to find out.
Viewsonic rolls out 3DV5 pocket camcorder, other gadgets of 2D and 3D varieties
Viewsonic has been touting a whole range of 3D gadgets since IFA this summer, and it's now finally brought a few of them to North America. That includes the $180 3DV5 pocket camcorder, which was already released in Europe and does 720p video along with 5 megapixel stills (in both 3D and 2D), and the also-$180 3DPF8 8-inch digital photo frame, which will let you view 3D videos and photos without the need for 3D glasses. Joining those are the $330 DVP5 pocket camcorder, which isn't 3D but does pack a built-in projector, and the $150 DPF8-CAM Digital Photo Copier, which is actually an 8-inch digital photo frame with a built-in scanner to let you easily convert your snapshots to digital copies. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and hit up the gallery below for a closer look at the whole lot. %Gallery-107538%
ViewSonic ViewPad 7 tablet up for pre-order, now costs a wallet-crunching $599
Excuse us, ViewSonic, but we think there's been some sort of mistake -- your ViewPad 7 tablet is on sale at Amazon for $599, over a hundred dollars more than you said it would cost just two weeks back. Yes, we certainly understand you have to import the OlivePad rebadge from a substantial distance and negotiate with Google for its Android Market innards, but we're not exactly ecstatic about the 600MHz ARM CPU -- even with front- and rear-facing cameras on board. Given that Samsung's Galaxy Tab doesn't have phone functionality stateside, we admit there's a market for a seven-inch Froyo tablet that can do voice calls, but did you really have to take Sammy's controversial price point as well? [Thanks, onelove]
ViewSonic introduces 22- and 24-inch VG36-LED monitors, tips hat to Ma Earth
GO LED. GO GREEN. No, it's not some whippersnapper's 2010 Presidential campaign slogan, it's the motto of ViewSonic's newest LCD monitor range. The VG36-LED series is comprised of two units as of now, the 22-inch VG2236wm-LED and the 24-inch VG2436wm-LED. Both of these guys boast LED-backlit panels, a native 1,920 x 1,080 screen resolution, VGA / DVI connectivity options, a borderline comical 20,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and EPEAT Gold certifications for all the Sierra Club members in attendance. You'll also get a stand with more adjustments than your mother could ever figure out, and thankfully, neither one is positioned to break the bank -- they're available now for $229 and $259 in order of mention.
ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and 10 officially comin' to America
ViewSonic's heavy foray into the tablet market has been no secret, but we've been a bit uncertain as to where on the map its products would land. Until now that is. According to ViewSonic's American team, the company will be kicking off its US tablet invasion with the ViewPad 7 in November. Just as we'd heard, the 7-inch device packs an Snapdragon processor, Android 2.2, two cameras (a 3 megapixel cam on its rear and a VGA front facing one), 512MB of memory and 3G capabilities. Sure, it sounds a heck of a lot like the rest of the other Android tablets we've been seeing, but according to ViewSonic this one will most definitely have access to the Google Market and come preloaded with Google's apps. Well, that's a horse of a different color, though its $479 MSRP seems a bit high to us. What about the ViewSonic fans out there that have been eyeing the Android 1.6 / Win 7 dual-booting ViewPad 10, you ask? Well, they'll have to wait until the first quarter of 2011 to get their hands on that one, though at least that gives 'em time to save up the $629 that it's expected to retail for. We should note here, that the ViewPad 10 is identical in design to the Tega v2 we recently reviewed and similar in specs -- it has a 1.66GHz Atom processor, 16GB SSD, 1GB of RAM and Windows 7 Home Premium. We're still unsure where the 10-inch, Android 2.2 G-Tablet that was recently spotted in a Sears circular fits in, but we're definitely getting the hint that Viewsonic's in it to win it with tablets. %Gallery-106333%
ViewSonic G-Tablet pops up in Sears weekly ad, mistakenly claims to be the ViewPad 10 at Sears' website
Did ViewSonic's 10-inch tablets catch your eye? We've got good and bad news. The good news is that the G-Tablet (with a 1GHz processor and Android 2.2) is now on sale at Sears for $379.99 -- even less than we were told. The bad news is that the Intel Atom N455-powered ViewPad 10 apparently is, too. We say apparently because Sears seems to have crossed some wires when putting the latter slate up on its site, most egregiously stating that that dual-booting device does both Windows 7 and Android 2.2 for the exact same $379.99. Last we heard, the ViewPad 10 -- like the eerily similar Tega v2 -- could only do Android 1.6 alongside Microsoft's OS and would cost quite a bit more. Don't rely on Sears to cut you a deal, folks.
Viewsonic introduces 3DV5 3D pocket camcorder, no glasses required
There's a good chance this 3D bandwagon may never stop rolling, so rather than maintaining that bitter beer face for yet another day, you may as well embrace the next dimension. Viewsonic's newest pocket camcorder just so happens to fit into that segment, as the 3DV5 is a 720p shooter with a 2.4-inch autostereoscopic display, not unlike that found on Nintendo's 3DS. According to the company, there's a one-touch function to switch between 2D and 3D recording modes, and once owners have logged the latter, they can either plug it directly into a 3D HDTV (via HDMI) or watch it on-screen without any 3D glasses. Users can also throw these up on YouTube's 3D channel if they'd rather tangle with a set of anaglyph spectacles, but you'd probably budget for an SD card -- you know, considering that the 10MB of internal storage space won't exactly hold a masterpiece. Is this guy really worth £150 ($238)? Can you really live another day without the ability to create 3D content?
Viewsonic VX2258wm 22-inch multitouch display hits stores in Europe
It looks like the folks at Viewsonic never got the memo that people don't want touchscreen displays on devices that don't lay flat. (Maybe Steve forgot to CC 'em?) That, or maybe they just have a rebellious streak -- which we can certainly respect. Either way, the company has just announced the VX2258wm, a 22-inch monitor that uses Infrared Optical Imaging to bring Windows-certified multitouch to the table (er, desk). And that, alongside 1080p HD resolution, ClearMotiv II Technology, a 5ms response time, a dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1, and support for HBDP (High Bandwidth Digital Protection) Blu-ray devices, sounds pretty good to us! Available now in Europe for £189 (roughly $300). PR after the break.
Viewsonic rolls out 24-inch V3D241wm-LED monitor with 3D glasses
We've yet to see the full wrath of Viewsonic's ambitious 3D plans, but the company has at least now rolled out one new device: the 24-inch V3D241wm-LED 3D monitor. That naturally comes complete with a pair of (active) 3D glasses, and Viewsonic insists that the monitor's 120Hz frame rate and 2ms response time make it ideal for both gaming and movies. You'll also get a pair of built-in two watt speakers, 300 nits of brightness, a supposed 20,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and the usual Eco mode to cut down on power consumption. Still no official word on a release over here, but you can now grab this one in the UK for £330, or about $527.
ViewSonic outs 10-inch G Tablet: Android 2.2, NVIDIA Tegra 2 on the inside
Don't blink -- you might just mistake ViewSonic's new G Tablet for the ViewPad that we handled back at IFA. This guy, however, packs a very different list of internal specifications in a 10-inch tablet form factor that's beginning to look all too familiar. Showcased for the first time last night in New York City, this guy dumps Intel's Atom in favor of NVIDIA's Tegra 2, and rather than booting a pair of operating systems, it relies solely on Android 2.2 -- a mobile OS that Google has specifically said isn't tailored for use on slates. At any rate, there's also 1GB of RAM, a 1024 x 600 resolution panel, USB / HDMI, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 16GB of storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera and a chassis that measures 9.96- x 6.5- x 0.5-inches. We're told that it handled 1080p media without any trouble, and while the capacitive touchpanel was deemed "beautiful," the ultra glossy coating will certainly turn off those who plan to visit the great outdoors. It's expected to hit shelves in October with a lofty $529 $429 retail price, and with that, we'll simply wish it the best of luck and point you to the video past the break. Update: We've been contacted by the Powers That Be and told that our source had misquoted the price by one Benjamin. Readjust your memory, it's $429. It's always been $429.
ViewSonic MB-P702, the color e-reader and HD video player you didn't yet realize you needed
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and the same usually goes for tablets. But in the Great Venn Diagram of slate form factors, the ViewSonic MB-P702 seems to hover around the intersection of tablets and e-readers. It's got a 7-inch 800 x 480 resolution touchscreen LCD display and functions as both an e-reader and a movie player -- but not, as far as we can tell, an internet-based experience. Looking to the former function, the MB-P702 reads PDF, TXT, EPUB and others with handwritten notation capabilities. For video, we're looking at MKV, AVI, WMV, MPG, MP4, and RMVB, with 1080p support and HDMI out. Unfortunately, all we've got is rough machine translation and some renders of the product. A sea of 7-inch slates on the horizon -- ViewSonic's own ViewPad 7 included. With any luck, it's an "optimized experience" (and a competitive price point, knowing the company's MO) that'd keep it in check.
ViewSonic 10-inch dual boot ViewPad preview
ViewSonic hasn't settled on a name for this thing yet, vacillating between the ViewPad 100 and the ViewPad 10i. What it has settled on is a pretty delicious for factor for an Atom N455-based Windows 7 tablet, and the dual boot option to Android is really just gravy. Unfortunately it's rather outdated gravy: Android 1.6 is the most recent version to support x86 processors, so we won't be seeing any of the new Android goodness on here unless Google pulls together another Intel-friendly version of the OS in the near future -- which seems relatively unlikely with Chrome OS around the corner, but you never know. Other specs include 1GB of RAM, 16GB SSD, and a 10-inch 1024 x 600 LCD (the same resolution as the new Galaxy Tab, incidentally). We weren't impressed with the quality of the display, or with the pixel density, but at least the capacitive touch seemed to be working fine -- we actually managed to do a bit of typing with Windows 7's touchscreen keyboard, if you can imagine that. The actual hardware is delightfully thin and light, though a bit on the plasticy side, and we particular appreciated the thumb friendly buttons to the right side of the display. The tablet has a quoted price of "sub 500 euros" and a sketched in release date for later this year. Check out a video hands-on, including the super exciting boot-up process, after the break. %Gallery-101111%
ViewSonic ViewPad 7 video hands-on
We just got a chance to mess around with ViewSonic's upcoming ViewPad 7 (one of possibly four tablets they plan to release this year), and while it is indeed a plastic rebadge me-too Android tablet, we mean that in the best sense. Let's take these one by one: Plastic: It looks and feels enough like metal / glass that we won't fault ViewSonic for the cost savings here. Rebadge: ViewSonic has an exclusive on this design for its particular markets (Europe), while the OlivePad is doing its version over in India. Me-too: This might be the biggest knock, since ViewSonic is dropping the ViewPad into a world that's going to be up to its knees in 7-inch Android tablets in a few month's time. ViewSonic wins points for an above average build quality, better than crappy LCD (it's not great, but we've seen a lot worse, and the capacitive response is just fine), passable processor (a 600MHz Snapdragon won't win any bake-offs, but it also makes Android 2.2 completely usable in our opinion), and better-than-Augen Google blessing. Check out our video hands-on after the break. %Gallery-100879%
ViewSonic ViewPad 7 official: Android 2.2 and 'full' phone functionality
We know you're positively giddy with excitement to get at this OlivePad rebadge and ViewSonic is today fanning those flames of desire with a little bit of pre-IFA PR. Made official today, the 7-inch ViewPad 7 will try to lure in Android lovers with its tasty Froyo parfait, underpinned by hardware that includes front- and back-facing cameras, 3G for both phone and data transmissions, and a full-sized SIM slot. It doesn't seem to have an earpiece so we're unwilling to grant it the claim that it offers "full" phone functionality, but we'd be more worried about the unlisted internal specs on this thing -- the OlivePad makes do with a 600MHz ARM CPU and an underwhelming 800 x 480 resolution, neither of which should be making the iPad quake in its well padded boots. Price is expected to be "no more than £350" ($543) in the UK, though all we know about availability is that review units will start showing up in October. Ah well, the wait for a quality iPad alternative continues.
Viewsonic ViewPad is an OlivePad rebadge?
Remember when Viewsonic was a respectable company? It made modest but reputable monitors that seemed to define the product category. Now the company is slapping its colorful finches onto just about any OEM device it can grab. Next on the agenda is the 7-inch Viewsonic ViewPad tablet, expected to launch at the big IFA show next week with an Android OS and 3G and WiFi connectivity. Thing is, the device leaked to Pocket-lint (pictured above) is the very same tablet known since July as the Olive Pad VT00, aka, "India's first 3.5G Pad." So line up now if you like your seconds served stale and without originality.
