ViewSonic to launch First 7-Inch Android Honeycomb Tablet

Big screen Android tablets with Honeycomb 3.0 were all the rage, while smaller tablets were stuck with older smartphone versions of the OS-until now. The first 7-inch tablet featuring Honeycomb is set to arrive later this month from ViewSonic, and it will be dubbed the ViewPad 7x.

Because Google rushed Android 3.0 to the market to counter the popularity of the Apple iPad, the company was unable to optimize the OS for different-sized tablets fast enough. This meant that you could get Android 3.0 Honeycomb on 10-inch tablets such as the Motorola Xoom, but not on 7-inch tablets such as the HTC Flyer.

Now it seems that ViewSonic will be the first to get on the market a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet at the end of May, if Pocket-Lint's sources are accurate. The tablet will be called the ViewPad 7x, and will reportedly be sold alongside the ViewPad 7. Pricing and exact availability are unknown by this time for the ViewPad 7x.

While the details on the ViewPad 7x are sketchy, it runs on a 600MHz processor and has 512MB of RAM and 512MB of on-board storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD card). The 7-inch screen has 800 by 480 pixel resolution, and the tablet also features 3G antennas along Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

The original ViewPad 7 sells for around $400.

ViewSonic launches 10-inch Tablet PC ViewPad 100

ViewSonic has launched its second tablet during the Internationale Funkaustellung (IFA) trade show in Berlin. The ViewPad 100 runs Windows 7 Home Premium and Android version 1.6.

The ViewPad 100 is a Wi-Fi only tablet that comes with 16GB of storage and a Micro SD slot for another 32GB. An Intel Atom N455 1.66Ghz processor powers the tablet and the screen has a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution.

Additional features include Bluetooth, A-GPS (Assisted-GPS) and a 1.3-megapixel webcam.

The already announced ViewPad 7, which sports a 7-inch screen, version 2.2 of Android and 3G - is still its flagship model to ViewSonic. The ViewPad 100 is a product you use at home or in the office, and the ViewPad you can bring with you.

The ViewPad 100 will be available in October for approximately US$845.