It’s not that I don’t believe in miracles. I once knew a man who sat through the entirety of Jack & Jill without trying to set fire to the theatre. It’s a crazy world. But if ViewSonic made a $US170 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet that isn’t excruciatingly painful to use, I’ll buy a hat and eat it.
The specs that ViewSonic has shared on its e70 slate aren’t enough to damn it, but they’re not necessarily inspiring: a 1GHz processor, 4GB onboard storage, 800×480 display, micro HDMI and a micro SD slot. The 7-incher forgoes the Android Market for the Amazon Appstore, which is an interesting move and actually probably really smart? And maybe an interesting harbinger of Amazon app dominance?
But the only spec that matters on the e70 is the price: $US170, the cheapest cover around for entry into Club ICS. You don’t charge little without making some big sacrifices, and it’s not like ViewSonic has the most sterling track record to begin with. So odds are you’re looking at a Professor X situation here: terrific brain trapped in a useless body. We’ll find out soon, assuming they’ve brought the thing to CES.
Gray
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 3:52 PMBest. Cripple. Joke. Of. 2012
TSH
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 3:52 PMIt’s like a crappier Galaxy Tab with newer software. Considering the original is over a year old now, this just might not be shit.
Andy
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 3:52 PMIf it’s got decent WiFi, this might serve as a good dedicated controller for an AR.Drone. Well, for those who want a bigger screen than their phone (or have an incompatible phone) and don’t have a tablet yet.
Chris
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 5:14 PMHow will ICS go outside of its native resolution? I thought its whole premise was to do away with physical/touch buttons?
If they can sort the resolution out then I don’t see too much of an issue. It might be a little sluggish with those specs but hey, $170.
Wesley C
Wednesday, January 11, 2012 at 7:11 PMHow is it the cheapest Android Tablet? There are tons of other craptablets out there (Ramos, Novo, etc) that price easily under $150. Similar specs as well, but include Android Market!
Also…Novo 7 Paladin had ICS before all the CES announcements, etc..granted, it was still only a beta.