The ViewSonic ViewPad 7e is a budget tablet expected to go on sale in October for under $200. This week the 7 inch tablet showed up at the FCC website, which is a pretty good indication that it’s on track to launch on schedule.
I got a chance to check out the ViewPad 7e recently, and it’s a relatively good little device for the price. The processor isn’t as powerful as on some higher end tablets, and the screen isn’t quite as good. It also runs Google Android 2.3 instead of the tablet-optimized Android 3.2 Honeycomb. But it felt pretty zippy and seems like it would be ideal for reading eBooks, watching videos, or surfing the web, even if it can’t run Honeycomb-specific apps.
The tablet has a 1 GHz Samsung processor, an 800 x 600 pixel display, 4GB of storage and a 3300mAh battery. It also features SPB Mobile Shell software which gives you custom home screen widgets and some pretty slick 3D animations when flipping between virtual home screens. It also features 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, and HDMI output.
The ViewPad 7e comes preloaded with the Amazon Appstore, Amazon Kindle eBook app and Amazon MP3 music store. It doesn’t include access to the official Google Android Market.
So Brad, if you were to spend your own $200 on a 7 inch android, would it be this one, or the lenovo?
Im not Brad, but Id take Lenovo over this one due to higher res screen. My 2c.
It’s a tough call, because the ViewPad 7e felt faster in my brief hands-on, but the Lenovo A1 is smaller, features offline GPS, and supports the Android Market.Â
Does any of these cheap 7″ Android devices with a front facing camera do Skype?  I’ve been hunting for one.  I bought a Touchpad for my grandma for Skype and Email and I want to keep it.  So I need to get her something else for Skype and email 🙂  This would be perfect if it did… well… Skype and e-mail.
At that base price, and resolution, 1024×600 means that Pixel Qi 7 inch screen would work. Too bad that they don’t have a “7eQi” model.