14 DAY TRIAL // One of the personal computer product concepts that has been gaining popularity is the slate PC, otherwise known as tablet personal computers. The concept is not a new one, as the age-old Apple tablet rumors obviously show, but only lately have such products actually begun to pop up. Most such devices have been held off because of their questionable ability to survive on a market that already has a high number of mobile computing offers.
ViewSonic might, however, be among the first few to start a true mass production of such computers. The company showcased the VTablet 101 at a product launch event held yesterday in Beijing.
Predictably, the device does not run an x86 processor because its power consumption is far too high for this kind of device. Instead, the VTablet makes use of the A9 SMP chip based on the ARM architecture. ARM chips have been generally dominating the mobile market because of their very low power supply and, currently, they are also the most viable option for slate PCs. However, the downside to this is the well-known fact that ARM cannot run Windows, which led to the Android being used instead.
Besides the 1GHz ARM A9 SMP processor, the tablet is based on the NVIDIA Tegra T20 chipset and has 4GB of internal flash storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G connectivity through an external modem. The device is actually capable of 3D graphics and its 8.9-inch LVDS display has a maximum resolution of 1024 x 800. The product also boasts a front camera.
While the product specifications describe a generally well-built and powerful device, the VTablet might see some marketing difficulty if Apple finally launches its own tablet, as the latest rumors seem to suggest. ViewSonic has given its VTablet the very reasonable price of 3,000 Yuan ($440) but, unfortunately, it did not mention the actual release date.