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Complementing its existing range range of tablets, including the 7in ViewPad 7 and 10in Viewpad 10, ViewSonic has added a budget system to its line-up, named the ViewBook 730.
At $250 the ViewBook is markedly cheaper than the ViewPads, even though the specifications are actually higher than the original ViewPad 7 in some areas. The ViewBook 730 offers a 1GHz ARM processor (versus the ViewPad 7's 600MHz CPU), 512MB of RAM and 8GB of internal flash memory (expandable to 32GB via MicroSD); the display is the major indicator of the budget price with a mere 800 x 640 pixel resolution.
Connectivity comes in the form of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth a mini-USB port and a mini-HDMI output, which covers most of the important bases. ViewSonic claims that the ViewBook 730 will offer "up to 10 hours" of battery life, which is pretty good longevity for the money. Less good is the use of Android 2.2, a step behind the de jour 3.1 'Gingerbread' flavour de jour, and less ideally suited to tablets. Viewsonic is pre-installing a few key apps, though, including Amazon's App Store.
It's not going to take on the iPad 2 directly, but at the lower-end of the market, where money is more of an issue than to high-end tablet buyers, the ViewBook 730 may well find a niche.
