Months ago we learned about a forthcoming phone from television manufacturer Vizio to compliment its 8-inch tablet. Today news of the VIA’s FCC filing comes out of Wireless Goodness, for all the good it’ll do – we’re not likely to ever see this product come to market. The filing itself is from back in May, practically ancient history in the smartphone market.
For a mid-2011 smartphone, the VIA fit neatly in the middle market, with a 4-inch, 854 x 480 LCD screen. A 1GHz processor and an unknown amount of storage and RAM are paired with a 5MP rear camera and a humble VGA front-facing cam. Software comes in the form of Android 2.2 Froyo, outdated even then, and probably going without official Google apps like Vizio’s tablet. The design is fairly utilitarian, with only the stylized “V” logo taking the place of Home to differentiate it from other black plastic phones.
Seeing the device laid bare makes us kind of happy that Vizio never actually brought it to market. The tablet occupies an OK space in the price/utility matrix, especially considering that it has some unique remote IR features, and now, a free Hulu Plus trial. The VIA phone simply isn’t all that interesting, and considering that it almost certainly lacks Android Market support, it would be hard sell for just about any US wireless carrier. You can check out the full FCC listing here.
