Today ViewSonic revealed to us the ViewPad 4, a device which they’re adamant in not classifying as a tablet or a smartphone. Asking the small press conference we were a part of several times what we thought the difference between a tablet and a smartphone was, they’ve made it clear that they’d like to blur the line singlehandedly with this device. This device has a 4-inch screen, which ViewSonic says is the ideal place to blur the line between devices at, and it’ll be running whatever the newest version of Android Gingerbread is when it’s released.
The ViewPad 4 will be shown to carriers in late April 2011 and ready for release in early May. This device runs a Qualcomm 1 GHz processor of some sort (they weren’t clear at the meeting), runs a capacitive 4-inch touchscreen that they remind us is NOT AMOLED, and has a whole slew of connections you can make to other devices. It’s got Bluetooth 3.0, Wireless on b/g/n, HDMI out, and audio out, amongst others.
This device is lovely, fits in the hand, and although there’s not much to the design, it works well with the image ViewSonic has put forth for itself as a display-based company. Where there’s little but a few details, those details count for a lot. This phone/tablet device feels fabulous, and from what they’re saying, it’s got both a bigger screen and a smaller physical footprint than most of its competitors. Proof? Take a peek at this image photographed in the press room, the ViewPad 4 surrounded by popular phones laid down by the press people in the room. Look like a lot smaller item to you?
Any way you look at it, this is a solid device. If it ends up being a hit is entirely up to the hype people shooting it out to the average customer and the hackers to see what they can do with it. If you’d like all the rest of the details on this item head back to the original press release and have yourself a good time. Otherwise look above and below for some photos taken at Mobile World Congress 2011.
