Viewsonic ViewPad 7 review

One potential drawback is that there’s not much storage space on the ViewPad 7, with only 512MB of internal memory supplied as standard. Particularly frustrating is that fact that no MicroSD card comes as standard. Without a memory card you can’t use the camera or Documents To Go office application. This means that you really have to factor in the price of a MicroSD card when you buy the ViewPad 7.

There’s no replaceable battery, but this shouldn’t be a big issue. We found that the integrated model lasted around a full weekend of web browsing before we had to charge the tablet. Charging is via the mini USB port and Viewsonic provides a mains charger, so you don’t have to plug the tablet into a computer.

The 3-megapixel camera on the rear produces acceptable shots in bright light, but in dark areas shots are very noisy. It’s a shame that there’s also no flash. There’s also a 0.3-megapixel camera on the front, which you can use for self-portraits or to make phone calls using over 3G, provided you install a SIM card. You can also make standard voice calls using the standard Android phone app. By default, the ViewPad 7 is set to speakerphone mode, so you’ll have to plug a headset or resort to a Bluetooth model to make private calls.

Android otherwise works pretty much as you’d expect with very little customisation to the operating system, bar getting the homescreen to appear in landscape mode. In fact, you’re stuck in this mode for the homescreen, although pretty much every other application can be used in portrait or landscape. We slightly prefer the Galaxy Tab, as Samsung did a great job of modifying the OS to work better on a tablet, including a homescreen that works in all orientations, an easier-to-use browser and iPhone-style copy-and-paste.

That’s not to say that the ViewPad 7 is a bad device. Android 2.2 in its native form is a great OS that’s very simple to use. Access to the full Android Market puts this device above tablets that don’t allow this, such as the Toshiba Folio 100. The hardware is mostly excellent, too, with all of the features you’d expect to find on a modern smartphone, including GPS, Bluetooth and WiFi.

It works well as a tablet that you can carry everywhere, but at its current price the ViewPad 7 is going to have a tough time, especially considering that you’ll need to add in the cost of a memory card, given that the Samsung Galaxy Tab can now be bought for £450, while the identical Linx Commtiva N700 is almost £90 cheaper.