Somewhere between what we've come to know as a tablet computer and a smartphone sits ViewSonic's new Viewpad 7. You might already guess from the name that this portable tablet with phone functionality sports a 7-inch touchscreen display. It runs on Android 2.2, has both Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities, and cameras at the back and front. The device is currently on show at ViewSonic's stand at IFA 2010 in Berlin, but for those not lucky enough to be in Germany this week, here's a brief summary of what's on offer.
The Viewpad 7 has a 7-inch (177.8mm) capacitive touchscreen display and is powered by a 600MHz Snapdragon processor. Up to 32GB of storage is on offer via microSD card and the device runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo). As well as 3G and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity, there's Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR and USB. There's a full size SIM card slot, too, which gives it similar functionality to the Dell Streak (although the latter's screen is smaller, it does feature a 1GHz processor and 2GB of internal storage).
To the front of the Viewpad 7 is a VGA-quality camera and round the back there's a 3 megapixel camera. As you might expect these days, it has a built-in accelerometer and also comes with assisted GPS. Its battery is said to be good for about six or seven hours of use between charges.
Announcing the tablet-phone, the company's Derek Wright said: "3G phone functionality combined with dual cameras gives the ability for use of Android apps to use augmented reality or video calling on the move."
Currently on display at the company's stand at IFA 2010 in Berlin, the Viewpad 7 comes with a suggested retail price of GBP350 (about US$538).
