TechRadar Verdict
A cheap tablet that should do better given the cost - but too sluggish and poorly designed to be a winner.
Pros
- +
Well balanced feel in the hand
- +
Slim, easily portable design
- +
Great price
- +
Free apps
- +
Good audio through speakers
Cons
- -
Dire homescreen search bar
- -
Fiddly power and unlock button
- -
Lack of Android Market
- -
Poor construction quality
- -
Sluggish processor
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Having already attempted to take on the Android tablet market with the ViewSonic ViewPad 7 and ViewPad 7e, ViewSonic is back with a cut-price device.
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10e pairs what, at face value, appears to be an acceptable array of entry-level specs with a cheap and relatively cheerful shell to appeal to those not convinced by the iPad's much higher price tag.
Looking to steal a couple of market share percentage points from Apple, ViewSonic has forgone a number of core Android values when adopting Google's operating system for the ViewPad 10e, most fundamental of which is the overlooking of the now standard 10.1-inch display in favour of an iPad-mimicking 9.7-inch offering.
With the unwritten rule of the tablet market seeming to be 'if you can afford it, plump for the iPad', ViewSonic has looked to dramatically undercut the market leader in an attempt to win favour with the masses, jumping in at a low price with a very impressive £199 retail tag in the UK, and $399 cost in the US.
This is significantly cheaper than the entry-level iPad 2, which starts at £399, or $499.
The ViewSonicViewPad 10e is also cheaper than the leading Android tablets, save for the currently US-exclusive $199 Amazon Kindle Fire, and even ViewSonic's own 7-inch offering, the original ViewPad 7, which retailed at £300.
Sadly, as will all facets of the tech market, this low-end price tag does come with a number of device-hampering limitations, with a somewhat shoddy build quality combining with a number of lower-end components and weak specs to fulfill the old truism 'you get what you pay for."
While the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e does run Google's Android operating system, it isn't a true Android tablet.
Unlike a number of its roughly 10-inch Android tablet competitors, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, Motorola Xoom 2 and the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e doesn't run a fully certified version of Android.
Instead it opts for a slightly flaky version of the OS that means, among other things, it has no official Android Market.
Despite some hardware and software restrictions, ViewsSonic has done something with the ViewPad 10e that the likes of Apple, Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Asus have failed to do: get the tablet to market with a price that will appeal to the everyman, not just those with a hefty wedge of spare cash and a keen interest in tech.
Although a sub-£200 price tag can't counteract all problems, a number of the ViewSonic ViewPad 10e's issues can be overlooked when you consider the device's price compared to its competitors - a trait that will no doubt be adopted by a number of consumers looking to enter the tablet scene.
