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The somewhat ambitious "dual-boot" ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro tablet misses on almost every count. It's not a great Windows 7 tablet and it's a poor Android tablet.
We liked
We certainly like the idea of a dual-boot tablet. This isn't it, because Android just runs in a window, but the concept of running business apps in Windows or Android apps would have made sense.
The ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro works reasonably well as a media playback device, as long as you stick with Windows 7 and can put up with the LCD screen, which looked a bit dark and had poor contrast.
There are quite a few features for connecting PC hardware to the tablet, and vice versa. You can attach just about any USB device, and even other Android tablets. And, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro connects to a desktop display using an HDMI cable.
The tablet also supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, and 3G internet on the premium version.
The speakers on this tablet, located on the back, are better than average.
We disliked
Where do we begin? The ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro misses on several counts.
The most important problem is that Android runs in a window, so this isn't really a dual-boot tablet.
Apps tend to run extremely slowly, few of them will install at all and the tablet runs the smartphone version of Android.
Android also has trouble with the built-in camera. In Windows 7, there isn't a dedicated camera app, and there are few touchscreen-enabled apps – only those few pre-installed ones.
The screen of the ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro uses older LCD technology and looked too dark. The viewing angle on this tablet is not nearly as good as the Apple iPad 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
Connected to a desktop display using HDMI, movies played with too much screen stutter and the refresh rate was too slow.
Verdict
Even those few users who might benefit from having Windows 7 and Android on the same device will find some serious problems with the ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro.
Android runs too slowly to be useful and apps didn't install. The screen is also too dark.
Overall, this is a tablet we can't recommend.
