Another challenger to Google Nexus 7 has arrive to market, this one ain't no China MID Tablet but a new product from one of the leading LED-LCD screen manufacturer; ViewSonic. The ViewSonic ViewPad N710 which is a successor to their old ViewSonic ViewPad E72 Tablet. It has the very same chipset that the Nexus 7 has; Nvidia Tegra-3 1.3GHz QuadCore Cortex-A9 processor with 12-Core GeForce ULP graphics. We all know how this chipset performs, expect excellent performance and great apps/games compatibility. It comes with a 1GB of RAM that should be enough handling all the resources and 8GB of Storage which is honestly quite small but that shouldn't be a problem as unlike the Nexus 7, the ViewPad N710 has an storage expansion upto 32GB and extended through its microSD-Slot.
It also have similar hardware feature to Nexus 7 like a built-in Bluetooth and an Offline GPS with Google Maps navigation support. It comes only with WiFi connectivity but with option to use 3G connection using external 3G device. For now, it runs on Android OS IceCreamSandwich 4.0 and hopefully it receive an update to latest JellyBean 4.1 OS too.
You can get this Tablet at Pandawill.com for a very competitive price of US$229.99 including a world-wide free shipping. 16GB Version is also available for US$249.99 including world-wide free shipping as-well. A decent price for a great Nexus 7 Tablet alternative.
Just like we mention above, hardware feature are very similar to Nexus 7. Screen is made of 5-touch capacitive LED screen with IPS Technology and a beautiful HD display or 1280x800pixel resolution. ViewSonic is a company that is expert on producing Display Panel so we should be expecting awesome quality of ViewPad N710, plus don't forget that it has IPS Technology which gives wider viewing angle to Tablet without losing much of image quality. It has a 2.0MP Front Facing camera on the right which is good for capturing self-photos or as a webcam for Video Calling. Although some features like Light Sensor and Magnetic Sensor found on Nexus 7 aren't available here on ViewPad N710, not a big deal for me.
The shell case material uses an elegant combination of Plastic and Aluminium with the brand perfectly placed in the middle. From this picture you'll see the Stereo Speakers both placed in one side of the Tablet and should provide decent sound quality. While the other side has the expansion storage slot, microUSB with Host function and a standard 3.5mm Headphone/Earphone port. No Charging port means this one will probably charge through the microUSB port. The ViewSonic ViewPad N710 offers a full 7 hours of Battery Life with its 4000mAh Battery Capacity, 325mAh less than Nexus 7 which is rated to operate upto 10 hours. Well, maybe this one will do the same with casual usage. External build quality is excellent and elegant. Unfortunately, it lacks HDMI out and a Rear Facing Camera.
The ViewSonic ViewPad N710 will definitely give a tough competition to Google Nexus 7 and other challenger like SmartQ X7. Another good alternative with very similar specifications to Google Nexus 7.
