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Vizio’s $300 8″Android Tablet Hits Stores Today

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Watch out Nook Color. The new 8″ Vizio Android tablet is looking to take over the affordable Android tablet space with a $299 price tag and modest specs.

We’d heard about the Vizio Tablet back in January at CES 2011, and now, 8 months later it is finally hitting shelves at popular retailers like Amazon, Sam’s Club and Walmart.

This Android tablet is lacking Honeycomb, which powers most new tablets, but it is rocking Gingerbread, which many users load on to the Nook Color to make a cheap Android tablet. Will the Vizio Tablet be able to woo consumers and interest tinkerers?

Vizio 8 inch Android Tablet

Vizio 8 inch Android Tablet is an affordable, media centric, tablet.

Rather than run Honeycomb, which you’ll find on tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, the Vizio tablet runs Gingerbread, commonly found on phones and on the HTC Flyer Android tablet. I’m guessing many consumers will not know about this difference, but for $300 many of them may not care.

The Vizio Tablet has a 1 GHZ processor, 8″ LED LCD with 1024 x 768 resolution, 512MB RAM and 4GB on board memory and a Micro SD card slot that supports up to 32GB cards. The tablet has three speakers which automatically adjust based on how you hold it to deliver stereo sound.

The Vizio Tablet has one thing you might not expect to find in a tablet these days, an IR port like you normally find on the end of your TV remote control. The IR port teams up with the included universal remote ap to let you control almost any device in your home theater.

Users will have access to the Android Market and to Vizio Internet Apps Plus, which is similar to the apps found on your HDTV.

Vizio Android Tablet display

While many consumers want an iPad, the price is still out of reach for many users who want it as a companion device. Vizio has the potential to answer the call for a cheaper tablet if the finished product delivers a usable experience.  Unlike the Nook Color, which must be hacked to act like a full tablet, the Vizio Tablet is a full fledged tablet, even with a phone OS. Users will be able to watch video, surf the web, check email, read ebooks and much more on the 8″ tablet.

Vizio Android Tablet Accessory Bundle

Vizio Android Tablet Accessory Bundle Comes with a Stylus and Case.

You can find the Vizio Tablet for $299 at Sam’s Club, Walmart, Costco, Amazon and other retailers. Currently the tablet is $329 direct from Vizio. You can also purchase a bundle with a case and a stylus for $369.

14 Comments

14 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    08/09/2011 at 2:58 pm

    Very nice article

    • Siberia57

      08/13/2011 at 5:00 pm

      Sounds great… until one ads in the bids you made on items you did not win. All bids are lost, gone, fini, win or lose, you don’t get that money back. So for every item you’ve won, how many bids did you place on items you didn’t win?

    • EPersona

      09/02/2011 at 2:08 am

      Keep ad’s off of chat boards etc. Penny auctions stink for everyone except the site owners!

  2. Whoodatis

    08/09/2011 at 3:04 pm

    Yet another tablet that won’t sell and the ones that do will be Craigslist fodder after a few weeks of use…

  3. David L. Parsons

    08/10/2011 at 4:29 am

    Disagree. Many people are looking to join the tablet craze, and this is the perfect way to do it. If it changes screens fast, and generally acts as fast as an iPad, then it will sell. Remember, it’s a ‘media’ tablet, not an office worker or anything else. But it might work as a portable office if it accepts Open Office. I own an iPad 1, and love it, except for the non-flash support. Used iPad1s on eBay and Gazelle.com are going for right around $350, so if you desire an iPad, it is within reach. I’m going to check this out at my local WallyWorld. If it meets my standards, it’s going home with me…

    • Siberia57

      08/13/2011 at 5:04 pm

      Agreed, I want something which boots up faster than my notebook, I can synch with Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft OneNote, read books, maybe type a letter on. Power computing, that’s what I have my computer for.

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