Today in TechCES: Hands-on with Vizio’s Via Tablet, smartphone
Seems like everyone's jumping onto the Android tablet bandwagon at CES, so hey, why not budget TV maker Vizio?
Vizio surprised many a gadget hound — myself included — earlier this week when it announced that it was getting into the mobile business, starting with a pair of Android devices: the Via Tablet and Via Phone.
The reps at Vizio's booth in Las Vegas were initially a bit camera-shy, but I finally persuaded them to take their new mobile wares out of their glass cases for some close-ups.
Let's begin with the Via Tablet, which boasts an impressive 8-inch display, a 1GHz single-core processor, a microSD memory expansion slot, a front-facing camera for video chat, and an IR emitter for taking command of your HDTV.
The Via Tablet's main interface is a slick custom skin dubbed Via Plus, the same Net-enabled interface you'll find on Vizio's upcoming (and Google TV-packing) HDTVs. Vizio execs explain that they're shooting for a "unified" experience across their various mobile and display devices. Fair enough.
OK, so what version of Android are we talking? Android 2.2 Froyo? Gingerbread? Honeycomb? That's still up in the air, Vizio reps said. They also asked that we not delve too far into the Via Tablet's menus, as third-party content agreements were still being hammered out.
More interesting was word of a couple of the Via Tablet's slated accessories: an ATSC tuner dongle for over-the-air DTV channels — nice — and a dock for wirelessly streaming uncompressed HDTV video to your TV.
Meanwhile, we've also got the 4-inch Via Phone, which also comes with a 1GHz processor as well as dual cameras: 1MP in front for video chat, and 5MP in the rear, capable of HD video capture.
As with the Via Tablet, the exact version of Android that the Vizio smartphone will get has yet to be determined. The handset will also get the IR emitter for controlling a TV, while both devices will come with HDMI video outputs.
Release dates for the Via Tablet and Phone? In the coming weeks and months, I'm told. No word yet on which carrier will get the Vizio smartphone, although since it's based on GSM cellular technology, we're probably talking either AT&T or T-Mobile.
And what about pricing? Again, no details yet, although a rep promised: "We're Vizio, so we'll be aggressive."
— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.
