Tablet Hands-On Roundup
by Vivek Gowri on January 27, 2011 10:25 AM EST
This one came out of nowhere for me, so I was pretty interested. I had no idea that Panasonic had anything to do with the Android tablet game until I got a text from my best friend telling me to check out their new tablets. When I made my way to the Panasonic booth, I found that they had three new tablets, in 4”, 7”, and 10” sizes. All three are running a stock version of Android 2.2 and have Panasonic’s Viera Connect online video on demand service built in.
Panasonic seems to envision these tablets as television companions that connect to the latest Viera plasma HDTVs, with the press release touting ability to act as a “visual remote control” to operate the TV, or using the tablet as a sub-screen to view sports from different angles. It’s an interesting concept, but the Viera services only work with Viera TVs, so the user base is very limited.
The hardware is no great shakes either - the prototype units that Panasonic showed off on the show floor didn’t wow us on the design side, and the build quality was positively off-putting. We can put the shoddy build down to being early build preproduction units, but the design, with a lot of chrome plastic, a large bezel, and an expanse of silver plastic on the back, left a lot to be desired.
Panasonic wasn’t disclosing the specs of any of the three Vieras, but I had a chance to run Browsermark and SunSpider on them. The results I got from the 7” and 10” were consistent with tablets running 1GHz Cortex A9 processors, so it’s likely that they are running either Tegra 2 or OMAP 4 underhood. We’ve heard rumours that Panasonic chose to go with TI, but Panasonic refused to confirm or deny that. The 4” model had results more in line with A8-based processors, so I’d guess that it’s running OMAP 3, but again, Panasonic wasn’t willing to disclose any of the specs.
Overall though, Panasonic’s Viera line as a whole seems pretty mediocre unless you evaluate them as remotes for the Viera plasma TV line. As blandly designed tablets running Android 2.2 in the era of Honeycomb, they fail to stand out compared to similar tablets from other manufacturers, and I think Panasonic has a fair amount of work to do before the Vieras become compelling products in the tablet space.
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KoolAidMan1 - Thursday, February 3, 2011 - link
You nerds are so fucking retarded and detached from reality.Hilarious, please keep posting.
kraeper - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I can't speak for the rest of the market, but I agree on $500 being too high, and would add that the carrier contracts are the real deal-killers for me. Yes I know they can be purchased without a contract, but they're pricing them to be purchased with one. Thing is, I have a cellphone. All I would want is a tablet with wifi. If I need data access on the tablet while I'm out and about, well, that's why smartphones have hot-spot capabilities. Another 2-year contract, even if it's 'just' a $30/month data plan, is still $720 on top of the tablet cost. Yuck.Sure, plenty of people are too lazy to hotspot, or just figure they'll stick their tablet in their pocket and use it with Skype as their cellphone (lol) but the marketing/pricing on these right now baffles me.
michael2k - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
Actually, at least with the iPad, you get significantly longer battery life and a slightly higer resolution than with the iPod touch for that extra $180.ImSpartacus - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
If you're looking for value, grab a Nook Color. Root that bad boy and enjoy a $250 Android tablet.pandemonium - Friday, January 28, 2011 - link
So, Apple can do it, but no one else can?Cheap and knock-off is highly subjective and showing how little perception you've given to the article or what's within.
Shftup - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I think you guys need to add a new section - Tablets (there is a sub section for every other computing catergory), especially if 2011 is the year of tablets.....lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
So what I want is a tablet with a good IR transmitter..One that can be used to control my home entertainment system. Say browse Netflix on it, then click a button to have my TV load that movie up.. Or with Hulu and all that.. But without having to buy into a brand (like the Panasonic).
With an IR transmitter and GoogleTV it should be easy to implement.
lazn_ - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
I don't have any use for a tablet as a tablet...But a tablet as an interface to other devices, that I could use.
soydeedo - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
You might want to take a look at the Vizio offerings from CES:http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-tablet-ha...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/vizio-phone-han...
They both have IR transmitters and universal remote capabilities.
Jorgisven - Thursday, January 27, 2011 - link
IR Transmitter? That tech is so 90's, a la Palm Pilots. New TV's are coming wifi/internet enabled, as are blu-ray players. It's all over network now. Google TV's have apps for android to control just that. Also, Comcast has an Xfinity App that, provided you're using their HD box, you can do all that - browse on demand listings, change channels, all from an iPad (or Android Phone). It's certainly not brand specific. I have a Dynex TV (cheap Best Buy brand). Getting the XBox App for Android allows Netflix, etc. In fact, Netflix apps are all over.IR is old and slow, and line of sight only, and I wish Nintendo hadn't bought into it. Cloud control is where it's all headed anyway.