Vizio 8 Android Tablet Unboxing

By Nicole Scott
31 Aug, 2011 5:00 am

The Vizio tablet won’t be winning any design awards for its blazing fast hardware but for the price its got a few features that make it a tablet to consider. This 8 inch tablet is running a 1GHz Marvell Armada 600 Series single-core processor, along with 512MB of RAM and a measly 2GB of storage. This is not a lot of space but it does come with a micro SD card slot which can be expanded up to 32GB. The cost of 32GB micro SD is around $50, so the total cost of the Vizio Tablet plus the card is still up to $200 less than your average 32GB tablet. Additionally, transferring data to and from the tablet is easy thanks to its micro-USB port. A micro-USB cable is included in the box and is also used for charging the tablet. Other connectivity options include Bluetooth, WiFi, and a micro-HDMI port that supports 1080p full HD video-out and is HDCP compliant.

The tablet measures 6.6” x 8.1” and is about 0.48” thick, weighing 1.2lbs. The edges are slightly tapered and angled such that the tablet appears thinner than it really is. Hence, it also feels heavier than it appears but its build quality feels solid. Its 8-inch capacitive touchscreen LCD display has the same 1024 x 768 resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio as the Apple iPad 2, but on a smaller screen and its not an IPS panel so the viewing angles aren’t as good on two of the four sides.

We haven’t had a chance to demo the universal remote application, which is meant to be one of the great features of this tablet is the integrated IR blaster which means that you can turn it into a giant universal remote capable of controlling up to 95% of your home theater devices. Different profiles can be set up for each room to control the various entertainment devices throughout your home. If you’ve been wanting a universal remote and they cost on average $150 with some of the more sleek ones costing exactly as much as the Vizio tablet. If you’re looking to pick up the Vizio 8, its available on Amazon for $289.