First 7-Inch Android Honeycomb Tablet Expected from ViewSonic

Big screen Android tablets with Honeycomb 3.0 were all the rage, while smaller tablets were stuck with older smartphone versions of the OS–until now. The first 7-inch tablet featuring Honeycomb is set to arrive later this month from ViewSonic, and it will be dubbed the ViewPad 7x, according to a Pocket-Lint report.

Because Google rushed Android 3.0 to the market to counter the popularity of the Apple iPad, the company was unable to optimize the OS for different-sized tablets fast enough. This meant that you could get Android 3.0 Honeycomb on 10-inch tablets such as the Motorola Xoom, but not on 7-inch tablets such as the HTC Flyer.

Now it seems that ViewSonic will be the first to get on the market a 7-inch Honeycomb tablet at the end of May, if Pocket-Lint‘s sources are accurate. The tablet will be called the ViewPad 7x, and will reportedly be sold alongside the ViewPad 7 (not as a replacement). Pricing and exact availability are unknown for the ViewPad 7x.

While the details on the ViewPad 7x are sketchy, we do know a bit more about the version without the X in the tail, which runs Android 2.2. It runs on a 600MHz processor and has 512MB of RAM and 512MB of on-board storage (expandable to 32GB via microSD card). The 7-inch screen has 800 by 480 pixel resolution, and the tablet also features 3G antennas along Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Our PCWorld reviewer was not very impressed with the original ViewPad 7, citing a mediocre display, sluggishness, poor battery life, and bulky design as its main flaws. The original ViewPad 7 sells for around $400.

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