There are two schools of thought when it comes to what size a tablet should be. Some say that Apple, with the 9.7 inch iPad and iPad 2, have found the ideal size and shape of a device to propel us into a “post PC” era, while the other side says that Samsung, with the 7 inch Galaxy Tab, have achieved absolute perfection. Now there’s Vizio, who for lack of a better phrase is throwing a monkey into this heated cock fight, by shipping an 8 inch tablet later this month. Aptly named the “Vizio Tablet”, you can preorder it straight from Vizio for $380 or fork up an extra $20 and get a 16 GB memory card along with a protective case that’s just about the biggest ripoff of Apple’s Smart Cover for the iPad that we’ve ever seen. Specification wise you’re looking at a 1 GHz single core processor paired up with 512 MB of RAM, 1024 x 768 resolution screen, front facing video camera, WiFi b/g/n, GPS, Bluetooth, HDMI port, USB port, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It runs Android 2.3 by the way, so forget about all those fancy new Honeycomb apps, you’re not getting them.
While we’ve yet to see one of these things in the wild, they don’t exactly inspire confidence. Vizio is a company that makes money by using the lowest grade components available on the market and having little to no staff. The few employees they do have are more for handling logistics than actual product design or marketing. For an extra $100 you can get yourself an iPad 2, and that’s not only the best selling tablet on the market, but it’s also got an extra processor core, an OS that’s actually optimized for tablet use, and a rear facing camera should you choose to be one of those weird people who take photos and video by holding a 9.7 inch piece of glass in front of your face.
[Photo above via SlashGear]