Chippy has already unboxed and live reviewed the Viewsonic Viewpad 7 [tracking page] and although its not quite the Samsung Galaxy Tab it is a viable and
cheaper alternative.
Well if you’re on an even tighter budget you may want to look at the identically spec’d Linx Commtiva N700 which is a full £100 cheaper than the £400 Viewpad 7. It still comes with the same lowly Qualcomm MSM7227 600 Mhz CPU and 7 inch 800 x 480 resolution capacitive touch display, but it also has Android 2.2, 3G connectivity and the all important access to the Android market.
The reason it looks so much like Viewpad 7?, well it is. Its the same reference design used by Viewsonic on the Viewpad.
If you’re in the UK the N700 is available at Tesco Direct, meaning you can cash those clubcard vouchers for even more discount, the same applies to the Galaxy Tab which they also stock.
Are you the adventurous type? Paul O’Brien has you covered over at MoDaCo with a whole host of various hacks, tips and tricks on the Commtiva N700 / Spice Mi700 / ViewSonic ViewPad 7 / Camangi FM600.
Yes .. this is a great device, I wondered into a phones4u and wondered out with this bargain. It does have some limitations such as no flash support in the native browser, no 720p video, only a 600mhz cpu. But it does have GPS, GSM, micro-sdcard support up to 32gb, nice compact form factor and a free hard cover that even folds into a stand for movie viewing.
After I bought mine I posted up at the modaco.com forum here:
http://android.modaco.com/category/477/commtiva-n700-spice-mi700-viewsonic-viewpad-7-camangi-fm600-n700-modaco-com/
Paul O’Brien the cheif guru over there has even cooked an optimised rom for it :)
Had my Commtiva N700 for 3 weeks now. Bought it as I had tired of waiting for the Advent Vega, and having played with a demo Galaxy Tab I was convinced by the form factor (but not the price!).
Initial disappointment as the first one turned out to be faulty, but the replacement has been fine. Needs a better out of box UI experience, especially if you are used to customised Android front ends such as that on my HTC Legend. Fortunately Launcher Pro solves this, and is a must have as far as I am concerned.
With a £5 a month data SIM from 3 I’ve been really glad of the 3G capability and find the device does fill a definite gap between the convenience of my smartphone and the (relative) power of my netbook.
Good to hear. Thx for feedback on the device. What firmware version do you have?
Android version 2.2
Baseband version PR3_128
Kernel Apps_2.6.32.9
Build 0009_3_161
…not sure which of the above would be defined as firmware version?
Thanks. Good for reference and comparisons with viewpad7