back to article Viewsonic 22in Android 'tablet' hands-on review

There was birthday cake aplenty at Viewsonic’s 25th anniversary event in London today that also saw the introduction of three new products covering an innovative range of display options. Viewsonic VSD220 Smart Display Viewsonic's VSD220 Smart Display: 22in fondleslab, anyone? The main attraction was the VSD220 Smart …

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  1. Lord Voldemortgage

    Smart blackboard

    I want something like that smart display but with an e-ink screen with pen and voice input and in a thin, flexible, magnetic-backed format that I can stick on the front of the fridge.

    Oh, and it needs to be solar-powered.

    So this is a step in the right direction but there's a way to go, Viewsonic.

    1. N13L5

      hey, you didn't say if I can also use it as a regular display...

      Would be nice to know, yes or no...

      Can I alternatively hook this up to a DVI output on my PC as well?

      sort of like my Alienware notebook has HDMI output as well as input...?

  2. EddieD

    Good to see.

    I've always liked viewsonic - my 5 or more year old 20" panel has performed impeccably since I got it.

    Nice to see they're trying out new ideas.

  3. Richard Wharram

    It's a monitor.

    With Android.

    And a battery.

    I can't yet think of a use for it...

    1. Bill Neal
      Trollface

      Re: It's a monitor.

      Angry Birds

    2. Gerard Krupa

      Re: It's a monitor.

      There's no indication of it having a battery in this article. Where are you sourcing that information?

      1. illiad

        Re: It's a monitor.

        erm , surely the spec for a 'tablet' is portability and independence of external power sources????

    3. Troy Peterson
      Go

      Re: It's a monitor.

      Nor can I, but I want one.

      I like this idea... And I like the price. I already have 2 android tablets... I keep one handy in a dock beside my sofa for the random IMDB and Wikipedia lookups when the fancy strikes me.... I'd also like to have one at my bedside... I can see myself sitting on the sofa, watching tv, and surfing the web with this on my lap.... an actual laptop surface style computer... I think it's a freakin' awesome idea.

      Cheers,

      Troy.

      1. Rob
        Thumb Up

        Re: It's a monitor.

        I can see this device attached to the wall in my kitchen for media consumption while cooking or easy look up of all my digitised recipes. Would be also nice to leave it on a screen with a large calendar so the family can see what's going on at a passing glance. Like it, want it, hit me with the price?

    4. GeorgeTuk
      Flame

      Re: It's a monitor.

      Oh well if you can't find a use they should just stop really, in fact Viewsonic should just stop researching stuff. Now.

      Just for kicks:

      1) Use as a marketing board as part of a display stand

      2) Or in a museum with interactive content.

      3) In a boardroom/meeting room setup.

  4. Pete 2 Silver badge

    So, basically ...

    > We believe the future will be display plus cloud"

    ... we're back to a thin client, for about the third time. Though this time it really is _thin_

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I don't understand the desire for smart screens. I have monitors here that are from 1 to 10+ years old (yes, dirty little 15" TFTs that cost £200 a pop new) - but they all still do their job fine.

    Give it 2 years and these smart screens will no longer be smart screens and just used as bog standard screens because their software is way too out of date because their hardware can't support the latest Android 6.0 or whatever.

    IMO a screen should be just that, a screen that displays what is given to it - that way it can last until it's either too small or eventually breaks down. My 15" TFTs are on what would otherwise be headless servers.

    1. ThomH

      I think it's just a small step beyond the normal connected TV concept. Instead of getting just YouTube, iPlayer and whatever else the manufacturer signed up and included you get Android as the standard base on which to install any media access software you want — whether the media is the traditional video and audio or something like your word processor in the cloud.

      Or if you prefer it's like any TV with a browser but plus whatever the same advantages phones get from supporting apps as well as just the browser.

      1. Lamont Cranston

        @ThomH

        Aye, slap a TV tuner (Freeview HD+, please) in there, and I might want one. Actually, if I has HDMI, I suppose I could just plug in any old PVR, but that's not as tidy.

  6. John H Woods Silver badge

    Operation required...

    ... to surgically replace my fingertips with non-greasy capacitative prosthetics. I can't be the only person who has to swipe and wipe?

    Non-surgical alternative suggestions welcomed

    1. Gerard Krupa

      Re: Operation required...

      There are plenty of gloves available that work with a capacitative screen.

    2. illiad

      Re: Operation required...

      can you say oleophoboic??? :D

      http://www.aculon.com/oleophobic-coatings.php

  7. Hairy Spod

    on a wall with reciepe widget on one side and with a tv widget and/or twitter/facebook/news feeds on the other side of the screen this could make up part of one very cool kitchen...

    1. frank ly

      Frozen meal packaging tells you the instructions and heating times for various powers of microwave oven. I can't think what other information you'd need in a kitchen or why you'd want to spend much time there.

      1. Martin Huizing
        Thumb Up

        Ever since I installed an iPad holder in the kitchen...

        ...my wifes cooking has improved exponentially!

        She's not using it for recipes, mind you... but for her tv shows.

        Me: "Honey, is dinner ready?"

        she: "I'm almost done..."

        then she whispers: "with this episode."

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    22" tablet

    Presumably the 22" phone will follow?

  9. Richard Scratcher
    Coat

    I find the idea of a 22" tablet a little hard to swallow.

  10. Dropper

    Tablets eh?

    I think like most tablets, if you were to have a small box, maybe large enough to hold some sort of writeable media, maybe with some sort of expansion cability, say for a 3D graphics accelerator and maybe even some sort of socket for an upgradeable processor and a few more for memory expansion, then put the monitor.. err I mean tablet.. on a stand, throw in a keyboard and mouse.. and perhaps you'll have something worth calling a computer. Rather than a toy with an Apple/Google logo you can use to make fart noises or play Commodore 64 games.

  11. Sir Runcible Spoon

    Sir

    I like the resolution of that monitor, price wasn't bad either.

    Regarding the 'more business oriented projectors' - why is this one called a 'Pro' then?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    it makes sense

    as it's cheaper to build a 22 android screen, than pay to have your name advertised in all the IT-sque media across the whole wide world web.

  13. sparx104

    Or...

    Personally, I just use one of these http://www.rikomagic.co.uk/ and a 23inch TV.

    They're right though - you can do a lot of day-to-day tasks with just Android. Now, where's my Android port for old knackered PCs...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: where's my Android port for old knackered PCs.

      http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/

  14. This post has been deleted by its author

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Trollface

    Perfect for air travel

    This is perfect for air travel - hear me out!

    I've noticed on my recent flights what appears to be a pattern:

    * The folks with Android tablets usually have them down in their laps or on the tray table.

    * The folks with iPads tend to hold them up where everybody can see them, as if to say "PH333R MY E-PENIS, FOR I HAVE AN APPLE PRODUCT!"

    So, when one of those people starts waving their iFruitOfTheLoom surrogate around, you whip out your 22 inch (snicker) and proceed to administer a bit of Freudian smackdown.

  16. Dazed and Confused

    Pity

    The smart jobby is in HD (highly dull) res, too small to make a useful monitor. Could be useful for the odd bit of browsing when you can't be arsed to boot the PC (but SSDs make a big difference there).

    The new monitors sound interesting, finally reasonably priced monitors heading in the right direction instead of the dumbing down thats been so common over the last year or so.

  17. tin 2
    Thumb Up

    want

    cracking idea, i'll take 30 of em immediately - if you put a sim slot in it, and it does have a battery.... hmmm.

  18. davtom
    Joke

    Excellent sleeping tablet

    For my four-year-old daughter. If I give her one of these tablets, I'll finally be able to sleep!

  19. Neill Mitchell

    22 inch mirror more like

    That is one super glossy reflective screen they have there. On a phone or tablet they are bad enough, but on a 22 inch device? The 4th picture says it all.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    That projector sounds revolutionary

    Certainly has my interest, I've been looking at Epson and BenQ but this stands out for the 'no-lamp' feature. Should be cheaper to run, cooler, quieter and longer lasting-lasting. Quite possibly a TV substitute. Hope The Register reviews it soon.

    1. Matt_payne666

      Re: That projector sounds revolutionary

      have a look at the casio projectors, lower res but similar tech - lasers and led's - bright, crisp and no cool down time... weve been using them in the office and for mobile training suites for a few years...

  21. Steve Barker
    Unhappy

    Microsoft Tax

    I was thinking that I might have a use for this machine. Alas, ViewSonic has a licensing agreement with Microsoft over patents Microsoft has not dared tackle Google directly in the courts over, but prefers to extort dosh for, like mobsters running a protection racket.

    I stopped buying Microsoft products with DOS 6 upgrard, an Alpha product that Microsoft would not admit there were issues with. So ViewSonic this is a No from me.

  22. Tom 13
    FAIL

    "We believe the future will be..."

    I hate it when executives come out with these blanket statements. It's part of what is wrong with the tech industry right now. Everybody is trying to put the whole market in their little monopoly corner. What fired the tech industry in its golden age was that it was whatever the USER wanted it to be, not what some marketing dweeb thought gave them the best shot at monopolizing the market.

    It seems to me there is a place for tablets, a place for PCs, a place for desktops, and yes, even a place for pure media consumption devices. And as the great architect once said, "form follows function" so the size, shape, OS, and interface needs of each device can and should change to maximize the function of the device.

    Don't get me wrong. It looks like an interesting device. Not one I'm likely to buy, but interesting and I can see where it would be good for some people. And there's nothing wrong with them saying exactly that.

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Dead on arrival

    Android 4.0.4..... Where is Jellybean? More Android fragmentation........

    1. Lamont Cranston

      Opera is the best browser!

      Oh, sorry, wrong generic comment.

      iPhone users are all sheep!

      No, that's not right either...

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