Intel’s ‘Oak Trail’ chipset on ViewPad 10pro
We see Intel's latest chipset for tablets on Viewsonic's new device
Tablets may be the next big thing for consumer electronics right now, but business and education sectors could also benefit from these lightweight and compact devices. With that in mind, and remembering the corporate sector’s love of Windows, Viewsonic has come up with this dual-boot tablet running both Windows 7 and Android.
Inside the fairly business-like black exterior, the ViewPad 10pro uses the brand new Intel Oak Trail platform. This is the first time we’ve seen it in action, combining a Lincroft core CPU, in this case a Z670 1.5GHz Atom chip, with the Whitney Point chipset.
The latter supports 1080p full HD video acceleration, thanks to a 400MHz GPU. This drives the tablets HDMI video output, but there’s also a mini-VGA output for business users wanting to connect the tablet to older display devices, such as installed projectors.
Previously, Atom-based devices were limited to version 1.6 of Android. This has now been updated, so the ViewPad 10pro can switch from Windows 7 to Android 2.2 – with further update promised as they become available.
The dual operating systems could be very useful for those who need to run Windows-specific software, but also want the ease-of-use of a proper mobile operating system. You can boot into either on start-up, or boot into Windows and switch back-and-forth to Android on the fly. Though this wasn’t working smoothly on a preproduction unit for our demo.
The 10.1in capacitative touchscreen has a 1,024×600 resolution, the same as most netbook displays. It’s sufficient for basic tasks in Windows, and feels generous under Android. There’s 2GB of RAM to keep everything ticking along nicely, plus 32GB of internal storage, though we’s imagine you’ll also want a microSD card, as most of that will get eaten by your Windows installation.
With Gartner research claiming that 80% of businesses will be using tablets by 2013, it seems that the ViewPad 10pro may have something to offer. 3G and WiFi versions will be available, starting from an estimated £460 inc VAT.
