ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro review

Dual-boot Android 2.2 and Windows 7 on a slate tablet sounds clever, but does it work?

ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro
This 10.1-inch tablet runs an Android OS designed for smartphones

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ViewSonic viewpad 10pro

Judging the ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro screen is a bit challenging because, in a side-by-side comparison, there's no way to pull up the same Android interface on another 10-inch tablet.

We had to compare the Android 2.2 virtual window on the ViewPad 10Pro to the Android 3.1 operating system on other tablets.

Still, the ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro screen isn't that amazing.

ViewSonic viewpad 10pro

Its 500:1 contrast ratio is partly to blame, but the real culprit is the screen technology. We're used to seeing AMOLED screens and IPS technology that makes a tablet viewable from almost any angle, in a bright and colourful resolution. The 10Pro uses older LCD technology and runs at just 200cd/m2. At an angle, you can barely see the icons.

Movies looked washed out – we tested several HD films including a 1080p rip of the movie Priest, and the screen was so dark that we could barely see that there was anyone on the screen.

In a side-by-side playback with the same movie running on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, there was no comparison. The ViewSonic ViewPad 10Pro playback was too dark, with a poor refresh rate.

John Brandon
Contributor

John Brandon has covered gadgets and cars for the past 12 years having published over 12,000 articles and tested nearly 8,000 products. He's nothing if not prolific. Before starting his writing career, he led an Information Design practice at a large consumer electronics retailer in the US. His hobbies include deep sea exploration, complaining about the weather, and engineering a vast multiverse conspiracy.