[delphin]

Originally Posted by Noah98

It's a good value to be sure, but there are some things that I don't like about it:

1. Apps can only be installed on the internal memory. You can't move them to the sd card. With only about 2gbs available to the user, that is a problem if you want to play some of the Gameloft games that have huge files that usually default to the sd card.

This has been hashed out over and over, with "definitive" answers both pro and con.

All I can say is that, so far as I know, ALL Android 2.3 devices have the same basic limitations and capabilities in this area, i.e. that they CAN move apps to SD card memory, but ONLY if the app allows it. Fortunately, most 'huge' apps now DO allow it.

Originally Posted by Noah98

2. The viewing angles can be quite bad at times. If you are holding the device in landscape mode, and move it even slightly to the left or right, the image deteriorates. This is the single biggest flaw of the device, and it is surprising given that Vizio is a tv manufacturer.

There are two elements to this, one is the viewing angle of the LCD panel itself, and the other is the backlight system.

Apple has made a big deal out of the IPS LCD panels used in iPads (and some other high end tablets), but the fact is that most LCD's now have quite acceptable viewing angles, but in a tablet device this may not even be the biggest limiting factor.

What becomes a second, and more significant limiting factor is the viewing angle of the LED backlight system. Just like a LED flashlight, the LCD panel's LED backlight can be designed for a wider or narrower beam angle. If you view the panel from the side, beyond the viewing angle, then things will dim way down making the device unusable from that angle. If you look closely you will see that the image has not turned negative, or shifted color (which would be the case if the LCD was at fault) it just lacks brightness when viewed off axis.

This is not about the quality of the LCD panel (IPS or otherwise), it's about power management.

If you are wondering why the backlight angle needs to be restricted, you might want to think about this comparison -

My PC NETBOOK has a 1GHz processor (powerful enough to do nice tricks like playing streaming Adobe Flash videos from the web) and it runs about 5 hours on a charge.

My ANDROID TABLET also has a 1GHz processor (also powerful enough to do nice tricks like playing streaming Adobe Flash videos from the web) and it also runs about 5 hours on a charge.

BUT THE NETBOOKS BATTERY IS RATED AT 48 Watt/Hours, WHILE MY ANDROID TABLET HAS TO GET BY WITH A MUCH MORE COMPACT BATTERY RATED AT ONLY 12 Watt/Hours.

So the tablet has to try to do the same tricks WITH ONLY A FOURTH THE TOTAL BATTERY POWER AVAILABLE. One way that this is accomplished is to use a very efficient LED backlight that doesn't waste power by throwing light all over the place (where you aren't), and instead trys to beam it within a much more controlled angle (where you are).

So tablets are, in general, not as good for off-axis viewing or viewing in direct sun, because tablets are, in general, ALL power-challenged devices.

If you widen the viewing angle, you have to give up something elsewhere. For example, if you widen the viewing angle, the straight-on brightness will suffer, but if you try to get the brightness back by raising the backlight power, then the overall battery runtime will be less.

Originally Posted by Noah98

Still, I'm glad I bought one for my dad (for Christmas). He won't be playing fancy games on it, and the display is good enough for casual use. Also, I think he will enjoy the HDMI out, which works fine.

I agree. I think the Vizio is still very nice for what it can do, and it's a pretty good value (even given some of it's limitations).

One thing I think everyone should understand is that Android is, in general, still a work-in-progress (yes even 4.x). Android started life as this silly little 'smart phone' thing, that is slowly being forced to adapt (kicking and screaming all the way) to the job of being a full general purpose operating system.

Sadly this is still true whether you pay 600 bucks for the latest snooty-tab Android 3.x device, or buy a simple Android 2.3 tablet for 200 dollars or less.

iPads, being conceived as full blown tablet devices right from the start are a little more refined in the operating system department, but even the mighty Jobs couldn't make them violate the laws of physics, so despite their lofty price tags, iPads still look like crap in full sun, just like every other power-challenged tablet device.

Truth be told, if you want less buggy software, a brighter screen, and just generally more bang for your buck, you are much better off with a small 200 dollar Netbook, which will run both Linux and Win7.

. . . but tablets are very cool for some dedicated applications such as for use as an ebook reader - or hand-held media and game console, etc. and I think they are a good value in those applications if you can keep the price reasonable.

Android has the potential to become a really high quality multi-window, multi-tasking operating system for both desktop and tablet devices, pretty much the be-all and end-all O.S. for all devices everywhere, but only when the Goggle geeks who created it grow the hell up and start taking their little creation seriously.

Until then, I can't see paying $500 dollars or more for ANY Android based device.