ViewPad 100 Targets Niche Audience
ViewSonic Corp. has just introduced what has to be the mother of all PDAs--the magazine-size ViewPad 100. With a 10-inch LCD screen, the device makes Palms and PocketPCs look like toys.
The ViewPad is actually just a variation on the old idea of the tablet PC or the Web pad, but ViewSonic has taken a fresh approach by focusing the device on PDA functions.
Weighing 2.5 pounds, the $1,240 ViewPad 100 is much more than a Pocket PC or a Palm. It features a slot for PC Cards and a compact flash slot that can hold extra memory or other connectors. Externally, the device can display its wares on an LCD projector, although the device’s display is more than adequate for a small group to view when seated at a conference table. There’s even a carrying sleeve that folds into an easel to make such displays possible.
The screen can be shifted from portrait to landscape mode in a flash. Add a very good handwriting system and a program that will show off Microsoft PowerPoint slides, and you’ve got a tool that loads of deal makers would want to carry.
The biggest advantage--and the biggest drawback--to the ViewPad 100 is that it arrives without a built-in keyboard. This means users must rely on a stylus and either write legibly or use an on-screen keyboard to tap out instructions and other data.
The legibility issue arises when using PhatWare’s CalliGrapher handwriting recognition software, which is pre-installed on the device. CalliGrapher has long been a favorite of mine, and the device uses the latest iteration, version 6.0. It works best recognizing block printing, but it can handle cursive script pretty well. Writing can be done on any part of a screen, with recognition taking place after the software detects no movement for several seconds.
Equally remarkable, in my view, is a lesser-known program called ClearVue Presentation Viewer, made by a Seattle-area firm, Westtek. This program takes Microsoft PowerPoint slides--without modification--and displays them on the ViewPad 100, although slides cannot be edited with this program.
Using the PC Card slot to hold a wireless Ethernet card gave me access to a local-area network. I also could use the network to access the Internet. The display was exceptionally clear.
It contains a contact manager and e-mail client, and battery life is good--the unit is said to run for five hours on the regular lithium-ion battery supplied, and it can go for 10 hours with an optional high-capacity battery.
For $1,200, you could easily buy a full notebook computer or several PDAs. The question is: Who should buy this device?
It would not be difficult to imagine the ViewPad 100 in the hands of an executive who wants to make presentations and not fool with too much else on a device. It could be useful in field sales and inventory situations as well.
ViewSonic realizes this is a product aimed at a niche market. That being the case, the ViewPad 100 might serve that niche rather well.
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Mark A. Kellner is a freelance technology writer and hosts “Mark Kellner on Computers” at https://www.adrenalineradio.com from 5 to 6p.m. Thursdays. He can be reached at mark@kellner2000.com.
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The Skinny
ViewSonic ViewPad 100
https://www.viewsonic.com
* Price: $1,240
* Memory: 128 MB of RAM
* Display: SVGA, 10-inch TFT LCD display
* Features: CompactFlash and PC Card slots, five-hour lithium-ion battery
* The good: Excellent display, PowerPoint viewer, external video
* The bad: Lack of keyboard makes it a bit clumsy for writing e-mail messages and entering addresses
* Bottom line: Great for people who make presentations; useful for field salespeople and other road warriors
