Beating the CES rush, Vizio yesterday confirmed that in addition to new HDTVs, it will unveil its first Android tablet and smartphone at the show. The company will also debut a new app platform called VIA Plus, which will run on all of the devices.
New VIA Plus HDTVs will incorporate Google TV with Vizio's own user interface, but it's unclear if existing Vizio HDTVs will be upgraded to VIA Plus with a firmware upgrade. Both the phone and tablet will run Android (the OS versions were not specified), but with a VIA Plus skin so the interface is consistent across devices.
And they'll all be affordable. Though prices are not available for any of the products, a Vizio spokesperson said that the HDTVs, the phone, and the tablet would focus on entertainment integration, low prices, and high value, and would be sold at discount retailers that already sell the company's televisions and home theater products.
The Vizio VIA Tablet, which will be available this summer, features an 8-inch, 1,024-by-768-pixel capacitive touch screen and an accelerometer. Connectivity is limited to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; there's no cellular service. Other specs include 2GB of embedded storage along with a MicroSD slot for expansion, three speakers, an HDMI port, and an IR blaster so you can use the tablet as a remote control for your Vizio HDTV or other IR-controlled home theater devices.
A carrier has yet to be announced, but the VIZIO VIA Phone with 3G and Android OS (also available this summer) is a 4.2-ounce, 4.8-by-2.4-by-0.5 inch slab running a 1GHz processor with a high-resolution 4-inch capacitive touch screen. The phone features two cameras (one front-facing for video chat, and a 5-megapixel still camera with flash on the back), 802.11n, Bluetooth, a GPS radio (for location-based apps), and an IR blaster like the tablet.
Besides Google TV integration, no concrete specs were available for the Via Plus HDTVs. But check back for more details and our hands-on first impressions of all of these new Vizio products at CES later this week.