7 inch iPad look Android tablet

Just to prove that VIA Wondermedia tablets are making their way into Australia I thought I'd point out this Aped Iped which has found itself for sale on eBay Australia. The seller is in Western Australia. I hope it's not due to lack of satisfaction that this "hardly used" tablet being sold. It features the VIA WM8505 chip, 1GB flash storage, 1.3 megapixel camera and supports microSD for more memory.

Look what's in the Gumtree

For two hundred smackers you can pick up a 7 inch Android tablet on Gumtree that is based on the VIA Wondermedia WM8505 ARM 9 chip. It is running an older version of Android, v1.6 and it only has 2GB of onboard flash storage, but what would you expect for $200? The size would make it nice and comfy for surfing the web, social networking and light email when you're on the couch, or ... since it has 2 USB ports you could easily plug in a USB wireless modem and use it for access to the web on the train or whilst studying in a library. It says it has 4 hours battery life which is not bad. Check it out here.

Compal ODM ARM plans

VIA has worked with Compal in the past, supplying processors and chips for ODM netbook and notebooks. DigitTimes has revealed that Compal hopes to bounce back from a loss in 2010 by supplying ARM-based ODM tablets PCs. If the business and project managers at VIA, and/or their subsidiary WonderMedia, are working hard then this could involve VIA ... 'tis all I'm saying!

Android set for big gains with tablets in 2011

CIO Australia has written up quotes from some of the big analysts about Android's predicated rise in popularity in 2011. The catalyst is affordable tablets, much like those made possible by VIA's WonderMedia chip, as well as mobile phones.

"Android is growing as a distributive force against Apple,” Telsyte research director, Foad Fadaghi, said in a statement. “The quality of the platform is improving and gaining significant traction in the developer community.”"

Source: CIO Australia

More on the Nano X2

Lilputing seems to have stopped in at the Lunch @ Piero's event in Vegas over the weekend. The picture above, which is featured on their website, is of the new Nano X2, which they note in pin-compatible with the current Nano. They note, however, that the dual core Nano X2 is most likely to find its way into systems in China and other SEA countries, since they could only think of three recent examples of consumer targetted systems in the US to feature VIA processors. It's much the same case here in Australia, but with more and more people buying systems direct from China, we might find more VIA Nano and Nano X2 making their way to Australia.

VIA's displays "during" CES include Android tablets

For many years now, VIA has chosen to run it's own event in Las Vegas when the Consumer Electronics Shows (CES) is being held, but not actually as a company on display at CES. The event is called Lunch @ Piero's and it's in that restaurant that you'll find VIA's whares on display.

In 2011 the focus is on the new Nano X2 processor, Android tablets featuring WonderMedia chips, and the VIA Labs USB 3.0 platform.

VIA has shown the WonderMedia Prizm platform devices at the Lunch @ Piero's event for two years already, but in the past they were smartbooks ... remember that segment that never really took off? Now they're focusing on a design, the tablet, that has already gained wide acceptance.

More info here.