Vizio Tablet: Mixes high and low-end features, but can it compete? [Video]

Vizio, the Irvine-based consumer electronics company, made a name for itself by selling its own line of high-definition TVs that offered a level of quality above its lower-end price range.

And at not yet quite a decade old, Vizio is not just about TVs, but also headphones, Blu-ray players, soundbars and surround sound speaker systems.

Its biggest gamble yet, however, might be its entry into the tablet market with its not too creatively named Vizio Tablet.

Like most Vizio products, the Vizio Tablet is an attempt to mix and match high-end and low-end features at a reasonable price that might attract shoppers on Amazon.com and in Wal-Mart, Target, Sam's Club and Costco stores. That also means there is a variance in price for the Vizio Tablet, which can sell for about $250 to about $300 depending on where you buy it.

So, how does this 8-inch-screen tablet, featuring 2 gigabytes of built-in storage and a single-core processor, stack up against what else is out there (and what's on the way) in the tablet world? Take a look at the video below to find out...

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

twitter.com/nateog

Photo: The Vizio Tablet. Credit: Armand Emamdjomeh / Los Angeles Times

Vizio's 8-inch Android tablet in some stores now, $299.99

Vizio, based in Irvine, is hoping to do with tablets what its done with TVs -- become a market leader by selling millions of lower-priced units with higher-end features.

But, in typical Vizio fashion, the company is taking an unorthodox approach to just about everything, including the release of the $299.99 Vizio Tablet.

For example, there's no solid release date. Some stores already have the tablet, others have yet to get them.

But the tablets should be available in just about all Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and Costco stores by the end of the week, said Jim Noyd, a Vizio spokesman. Amazon.com is selling the lower-price tablet as well.

The new Vizio Tablet features an 8-inch touchscreen with a 1024 x 768 resolution, Wi-fi only Internet connectivity, a front facing camera (but no rear-facing camera), an HDMI port, a MicroUSB port and 2 gigabytes of memory (expandable up to 32 gigabytes with a MicroSD card). The device runs on a modified version of Google's Android Gingerbread mobile OS, which was designed for smart phones but is still being used on many competing tablets.

Noyd said Vizio is working on adapting Android Honeycomb, Google's OS built specifically for tablets, to the Vizio Tablet. Once that is ready, he said, the company will update tablets in an over-the-air download.

Of course, the Vizio Tablet runs Android apps as well as Vizio's TV apps (which it calls Vizio Internet Apps Plus), which run on Vizio's newer Internet-connect TVs and its tablet in a feature that allows video programming or apps to be shared and moved between TV sets and the handheld.

The Vizio Tablet can also be used as a universal remote controller for Vizio TVs, Blu-ray players and other home electronics, even many of those made by other manufacturers, with a built-in infrared receiver, Noyd said. That addition, not found on many (if any) other tablets makes a lot of sense as Vizio makes TVs, remotes, speakers and just about anything else used for living-room entertainment.

So, does Vizio make as solid of a tablet as it does a TV set? We've yet to get our hands on one, but as soon as we do, we'll post our impressions here on the Technology blog. Stay tuned.

[Correction 10:02 a.m.: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the Vizio Tablet should hit all the stores planning on selling it by the end of the month. The Vizio Tablet will arrive in stores by the end of this week.]

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-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles
Twitter.com/nateog

Image: The Vizio Tablet. Credit: Vizio

Vizio grabs top spot in LCD TV market in U.S.; Samsung still No. 1 overall [Corrected]

Vizio knocked Samsung out of the No. 1 spot for LCD television shipments in the U.S. in the third quarter, but Samsung retained its top position for overall flat-panel TV shipments, according to the research firm ISuppli Corp.

For the three-month period ended Sept. 30, Vizio shipped 1.6 million LCD TVs to retailers, up 14.9% from the 1.4 million in the second quarter, ISuppli said.

The increase was enough to propel the Irvine-company to a 19.9% share of the American LCD TV market, passing Samsung as the leader.

Samsung's shipments of LCD TVs during the third quarter dropped 1.5% to 1.4 million units, leaving it with it a 17.7% share, ISuppli said.

The South Korean tech giant's small production of plasma TVs helped it hold on to its first-place overall spot for flat-panel TV shipments in the U.S. in the third quarter. The overall category consists of both LCD and plasma sets.

Samsung shipped 1.82 million flat-panel sets in the third quarter, up 0.2% from 1.81 million in the second quarter, earning Samsung a 19.3% share of overall shipments, ISuppli said.

Vizio -- which doesn't make plasma TVs -- came in second for overall U.S. TV shipments during the same period.

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Correction: The previous version of this post said incorrectly that Vizio was based in Costa Mesa. Vizio is based in Irvine.

Photo: Vizio XVT553SV 55-inch television. Credit: Vizio Inc.