Tablet options are set to grow with the January 2011 launch from ViewSonic of a new competitor for the iPad and Samsung Galaxy, the ViewPad.

The new ViewPad tablet comes in two versions, with a 7” or a 10” screen. The ViewPad 7 ($A699) is Android only, providing all the functions of a smartphone with a bigger screen, while the ViewPad 10 ($A799) is able to run Windows 7 in tandem with the Google Android 1.6 operating system.

The 10” screen of the ViewPad 7 provides a more effective platform to handle PC applications, although the smaller ViewPad 7 boasts support for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF documents with a package called Documents-to-Go.

The ViewPad 7 runs Android 2.2 and includes dual webcams, microSD and Bluetooth. The device can receive spoken commands through voice recognition.