Creative ZiiO 7

While to our minds, the Creative ZiiO 7-inch is simply a tablet PC, the company is marketing the device as essentially a component within a range of Creative’s wireless video and audio components. In fact, this is really the best selling point for the ZiiO 7-inch as it’s otherwise a fairly average tablet.

Specs on the Creative ZiiO 7-inch are decent enough. The in-house ZiiLABS ZMS-08 microprocessor is installed with 512MB of RAM. The ZiiO 7-inch standard version includes 8 GB of storage, though a 16 GB version is available in the UK. Also among the hardware are stereo speakers, micro SD port, video camera, mini USB and micro USB ports, mini HDMI port and accelerometer. Battery life is good for about five hours with video use.

Then the drawbacks begin. The operating system is just Android 2.1, though an upgrade to 2.2 has been promised. Gmail and Android Market apps are not available, nor does the ZiiO 7-inch have flash support. Most disappointing of all is the lack of 3G connectivity.

While outputting to a secondary video device is a breeze, actually watching videos on the Creative ZiiO 7-inch is a bit of a chore. The resistive touchscreen actually responds well to commands, but dulls video viewing in the extreme; and at 480x800 resolution, high-definition playback basically doesn’t exist on this one.

In short, if you’re a fan of the Creative audio/video line, this is a nice inexpensive addition to enhance your entertainment possibilities. Others – particularly video-first users – can certainly do better for the price.