VIZIO has announced a software update for their 8-inch VTAB1008 tablet today which includes improvements to battery life, overall speed, and universal remote compatibility. According to the press release, the update enables faster scrolling and UI gestures and improved graphics performance and comes quickly on the heels of the Hulu Plus announcement.

No, it's still not Honeycomb, but Vizio has just rolled out an update for its 8-inch Tablet that promises quite a few improvements, including better graphics performance, faster UI navigation, and better battery life. Home theater-minded folks will also no doubt be pleased with the updates to the company's Universal Remote Control app, which now boasts support for "up to 95 percent of all CE devices in North America."

The Vizio Tablet has gotten a software update that promises to enhance overall performance. A somewhat laggy interface was a major issue that plagued the otherwise favorable budget-friendly tablet. The update brings the Vizio Internet Apps Plus (VIA Plus) custom interface up to version 1.2, while it continues to run on top of Android 2.3.2 Gingerbread. 

We reviewed the Vizio Tablet back in August and generally liked the 8-inch size and the unique hardware features, including an integrated IR blaster and three speakers for proper stereo sound in both landscape and portrait orientations. Its customized VIA Plus interface completely disguises the Android underneath, but looks pleasing and is intuitive. However, performance benchmarks were a bummer and the interface was noticeably sluggish at times. 

VIZIO’s Breakthrough 8” Tablet Delivers Enhanced Performance for Easier and Faster Access to Your Favorite Entertainment 

 - VIZIO’s new automatic firmware update for VIZIO VTAB1008 Tablets includes feature enhancements that boost performance, UI speed, battery life, universal remote compatibility, and graphics

Irvine, CA — September 6, 2011 — VIZIO, America’s #1 LCD HDTV Company*, announced today a new automatic firmware update for the VIZIO 8” Tablet with Wi-Fi that delivers enhanced performance and feature enhancements that further optimize the VIZIO Internet Apps Plus™ experience.  The update for VIZIO Tablets enables more nimble operation of the UI including faster scrolling and menu navigation (helpful to those with lots of Apps from Android Market™), along with improved graphics performance, battery life and an expanded set of devices that can be controlled from the VIZIO Universal Remote Control App. 

A new 8-inch Tablet manufactured and distributed by VIZIO, the Irvine-based LCD HDTV company, will soon be used with the Hulu Plus subscription entertainment service. Users will have access to a library of TV and film content for $7.99 per month. By using Hulu Plus with the product, they will be able to select and watch a large variety of popular shows on their own schedule. 

VIZIO’s Android-based Tablet hit retailers worldwide at a price of $299. The company is promoting the product’s promise of “entertainment freedom” by giving the WiFi-enabled hardware features such as a three-speaker configuration in landscape or portrait modes, a built-in universal remote app for home theater control and an HDMI port for high-definition playback on the big screen.

Like Netflix and Skype video chat, Hulu Plus is being certified on Android devices one-by-one — presumably out of an abundance of caution that the streaming video can’t be easily recorded — and a total of ten phones are currently on the compatibility list. That makes today’s news that the Vizio 8 is now Hulu Plus-ready particularly interesting, since it’s the very first Android tablet to get Hulu’s seal of approval (albeit a tablet on Android 2.3, not Honeycomb). It also makes this the cheapest way to get Hulu Plus up and running on a tablet-sized display, period, since the Vizio 8 runs $299.

Portable entertainment – that is the name of the game for many hardware manufacturers and software developers these days. Once you have fantastic hardware alongside a stable software platform to deliver digital media to a portable device that can be carried around anywhere, and you’ve got yourself a winner – if the price is also sensitive to what folks are comfortable with, of course. 

VIZIO has released one the first tablets to support Hulu Plus subscription service. The VTAB1008 8-inch Wi-Fi Tablet, powered by Android 2.3, comes equipped with unique features like a three-speaker configuration for enhanced audio in landscape or portrait modes, built in universal remote app for home theater control and a HDMI port for HD playback on the big screen. 

NetFlix is starting to show up all over the place in the world of Android. We’ve also gotten word that Hulu Plus is working with select Android phones.  As far as officially endorsed Android tablets, Hulu Plus is headed to the Vizio tablet first.

Vizio’s 8″ tablet comes with Android 2.3, Gingerbread, instead of Android 3.0 Honeycomb, like the rest of the wave of current Android tablets. The Vizio tablet is a little different though. Of course it’s not the standard 10″ tablet, or the upcoming 7″ tablet. It’s actually more of a square device than a rectangle, but more importantly it integrates as your home remote better than the best “multi purpose” IR Remote controls.  Check out the video below of when we had our first demo of the Vizio tablet.

If you’ve read our comprehensive review of the VIZIO Tablet and you’re still looking for one more reason to make up your mind about purchasing it, here’s one: Hulu Plus. VIZIO has just announced today that its VIZIO 8″ Tablet with WiFi will support Hulu Plus, giving you access to your favorite TV shows and films on the tablet. This announcement makes the VIZIO Tablet the first Android tablet to support the premium version of the video streaming service.