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I know it may be a strange question, but I've loved Android since the G1 was released and I absolutely don't want to let it go. I guess my question is pretty straightforward, but through your experiences, would you still buy a G Tab?
Currently I have a few Android devices, an HTC EVO and a nook color. I've been toying with the nook and love it so far, but I feel like something is lacking when it really comes down to it. My concern is that something like that G Tab just won't fill that want/need/etc.
Are you happy with the performance? If so, what is it that really draws you to the device? What do you love/hate about it? I suppose I'm seeking real world answers.
It looks like you can fairly regularly find a G Tab for ~$250 USD. It's significantly less than the new kid on the block, the Asus Transformer, and from what I'm reading on their forums, people are struggling with things like technical support, defective units, etc.
I just can't see myself spending the $400 on it, which I feel like leaves me with either staying with the nook color or trying to find a G Tab used for ~$250.
Sorry for being so longwinded, I want to assure I'm making a smart decision and will enjoy my purchase if I decide to make one.
Cheers!
There is a long running topic just like this in the general forum.
Would I buy it again? Sure - if I went back in time, and faced the choices available, and knew what would happen in the following three weeks, you betcha.
It does exactly what I want, cheaply. Yay.
If your concerned with technical support and defective units the Gtab may not be the best device. If you want something cheap to hack around on and dont care about some quirks then its an okay buy
Of course. I get to play around on it alot with different updates, roms, etc. My kids love to play games on it as well. I wouldnt have minded to get the now cheaper price, but Im fine with that.
This is already posted here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1067066
Closing this thread
Yes, I know there's another thread with the same title, more than likely right below this one. I have different questions though and wanted to make sure my thread was seen. Sorry if that upsets you. Anyway...
I've been debating back and forth to get a tablet lately for a variety of reasons. I want something that can be used for school, something my son can enjoy, something for trips, etc, etc. I am no stranger to the Android OS in general, as I have an HTC Inspire 4G running RCMix3D KINGDOM v2.0. So my question isn't so much about the device, but more about my options once I purchase it.
At $250.00 through Amazon.com I would be stupid not to get this tablet over the Archos 101 in my opinion. It's twice the specs at only 20 or 30 more dollars. Anyway, on to my question... Once I get the tablet in hand, what ROM should I use that will be stable and fast, but also give me the most bang for my buck? Side question here is if it's also possible to get HTC Sense working on this device at all?
As well as that, what's this I hear about this device dual booting with Windows 7? I read that it could, then that it couldn't, then that it was another Viewsonic device that could and got confused with the G tab. What's the real deal here? Google has not been my friend on this particular question.
the Gtablet will not run windows. There is another Viewsonic device that does have dual boot, but it's most definitely not this one.
As far as the other questions, I'll let somebody else address them, as I'm pretty much committed to never recommending any viewsonic device to anybody that I may have respect for. I'm in full on boycott mode, here.
TJEvans said:
As far as the other questions, I'll let somebody else address them, as I'm pretty much committed to never recommending any viewsonic device to anybody that I may have respect for. I'm in full on boycott mode, here.
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Care to go into that statement at all? I'd like to hear what happened, specifically if it pertains to the device in question that I'm about to buy.
mindbuRn said:
Care to go into that statement at all? I'd like to hear what happened, specifically if it pertains to the device in question that I'm about to buy.
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Read the thread in the general section entitled "disappointed at Viewsonic." I'll sum it up for you:
gtablet released, people bought it, software sucked, Viewsonic releases a series of updates to improve their horrible firmware. It doesn't matter, becuase people started using exclusively 3rd party roms to make it a useful tablet, not a hunk of junk.
Viewsonic released it's last update in January. It was update 1.1.3588. i bought my Gtablet in March. No joke, the day after I received it in the mail, there was a campaign unleashed to attempt to get Viewsonic ot update their firmware yet again, since it was used for the source for some roms...things needed fixed still, etc.
In April, because of hte pressure, they released an update 1.2.4349. It changed the bootloader of the Gtablet, which is why there are roms made for 2 different bootloaders. Unfortunately, this 4349 update did very little to fix existing issues and caused some others. For instance, Gtablet stock firmware users lost HD video playback, and the ability to change wallpapers.
And then....silence for (let's see, it's July, that was April) 3 months so far. I know that 3 months doesn't sound like much, but the device has only been available for 8 months.
The bigger issue is that the 4349 update was pulled 24 hours after it's release. So, anyone that updated to it had no way of reverting back to 3588, where things worked a bit. they've also been selling them in Woot Tiger Direct and Amazon deals with the broken 4349 firmware preinstalled.
In addition, they outsourced their customer support to a company called US Merchants, a repackager (their name is also on the back of the tablets, too) who really know nothing about technology, or customer support. They even, at one point, pointed tech support questioners to THIS forum to get support.
Now, Notion Ink Adam and Advent vega have identical hardware to the Gtablet. Vega's OS was superior and then ported to the gtablet (VegaNTab). Notion Ink is actually attempting to get Honeycomb to run on their devices, with the help of the 3rd party developer community. What has Viewsonic done for their customer base....that's right, NOTHING.
The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for me was when I had an online chat with Viewsonic technical support. I asked a simple question of "Peggy," "Is Viewsonic intending on updating their firmware, or attempting to request drivers from NVidea so that 3rd party developers can work on accelerated gingerbread and honeycomb roms?"
The answer I received was to call (US Mechants) for technical support, that they handle the Gtablet, now. I asked if anyone at Viewsonic had anything to do with the Gtablet, and they responded that they "Have no informaiton regarding the Gtablet in their resources." To me, that read, Viewsonic no longer develops or supports the Gtablet in any way.
SO...buy it if you will, 3rd party development is wonderful for this thing. even the Froyo Roms are exceptional to work with. I'm running Calkulin/Clemsyn combo, and it's great. The tablet hardware is excellent, the 3rd party development is top rate, but if you ever expect the manufacturer ever give a ****, then I suggest you get an Acer Iconia, Motorola Xoom, or Asus Transformer. I know that Motorola has already updated their OS from 3.0 to 3.1, then 3.2. We've been on 2.2, then, slightly better 2.2, then oh wait, let's break 2.2, then your stuck on broken 2.2.
TJEvans said:
Read the thread in the general section entitled "disappointed at Viewsonic." I'll sum it up for you:...
...then your stuck on broken 2.2.
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First off, shortened the quote because I don't feel people wanna read 8000 lines of the same text. But anyway, I loved your "review" of the product and the background. Basically what I got from it was that it's a great device, with plenty of options that go with it if you are willing, and that manufacturer support absolutely sucks on this device. Kind of sucks too becuase I do like it, but it also makes me not want to give my $250.00 to a company that couldn't give two ****s about the product they sell.
mindbuRn said:
First off, shortened the quote because I don't feel people wanna read 8000 lines of the same text. But anyway, I loved your "review" of the product and the background. Basically what I got from it was that it's a great device, with plenty of options that go with it if you are willing, and that manufacturer support absolutely sucks on this device. Kind of sucks too becuase I do like it, but it also makes me not want to give my $250.00 to a company that couldn't give two ****s about the product they sell.
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I like your nutshell...
Alternatives aren't as bad as you might think. My stepfather bought an iconia a week ago from staples for $299...of course, he used a $100 off coupon they had. Be patient and another deal will be around shortly.
Ok , a co worker is selling a 32G almost new touchpad. I really want to buy this since i missed out on the firesale and he is offering at the same price as he bought it for and also CM devs are working on it and judging by the videos i saw, i see a lot of potential.
Now since you guys are already on it and some of you have installed CM7 on it, i want to know if its a good investment as I intend to use it only with android. I know its still in alpha and developing stage, but is the hardware really worth the investment ?
Or should I hold on for a few more months and then buy something better ?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Well if he's asking for 150 that's a steal people these days are dying for a deal like that
sent from my HTC evolution running a freshly baked gingerbread with the 4gs in it
cesarcerros31 said:
Well if he's asking for 150 that's a steal people these days are dying for a deal like that
sent from my HTC evolution running a freshly baked gingerbread with the 4gs in it
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yeah definitely jump on it.
and then send it to me.
thanks
jk
I've got the alpha loaded on mine, haven't messed with it to much but the major things are working no problem. My opinion, buy it! Great investment. Maybe its the CM7 team being humble or my ignorance but this build looks like it is closer to beta than alpha, my opinion
Edit: As far as the hardware, everything on it is great, except the camera. Its kinda crappy in either OS. The speakers are loud and clear. I had the processor('s) overclocked to 1.5ghz normally but up to 1.7 and it was stable, that was in webOS only, haven't got that far in Android. The one thing I like about the touchpad over other tablets, and it may seem gimicky, but the Touchstone built in inductive charging. I'm not to familiar with other official Android tablets, but the lack of expandable memory on the touchpad kinda stinks, but theres enough cloud services and what not to cover that. The list goes on, overall, theres a lot more positives than negatives on this device. No regrets!
Thanks guys. Really appreciate the honest answers. I actually got my hands on it today and im pretty impressed.
I think i'll buy it and 150 is a steal like you guys pointed out. Cant wait to get on the development forums and start messing around with the CM7.
Thanks guys!
Definitely get it. I bought one during the firesale and had doubts about webOS. Now I love it. I also have a Asus Transformer but I have only used it 2 or 3 times since I got the TP. I basically gave the transformer to my wife. Now I love WebOS. It is definitely more user friendly than honeycomb. I wish there were more apps, but there is still an app for pretty much everything. I hate to see how kill what palm worked so hard for, but that's the only way I would have ever experienced it, because I damn sure wasn't going to pay $600 for a tp.
Definitely get it and just give webOS a try. If you like Android I think you will be impressed with webOS. It has a look and feel like Android with a skin rather than a full separate OS. If someone could make Android apps run on the Touchpad I wouldn't be able to find a single bad thing to say about a TP at all.
Also please don't think I am any sort of palm/hp/webOS fanboy trying to troll. I am truly and Android fan and will always be, webOS has just grabbed more of my attention in the tablet space, for now. That could all change after ICS is released.
Good luck, and definitely get it. Worse case u don't like it and could still sell it for a small profit.
lol when i went to Android i kept trying to swipe up to change apps.
LOL
Hey guys! hope ur all doing well
so i am looking for a nice tablet and i feel for the hp touchpad. The problem is: Its not sold in my country so i have to buy it from Ebay. I am now wondering is 260$ worth buying the HP Touchpad? It will be 300$ including shipping, thats the cheapst i could find on Ebay. I was looking for the motorola Xoom but its very expensive..with shipping it could be 450-500$ for the Xoom. So help me out plz, should i buy it?! never owned a tablet before, and from looking at the reviews, WebOS looks awesome, so smooth and then u'll always have the chooice to put android (i think with ICS it will become even better when the source code is released) what is your thoughts? hit me!
Clay333 said:
Definitely get it. I bought one during the firesale and had doubts about webOS. Now I love it. I also have a Asus Transformer but I have only used it 2 or 3 times since I got the TP. I basically gave the transformer to my wife. Now I love WebOS. It is definitely more user friendly than honeycomb. I wish there were more apps, but there is still an app for pretty much everything. I hate to see how kill what palm worked so hard for, but that's the only way I would have ever experienced it, because I damn sure wasn't going to pay $600 for a tp.
Definitely get it and just give webOS a try. If you like Android I think you will be impressed with webOS. It has a look and feel like Android with a skin rather than a full separate OS. If someone could make Android apps run on the Touchpad I wouldn't be able to find a single bad thing to say about a TP at all.
Also please don't think I am any sort of palm/hp/webOS fanboy trying to troll. I am truly and Android fan and will always be, webOS has just grabbed more of my attention in the tablet space, for now. That could all change after ICS is released.
Good luck, and definitely get it. Worse case u don't like it and could still sell it for a small profit.
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I agree. I like Webos.. Its pretty.. Easy to use.. I like the multitasking concept.. Though I just added perfect task switcher in Android which sorta gives you the same thing though not as good. Android is clunky compared to it.. Because its made for for small screens.. But I still love it and haven't booted webos since cm7 lol...
Sent from my CM7 HP Touchpad
scrizz said:
lol when i went to Android i kept trying to swipe up to change apps.
LOL
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Same here! Still getting used to the onscreen "soft keys" as well
At the fire sale price or close to it, it's a no brainer. Not even worth asking...
Worse comes to worse if you absolutely hate WebOS, you can always sell it and at very least get you money back.
This may seem like a crazy question to ask here and I don't want to offend anyone but not sure where to go for the answer. I want to buy a tablet (First one) and I have it down to two. Acer A200 and Galaxy 10.1. I know of all the uses of each and it seems there is only a few differences that I see.
1. Rear facing camera which is no big deal for me
2. The Acer as far as I can find does not have a way to do video out.
3. The obvious Acer has ICS and I would have to root to get that with the Galaxy and have no experience whatsoever with that and would be very nervous doing it. I do have a Droid Bionic and since the new OTA I'm happy with it and see no reason to root my phone. Not saying with some help that I would be opposed to do it with a tablet. Basically I just need a little guidance on my decision. I'm almost certain that someone on here can give me the best advice. Thank you to all who help and give honest opinions.
as i read your question in a gtab forum, i would suggest you to prefer the gtab 10.1 than the other one for these very old reasons:
-The gtab 10.1 is obviously the winner over the other one on the hardware race and supports.
-You don't have to be a greasemonkey to get to the deepest parts of the gtab, with all the helps from devs team and everyone here.
-Obviously the gtab does have ICS 4.0.3 on the go, and between you and me, my gtab on ICS last 5 days on battery without charging. great thanks to the devs team.
-The most pleasure for someone to have their very own Android devices is to play with it, root it, make it better, powerful and handy, the gtab in my opinion fully support all of those in a very special way.
-Gtab 10.1 well, what to say, on ICS its benchmark is over 3600 in its best condition.
but the last decision is yours, a suggest is only a suggest
You probably don't need to root the gtab for ICS, I am guessing it is very close to getting the update. I would go with the gtab.
I was in a similar position of choice not long ago. as you can tell I went with the tab and have not regretted it for one single second. I love to tinker and tweak a lot & with all the support here the tab was a great choice.
My advice is to buy locally from a place with a 30 day return policy and get them both. Then after you realize the superiority of the tab take the other one back. Really don't try this unless you're positive of the return policies.
Ultimately I suggest the tab if you even like tweaking or tinkering at least a little. If you hate tweaking or tinkering I would suggest a fenced in over priced iPad. lmao
If you can read this it was sent using my GT-P7510.
A big Thank you
Thank you Lonelycount, Helebek and Benzoman. Thats pretty much all I needed was for a couple of people to help me confirm what I thought would be the better choice. It appears that right now on W-mart website I can get a refurb for $349 So I believe I'm gonna take advantage of that price. This way I can always return it to the store. So once again thank you for your replies to my question. Very helpful.
Wise choice brother.
If you can read this it was sent using my GT-P7510.
Well I just decied to replaced my iPad2 with the Asus Prime 2, mostly sold on the attachable keyboard..
But I've noticed a growing number of threads on this forum that suggest that people are desperate to get rid of their units and trade them up to the Prime TF701?
Is.. is it *really* that bad? Have I made a huge mistake buying one? I got it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so Im unsure if I have the same recourse from a shop
It Seems to be in the Manner One calls "BAD"
I am on my second one. First one was bad out of the box. Replaced it & I have only experienced a few of the reported problems. Specifically:
1. All but inoperative GPS -- For what I wanted GPS for, the onboard unit would not have worked adequately any way -- External Bluetooth unit fixed that.
2. Weak WiFi. My biggest complaint. Works, but range is somewhat less than I desire.
3. Somewhat slow data transfer between computer & Transformer -- Liveable, but slower than I desire.
4. Prior to JellyBean, I experienced a "few" spontaneous program shutdowns. I never got ANRs, just restarts of very few apps. None since JB.
I read most of the replies on this forum, and my experience has been overall positive (not OUTSTANDING) with the TF201 when compared to the descriptions (horror stories) of some other users.
If I had to do it over, and knowing what I now know, (I really hate to say this) I would buy an IPad. STOP!! No rock throwing, please. There is only ONE reason I would commit such an act (I LIKE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT APPLE OR ITS PRODUCTS). The only possible reason I would do so, is because of the FOREFLIGHT app (for aviation). There is nothing Android that measures up to it.
Well, there you have it. If your expectations are unrealistically high, you possibly will not be satisfied. If you are willing to overlook some few deficiencies, your experience can be positive.
Hope my ramblings give you some glimmer of hope.
Jerry in Anchorage
muskt said:
I am on my second one. First one was bad out of the box. Replaced it & I have only experienced a few of the reported problems. Specifically:
1. All but inoperative GPS -- For what I wanted GPS for, the onboard unit would not have worked adequately any way -- External Bluetooth unit fixed that.
2. Weak WiFi. My biggest complaint. Works, but range is somewhat less than I desire.
3. Somewhat slow data transfer between computer & Transformer -- Liveable, but slower than I desire.
4. Prior to JellyBean, I experienced a "few" spontaneous program shutdowns. I never got ANRs, just restarts of very few apps. None since JB.
I read most of the replies on this forum, and my experience has been overall positive (not OUTSTANDING) with the TF201 when compared to the descriptions (horror stories) of some other users.
If I had to do it over, and knowing what I now know, (I really hate to say this) I would buy an IPad. STOP!! No rock throwing, please. There is only ONE reason I would commit such an act (I LIKE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT APPLE OR ITS PRODUCTS). The only possible reason I would do so, is because of the FOREFLIGHT app (for aviation). There is nothing Android that measures up to it.
Well, there you have it. If your expectations are unrealistically high, you possibly will not be satisfied. If you are willing to overlook some few deficiencies, your experience can be positive.
Hope my ramblings give you some glimmer of hope.
Jerry in Anchorage
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That sounds pretty bad in fairness...
Given the price of the unit (£400) you would expect it to be fast and.. wifi/gps to work!
Hrmm.. This is problematic. I've not yet actually revived the unit yet so I've got to consider carefully if its worth opening or just sending back closed for a full refund (if I can..)
I will absolutely NOt be trading my Prime for the 700..I will be trading it for the Nexus 10!
Same here...
Mine is going back to amazon for a full refund. Printed the return label and refund barcode late last night. droping the box by ups today.
Ahhh and yes... I'm getting a Nexus 10 too :victory:
slychocobo said:
Well I just decied to replaced my iPad2 with the Asus Prime 2, mostly sold on the attachable keyboard..
But I've noticed a growing number of threads on this forum that suggest that people are desperate to get rid of their units and trade them up to the Prime TF701?
Is.. is it *really* that bad? Have I made a huge mistake buying one? I got it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so Im unsure if I have the same recourse from a shop
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Click to collapse
I don't think you made a mistake. In addition to the attachable keyboard, you've got the much longer battery life, a USB and a full-sized SD slot. On the Prime itself, you have micro HDMI and Micro-SD. You've got some apps that will run in floating, re-sizable windows (Overskreen browser and Stick-IT media player). You can install widgets. You can mount the entire filesystem when connecting to a PC without installing some silly program. You've got multiple sources for getting apps and less expensively than the fruit-flavored alternative. On top of all this, the Prime has a more robust processor than the iPad2.
No, you didn't make a mistake.
There are a small number of specific apps where the iPad is clearly the better choice. These tend to be nichey.
You're going to love your Prime. Mine's great.
Hey op, since you've had a ipad 2 before and know how it performs, I think you'll know very soon if you have made a mistake or not.
htcplussony said:
Hey op, since you've had a ipad 2 before and know how it performs, I think you'll know very soon if you have made a mistake or not.
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Well thats.. Vague?
Care to eloberate.
Found someone to buy my Prime tomorrow, enough to trade for a Nexus 10.
slychocobo said:
Well I just decied to replaced my iPad2 with the Asus Prime 2, mostly sold on the attachable keyboard..
But I've noticed a growing number of threads on this forum that suggest that people are desperate to get rid of their units and trade them up to the Prime TF701?
Is.. is it *really* that bad? Have I made a huge mistake buying one? I got it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so Im unsure if I have the same recourse from a shop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you sound like a troll with this question. However since I made the leap from Ipad 2 to tf201 I will say you need balls of steel to buy a transformer prime. If you cant tell by looking at the *****ing going on here, there are problems that Ipad users will not appreciate. If you want a project to occupy you time and mind get a prime. if you dont know what fastboot means steer clear.
whycali said:
you sound like a troll with this question. However since I made the leap from Ipad 2 to tf201 I will say you need balls of steel to buy a transformer prime. If you cant tell by looking at the *****ing going on here, there are problems that Ipad users will not appreciate. If you want a project to occupy you time and mind get a prime. if you dont know what fastboot means steer clear.
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I assure you that's not my intention at all. Personally Im quite a fan of the Android OS (Most of my phones have been android, and Im rocking a Galaxy Note with PA right now and its fantastic)
As for things like Fastboot I've not really used it for quite a while (Since I had a Nexus 1, great phone But are you saying that most of the issues can be migrated with rooting/3rd party ROM's?
If that's the case then I'm comfortable enough going down that root but given that most of the *****ing here seems to be hardware related issues (I've read things about the Wifi/GPS don't work, apparently because of the casing..?) And things like slow I/O I'm somewhat confused about how re-flashed ROM (Although I've seen things that Jellybean also can make marked improvements in both stability and speed, but then you lose flash apparently?!)
There seems to be a lot of conflicting information floating about, and I appropriated that by the nature of forums that people are going to post to help with faults rather than "My phone is great!... Carry on!"..
Im just trying to build a balanced picture in my mind so if I should "take the risk"
Well it looks like my Tablet isn't going to arrive today so I guess I have the weekend to mull over it.
Still torn between if I should accept the device and run with it, or send it it back and hold out for the Nexus 10 (And with luck, get a keyboard/cover style solution to it)
Its just the lack of a SD card on it that's making me hesitate.
slychocobo said:
Well I just decied to replaced my iPad2 with the Asus Prime 2, mostly sold on the attachable keyboard..
But I've noticed a growing number of threads on this forum that suggest that people are desperate to get rid of their units and trade them up to the Prime TF701?
Is.. is it *really* that bad? Have I made a huge mistake buying one? I got it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon so Im unsure if I have the same recourse from a shop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
#1 what is a Prime 2? There is only one Transformer Prime....
#2 I think you should get an ipad, just for the fact you are folding under peer pressure.
I have had my Prime since Day #1, picked it up at a game stop with preorder, I was the 1st one in the store on release day. I have loved it since day one, yes it is not 100% (Gps is weak, got the dongle now) but no products are ever 100% what everyone wants. I did not buy it for the GPS, it was more of a feature than a need.
I love my TF201 w/keyboard and all the extras that apple users don't have. (sd, usb, etc...) I will not be trading or selling it off until it is time for a new one and at that time hope Asus or someone is still making it with a detachable keyboard.
Again, I think you should send it back so you can get your Ipad with the app you like. (good Luck) :fingers-crossed: