Viewsonic G-Tablet review and pics!

[SolidOrange]

i finally got my hands on a viewsonic gtab, and wanted to throw up some pics and a quick review for anyone else who was considering the purchase.

first pics, out of the box last night:

first impressions; the hardware is GREAT, the included software is AWFUL!! the dated and non-customizable home screen is a huge put-off considering it IS running FroYo, and not having the Android Market pre-installed seems crazy to me. luckily, there is a quick fix for both of those issues! root, and flash TnT lite then take 5 minutes to do the market fix and you will have a GTab that looks like this:

now the software finally lives up to the hardware, and this thing absolutely FLIES!! web browsing is insanely quick, and opening/running apps is unbelievably fast. if you don't believe me, here's the Quadrant benchmark scores to prove it.

after playing with it for just a few hours, here's a quick list of pros and cons.

PROS:
-Price (compared to iPad and Galaxy Tab)
-Dual core processor (FAST! and ready for future Android updates)
-Can access full Android Market
-Can be rooted very easily
-Overall build quality
-Screen size

CONS:
-Awful stock software
-Screen viewing angle is pretty narrow in portrait view (it is more than acceptable in landscape)


and some comparison shots with my Droid:

to sum it all up, if you do not have the time/ability/confidence to root and flash a new ROM, the GTab is certainly NOT worth the money. however, if you can do it (and it's REALLY easy), you are getting a device that is just as cabable, has a bigger screen, and is far cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

 

[xmr405o]

Nice pics. This tablet handles flash so well. I hope we get an official dock soon

 

[prerunnerseth]

Very nice write up. I also use launcher pro to give me more Icons on the screen. Works very well for that. I run 5x5 and that works out pretty good in both landscape and portrait.

 

[SolidOrange]

Very nice write up. I also use launcher pro to give me more Icons on the screen. Works very well for that. I run 5x5 and that works out pretty good in both landscape and portrait.

good call, i am running 6x6 and it looks even better now!! for some reason, i thought adding rows/columns was exclusive to the paid version of LauncherPro. the 4x4 layout on such a big screen really did bother me.

 

[rushmore]

Gtablet is a solid device- IF rooted, of course. Like mine a lot.

 

[jtbnet]

Gtablet is a solid device- IF rooted, of course. Like mine a lot.

That's high Praise from Rush he doesn't tend to drink the coolaid very easily!

 

[rushmore]

That's high Praise from Rush he doesn't tend to drink the coolaid very easily!

Worked out the 101 was managed so poorly, since I would have bought that and harassed folks at Archosfans in order to seek mental compensation for my purchase

1. Gimped chip (capped 800mhz)
2. 256mb ram (already an issue)
3. Poor 2.2 effort by Archos
4. 200mb for apps and a dubious update for more space (dynamic storage... riiight).

As far as the display on the Gtablet, I spin it in my mind as a privacy display Archos 101 is not much better.

 

[watersrules]

mine gets delivered today from sears, looking forward to it! unfortunately i think my wife is holding it ransom until Christmas =/

 

[SolidOrange]

thanks to aaron19953 for the skin! hopefully this will cut down on the number of people who ask me if it is an iPad as well as cover up the plethora of logos Viewsonic decided it needed, lol.

...and since i know you'll all ask.
buy the cover here.
buy the decal here.

 

[srmproductions]

Probbably a n00b ? but does it have a slot for any kind of sd card. i saw a review on youtube where the reviewer seemed to think they closed the slot off.

 

[xmr405o]

Probbably a n00b ? but does it have a slot for any kind of sd card. i saw a review on youtube where the reviewer seemed to think they closed the slot off.

Yes there's a micro SD slot.