Will the G Tab Run Honeycomb?

[Zebulon]

Please forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am in the preliminary stages of shopping for a tablet. The features and specs on the G Tablet look pretty good, especially for the price, but I was wondering whether it will be upgradeable to Honeycomb once that rolls out. The specs would seem to suggest that it will, but I was hoping to get a more decisive answer.

EDIT:

Yes, I know it will run honeycomb. This thread is over a year old, and I have already bought, rooted, installed honeycomb on and sold my G-Tablet for an Asus Transformer Prime. I appreciate the answers trickling in, but they aren't terribly helpful at this point. Everyone knows that the G-Tablet will run honeycomb. In fact, there are at least a couple of Ice Cream Sandwich ROMs out there for the G-Tab.

 

[SolidOrange]

Please forgive me if this has already been covered, but I am in the preliminary stages of shopping for a tablet. The features and specs on the G Tablet look pretty good, especially for the price, but I was wondering whether it will be upgradeable to Honeycomb once that rolls out. The specs would seem to suggest that it will, but I was hoping to get a more decisive answer.

Officially from Viewsonic... doubtful, but I am almost sure that we will get an unofficial version. Dev support for this thing is great (3 great froyo ROMs already out, and Gingerbread should be coming any day), so you can be confident that Honeycomb will make it's way over eventually. In fact, I feel more certain that we will get Honeycomb than I would if I owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab, lol. If you are comfortable with rooting, you will not be disappointed by the g-tab.

 

[xmr405o]

I think gtab owners have less to worry about than other tablet owners when it comes to the honeycomb upgrade. We have one of the best specs as in processing power of any other tablet out now so I think we got the best shot for the upgrade. Plus we have a great dev community. I have a little more faith in Viewsonic in providing OS upgrades but I think a honeycomb version from the devs will come out before the official release from viewsonic.

 

[Zebulon]

Officially from Viewsonic... doubtful, but I am almost sure that we will get an unofficial version. Dev support for this thing is great (3 great froyo ROMs already out, and Gingerbread should be coming any day), so you can be confident that Honeycomb will make it's way over eventually. In fact, I feel more certain that we will get Honeycomb than I would if I owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab, lol. If you are comfortable with rooting, you will not be disappointed by the g-tab.

Ok, so tell me if I'm reading this right... Viewsonic will probably not officially update Froyo to Honeycomb, but there is likely to be bootlegged versions that will run on it?

 

[SolidOrange]

Ok, so tell me if I'm reading this right... Viewsonic will probably not officially update Froyo to Honeycomb, but there is likely to be bootlegged versions that will run on it?

That is my feeling on the subject, but then again, viewsonic has been good with updates so far, so who knows. One thing is for sure and that is that there will be bootlegged version long before an official version either way.

Honestly, if you are not comfortable rooting/installing custom ROMs, the g-tab may not be for you. The stock software has gotten much better since release day, but it still doesn't hold a candle to the custom versions that are already out, and being updated frequently.

 

[xmr405o]

Ok, so tell me if I'm reading this right... Viewsonic will probably not officially update Froyo to Honeycomb, but there is likely to be bootlegged versions that will run on it?

xda-developers - View Single Post - Official Viewsonic sets the record straight about "Gtablet Support"

This is from one of the Viewsonic reps who frequently responds to threads in XDA. The Gtab is being supported and according to them, they are looking at OS upgrades.

Most of the custom ROMs are put together using the official Google release (AOSP) and are ported to Android devices by developers with a better turn around time than most manufacturers. So I hope your definition of bootleg does not mean fake version of Honeycomb. It's my honest opinion, that Viewsonic will eventually release Honeycomb for the gtablet but we will know more when Google actually releases the official AOSP to the public.

However, I really could care less if it's from Viewsonic or the devs because with my experience with Droid ROMS and Gtablet ROMS, custom ROMS run way better than official stock releases by the manufacturer.

 

[KzA]

Honestly, if you are not comfortable rooting/installing custom ROMs, the g-tab may not be for you. The stock software has gotten much better since release day, but it still doesn't hold a candle to the custom versions that are already out, and being updated frequently.

Im not comfortable rooting, since I have left my Inc stock.. However Im still getting a gTab and Im going to root the hell out of it mwahah. Gotta learn sometime!

PS GO TIGERS! (class of winter '08)

 

[SolidOrange]

Im not comfortable rooting, since I have left my Inc stock.. However Im still getting a gTab and Im going to root the hell out of it mwahah. Gotta learn sometime!

PS GO TIGERS! (class of winter '08)

You picked the right thing to get started with! The G-Tab is one of the few completely unlocked Android devices left out there at this point. Viewsonic did not put in any precautions against rooting or flashing new ROMs, and their website even points you over to XDA for updates to the stock software.

P.S. probably saw you on campus at some point. Summer '07 graduate here!

 

[xmr405o]

You picked the right thing to get started with! The G-Tab is one of the few completely unlocked Android devices left out there at this point. Viewsonic did not put in any precautions against rooting or flashing new ROMs, and their website even points you over to XDA for updates to the stock software.

P.S. probably saw you on campus at some point. Summer '07 graduate here!

Dude I was about to say the same thing. haha. The gtab's root process is easy.

 

[rushmore]

Officially from Viewsonic... doubtful, but I am almost sure that we will get an unofficial version. Dev support for this thing is great (3 great froyo ROMs already out, and Gingerbread should be coming any day), so you can be confident that Honeycomb will make it's way over eventually. In fact, I feel more certain that we will get Honeycomb than I would if I owned the Samsung Galaxy Tab, lol. If you are comfortable with rooting, you will not be disappointed by the g-tab.

The VP of marketing for Viewsonic posted on the XDA forums that they are working on a few newer OS versions for the gTablet, along with their newer tablets. He even mentioned "hint hint" in reference to a future update. Gingerbread is coming from the sounds of it, but he said "versions" and not "version".

My guess is the G gets Honeycomb, but not too sure everyone will be happy with it, since there will be blood as far as app breakage. Heck, even 2.3 is having issues with some apps.

Let the mega-fragmentation begin!

 

[Allenfx]

Well..... Fully 1/3 of the current market apps don't work or don't work properly on Tabs anyway. Many of them i have gotten to work in portrait (vertical) mode on the Gtab, but they crash in landscape (horizontal) mode.

So bad blood about apps crashing? Naaa..

Its expected so no hard feelings.

I will root to honeycomb and am looking forward to a "certified" tablet market one day.

By the way...love that vegan 5.1, it was my first rom on the gtab, downloaded the DAY it was released and havent looked back (and won't unitl the cyano 7/vegan/gingerbread rom comes out that Gojimi talks about on his vegan page...

Rock on..

 

[androiddave]

If they can make Honeycomb work on the Nook, I'm sure they can make it work on the G Tablet. The hardware specs are much better

 

[jmflint]

I may be hijacking this thread, but rooting was mentioned. I'm fairly geeky, but completely in the dark as far as rooting goes. Any links to a step-by-step?

I did a Google search and got immediately overwhelmed, hence my reaching out.

Thanks --

 

[xmr405o]

I may be hijacking this thread, but rooting was mentioned. I'm fairly geeky, but completely in the dark as far as rooting goes. Any links to a step-by-step?

I did a Google search and got immediately overwhelmed, hence my reaching out.

Thanks --

Here you go. There's an all thing root subforum for all devices that can be rooted in this website. Here's the one for the g-tablet.

http://androidforums.com/gtablet-al...stall-custom-rom-fix-market-update-flash.html

 

[Jesse6749]

You picked the right thing to get started with! The G-Tab is one of the few completely unlocked Android devices left out there at this point. Viewsonic did not put in any precautions against rooting or flashing new ROMs, and their website even points you over to XDA for updates to the stock software.

P.S. probably saw you on campus at some point. Summer '07 graduate here!

This was my main reason and the price and specs for getting my GTablet, Heck I had it rooted and running a custom rom within 2 hours of buying it on Jan 21 LOL!!. I love my GTablet and do not regret one bit buying it. I expect the XDA developers to have a Honeycomb custom rom cooked up for it later this spring, I am not waiting or expect ViewSonic to update to Honeycomb anytime soon.

 

[rushmore]

Until the microsd mapping is accounted for in Honeycomb, I have no desire putting it on the Gtablet. Xoom does not have it since not part of Honeycomb's new storage management.

Folks think current OS fragmentation with hardware is rough- we ain't seen nuthin' yet!

Modding will soon be a more refined art to work well.

 

[BigJsturm]

This was my main reason and the price and specs for getting my GTablet, Heck I had it rooted and running a custom rom within 2 hours of buying it on Jan 21 LOL!!. I love my GTablet and do not regret one bit buying it. I expect the XDA developers to have a Honeycomb custom rom cooked up for it later this spring, I am not waiting or expect ViewSonic to update to Honeycomb anytime soon.

So, I have rooted just fine. Have installed ClockwordMod fine. But, when I try to load the Cyanogen Mod file....(update-cm-7.0.3-Blade-signed.zip), I get an error that I don't know how to resolve.

I have done the root, done the wipe(s), then load the above file. The error I get is:

Under "Installing update" i get:
"assert failed: getprop("ro.product.device") == "blade" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "blade" || getprop("ro.product.board"_ == "blade"

Then, "Error in /sdcard/update-cm-7.0.3=Blade-signed.zip (Status 7) Installation aborted."

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[xmr405o]

So, I have rooted just fine. Have installed ClockwordMod fine. But, when I try to load the Cyanogen Mod file....(update-cm-7.0.3-Blade-signed.zip), I get an error that I don't know how to resolve.

I have done the root, done the wipe(s), then load the above file. The error I get is:

Under "Installing update" i get:
"assert failed: getprop("ro.product.device") == "blade" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "blade" || getprop("ro.product.board"_ == "blade"

Then, "Error in /sdcard/update-cm-7.0.3=Blade-signed.zip (Status 7) Installation aborted."

Any help is very much appreciated.

You downloaded the wrong file. You should download the harmony version since our gtablets is a harmony device. You downloaded the blade version.

 

[BigJsturm]

You downloaded the wrong file. You should download the harmony version since our gtablets is a harmony device. You downloaded the blade version.

Aha, OK.....thank you. I will hunt that one down now. Much appreciated!

 

[mtbcpa]

Ok, please forgive me as I am a noob. I just bought a gtab and am excited to root it and get this going. I have found the great instructions here, and am just now trying to figure out what to install. What is the most stable version? Is Honeycomb a stable/good version to go with? I am looking for the most stable/simple version to install that will give me the best experience.

Thanks!

 

[xmr405o]

Ok, please forgive me as I am a noob. I just bought a gtab and am excited to root it and get this going. I have found the great instructions here, and am just now trying to figure out what to install. What is the most stable version? Is Honeycomb a stable/good version to go with? I am looking for the most stable/simple version to install that will give me the best experience.

Thanks!

Most stable and complete roms are the Froyo based roms most notably Vegan 5.1.1.

The Gingerbread roms are pretty good too. I think the only thing missing is full hd video playback. I can be wrong.

HC is pretty stable on the gtab but not complete. You won't have flash fully working on any of the HC roms. The youtube app works but no hd youtube vids. No flash on the browser..unless you download skyfire. Also, no HD video files will play only standard def videos will play. So if you don't care about any of those things, then a HC rom might be good for you. The HC rom looks great.


Check out the rom list in the all things root subforum of the gtab.

gTablet - All Things Root - Android Forums

Welcome to the forums!

 

[The_Chief]

It's my understanding from XDA that you can't just flash from something like VEGAn 5.1.1 to Honeycomb because of the bootloader issue. VEGAn uses one bootloader, but another is required for Honeycomb. You have to jump through a few hoops to get HC working. Is this no longer the case?

 

[xmr405o]

It's my understanding from XDA that you can't just flash from something like VEGAn 5.1.1 to Honeycomb because of the bootloader issue. VEGAn uses one bootloader, but another is required for Honeycomb. You have to jump through a few hoops to get HC working. Is this no longer the case?

Well just a couple of hoops, haha. But yes, you still need to switch bootloaders to run HC.

 

[Autonomy]

Switch an bootloader to what 1.2?

 

[Zebulon]

Switch an bootloader to what 1.2?

Yeah, there are several HC ROMs available for the 1.2 bootloader, but there is at least one for the 1.1 as well. That would be ADAMcomb, which I have running on my G-Tablet. It is a great ROM, as long as you don't mind the problems inherant to HC on the G-Tablet (no camera, flash is sketchy).