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Would anyone recommend the G-Tablet?

I've been trying to decide between the G-Tablet and the Archos 101. I definitely want a 10.1 inch screen and am fine with rooting and installing custom ROMs. For those that have the G-Tablet would you recommend it? I had been leaning more toward it but then I realized after tax it would be about 430-445 so not far off from Ipad pricing. I was hoping to keep the price down but I've read good and bad things about it. Most of the bad seems just in regards to it as it is stock.

I guess I'm lucky because I'm stock with LauncherPro and a couple of other addons and have not seen the wifi or boot looping problems. I want to root but will stay stock to see what the updates are from Viewsonic.
The only thing I'm really disapointed in is that there is no Android Market and it doesn't look like there will be. The market that is being installed tomorrow is Pocketgear and I'm not impressed with it at all. I have searched for many things and have yet to find anything I was looking for. Maybe it will be different once it is on the Gtablet but I'm not going to hold my breath.
All in all I'm very pleased with the Gtablet. And with the support of the people here I'm sure it will only get better.

I had pre-ordered the 101, then found this device. First off, you might want to check out this forum, as the Gtab has been mentioned a few times:
http://forum.archosfans.com/viewforum.php?f=74&sid=14fbe18a3bde1b86944379a04044ace9
Here's my take on the 101 / Gtab pros and cons.
- Archos has a better media player and codec support. That's their bread and butter, so it's expected.
- The 101 is 256MB of RAM with a less powerful CPU than the GTab. This puts the GTab on more of the bleeding edge, with the issues that arise because of that. But it might be a better candidate for 2.3 or 3.0. Maybe.
- The 101 is locked down tight, as far as the firmware is concerned. The GTab is not and has an APX mode that makes it virtually unbrickable. Mods galore may arise, because of that.
- The prices are similar, assuming you compare the 16GB and you get the GTab on sale.
- The bad screen angles on the GTab seem to also affect the 101, from what I've read.
- Neither have the actual Marketplace, although I'm sure the 101 will get a hack sooner or later.
- Archos has been pretty good with ROMS, so far. Viewsonic support remains to be seen.
- The GTablet is popping up all over the place, in B&M. That means some decent return policies - Staples has a 14 day return on it, for example. The Archos is not as easy to find in B&M stores, at the moment.
- The Gtablet has Froyo today, and it has an (unofficial) Flash apk today.
I guess it's "pick your poison".

So I picked one up yesterday at Staples and am going to revert back to stock and return it... Here are my reasons why...
- Screen viewing angles are awful. Sitting at a table with the GTab laying flat is an impossible angle to view with.
- The device is heavy to hold. I found my hands hurting trying to use it while holding it.
- The image is not very crisp. I found that it hurt my eyes to use the device for long periods of time.
Again these are my perceptions and don't take them for anything beyond a personal review. I have been using a HTC Hero with CM6.1 and have been very pleased.
I am either going to get an iPad, wait for a better WiFi only tablet next year, or just stick with my trusty Netbook.
PS...Is there a link to instructions for reverting back to stock? Thanks!

If you haven't done anything fancy like install a ROM. You can just hit the factory reset under settings. If you have been playing around, then there is a stock TnT vanilla ROM on forum tegratab website (I can't link it) which you can install just like any ROM.
I don't know how to get rid of Clockworkmod (NVflash?), but I can't imagine the average Staples employee will dig that deeply.
I'm probably going to take mine back this weekend. I want to give the new OS update a fair shake. But otherwise I agree with you on virtually all counts.

packfan909 said:
So I picked one up yesterday at Staples and am going to revert back to stock and return it... Here are my reasons why...
- Screen viewing angles are awful. Sitting at a table with the GTab laying flat is an impossible angle to view with.
- The device is heavy to hold. I found my hands hurting trying to use it while holding it.
- The image is not very crisp. I found that it hurt my eyes to use the device for long periods of time.
Again these are my perceptions and don't take them for anything beyond a personal review. I have been using a HTC Hero with CM6.1 and have been very pleased.
I am either going to get an iPad, wait for a better WiFi only tablet next year, or just stick with my trusty Netbook.
PS...Is there a link to instructions for reverting back to stock? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the vanilla ROM - it's in the development area. It should get you very close to stock. And also do a data wipe, of course.

lintmail said:
If you haven't done anything fancy like install a ROM. You can just hit the factory reset under settings. If you have been playing around, then there is a stock TnT vanilla ROM on forum tegratab website (I can't link it) which you can install just like any ROM.
I don't know how to get rid of Clockworkmod (NVflash?), but I can't imagine the average Staples employee will dig that deeply.
I'm probably going to take mine back this weekend. I want to give the new OS update a fair shake. But otherwise I agree with you on virtually all counts.
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Thanks for the ROM info. I am just going to return it at this point. The viewing angle and heft can't be resolved. And I appreciate the feedback on the Archos 101 with regards of viewing angle. A few friends tried the GTab yesterday when I brought it over, they were all unimpressed.
These tablets need to bake a little longer in the oven!

packfan909 said:
Thanks for the ROM info. I am just going to return it at this point. The viewing angle and heft can't be resolved. And I appreciate the feedback on the Archos 101 with regards of viewing angle. A few friends tried the GTab yesterday when I brought it over, they were all unimpressed.
These tablets need to bake a little longer in the oven!
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Out of box the device sux, but with TnT 1.03 and market hack, it is solid. Archos 101 apparently uses the same display, so no better, but the device is lighter. Weak device though compared to the power of Tegra 2 and 512mb ram.
If you showed this device with stock rom- now wonder people were not impressed- yikes

rushless said:
Out of box the device sux, but with TnT 1.03 and market hack, it is solid. Archos 101 apparently uses the same display, so no better, but the device is lighter. Weak device though compared to the power of Tegra 2 and 512mb ram.
If you showed this device with stock rom- now wonder people were not impressed- yikes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ this ^
Besides wake up time... A necessary evil... This pad rocks with TnT lite .3 cannot wait for 2.0 at this rate.

TNT lite .03 + Flash + gapps install = Keeper
If you are OK with flashing ROMS then get it. With TNT lite and Flash, I'm willing to keep it in spite of the viewing angles.
As far as weight is concerned: It doesn't feel heavier than an IPAD. Most of that weight is battery. Great battery life by the way.

My first road test of the gtablet tonight. I am flying to Vegas with the gtablet and the Archos 43. I will let you know how they do. For TSA screening purposes, will they want me to remove the gtablet from its case and run it through the xray like a laptop?

I was showing it off with CM 6.1 Beta. That viewing angle is a deal breaker for me. With regards to the weight, are you saying it weighs as much as an iPad?

Not sure why people are so surprised by the viewing angles. If you want the display of an ipad or even a galaxy tab, you're gonna have to buy an ipad or galaxy tab. The display on the g is fine for me, for now. When the big name tablets start coming out like htc and moto, that's when I'll expect more out of tablets. I'll also expect to pay more than 399 too.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

The problem is that one can't be sure until they have it in their hands. I would think that a normal operating position (on a desk with user in front of it) would be something to expect out of any tablet. I would love a Galaxy Tab but I refuse to pay a carrier for mobile internet service. If they released a WiFI only Galaxy Tab, I would run to the store to get it.

The viewing angles aren't as good as the iPad, but not so bad that it really bothers me that much. Maybe it'll get more annoying after a while - I'd eventually like an Android tablet with an IPS or other higher end LCD screen, but this will do for now in terms of hardware.
For me, $420 (including tax) for the G Tablet and a carrying case sounded like a good deal, for the early adopter set on XDA-developers who like to customize and live on the bleeding edge.
There is no way I would recommend this device in its current form to friends or family, of course, until the software improves markedly.
I also don't think the drivers etc. are doing full justice to the Tegra 2 at this point. My Nexus One actually gets about 5-10% higher scores on Quadrant. That shouldn't be. And for a dual-core chip, it oddly lags when the system is waking up from sleep mode and runs choppily sometimes thereafter - some sort of memory management bug.
Such are the joys of the bleeding edge.

i would have liked for it to have better viewing angles too, it definitely can be a pain to have to look at a certain way. but i usually keep it on a little stand when on my desk, i'm trying to not let the screen thing bother me too much. the software and stock ui are both jokes and i knew that going in. the blue weather homescreen is horrid, i like a nice clean and clutter free homescreen. i'm just staying confident that the boys here at xda are gonna make this tablet a nice user experience. i think it scored around 1900 on quadrant when i ran it on the g, i usually get around 1400-1500 on my incredible. i think the g-tablet should be doing way better though.

I have been driving the g tab since last Saturday and I would recommend it as a keeper. I tried the Huawei S7 for a day and ran away from it screaming. By comparisons, I have had good success side loading most of my favorite apps here without compromise. The device is modder friendly as have been my last dozen or so phones. Rooting was quick and easy. I have some market apps available, but for those not open, I load them on my Liquid, then use Titanium, to "restore" them onto the g tab.

If you are willing to do as something as super simple as install TnT Lite 1.03, or the coming 2.0- YES! Here is copy from part of another post:
Gtablet with TnT Lite 1.03, Flash app & market fix:
1. Best performing Flash of any current Android device: CHECK!
2. Market: CHECK!
3. Great sound quality: CHECK!
4. Smooth browser: CHECK!
5. Comics & PDFs, regardless of size, smooth: CHECK!
6. PSX4Droid smooth for 3D games: Using PSX4Droid 1.5, CHECK! (1.7 sucks)
7. Capcom 1 & 2 and ALL Neo Geo games playing super fine: CHECK (TigerMAME)
8. Wifi tether works great
Archos 101 has a 3630 and half the ram of the Droid X. Droid X does not play Flash as smoothly, nor the games in items 6 & 7 anywhere near as well.
Gtablet rocks- warts and all- Looking forward to TnT Lite 2.0

6. PSX4Droid smooth for 3D games: Using PSX4Droid 1.5, CHECK! (1.7 sucks)
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Click to collapse
1.5 would not load the bios for me..

Gtablet weight same as ipad
packfan909 said:
I was showing it off with CM 6.1 Beta. That viewing angle is a deal breaker for me. With regards to the weight, are you saying it weighs as much as an iPad?
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According to Apple the Ipad weighs 1.5 to 1.6 depending upon model. The Viewsonic site lists gtablet at 1.55 pounds.

Elocity A7 as a 7inch alternative with better screen!

I bought a g tablet. I feel close to it given I put in more than 30 hours going through different beta versions of alternate roms trying to get things the way they should be since out of the box it was a piece of crap. Being in canada I had driven to nearest Sears in US to Purchase it. Before the screen calibration fix I had essentially given up the inability to type properly and the horrible viewing angles and Sd card woes had me looking elsewhere.
Having tried the more expensive Galaxy Tab and finding it laggy and flash video unviewble, I decided I needed a Tegra based device. I also felt for my needs 7 inches might be better as I find typing in landscape mode hard with a 10 incher(hmm weird genital reference there LOL). I also feel that for my needs (book reading, surfing video watching, the odd game, and quick reference use) that the smaller form fact might be better given it is lighter and more portable (can fit in coat pocket....)
Heard about the ELocity and saw it available for 100$ less than what ipaid for g tab. so ordered it to my Brother's in Florida as will be there next week. It is already there waiting for me.
Of course since ordering it not having given the g tab back yet I have it working the way I want minus the screen viewing angles which I hate as I cant type on it when lounging unless holding it awkwardly in landscape mode using my thumbs.
Seems the Elocity has much better screen in terms of viewing angles.While lower res, the DPI is in fact the same and conforms to the Android OS max resolution of 800x480 so I suspect most apps will look correct on it. It also appears to come rooted out of the box. The UI layer on it is fast and responsive and flash is there to start. So for those considering a g tablet and don't want to muck around it works much better out of the box.
Seems it is not perfect yet and suffers many of the same issues the G tablet did:
Like the gtablet there is no official android market
Wifi for some seems to not wake up with the device from sleep
Angry birds won't run
All of the above from what I have read seem to be related to drivers and tegra 2 not having the best or newest ones out of the box.
Elocity says a fix is coming on december 24th (wonder if this is similar to what was done by Roebeet et al. with TNT light and Vega N with the performance upgrades form experimental diver pack)
Multitouch which is supposed to be 1+1 (which I believe is what the gtab is) doesn't seem to be enabled properly and is only emulated in software, and as of yet, not very well.
Seems from some things discovered on a different thread that this might be a 2 point multitouch after all.
For some reason there is no Elocity forum yet which I think could impede people coming on and helping development on it (Notion Ink Adam has a forum though there is no device in the wild for another month at least). I suspect given these are both Tegra 2 devices that there might be some parallel things to help.
for more info and possible help either for you to give or get the biggest thread going is:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872299
One professional view just out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CvY8jzyCWI
One XDA member first look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6foXW1zizM

Canadoc,
I appreciate the info and your review.
I have to say, though, that I will not buy a 7" tablet. It's just too small. Without any references to ages or disabilities or the like, it is my opinion a lot of people are being foolish trying to do at a minimum "notebook" tasks on tiny tablets or cell phones.
I have a plain old regular cell phone. I do my tablet stuff on my G-Tablet. I do my work stuff on my Vaio 16". And if I want to watch a movie I sit down in front of my 52" home theatre and really enjoy the picture and sound.
Perhaps I owe you an apology for posting this here, but it does strike me that it's silly to use stuff the wrong way. I'll concede I might watch a movie on my G-Tablet if I were in a pinch somewhere. But I don't want to live on a cell phone screen.
Best wishes and Merry Christmas.
Rev

I disagree think that a 10 inch tablet is too closeninsize and portability night as well justbuse laptop. Phone is too small to really enjoy reading surfing and viewing. 7 inch is a sweetspot. I own an ipad. I don't use it much because there is little I use it for that my MacBook can't do abdtyping etc is better.
Typing on-the-job gtab now is bad. Too hard to 2 finger type given the wide screen and too many errors otherwise. 7 inch easy totype large enough and ideal form factor to read etc.

G tablet not good enough for notebook tasks. A notebook is. Icing need my tablet tomake a real document I haves a problem. Would rather plug ina small KB if I need to but thenmight as well just have laptop

Canadoc said:
G tablet not good enough for notebook tasks. A notebook is. Icing need my tablet to make a real document I haves a problem. Would rather plug ina small KB if I need to but thenmight as well just have laptop
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Two different devices:
1. Tablet for best portability, web, Flash, media and some gaming.
2. Netbook or lappy for PC-type tasks and heavier gaming.
The trade-off is convenience and portability. A passively cooled tablet lasts over three times longer than a typical net book and way over that for laptops.
I have an M11X, which kicks all netbooks and most laptops butts. Collecting dust since having the G. No windows baggage is very nice.
Still use it for heavy gaming, but everything else is covered by the G. I use my company Thinkpad for work stuff.

Quick comment and a question.
Touch screen is 1 point. Last that I got from the 20 page thread was 1 point touch, gTab is two.
How's the real battery life? It's my second favorite thing about the gTab, the first being it's incredible speed, but I just so much more like 7" form factor.

Not sure bout battery life, but given the smaller screen 7 vs 10 inch, the 3000mamp battery vs the 3650 of the gatb I am not expecting a huge difference.
Gtab is two yes. There has been no conclusive proof yet if the 1 touch is a hardware issue or software firmware than can be changed. It is referred to as a 1+1 touch which means the screen must be registering another touch. If it can do that, then I would think it can be revised in software......Thus far google maps which requires multipoint doesn't work on gtab. Accelerometer on Gtab is meesed up so games depending on it dont work right. Fring doesn't work on gtab......

Well if you want 1 device to do it all yes a bigger screen tablet is the way to go. But then you have something that is a compromise at everyhting.
Not great for productivity short of bringing another keyboard and with less than full capable office type apps.
Not great for portability given the almost laptops dimensions
(10 inch netbook or 11 inch macbook air are no bigger except thickness and have real keyboard and u dont deal with the awful screen of the viewosnic. As an owner I can't use the viewsonic for anything that I cant do looking face on which makes typing hard on the screen).
Battery life? macbook air superior than the g tablet. Netbook with high cap battery still same price as gtab and gives 6+ hours of pc use with wifi on

Canadoc said:
Well if you want 1 device to do it all yes a bigger screen tablet is the way to go. But then you have something that is a compromise at everyhting.
Not great for productivity short of bringing another keyboard and with less than full capable office type apps.
Not great for portability given the almost laptops dimensions
(10 inch netbook or 11 inch macbook air are no bigger except thickness and have real keyboard and u dont deal with the awful screen of the viewosnic. As an owner I can't use the viewsonic for anything that I cant do looking face on which makes typing hard on the screen).
Battery life? macbook air superior than the g tablet. Netbook with high cap battery still same price as gtab and gives 6+ hours of pc use with wifi on
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Note: I'm posting this to share my own user experience. YMMV.
(1) I agree that the viewing angle is less than ideal. Most of the time I pop it up using an inexpensive stand; it actually works better for my neck (really !).
(2) Re onscreen keyboard: I have had no trouble in portrait mode (using better keyboard). In landscape mode the TNT split keyboard actually works surprisingly well (after one-time calibration).
(3) 10" is defintely not as portable as 7". OTOH: a lot of times I use the gtab to read technical documents (pdf), and 7" simply does not work -- in portrait mode the text & equations are too small, and in landscape you can read just a few lines at a time. With 10" the whole page shows up in the same font size as the printed version.
I do agree that 10" is a bit unwieldy; I've come to the conclusion that an 8", 1024x764 is the perfect size for a ebook tablet (HD movie fans would disagree).
(4) I have my gtab for over a month. With wifi on, and a mix of mp3/web browsing/ebook reading/youtube/AB, I've been getting about 8 hours pretty much every time.

case-sensitive said:
Note: I'm posting this to share my own user experience. YMMV.
(1) I agree that the viewing angle is less than ideal. Most of the time I pop it up using an inexpensive stand; it actually works better for my neck (really !).
(2) Re onscreen keyboard: I have had no trouble in portrait mode (using better keyboard). In landscape mode the TNT split keyboard actually works surprisingly well (after one-time calibration).
(3) 10" is defintely not as portable as 7". OTOH: a lot of times I use the gtab to read technical documents (pdf), and 7" simply does not work -- in portrait mode the text & equations are too small, and in landscape you can read just a few lines at a time. With 10" the whole page shows up in the same font size as the printed version.
I do agree that 10" is a bit unwieldy; I've come to the conclusion that an 8", 1024x764 is the perfect size for a ebook tablet (HD movie fans would disagree).
(4) I have my gtab for over a month. With wifi on, and a mix of mp3/web browsing/ebook reading/youtube/AB, I've been getting about 8 hours pretty much every time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't get me wrong I currently own a gtab and do see the merit in it and if it had a better screen I would probably have kept it.
But the thing is for thos people not willing to mod their device (95% of buying public) the g tab is a device that will be promptly returned.
Viewing angle is very bad, UI is not great though improving with today's firmware. Promised Flash which is probably reason many buy it over ipad, is missing in action (and with it pulled of the Vega might not be around for a while).
Also the touchscreen without running calibration ini file on a rooted machine leaves a lot to be desired. The stock tablet (as well as custom roms before trying the calibration trick) would not register many presses on the letter a the soft home button as well as the return and L key. This in fact was what prompted me to order the elocity tablet as I was more than frustrated typing on the G. Of course I discovered the calibration trick only after my elocity order shipped out.
As for using a stand, that would be fine if I used my tablet sitting at a table or desk. I say most of my use is sitting on a couch or in bed with it held up in my hands on my chest or sitting in my lap. Often the ideal angle to type at is one that tilts the screen to where I can't view the keyboard buttons well especially the darker android keyboard. The width of the device in landscape makes it hard to thumb type. Portrait is fine but the tablet, for me is too long and does not balance well in the hand at that angle. Also the bad viewing angle in portrait mode is so bad that I get a polarizing effect; the left eye sees a brighter or darker image than the right. Pictures and especially dark backgrounds look very bad. TO make it even viewable I have to watch the screen tilted about 2-3 inches. This is the deal breaker for me.
The size is good if you want full size viewing of some things but if i wa slooking at a technical manual and had to put the tablet down to read it while i worked with my 2 hands i wouldnt be able to read it.....
If i need to work on something important I will just use my laptop. This is not a laptop replacement for me.
Frankly after using the ipad for a while i would say if it could rn flash it would kill everything out there and still already does for user experience and can be had for 399 at tj maxx and marshall so not even so expensive any more.
But, I want this to watch websites that have videos/movies in flash

This gtablet is f*ing awesome

Followed the directions on this forum:
1. Installed clockworkmod
2. Flashed with TnT 3.00
3. Got full market to work
Started downloading apps.
This Tablet is awesome! I bought 12/2 and returned 12/4. Then followed this forum and the threads while I deciding on a new Tablet. Decided to try the Gtablet again and purchased again 12/18/10.
This thing blows away my friends' Ipads. Now, finally an Ipad killer.
Thank you to the great people on this forum. You guys are the best.

I miss my gtab
but I just couldn't get over how crappy the screen and view angle on it.
I think its hardware is amazing and the price is great on it too. Loved the long....LONG battery life too, but how can viewsonic have such a crappy screen and such low viewing angle?

I agree with ByBy. Picked my Gtab up on Sears Outlet and I've got TnT Lite running with Launcher Pro, Flash, and Market access and its awesome! Yah yah the screen isn't the best but if you hold it right it's fine, overall it's a great piece of hardware especially at a sub $300 price.
It's not quite an iPad killer but the open nature of Android really allows you to customize your experience and this is something iPad lacks. Couple that with the dual core Tegra2, Adobe Flash support, incredibly long battery life, and a webcam and this Tablet has the potential to be a serious competitor. We just need more support from Viewsonic(Kernel source and drivers), nVidia(GPU driver improvements), and Google(Honeycomb!).
Hopefully Viewsonic will release the kernel source as promised and we'll see even better speed optimizations and possibly even an OC capable kernel. I'm sure we'll continue to see more improvements with software and drivers as competitors begin to launch other Tegra2 tablets.
Cmon Viewsonic, release the source already!
Big thanks to the our local devs, the Fantastic Four, for making this tablet run the way it should have right out of the box!

pules said:
but I just couldn't get over how crappy the screen and view angle on it.
I think its hardware is amazing and the price is great on it too. Loved the long....LONG battery life too, but how can viewsonic have such a crappy screen and such low viewing angle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display is fine as long as you view from left, right or down. Viewing up to the the display is the problem. Though the viewing angle of the 101 is a little better (not a lot), the color depth of the Gtablet is far better than the 101.
For the $350 I paid, the display and total system ability is a solid purchase. Even at $400 it would be, considering the Tegra 2, USB host and 16gb internal storage.
added: Still, if the display had better angles- wow.

Thing is just so fast, it's making me really consider the elocity a7 over the Nook Color as my 7" complementary tablet even though I'm almost 100% certain that support from elocity won't be nearly as good as B&N support for the NC.
And as a secondary aside the display of the NC isn't swaying me enough against another Tegra 2 and "crappy" 800x480 screen...

G Tab vs Archie 101

I am in the market to buy a new tablet but I have been looking between archos and a viewsonic. I want to stick with a 10 inch screen but I would like to get the most bang for my buck right now my spending limit about 400 dollars.
I am aware that the g tablet has a nvidia dual core processor which is fairly appealing. However I wanted to get some input from people that have had hands on experience with those tablets. Are there any new tablets I should hold out for or what would you people suggest thank you for your help.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

I own both and will probably sell one of them. I'm still deciding, but leaning in favor of the Gtablet. I plan to post a full comparison on my blog (http://www.blendblog.net) where I reviewed the Archos 101 already.
A quick summary though is as follows:
GTablet performs much better. I've not had to worry about memory whereas on the Archos I've often had to manually kill apps to get the device to stay responsive.
The Gtablet is built better. The screen is slightly better, viewing angles are bad on both but the Archos screen feels like you are tapping on cheap plastic wheras the Gtablet feels like solid glass. The tradeoff is that the Gtablet is MUCH heavier, and bigger.
Both of them have very good speakers.
The fiddle factor with the Gtablet is much higher, but if you are here you probably know that. You must root and rom the device, although that is not a tough thing to do. However, I have spent countless hours with mine trying to get it to wake from sleep correctly, an issue many have. I finally figured out a workaround that fixes the issue at the expense of battery life. It seems that some units just have issues waking from sleep, I may still exchange mine because of this.
Build consistency seems to be a bit sketchy on both fronts. The aforementioned sleep issue has bitten me on the GTablet and my Archos has been RMA'd (their support was excellent though) due to a huge stuck blue pixel in the display that was horrible looking.
Archos has one big leg up on the Gtablet and that's video support. It will play anything I throw at it (I did have to buy a $15 AC3/MPEG2 codec package though). The stock video player is much sleeker as well integrating movie descriptions etc. With the Gtablet you are left with the usual hodgepodge of Android video players that don't work with everything etc.
Google was somewhat right in saying Android wasn't ready for "primetime" but I have to say, I find these devices very fun to play with and use on a day to day basis.
I am definitely leaning towards keeping the Gtablet and selling the Archos when I get it back from RMA. The speed advantage of Gtablet is noticeable and with this excellent hacking community in place I feel like there is a much better chance of it being relevant (Honeycomb?) going forward than with the Archos.
I hope this helps!
Sean

Grabbing VitalPlayer pretty much cleared up the problem of the G-Tab not supporting MPEG-2 or AC3, and it's free. YMMV.
VitalPlayer on Appbrain

Where are the codecs for g tablet to match Archos ???
This lack is confusing given the fact that we know tetra 2 is superior. It would seem that xoom will support many popular video codecs when it comes out in Feb!

Archos vs
I own both tablets, and can say without reservation that the G tablet is superior in many ways. It is a much more solid build ( although about 8 oz heavier)
The G tablet is much faster with the Custom Roms. I have had a number of Archos devices, and have been pleased with them, but after owning the G tablet, with its open nature and ability to modify, I will never opt for such a closed off device like the Archos again. Don't get me wrong- it is a good device, but it lacks the potential of the G tablet.

I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

I haven't used the Archos, but I was in your exact position a little over a month ago, ultimately I choose to check out the G-Tab because I could pick one up locally and return it in 30 days if I didn't like it. I have to say that at first I wasn't pleased with it overall, but that changed as soon as I started flashing some of the amazing ROMs available here on XDA. I'm not new to flashing my devices, but even if this had been a first time experience for me I doubt I'd have had any problems. Follow steps carefully and you can't go wrong, if you have a question it's most likely already been asked by someone before you, so just search the forums and you'll find the answer quick enough. Long story short the G-Tab would be a real dog of a product if it weren't for this amazing community of developers, but because of them I think it's got a future, a fairly bright one at that. I love my G-Tab more and more everyday, and as of now I do not regret purchasing it.

snipestech said:
I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine's running the same configuration. Do you have anything with audio encoded in AC-3 Dolby Digital? I ripped all my DVD's to my media server using h.264 for video but leaving the original surround sound audio in place. On the Archos I could play those files with the $15 MPEG2/AC-3 plug-in. I have not been able to find a video player yet that does this for my Gtablet (tried ES and Rock amongst others) but I haven't tried the VitalPlayer that theindependent recommended. I'll post back when I get a chance to try that player, it may solve this issue somewhat.
Sean

Same here... Once I did a little more research I found that the Archos 101 had the exact same viewing angle issues with a crappier plastic feeling screen. When you couple that with 256 meg ram and Single Core design it was a simple decision for me.. I figured if I couldnt have an iPAD equivilant screen then I would go with what is future proof. The only real option is the 7inch which every states viewing angles are good - but was still concerned with the future use of the hardware and resale value (at that time). Dual core Tegra's in about 6 - 12 months will hold their value significantly higher than a 256 meg / single core device. By then I see better screens coming out and will upgrade then.
Till then... Im loving the decision - I also agree I was very upset the first few hours until I got the custom rom, kernel, launcher and other apps all up and running..
geoffreywolter said:
I haven't used the Archos, but I was in your exact position a little over a month ago, ultimately I choose to check out the G-Tab because I could pick one up locally and return it in 30 days if I didn't like it. I have to say that at first I wasn't pleased with it overall, but that changed as soon as I started flashing some of the amazing ROMs available here on XDA. I'm not new to flashing my devices, but even if this had been a first time experience for me I doubt I'd have had any problems. Follow steps carefully and you can't go wrong, if you have a question it's most likely already been asked by someone before you, so just search the forums and you'll find the answer quick enough. Long story short the G-Tab would be a real dog of a product if it weren't for this amazing community of developers, but because of them I think it's got a future, a fairly bright one at that. I love my G-Tab more and more everyday, and as of now I do not regret purchasing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

stiphy said:
I own both and will probably sell one of them. I'm still deciding, but leaning in favor of the Gtablet. I plan to post a full comparison on my blog (http://www.blendblog.net) where I reviewed the Archos 101 already.
A quick summary though is as follows:
GTablet performs much better. I've not had to worry about memory whereas on the Archos I've often had to manually kill apps to get the device to stay responsive.
The Gtablet is built better. The screen is slightly better, viewing angles are bad on both but the Archos screen feels like you are tapping on cheap plastic wheras the Gtablet feels like solid glass. The tradeoff is that the Gtablet is MUCH heavier, and bigger.
Both of them have very good speakers.
The fiddle factor with the Gtablet is much higher, but if you are here you probably know that. You must root and rom the device, although that is not a tough thing to do. However, I have spent countless hours with mine trying to get it to wake from sleep correctly, an issue many have. I finally figured out a workaround that fixes the issue at the expense of battery life. It seems that some units just have issues waking from sleep, I may still exchange mine because of this.
Build consistency seems to be a bit sketchy on both fronts. The aforementioned sleep issue has bitten me on the GTablet and my Archos has been RMA'd (their support was excellent though) due to a huge stuck blue pixel in the display that was horrible looking.
Archos has one big leg up on the Gtablet and that's video support. It will play anything I throw at it (I did have to buy a $15 AC3/MPEG2 codec package though). The stock video player is much sleeker as well integrating movie descriptions etc. With the Gtablet you are left with the usual hodgepodge of Android video players that don't work with everything etc.
Google was somewhat right in saying Android wasn't ready for "primetime" but I have to say, I find these devices very fun to play with and use on a day to day basis.
I am definitely leaning towards keeping the Gtablet and selling the Archos when I get it back from RMA. The speed advantage of Gtablet is noticeable and with this excellent hacking community in place I feel like there is a much better chance of it being relevant (Honeycomb?) going forward than with the Archos.
I hope this helps!
Sean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great summary! I expect video support to get a lot better once Nvidia finally releases final drivers. Kind of have too, with all the T2's coming out soon.
In a nutshell, if higher def video is not 90% of the reason you are getting a tablet, the Gtablet is a FAR better choice than the Archos 101. Also, the Archos 101 has a few glaring problems besides a much slower chipset:
1. 230mb of device app space. Gtablet has eight times more space
2. 256mb ram (contant performance battle unless just using for video)

Have both Archos is light and thin, a little bit flimsy, but is a great pmp/ereader especially when on the road. Gtablet is a beast though runs circles around the Archos in regard to performance and flexibility. As a long time Archos supporter I think this my last device from them.

I just installed VitalPlayer from the market, thanks theindependent for the pointer.
It does play AC-3 so my ripped DVD's are fine. I have a 720p video though and it can't keep up, it stutters. The Archos 101 played it just fine.
Hopefully as rushless said, there will be updates to the driver so that hardware acceleration for hidef video can be added.
There are 2 other features the GTablet are missing that I forgot about:
1) No mini-hdmi output port, instead it has a docking station port. I would get more use out of mini-hdmi although the UI on the Archos is very bad when plugged into a monitor as I menitioned in the review on my blog.
2) The kickstand, while somewhat cheesy, is a nice feature on the Archos device.
One plus for the Gtablet (for me at least) is it uses the more standard mini-usb type plug instead of the micro usb plug of the archos. Most of my other devices are miniusb so I prefer this.
I think to sum things up I'd say that if you want a video player and e-reader that can do a nice amount of computer like things I'd go Archos. If you want a computer that is an ok e-reader (just a bit heavier) and can do some video go Gtablet!
Sean

I was seriously considering the 101 until I found this device. I think so far (only 1 day) it is a win.
As far as kick stand I am using a Garmin GPS suction mount for a windscreen on the back it works well.

Stuggy said:
I was seriously considering the 101 until I found this device. I think so far (only 1 day) it is a win.
As far as kick stand I am using a Garmin GPS suction mount for a windscreen on the back it works well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.

Sm0k3d 0uT said:
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I get home I'll do it. It is basically the mount on the back of the g-tab (choose a location to determine tilt) and then the ball rests on the surface of desk or you can hold it using that.

How were you able to get Vplayer to run?
I've been able to install fine but when I run it I am unable to open any videos, same from a file explorer with the open with menu. Thanks!
snipestech said:
I have the gtablet running Vegan 5
I have no problems playing videos at all using vplayer, rock player and even es explorer has a pretty good player. I played with 101 archos not bad but looks cheap next to the g tab, also as a long time fan of NVIDIA I knew it was going to fast!
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

You should also consider what you will want in the future their are many new tegra 2 powered devices coming out soon for a reason, the g tablet already has the same hardware but the developement is ahead of all other tablets on the market. I have the g tablet and wouldn't consider any other device thanks to the devs on the forum making it the best tablet available right now.

Sm0k3d 0uT said:
Can you show some pictures of that? I have a Garmin Widescreen GPS, I ould like to see how you have it setup with the g-tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have some pictures here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10099907&postcount=10

RojasTKD said:
I have some pictures here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10099907&postcount=10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine looks just like that - same suction mount. Sorry I didn't upload. And I think I got the idea from that post although I probably would have tried it in looking for a stand method.

I just got my Archos 101 back from RMA.
One thing I noticed that is a big plus for the Archos, at least in my setup is that when it is powered down it "sleeps properly." After 20 hours of sitting on my desk powered down it still has 95% battery life. My GTablet on the other hand won't wake up from sleep properly. You can follow the travails I and others are having on this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=855821. If I leave my GTablet on for 20 hours it will be down to around 15% battery life. That's without my workaround to keep the CPU on when the screen is off that fixes the broken wake from sleep (but does slightly increase this battery drain).
Now maybe I have a defective unit, and I am contemplating returning it still. Can anyone else comment on what they see battery life wise with their GTablet when its sleeping. Preferably someone without the wake up problem my unit has. To test just charge it up, leave it "sleeping" overnight with the screen off and when you wake up the next morning report what the battery life is. The Archos only loses about 1% every 4 hours, the GTablet is losing 4% every hour!
FWIW, Archos support was awesome, I live in the US Virgin Islands and they at first tried to send it UPS which is "international" for us and a cluster to deal with. Because of this the UPS tag that was generated had it going to Pennsylvania (yes this is a common occurrence with UPS and the USVI). I called them immediately and they halted the shipment, then sent it to me USPS Express mail so I had it in 2 days! The replacement unit was in perfect shape.
Sean

[Q] Best Tegra 2 tablet under $500?

I've been doing some research for buying an android tablet for about a month now. Things that have become a must for me:
512mb (or better) of ram
Tegra 2 cpu
Around 10" high res (enough for honeycomb) screen
Under $500
Rootable, and has good dev support
Most you will be thinking, "you're describing the viewsonic g-tab, right?" Well, that's mainly what I'm thinking about. I'm wondering if there are any other great tablets that I'm missing. Any advice, comments or whatever would be appreciated. Thanks!

Id stay away from the g-tablet. The specs seem great for the price, but the screen is a HUGE disappointment. The viewing angles are terrible, it washes out when moved the slightest bit. In fact, straight on doesn't even seem to be the best angle.
I didn't even bother rooting mine, which anyone would want to do since the tap n tap UI on it is terrible. The screen was an immediate dealbreaker. My flytouch 2 screen is leaps and bounds better, and that's kinda sad since it was less than half the price of a g-tablet.

Philthechil said:
I've been doing some research for buying an android tablet for about a month now. Things that have become a must for me:
512mb (or better) of ram
Tegra 2 cpu
Around 10" high res (enough for honeycomb) screen
Under $500
Rootable, and has good dev support
Most you will be thinking, "you're describing the viewsonic g-tab, right?" Well, that's mainly what I'm thinking about. I'm wondering if there are any other great tablets that I'm missing. Any advice, comments or whatever would be appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're looking for something that doesn't exist yet. The best bet will probably be the Tablet Toshiba is dropping soon, assuming its around that price. Otherwise you might as well keep waiting with me.

Ah, ok. I had been hearing that. I didn't think it played that much into it. I wish I could buy one just to test it out

mobius999 said:
Id stay away from the g-tablet. The specs seem great for the price, but the screen is a HUGE disappointment. The viewing angles are terrible, it washes out when moved the slightest bit. In fact, straight on doesn't even seem to be the best angle.
I didn't even bother rooting mine, which anyone would want to do since the tap n tap UI on it is terrible. The screen was an immediate dealbreaker. My flytouch 2 screen is leaps and bounds better, and that's kinda sad since it was less than half the price of a g-tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The view angle of the G Tablet certainly could be better, but this guy is exaggerating too much. The screen looks terrific when seen at the best angle. And I can highly recommend the G Tablet for you. It isn't perfect but no Tablet out there for any price is perfect.

Thanks guys for your input. I've decided I'm just gonna have to go with the risk and buy one. If the viewing angles really are that bad, I'll simply re-sell it on ebay

Viewsonic Gtab
Viewing angle is NOT that bad, accessories are the problem. Can't find them in the US! But once you get a good rom on it, I have had no regrets dropping a few hundred on the toy.
Notice I say toy, cause there is no 'need' for this equipment yet. No honeycomb, no easy out of the box use, but I enjoy the speedy vegan tab rom and have used it for movies, email, and just tom-foolery android apks. Get an atom laptop if you want something out of the box that is based on functionality if you need to buy before Q4 2011.

I have a g-tab, like it more than the ipad I had.

You should check out the Barnes and Noble Nook Color! I got one just for the ereader and have since rooted it and then even installed CM7. The only thing it doesn't have is a camera and Bluetooth mic support(yet).
BN really under sold its capabilities. It is the little tablet tablet could...
P.S. the dev community is amazing around it...

klaiii said:
You should check out the Barnes and Noble Nook Color! I got one just for the ereader and have since rooted it and then even installed CM7. The only thing it doesn't have is a camera and Bluetooth mic support(yet).
BN really under sold its capabilities. It is the little tablet tablet could...
P.S. the dev community is amazing around it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As much as I agree with how awesome the value of the Nook color is... It doesn't meet any of his requirements.
I believe the Acer Iconia Tab and Asus EEE transformer meets all of your needs and price range.

I have Toshiba Folio 100 and I'm not happy with it, little dev support, bad screen, lots of bugs that Toshiba don't fix and if you buy one, you'll surly get one with bad part(s), because Toshiba made bad parts and every tablet has another parts. New Toshiba tablet seems OK, but I won't buy any from Toshiba. I have same problem and I'll wait. In near future(2012), tablets will better and they'll have dual boot(android,ubuntu;androd, windows 8), faster processors(nvidia quad core processor), new OS's(windows 8, ubuntu, android ice cream sandwich tbat will be universal, chrome os) and the best of all, they'll cheaper!
After this, I think you will wait

I have the Acer Iconia A500 Tab which was bought in Germany.
Has a few small issues as you would expect from a fresh honeycomb device but nothing that you couldnt live with until Acer put out the update for Honeycomb 3.1 before the end of June.
If you can get past the little niggles, it has an excellent screen with amazing viewing angles, bright, crisp and clear. Fantastic build quality, including a thin brushed aluminium skin and a reasonable weight that wont flare up your RSI.
After the usual tweaks and additional root apps for improved battery life, you can quite happily use the device constantly for between 10-12 hours (mixed media)
has 1gb of ram, 32gb space, wireless -n, USB, Mini USB, Mini HDMI, encryption etc etc etc.
Baring in mind that it is almost 'stock' honeycomb 3.0 (Still includes the mobile phone elements even though this is wifi only, there is a reason bhind the choice ), i believe the slab has a lot of potential and cant wait till people start improving it.
Im very happy with the device so far and fully expecting the issues to be resolved in the first customised version of the 3.1 update from Acer.
All for 499 Euro
There's your deal...