Related
I called Viewsonic support this morning to ask a couple of questions
concerning a battery problem I'm having.
It is very surprising to me - how little they know about their product.
The person I spoke to was very nice, however whenever he told me
something about the unit - at the end of his statement...he would giggle.
Is it that he's laughing at an idiot who purchased this...
But seriously, they have very little info
BluesTele said:
Is it that he's laughing at an idiot who purchased this.:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup.............
I wouldn't waste my time talking to them on the phone. They are nice people but I think they are just paid to take notes and pass them on to the guy behind the curtain in the magical world of Viewsonic. If you call the real Viewsonic number they will tell you they do not support the device, and you have to call the number you called. I thought it was funny when I heard Viewsonic did not support there own product.
This tablet is just one of a bunch of the same tablets that have just been re-branded and re-interfaced. It is not made by Viewsonic, just sold with there name on it.
Best bet for any support questions is to ask them right here. Better support here then any company I have ever dealt with. Be sure to search first because your question has likely been already addressed.
While I agree that the Gtab support is not the most skilled, they are USA based and that is big plus in my opinion.
I spoke with a very nice Gtab support rep who spoke highly of xda-developers and mentioned that she herself was running TnT Lite on her personal GTab.
Dan
Due to my worry that there's a good chance Viewsonic will stop support for the G Tablet - I returned mine back to Sears.
The salesman told me most are being returned and he did hear that there is a recall. When I asked what info he was told - he just said that there is a recall and he doesn't know specifics - but the returns are all different problems.
My thanks to all who provided the info on these forums and I intend
to take the plunge again with either a different tablet or Viewsonic's next gen.
I did the same exact thing for the same exact reason.. returned my G to sears last night. I see one on craigslist now for $300.. Its bit tempting considering i'm not paying full retail... guess i'm going back to my nook color till april next yr.
Sorry to hear. I am sure you are not alone.
From the VS tweet is sounds unlikely there is a recall or even 'manufacturing defect' related to hardware.
"We are looking into Staples' gTablet action and will provide more information as we get it."
However, if there is a recall you would be able to return your device no matter the purchase date.
I think a lot of people are just spreading the same rumor - egged on by attention hungry non-fact checking tech blogs, uneducated point of sales employees and a miscommunication on Staples part.
I know there are a lot of people lookng for deals on these things. What Sears location did you return your to?
Yikes!
Two folks who have bought into the Engadget, Apple biased conjecture based on a sign at a Staples.
Best to do what you feel though, none the less.
Thanks... more for us to buy cheap! LOL!
I did the same, although for different reason, namely because I couldn't deal with the screen any longer.
Lnin0 said:
Sorry to hear. I am sure you are not alone.
From the VS tweet is sounds unlikely there is a recall or even 'manufacturing defect' related to hardware.
"We are looking into Staples' gTablet action and will provide more information as we get it."
However, if there is a recall you would be able to return your device no matter the purchase date.
I think a lot of people are just spreading the same rumor - egged on by attention hungry non-fact checking tech blogs, uneducated point of sales employees and a miscommunication on Staples part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely Viewsonic's tweets would deny a recall as long as possible even if one was in the works.
On the other hand a Viewsonic recall would affect more than just Staples. However this is only the beginning of this fiasco. Let's see how it progresses over the next couple of weeks.
oblomov said:
I did the same, although for different reason, namely because I couldn't deal with the screen any longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could live with the screen. For me it would be the lack of Flash and the constant WiFi drops.
as long as there is a dev community supporting it i am happy
the viewing angle is a $50 fix with a replacement LCD and the hardware on this is going to remain competitive for some time still.
i could have paid a lot more for a better GUI and angle views but would have had a less powerful tablet.
i believe this gTab will be around for a bit and i am enjoying my veganTab.
I called Viewsonic CS this morning for exactly this reason - they need to nip this in the bud NOW and assure their user-base that they have this under control.
I completely understand your reasons for returning it. If I hadn't gotten mine used at the Outlet, I'd be a bit worried as well. As it is, I'm here for the long haul - if they eventually pull support, we have zPad and the VEGA to keep us going. It's been a wild ride and I don't think it's going to end anytime soon.
Lnin0 said:
Sorry to hear. I am sure you are not alone.
I know there are a lot of people lookng for deals on these things. What Sears location did you return your to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New Brunswick, NJ
I have two, one new from staples and one from sears outlet. I am very happy with them both and so is wifey. She loves hers. I think the update they came out with yesterday is spot on. They are now in the same boat as all other tab manufacturers right now. It's stable and responsive right now with the update. Archos does not have flash oob nor does any other tablet, except the Galaxy. FAIK, there is NO 10" tablet that has flash oob, including the Ipad. The update leveled the playing field with everything else that is out there at this time.
When, not if, they get flash oob, this will be the leader of the pack. I think you guys are jumping ship a tad too early, but that'[s just my opinion and we know about opinions.
BluesTele said:
New Brunswick, NJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There you go Roebeet, that's a quick 2 hour round trip! GO GET IT!
BluesTele said:
New Brunswick, NJ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a time for me to be away lol. Would of been like an hour lol.
Hoppefully someone will take advantage, if it becomes available.
iDroidNow said:
the viewing angle is a $50 fix with a replacement LCD and the hardware on this is going to remain competitive for some time still.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How does one go about doing this?
Fuzzy John said:
I could live with the screen. For me it would be the lack of Flash and the constant WiFi drops.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From an out of box perspective, I would have been G-less from day two.
Still, you were a simple install away from a stable TnT Lite 2.4 and Flash is easy to install. For non modders that want out of box- the G is not "G" for good.
deependh200 said:
How does one go about doing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a thread about it here. also one of the guys on the tegratab IRC has already done it, is posting a thread on here with pics, and apparently it is an easy process.
here is a link to ones i think may work but again there is a thread about what exactly he used being posted shortly.
Not trying to be a downer here, but to the OP, who freaking cares?
This is a dev community, the support here is what drives a lot of people to keep using their devices, tweak em, and tinker around.
Congrats on returning your device...make sure you let everyone know you did so based on hearsay/some misplaced worry. Last time I checked viewsonic never said it was dropping support, and as a matter of fact they have been leaning a different way entirely as evidenced not only by their twitter feed but actual OTA updates that you can receive.
This thread is lame.
rushless said:
From an out of box perspective, I would have been G-less from day two.
Still, you were a simple install away from a stable TnT Lite 2.4 and Flash is easy to install. For non modders that want out of box- the G is not "G" for good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I got the G Tablet I did it with 2 things in mind:
It is not an Apple (I am "alergic" to Apples).
I wanted to kick up my feet in my Lazy Boy and use it. I am getting too old and tired for constantly maintaining stuff. A year or so ago it would've been different.
I haven't seen Outlet devices all day - I just get an an error over and over.
Maybe they have my IP address blocked.
Calling the NB store.... maybe it's sitting in the Closeout section. (Crosses fringers)
Why aren't mainstream tech websites mentioning the gtab? It didn't even make it to most of the top 10 lists. Is there a conspiracy to downplay the effectiveness of the gtab once it's rooted and flashed? I've used the update viewsonic provided and even that has made the gtab totally awesome.
I'm just puzzled why the modding and hacking communities are the only ones recognizing the potential and power of this machine. None of the tech websites is mentioning anything about the potential behind this tablet. It's mind boggling. Even viewsonic has decided to stop supporting it. Why?
goodintentions said:
Why aren't mainstream tech websites mentioning the gtab? It didn't even make it to most of the top 10 lists. Is there a conspiracy to downplay the effectiveness of the gtab once it's rooted and flashed? I've used the update viewsonic provided and even that has made the gtab totally awesome.
I'm just puzzled why the modding and hacking communities are the only ones recognizing the potential and power of this machine. None of the tech websites is mentioning anything about the potential behind this tablet. It's mind boggling. Even viewsonic has decided to stop supporting it. Why?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cnet, PC magazine, mobile magazine and PC world have. It seems they have Apple stock they are banking on so they are plugging ipad. Notice every other commercial was ipad now its Xoom.
Those type entities like to cattle-herd consumers in certain directions for maximum profitability of those who are paying for advertising on their sites. GTab is a sleeper tab and although they down played it many are still buying as of late in mass quantity. It is selling by word of mouth by satisfied buyers. The very best advertising the kind you don't have to buy. Interesting to watch them change their reviews. Check out cnet for a laugh.
I think primarily because it doesn't come from one of the "big" companies like Motorola, Samsung, or HTC. There wasn't much of a push by Viewsonic advertising wise to put this thing in the spotlight and when it first came out it was lamented for it's poor viewing angles and horrible custom UI. Sure the product has improved immensely since launch by way of updates and custom ROMs but it's hard to shake off that initial impression. Right now many people see it as just another android 2.2 tablet.
It's all about Marketing, I'm sure. The Xoom is a media darling because Motorola has paid lots of money to make sure of that -- ie. the Superbowl commercial.
And Apple's Marketing juggernaut is legendary.
edirector said:
Cnet, PC magazine, mobile magazine and PC world have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, they did a quick review of the gtab when it first came out late last year basically saying it sux and then they haven't said anything else since.
Check out cnet for a laugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you mean? I just went to it. Didn't see anything different.
Here's an example of how much the GTAB is ignored
GTAB has had OTG access since Day One, even with the crappy software. The Xoom did not, when it was released.
So, I happened to find an OTG cable in my Bag of Carp and ported the GTAB config changes and init changes to the Xoom. I am not a dev by any means, but it was fairly easy to do, given my experience here - maybe an hour of work to port, test and then release.
The darn thing ended up on Engadget. The ONLY mod I've ever done that's made it to Engadget.
As happy as I was to see it get advertised, I had to scratch my head and wonder why my other mods, which required a LOT more work, and even the rest of the developers here have gotten zero recognition on sites like that. I know gojimi made it to Engadget once, but it was due to his Adam apps that he ported, not his GTAB ROMs.
Maybe the Woot! sale and subsequent $299 sales will finally give the GTablet the visibility it deserves.
I wonder if the larger "mainstream" publications shy away from anything ROM related (and probably root too).
I'm a woot-er waiting for mine still, but from all I've read, TnT out-of-the-box pretty much sucks and you have to be willing to do the flashing, etc to get it to a more useful state. So, since it's not a good tablet without a newly flashed ROM, this isn't really a great device for the general consumer.
That said, I'd think you'd see it get more play on more techy oriented websites that wouldn't be avoiding discussion of ROMs.
roebeet said:
Maybe the Woot! sale and subsequent $299 sales will finally give the GTablet the visibility it deserves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They haven't taken any notice of the woot deal, either when it was on, or now, even w the 10k sales in one day. Funny thing is when the Samsung Galaxy players went on sale in Korea, and apparently sold 10k in one day, that made news all over the place. That should tell you everything.
Jim
All journalists have a hive instinct.
jimcpl said:
They haven't taken any notice of the woot deal, either when it was on, or now, even w the 10k sales in one day. Funny thing is when the Samsung Galaxy players went on sale in Korea, and apparently sold 10k in one day, that made news all over the place. That should tell you everything.
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the $299.99 16GB iPad from Verizon also made front page news on Engadget this past week.
goodintentions said:
Yeah, they did a quick review of the gtab when it first came out late last year basically saying it sux and then they haven't said anything else since.
What do you mean? I just went to it. Didn't see anything different.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It moved up a half star.
chrishaw said:
I'm a woot-er waiting for mine still, but from all I've read, TnT out-of-the-box pretty much sucks and you have to be willing to do the flashing, etc to get it to a more useful state. So, since it's not a good tablet without a newly flashed ROM, this isn't really a great device for the general consumer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The last OTA actually made it faster and more functional. I would say to anyone getting a new gtab to give the stock a shot for a day or two. I was a totally different experience from when I first picked up a gtab to playing withe the latest OTA at office Max this weekend.
Sent from my Chromatic Magic using XDA Premium App
Did you see the tweet from viewsonic? G tablet outselling both ipad 2 and Xoom. Heh. Viewsonic owes this community because without the developers here this would have never been possible. Thank you guys! I love my g tablet,.....now. There is a link in their tweet to an article about it (didn't know if I could post, let me know and I will post the link)
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
Sweet! And there is whole bunch of us who got it from Woot too. The community here is amazing and to think that about a week ago many of us thought that there wasn't much life left for our g-tabs.
Viewsonic put out a winner here, well with a little help from a modded rom and kernel and this thing is fast and pretty awesome IMO.
I'm following @viewsonic on twitter, and, just received the tweet a little while ago. I retweeted adding "Thank the modders". Heh.
I am hopeful that with the additional sales Viewsonic will continue to support this tablet as Nvidia has said they will support Harmony based devices as long as the manufacturers do (or something like that) Don't disappoint us VS.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
drum747 said:
There is a link in their tweet to an article about it (didn't know if I could post, let me know and I will post the link)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please do so
http://www.topcomputertablets.com/v...mazon-ahead-of-ipad-2-xoom-and-others/223689/
mods, if Ive broken a rule please remove
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB using Tapatalk
I've been saying for months that VS is sitting on a goldmine in regard to their gtab. It's absolutely mind boggling that they seem to still be hesitant to cash in this goldmine. I don't understand why VS is so reluctant to endorse their own very popular product.
Edit.
It still seems like VS is trying it's darnest to promote the viewpad over the gtab even though hardly anyone even pays attention to the viewpad.
goodintentions said:
I've been saying for months that VS is sitting on a goldmine in regard to their gtab. It's absolutely mind boggling that they seem to still be hesitant to cash in this goldmine. I don't understand why VS is so reluctant to endorse their own very popular product.
Edit.
It still seems like VS is trying it's darnest to promote the viewpad over the gtab even though hardly anyone even pays attention to the viewpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote them that they were leaving money sitting on the table back when HC first came out and after the woot sale. All this tab needed was a solid OS. The article said it was beating ipad in sales and that it is set to win sleeper tab of the year. lol
Viewsonic has spent 1% on advertising the article said with most advertising coming from users like us and the boatload of youtube videos. The words they used was "went viral". Too funny!
edirector said:
I wrote them that they were leaving money sitting on the table back when HC first came out and after the woot sale. All this tab needed was a solid OS. The article said it was beating ipad in sales and that it is set to win sleeper tab of the year. lol
Viewsonic has spent 1% on advertising the article said with most advertising coming from users like us and the boatload of youtube videos. The words they used was "went viral". Too funny!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been trying to figure out for months why the hell VS released this gtab and decided to let it go quietly into the night and die. I'm willing to bet the new found popularity this tablet enjoys has come quite a surprise to them. Did not one of their marketing personnels see this coming?
And again, they are still trying their darnest trying to promote the viewpad while seemingly hoping for the gtab to die a quiet death. I just went around their website again and the feel is still the same. Their not-so popular viewpad remains their #1 focus even though it's not really bringing in any money. The gtab, on the other hand, is raking in the dough. When are they going to realize their mistake and start loving their forgotten son, the gtab?
goodintentions said:
I've been saying for months that VS is sitting on a goldmine in regard to their gtab. It's absolutely mind boggling that they seem to still be hesitant to cash in this goldmine. I don't understand why VS is so reluctant to endorse their own very popular product.
Edit.
It still seems like VS is trying it's darnest to promote the viewpad over the gtab even though hardly anyone even pays attention to the viewpad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Viewpad 7 is now $299 wasn't it just $499 about 15 days ago? It doesn't support flash 10.1 is what the write up is saying.
edirector said:
Viewpad 7 is now $299 wasn't it just $499 about 15 days ago? It doesn't support flash 10.1 is what the write up is saying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup. And still nobody is buying it. Some genius up high in VS decided to keep endorsing the failed products viewpad 7 and 10 while keep ignoring their succesful gtab. Let's face it, nobody wants a sluggish windows 7 atom processor in a tablet. I mean, what the hell are we going to do with it? Might as well get a netbook. Windows 7 was never designed for a mobile device like a tablet. And who the hell wants a 7 inch tablet that costs $500?
No wonder viewsonic ain't moving up the food chain any time soon. They got idiots running the show.
Edit.
Here's a video review of the viewpad 10. You can tell that the speaker was desperately trying to look for good things to say about the viewpad 10. Android 1.6? Windows 7? It's no good for anything.
That video was pretty sad. Is it me or is it thick as hell? The funny part was when he said it was quite responsive and it didn't move when he touched it. What does anyone need a dual boot tab for? I don't get that. Anyway next month they could be $199.
The commercial for the 7th inch has a guy holding it to his ear to make a call. Just put a Bluetooth earbud in his ear. He looked crazy with that big tab to his ear. Talking about the quickest route to brain cancer. The advertising for that device sucked.
edirector said:
That video was pretty sad. Is it me or is it thick as hell? The funny part was when he said it was quite responsive and it didn't move when he touched it. What does anyone need a dual boot tab for? I don't get that. Anyway next month they could be $199.
The commercial for the 7th inch has a guy holding it to his ear to make a call. Just put a Bluetooth earbud in his ear. He looked crazy with that big tab to his ear. Talking about the quickest route to brain cancer. The advertising for that device sucked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if you look around a bit you will see that VS must have been spending a fortune pushing the viewpads. They even made a bunch of videos and posted them on their website.
In other news, I'm starting to get the over capacity window thing for xda. Looks like xda is under seige again by wooters and amazoners.
Edit.
Half of the videos out there officially made for the gtab were criticisms of the gtab not being responsive because of the TnT UI. And yet in this video this guy was giving it a positive review even though he had to restart the OS to get a response.
The viewpad 7 and 10 are a total failure. VS should realize this and stop ignoring the gtab.
goodintentions said:
Let's face it, nobody wants a sluggish windows 7 atom processor in a tablet. I mean, what the hell are we going to do with it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install a full Linux distro on it! I think that the latest version of Ubuntu has touchscreen support. I purchased a second g-tablet from Woot just to put Linux on it. But nVidia seems to have suspended Linux support for the Tegra line. If the Viewpad prices keep falling, I may have a g-tablet for sale, and then I will get a Viewpad!
Amazon currently lists the tablets in this order of popularity (4/21/11/ 17:22):
#1 ViewSonic g-tablet
#2 Motorola Xoom
#3 Apple iPad2
EDIT: The Viewpad 7 has an ARM11 processor. Not as easy to install Linux on that one.
A few months ago, during the whole nVidia Harmony forum post fiasco, there seemed to be a pretty decent campaign by some members of XDA and other forums to get Viewsonic to support their product. That caused them to (at least temporarily) release the 1.2 branch.
This helped push forward ROMs by Roebeet and others. The future looked bright for Honeycomb on the Harmony platform.
Now, after asking a question on their Twitter post today, I am not so sure about Viewsonic's commitment to support a product that still has a lot of potential.
Here is the Twitter timeline:
ViewSonic
What do YOU use your tablet for the most? Tell us on Facebook! on.fb.me/ViewSonicCorp
tomsliwowski
@ViewSonic I'd love to use my GTab for Honeycomb. Are you ever going to support the GTab at all?
ViewSonic
@tomsliwowski The GTablet was never promoted as a Honeycomb product. There are multiple business and technical issues with both nVidia
ViewSonic
@tomsliwowski and Google that prevent later versions of the Android OS from being implemented on the GTablet.
tomsliwowski
@ViewSonic I'm sorry but that is simply not true. Customers of yours on XDA, SlateDroid and TabletROMs have versions of HC running.
ViewSonic
@tomsliwowski There are 3rd party companies that have hacked the device, however, Honeycomb is not support by ViewSonic on the gTablet.
tomsliwowski
@ViewSonic All they need is for you to release Harmony drivers which nVidia already publicly stated they will provide upon request from you
ViewSonic
@tomsliwowski For further support on this matter, please contact the gTablet support team at (310) 228-4000.
Frankly I didn't expect them to reply to me and to offload the blame to their partners that quickly. I know that if they don't put at least a fully working (i.e. minimally buggy) official 2.2 ROM I will not even consider Viewsonic for future hardware purchases.
Time to get on Twitter
Maybe ask Tom about an article on Viewsonic's commitment to the Gtab, on their own website.
viewsonic.com/company/news/vs_press_release_443666.htm
viewsonic is right on the first part but wrong when they dont provide the drivers
Well, this is a bummer.
Maybe we should be talking to Malata instead of Viewsonic.
Well if you want to make a vow to never buy another Viewsonic product do it now. Here is my hand, I pledge to never buy another Viewsonic product again.
Let's not just vow not to buy, we need to all start calling, emailing viewsonic, make sure you let them know you indend to not only stop buying their products but to also stop reccomending them to friends, family, customers, random people on the street. Let's tie up their phone lines, email and twitter accounts with our vocal displeasure.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I tried this with HP. My Dv6000 laptop was part of a whole batch of bad laptops. Not just dv6000 but a ton of the dv lines. Basically the laptops all overheated and eventually died within 1-2 years of use or less. I called, emailed, did everything and HP basically told me to eff off. I paid $1200 for the laptop as well. Companies suck these days. I will never buy an HP computer ever again because of this. So at least they are losing the customer and I do bad mouth them to people looking at computers because of how bad their customer service is. Google Dv6000 overheat 3 beeps, etc and you'll just see how many people out there had the same problem. HP are crooks.
To who it may concern,,,
The following is a letter that I emailed, faxed, snail mailed and posted on their forum:
I am or should I say was a loyal ViewSonic customer. That was until I learned that ViewSonic would not only release a version of HoneyComb for the GTablet, but that you would also not assist the development community in their endeavors to create at least a working HoneyComb-like OS by releasing the Harmony driver sets per Nvidia. Now I know who ever receives this will probably initially discount this as the ravings of one disgruntled customer. I would ask that you consider the following:
1) I am a techie. As such I enjoy big ticket techie items. I am in the market for a large screen television. Guess who I will no longer consider? You're now probably thinking, "Big deal so we lose one customer."
2) Also consider this, as a techie a lot of my friends and family often refer to my judgement on ALL things technical including purchases of electronics.
3) Oh yeah, I also posted this letter on every forum and blog that I am a member of. At last count we are talking 82 sites world wide.
Good luck in your future endeavors.
Signed,
A former customer
Never Again
Never again, I say, to viewsonic. That company is a rip off, and even if they improved their ethics, I will not buy. As long as I have self respect, I will not give them one cent, because I will not allow myself to be treated like I am worthless and alive only to service those a**'s. Already, I declined to buy a 24" monitor simply because it has the viewsonic brand.
My Pledge - 30 tweets in 30 days @viewsonic, with a msg similar to No customer care, no product support, cant be trusted, never make that mistake again, boycott, boycott, boycott, remember the gTab.
It would be really cool if at least five or ten people on this site joined in with me.
I too thought the same way when i purchased a Gtab. I am now rooted with Alpha Bottle Of Smoke rom and love it! all the honeycomb i want
I went ahead and sent a tweet @ViewSonic as well, asking them if they will ever provide support for a current or future Android OS
Im hoping they will eventually release an update and bring us up to at least gingerbread...
maybe we will get lucky and they will update the GTab with ice cream sandwich...
im expecting nothing though and hoping for something
Swaggasaurus said:
I too thought the same way when i purchased a Gtab. I am now rooted with Alpha Bottle Of Smoke rom and love it! all the honeycomb i want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Except for hardware acceleration which is a big deal
Sent from my GtabComb using Tapatalk
I think we might be better off hounding Andrew over at Nvidia for the drivers. He didnt want to give out any Google files but it sounded like he could help with the Nvidia stuff. Now that HC is ported maybe he can help with the drivers.
What's a good email address for viewsonic?
we should all just blow them up.
Swaggasaurus said:
I too thought the same way when i purchased a Gtab. I am now rooted with Alpha Bottle Of Smoke rom and love it! all the honeycomb i want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the Bottle of Smoke Rom allow USB access for transferring files and MicroSD card access?
If so, I will definitely check it out.
I had an interesting Chat conversation with Viewsonic technical support this evening. I knew that Viewsonic doesn't handle the tech support of the Gtablet any longer, but didn't want the support guy, Aljhon (I called him AL) to know that I knew that.
I simply wanted to ask him if Viewsonic was planning on releasing any other firmware updates for the stock TNT Firmware.
his Answer:
"Actually, have dedicated department that supports our G-Tablets. We do not have any information for Gtablet here."
"You may contact them directly at 310-228-4000 between 9AM-5PM PST, Monday through Friday."
I know that is US Merchants contact information, and figured he would probably provide it. I expanded my questioning, explaining that I didn't have any issues with the Gtablet and htat it works fine, just htat I was simply wanting to know if the development team had any plans to update the stock firmware any time soon.
"Honestly Mr. Evans, I would really glad to assist you regarding this but I do no have any information here in my resources."
I made the point that the Tablets are still selling, with the Viewsonic name on the back, and the Viewsonic logo shown at startup...
" I am unable to answer your concern because we do not have any information here for Gtablet."
then he just kept barking the "dedicated department" BS to me with US Merchants phone number.
Why was this conversation important? It says, to me at least, that Viewsonic has indeed abandoned this product. Their support team doesn't have "any information" regarding it. If they were planning on providing a stock firmware update, then that informaiton should be available, right? By stating that he doesn't have ANY information, I took it as Viewsonic washing their hands of the Gtablet, and letting it remain at the latest released firmware (1.1.3588).
I informed him that I would never recommend a Viewsonic product to anyone I know...though now, it seems that US Merchants has their stock, and is the only company profitting from Gtablets.
I highly doubt that US Merchants is developing anything, nor even has the resources to request anything that the community wants. Their contact was Viewsonic, and Viewsonic had the contacts.
Gtablet 1.1.3588 is the farthest that this thing will go, with support from it's manufacturer...
Why dont we start a petition and link it to viewsonics forums. Let the world speak. And that makes 10!
DKS1282 said:
Why dont we start a petition and link it to viewsonics forums. Let the world speak. And that makes 10!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because petitions don't mean anything if the other side doesn't listen. All VS has to do is ignore us and time will make people forget about us.
Unfortunately, I do not think that the number of disatisfied g-tablet users will affect them globally enough to change their stand.
We got a tablet with similar hardware at a much cheaper price and I would say that you get what you pay for.