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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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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)
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
According to Apple the Ipad weighs 1.5 to 1.6 depending upon model. The Viewsonic site lists gtablet at 1.55 pounds.
Anyone have a hands on comparison? Initial reports were that the viewing angles were comparable. Now that everyone seems to have gotten their 101s, opinion is the angles are better on the 101. Anyone here have pros/cons on the two?
xguntherc had a GTab, and now has a 101 - we were chatting earlier today on IRC about it.
The viewing angles are better, but it might be because they flipped the screen. So, when you put it on your desk, you can see it better than the GTab.
roebeet said:
xguntherc had a GTab, and now has a 101 - we were chatting earlier today on IRC about it.
The viewing angles are better, but it might be because they flipped the screen. So, when you put it on your desk, you can see it better than the GTab.
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Click to collapse
dammit i never caught that, turn the gpad upside down and the dam thing looks great laying flat.. son of a.. Why the hell would they do that?
wlawyer said:
dammit i never caught that, turn the gpad upside down and the dam thing looks great laying flat.. son of a.. Why the hell would they do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never noticed as we have full 360/4 step rotation... I actually got used tp my ZT-180s with Button on top and cables coming out bottom as I usually had it plugged in to power and usb/adb... so out of habit that's how I've been holding the GTab except for some apps that refuse to rotate as well as launchers like LauncherPro and ADW... now turning the 'right' way up I can at least see what folks were talking about...
I was curious about this as well. I had been trying to decide between the two but broke down and ordered the G Tablet today. Hopefully I made the right decision.
Originally I heard the screens were the exact same model. Then everyone started getting their tabs on Archosfans.com and said the angles were better. Now that I know we can just turn it around if we need a greater angle.
Not to pile-on the Gtablet, but compared to the 101 8gb (not mine):
1. Display has better viewing angles and more touch responsive.
2. Lighter and comfortable to play accelerometer games with it.
3. Accelerometer works correctly (How Hard Is That Vs?)
4. Microsd seen in storage mode (HHITV?)
5. Microsd and USB drives hot-swappable (HHITV?)
6. USB harddrives (FAT32) actually work and also hot-swappable (HHITV?)
7. Uses 2.1 ATM, so no point in comparing performance. That said, Archos opted for basically an Android vanilla UI (HHITV?)
8. Droid X has 3630 and twice the ram, but is weak compared to the Gtablet for Flash, large CBR and PDF files and PSX gaming. Since the 101 has half the ram of the Droid X, my guess is the Archos 101 will be weaker than the Droid X for performance with 2.2.
Simple solution for me is in the future with the Archos "201" which has the Tegra 2 and 512mb ram Great chipset, but with MUCH better build and FW design effort.
Actually, Acer is apparently releasing a 10" Honeycomb tablet with Tegra 2 in early April.....
I initially chose the GTab over the 101 because it was released first. But, going on my experience with my 32, if I had to choose between the GTab/101 I would choose....
...the GTab. Reasons:
- Easy to root, easy to mod. The Archos, on the other hand, is locked down tight.
- APX mode is awesome. Virtually unbrickable.
- SEARS Outlet. One consumer's lack of knowledge is another one's gain.
- Hardware. Yes, the 101 has better support right now. But the Tegra 2 will eventually eat it for lunch. I think its just a matter of time. Flash, in particular, might be a big issue on a 256MB RAM device.
- Froyo. Archos will get to it eventually but they've already disappointed me with their release delays.
The GTab does have more than a few issues, which we all know. But other than the screen angles and h264 high profile support, these are potentially fixable.
Hardware wise, the Viewsonic beats the Archos. If you go to the official BenchmarkPhi website from the BenchmarkPhi app, you'll notice that there are at least two or three Viewsonic G-tablets in the top 10 fastest device list. I didn't see any Archos 101s. The Tegra 2 ARM chip can run is so powerful, we will soon be able to multi-boot Windows 7, Android, Linux, and even Mac OS X.
rushless said:
Not to pile-on the Gtablet, but compared to the 101 8gb (not mine):
1. Display has better viewing angles and more touch responsive.
2. Lighter and comfortable to play accelerometer games with it.
3. Accelerometer works correctly (How Hard Is That Vs?)
4. Microsd seen in storage mode (HHITV?)
5. Microsd and USB drives hot-swappable (HHITV?)
6. USB harddrives (FAT32) actually work and also hot-swappable (HHITV?)
7. Uses 2.1 ATM, so no point in comparing performance. That said, Archos opted for basically an Android vanilla UI (HHITV?)
8. Droid X has 3630 and twice the ram, but is weak compared to the Gtablet for Flash, large CBR and PDF files and PSX gaming. Since the 101 has half the ram of the Droid X, my guess is the Archos 101 will be weaker than the Droid X for performance with 2.2.
Simple solution for me is in the future with the Archos "201" which has the Tegra 2 and 512mb ram Great chipset, but with MUCH better build and FW design effort.
Actually, Acer is apparently releasing a 10" Honeycomb tablet with Tegra 2 in early April.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed on all counts, but, for tinkers on the forums... most is all fixable.
roebeet said:
I initially chose the GTab over the 101 because it was released first. But, going on my experience with my 32, if I had to choose between the GTab/101 I would choose....
...the GTab. Reasons:
- Easy to root, easy to mod. The Archos, on the other hand, is locked down tight.
- APX mode is awesome. Virtually unbrickable.
- SEARS Outlet. One consumer's lack of knowledge is another one's gain.
- Hardware. Yes, the 101 has better support right now. But the Tegra 2 will eventually eat it for lunch. I think its just a matter of time. Flash, in particular, might be a big issue on a 256MB RAM device.
- Froyo. Archos will get to it eventually but they've already disappointed me with their release delays.
The GTab does have more than a few issues, which we all know. But other than the screen angles and h264 high profile support, these are potentially fixable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, gotta go with Roebeet. nVidia's Tegra2 just puts the smackdown on other available tablets ATM. Plus I think that with flash 256MB of DRAM is going to get a bit cramped, and might offer some difficulties in attempts to upgrade the OS past 2.2.
Software and video playback on the Archos are better ATM, but that seems to me to be exactly what Archos pushes their tablets as: multi-media devices primarily that also happen to be able to function as a tablet. (Sort of like Nook Color, Pandigital Novel, etc. are setup as ereaders w/color screens that also have some extra functionality although in these cases they tend to come with more customized UI making them "look" more like a reader device while Archo left theirs looking like Android, and let's not even talk about TnT... too lengthy for me to go into here.)
Anyways, so far out of Augen Gentouch78, White Pandigital Novel, and gTablet, the gTablet is the ONLY one that I've felt that good about OOB. It is just plain faster and more responsive by FAR than the other two and this is with stock TnT 1.01... (yep, I'm still on stock ATM)
Having owned both the G-Tablet and Archos 101 and doing reviews for both of them at MyTabletLife.com out of the box the Archos 101 wins by far.
With the Archos you get a very capable fast device with the familiar Android interface. Yes with Android 2.1 you cant compare some things, but I think the Archos will only improve with 2.2. My Droid 1 with 256MB or RAM and 600Mhz does just fine with Adobe Flash etc,so I would have to think that the Archos 101 with 1Ghz will be very capable of handling it well.
Viewing angles are much better then the G-Tablet. Though not as good as Galaxy Tab by any means. Neither is the brightness or clarity of the screen.
The Archos 101 is incredibly thin and light which I very much enjoy. I however did like the solid feel of the G-Tablet. Both tablets are well built and I would give a slight edge to the G-Tablet.
Overall expandability and longevity obviously go to the G-Tablet. The development community has worked fast on the G-Tablet and I am unsure if the Archos will have this as Archos had made it difficult in the past.
Right now the G-Tablet is 399 and the Archos 101 8GB is 299,so there is a hundred dollar price difference. I think both devices will be somewhat out of date in just 6 months, so its all about what you want now.....
Thin,light,works great out of box with great media features...
or
Powerful, needs to be tinkered with, good development..
CPG
MyTabletLife.com
Thanks for your detailed report! I have had no experience with the Archos -- I can't find one! -- but I'm no surprised that it would be better OOB. But thanks to roebeet et al the g-tablet is now very useable.
One question about viewing angle:
cpg716 said:
Viewing angles are much better then the G-Tablet. Though not as good as Galaxy Tab by any means. Neither is the brightness or clarity of the screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried to compare the screen of archos 101 with that of the g-tablet, with the latter **turned 180 degree** around (in landscape)? This was mentioned in one of the threads, and to my untrained eyes it makes a hugh difference -- not ipad good, but very useable. Have you tried that?
We still have the harsh reality that basic things that should work, do not on the Gtablet, but work smooth as butta' on the 101:
1. Accelerometer
2. Hotswap of microsd & USB thumbdrives & hard drives
3. Hard drives (fat23) do not appear to work with the Gtablet
4. Microsd not seen in USB storage mode (should be two logical drives- not just the internal).
5. Bluetooth input devices do not appear to work with TnT.
As far as bad things with the 101, not sure I agree with the 256mb ram not being a constraint (how would it not be?), unless you manage tasks with task manager to help out. Setting system apps to exclude and killing third party app should help.
The one issue that bugs me with the 101 is the soft buttons. They get in the way of apps and no practical way for devs to account for them. Either Archos comes up with a way for them to only pop up when needed, or apps will always be cut off and some soft button controls on some apps are not accessible.
case-sensitive said:
Thanks for your detailed report! I have had no experience with the Archos -- I can't find one! -- but I'm no surprised that it would be better OOB. But thanks to roebeet et al the g-tablet is now very useable.
One question about viewing angle:
Have you tried to compare the screen of archos 101 with that of the g-tablet, with the latter **turned 180 degree** around (in landscape)? This was mentioned in one of the threads, and to my untrained eyes it makes a hugh difference -- not ipad good, but very useable. Have you tried that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've been doing this and there is a big difference. i was sitting in a fixed position at my chair with the g on my desk. just by spinning the g upside down then back around you can tell a major difference. i haven't been able to watch movies this way yet.
do you have a fix for the not rec the SD card and you tube playback
wlawyer said:
dammit i never caught that, turn the gpad upside down and the dam thing looks great laying flat.. son of a.. Why the hell would they do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait......correct me if I m wrong, but your saying take the gtab apart, flip the screen, and we'll have better viewing angles??????
Sent from my G-tab using Tapatalk
Kov695 said:
Wait......correct me if I m wrong, but your saying take the gtab apart, flip the screen, and we'll have better viewing angles??????
Sent from my G-tab using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NO TAKING ANYTHING APART -- in landscape mode, just turn your g-tablet around so that the thinner bezel (the one with the camera) faces "down" (i.e. closer to your body).
It means a huge difference in terms of viewing angle. I claim no credit; I found out about this in a recent post but I don't remember where
The Poseidon Adventure move works- better angles. So let us see:
1. No hotswap
2. No USB storage for microsd
3. Accelerometer screwed up
4. LCD panel mounted upside down in relation to standard viewing angles.
Okeedokee
cutterjohn said:
Yep, gotta go with Roebeet. nVidia's Tegra2 just puts the smackdown on other available tablets ATM. Plus I think that with flash 256MB of DRAM is going to get a bit cramped, and might offer some difficulties in attempts to upgrade the OS past 2.2.
Software and video playback on the Archos are better ATM, but that seems to me to be exactly what Archos pushes their tablets as: multi-media devices primarily that also happen to be able to function as a tablet. (Sort of like Nook Color, Pandigital Novel, etc. are setup as ereaders w/color screens that also have some extra functionality although in these cases they tend to come with more customized UI making them "look" more like a reader device while Archo left theirs looking like Android, and let's not even talk about TnT... too lengthy for me to go into here.)
Anyways, so far out of Augen Gentouch78, White Pandigital Novel, and gTablet, the gTablet is the ONLY one that I've felt that good about OOB. It is just plain faster and more responsive by FAR than the other two and this is with stock TnT 1.01... (yep, I'm still on stock ATM)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jeepers! If you like the G now, update to TnT Lite 2.0, do the market fix and install the Nvidia patch, you will go into "like" over-drive.
The other issues are too much for me. At least as far as paying $400. get down to $300 and I can put up with more issues.... Assuming they get fixed at some point.
I plan on modding both of them heavily. Which is the better option. The thing is I hate the tap tap on the view sonic.
If you are going to flash the Roman on the viewsonic then you don't have to worry about the tapntap. Get the viewsonic, more memory....bigger screen.
What is roman? Do you mean rom? And also what rom do you guys recommend that looks the most like stock android?
Oops I meant rom (I blame autocorrect). Lots of people are using vegan or tntlite. I'm rocking tntlite.
Oh alright cool! And does it actually look like android? Nofication bar and all? Also is there a lock screen?
Oh alright cool! And do these roms actually look like android? Is there an unlock screen, cause I've heard there isn't.
I just read an article about the A7, and besides the memory, they claimed that it wasn't true multitouch...
Jim
binsky3333 said:
Oh alright cool! And do these roms actually look like android? Is there an unlock screen, cause I've heard there isn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VegaN has the default lock screen and yes... has notification bar.... some goodies that add buttons to it... but basically last beta was so fast and smooth I never went back to TnTLite...
Alright cool! I bought a elocity A7 lastnite! I think i am going to return it an instead pick one of these up from my local sears!
Viewsonic for now has more support here but has been out 6 weeks or more. The Elocity just came out so I think in time modding will be a wash. Depends u want bigger screen with worse viewi g angles or smaller screen that has less ram but is less expensive so can get bigger sd card. Out of the box ui and flash is better on Elocity.
As far as moding goes, the gtab would probably be the easiest with its lack of bootloader security.
An far an use goes, the 10 inch is better for browsing and every day use. The 7 inch is more portable for carrying around.
I have a gtab and an archos 70, and that is my thoughts on the two form factors. Basically the 10 inch is better for general use and the 7 inch is better if portability is the main priority.
Marine6680 said:
As far as moding goes, the gtab would probably be the easiest with its lack of bootloader security.
An far an use goes, the 10 inch is better for browsing and every day use. The 7 inch is more portable for carrying around.
I have a gtab and an archos 70, and that is my thoughts on the two form factors. Basically the 10 inch is better for general use and the 7 inch is better if portability is the main priority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Elocity apparently comes rooted so it will be modders dream if we can get someone like Roebeet or Rothnic on it
WoW Elocity seems great
Where are you getting the Elocity from and what is the price.. I may look into it. sounds like a killer device.. .
Google is your friend
Its on amazon.
It's certainly an interesting looking device. I'd love to see one in person so I could play with it a bit. I've had and returned a couple of 7" tablets and the form factor was pretty nice and portable, it was always the processor that was lacking so this would seem to fix that issue for me. For the price it certainly has a nice feature set though, and it's pretty tempting.
I have both the Elocity A7 and Viewsonic G Tablet. I will have to say, my preference leans towards a smaller screen. I currently have the EVO and for light reading, etc the A7 did it for me. It already came rooted however, as it's mentioned earlier, the hack community for this tablet is VERY small - if it even exist at all. For that reason alone, I decided to focus on my Viewsonic.
I finally flashed it with TnT Lite on my Viewsonic and it has been a godsend. I hate saying this and I've defended argument about how the Android market access doesn't "make or break" a tablet but in this case, I am returning my Elocity A7 due to the lack of "hacks" and ability to gain access to the Android market. I am sure that in a few weeks/months, the Elocity A7 will have access to the market through a flash, etc but I personally cannot wait that long considering that I only have a limited time before I'm "outside" of their return policy.
Additionally, the Elocity A7 is somewhat "buggy". Not sure why but coming out of standby, the tablet is VERY slow - almost to the point where you can't use it and just wait for a little bit. Also, the power/standby button and the tablet's reaction time to come out of standby or go into standby is heavily delayed. I'm talking a good 4-6 seconds here. That's not acceptable.
It's also not true multi-touch and this is what broke the camel's back on my end. There's pinch to zoom on the browser but even that is buggy. You zoom in and it "over zooms" so it's basically useless for that purpose. I've tested the multitouch function through the multitouch app and it only recognizes one finger. With the awesome hardware it has, I'm not sure why the company decided on a one-finger capacitative screen. That just boggles my mind.
Viewsonic is by no means exempt from bugs as well. Why does the tablet come out of standby when I press the home key? Isn't that what the standby/power button is for? The sound: apparently you need it to be at the max to hear anything. Not but not least (and this is probably what the "defect" is), the screen. Viewsonic is known for making awesome monitors, right? Um. Yea.
But all in all, the Elocity is going back and I'm keeping the ViewSonic. I'm not 100% happy with what I have but with the support it has from the XDA community, I feel more "secure" keeping this product for the long-term (I'm sure I meant short term, but I you know what I mean).
Edit: Oh yea...BTW, the battery life difference between the A7 and G Tablet is NIGHT and DAY. While the A7 battery is slightly better than that of say, an Android smartphone, the Viewsonic battery life is absolutely phenomenal. I actually sat down one day for a good (ashamed to admit) 3 hours straight using this thing. One hour, I streamed Pandora while loading RSS feeds and playing Angry Birds for a good 1.5 to 2 hours and I was at 80% battery life! You cannot beat that.
I had the Viewsonic G Tablet and it took it back due to the defect scare. maybe i will go back and pick it up. I don't know.. however i need a tablet before christmas and the adam from notion ink is nowhere to be found. Can anyone assist me... I am not going to bother with the elocity... so I guess I need to choose between the Nook color, the archos 101 and the Viewsonic G tablet. I will use it ot read books, magazines, ocassional games.. web browsing, and whatever else I can think up. I usually get my devices and mod all of em. Please help.. the local sears has 5 in stock... however they have about 9 of them at the clearance outlet for a cheaper price...
chiliu78 said:
I have both the Elocity A7 and Viewsonic G Tablet. I will have to say, my preference leans towards a smaller screen. I currently have the EVO and for light reading, etc the A7 did it for me. It already came rooted however, as it's mentioned earlier, the hack community for this tablet is VERY small - if it even exist at all. For that reason alone, I decided to focus on my Viewsonic.
I finally flashed it with TnT Lite on my Viewsonic and it has been a godsend. I hate saying this and I've defended argument about how the Android market access doesn't "make or break" a tablet but in this case, I am returning my Elocity A7 due to the lack of "hacks" and ability to gain access to the Android market. I am sure that in a few weeks/months, the Elocity A7 will have access to the market through a flash, etc but I personally cannot wait that long considering that I only have a limited time before I'm "outside" of their return policy.
Additionally, the Elocity A7 is somewhat "buggy". Not sure why but coming out of standby, the tablet is VERY slow - almost to the point where you can't use it and just wait for a little bit. Also, the power/standby button and the tablet's reaction time to come out of standby or go into standby is heavily delayed. I'm talking a good 4-6 seconds here. That's not acceptable.
It's also not true multi-touch and this is what broke the camel's back on my end. There's pinch to zoom on the browser but even that is buggy. You zoom in and it "over zooms" so it's basically useless for that purpose. I've tested the multitouch function through the multitouch app and it only recognizes one finger. With the awesome hardware it has, I'm not sure why the company decided on a one-finger capacitative screen. That just boggles my mind.
Viewsonic is by no means exempt from bugs as well. Why does the tablet come out of standby when I press the home key? Isn't that what the standby/power button is for? The sound: apparently you need it to be at the max to hear anything. Not but not least (and this is probably what the "defect" is), the screen. Viewsonic is known for making awesome monitors, right? Um. Yea.
But all in all, the Elocity is going back and I'm keeping the ViewSonic. I'm not 100% happy with what I have but with the support it has from the XDA community, I feel more "secure" keeping this product for the long-term (I'm sure I meant short term, but I you know what I mean).
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I have both as well. This post is spot on, 100% in line with how I feel. Honestly, the answer is neither. I'm going to return both devices. The dealbreaker for the gtablet is the horrible screen viewing angles. The dealbreaker for the A7 is the lack of multitouch (and the low screen resolution). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something worthy of my dollars will be released during CES.
l3iggs said:
I have both as well. This post is spot on, 100% in line with how I feel. Honestly, the answer is neither. I'm going to return both devices. The dealbreaker for the gtablet is the horrible screen viewing angles. The dealbreaker for the A7 is the lack of multitouch (and the low screen resolution). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that something worthy of my dollars will be released during CES.
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And I'll tell you what that is cause I'll be going to CES this year! Sorry. I had to brag a little.
alynch75 said:
Where are you getting the Elocity from and what is the price.. I may look into it. sounds like a killer device.. .
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Bj's was running a sale last week for 299$ plus shipping
Amazon has it for 349$
Both tablets seem to have the same hardware and the only difference I can really find between the two is that the Xoom runs stock 3.1 out of the box and the Tab runs Touchwiz on top of 3.1 and that the tab is a bit thinner than the Xoom.
That being said, if you had to choose again, would you get the Xoom again or would you switch to the Tab or another tablet and why?
I am looking to get one of these tablets so I greatly appreciate any useful input.
i'd probably get the tab, just because its sleeker. I haven't really gotten to play with it. It's really up too you, it depends what ur needs are for a tablet.
There isn't a "need". More of an extreme want.
Does anyone know how the quality of community development compares between the two?
There have been some negative comments on the Tabs' build quality and the TouchWiz integration. The Tab may be lighter, but the Xoom can withstand some punishment.
Tiamat has done some developing for the Xoom, but I see no point in running a custom ROM with a custom kernel. If I was noticing performance issues, FC's, and the like then I would. The stock Xoom ROM's (especially 3.2) are quite stable and haven't given me any issues. 3.2 fixed the home screen performance lag issues, which made me a happy camper.
I haven't played with nor researched the Tab to make a valued opinion, but I am more than content with my Xoom.
the fact is that I dislike is that the tab feels more "bloated" whenever samsung implanted the "touchwiz" in it
I will prefer the partial aluminium back plate xoom + the stock android anytime
pennzoilgtr said:
the fact is that I dislike is that the tab feels more "bloated" whenever samsung implanted the "touchwiz" in it
I will prefer the partial aluminium back plate xoom + the stock android anytime
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Click to collapse
Did not know that the Xoom has an aluminum backplate.
I've heard a few things about the tiamat kernel being pretty stable, but how are the other ROMs? Any speed or performance increases over stock 3.2?
yeah same here, got my xoom 3 weeks ago after long tablets comparison and very happy with it, dont care if it's heavy, i even got it cased with otterbox defender to make it safe, also gives it a good grip and protects the screen when i dont use it, didn't try the tab but i know that it's build quality is not even close to the xoom, like all samsung phones i have seen, they feel they are made of cheap plastic. also no external SD slot, HDMI, just feels like the crippled ipad and for the honeycomb, i am running stock 3.2 and it's great, just gonna root it soon to get it overclocked, OTG support for thumb sticks, and write capability for the microSD other than that i can't see anything that xoom lacks
xoom all the way
Motorola builds tough (my blackberries have been damn near bullet proof, the black v3 razr hinge was crisp even after a couple years of daily use, and this is no exception). It's a touch weightier but I've enjoyed the solid nature - I don't feel like it's going to break under my larger than average hands. Add the otterbox case and it's even better.
Plus there's Samsung's proprietary port nonsense, they really did ape after Apple on that one and it's a 'feature' I will happily run away from screaming into the arms of the Xoom with the micro usb, mini hdmi, etc.
Samsung has spent oodles on their advertising, but it's money they should have sunk into the design and build instead.
hector_122 said:
yeah same here, got my xoom 3 weeks ago after long tablets comparison and very happy with it, dont care if it's heavy, i even got it cased with otterbox defender to make it safe, also gives it a good grip and protects the screen when i dont use it, didn't try the tab but i know that it's build quality is not even close to the xoom, like all samsung phones i have seen, they feel they are made of cheap plastic. also no external SD slot, HDMI, just feels like the crippled ipad and for the honeycomb, i am running stock 3.2 and it's great, just gonna root it soon to get it overclocked, OTG support for thumb sticks, and write capability for the microSD other than that i can't see anything that xoom lacks
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Click to collapse
Xoom all the way. It's got everything with HC 3.2, Tiamat Xoom Rom 2.2 Moray with oc cpu to 1504GHZ and oc gpu Tachi kernel. So fast, so smooth, r/w micro sdcard, usbOTG thumb drive and HDD...good sound, nice, naturalistic color, 7 screens with ADW EX....I'm in heaven!
Haven't played with the samsung, so can't comment on that, but...
Xoom is very well-built... would definitely buy again and wouldn't really look at others since they don't seem to offer much, on the surface, different. That might all change, of course, when the next round of tabs come out.
Re: ROMs, Tiamat is really the only game in town... and their ROMs are superb... tremendous improvement over stock (like LiViD, I never saw a need for custom until, on a whim,I tried it... wouldn't conceive of gping back now). There are a couple teams doing kernels - Tiamat and Rogue. Both are excellent. Right now, I'm running the latest Tiamat ROM (moray) and Rogue kernel (arcturus) with great results (faster, more stable, better batt life than prev versions and way better than stock)... and there are also some nice additional features.
Hope this helps.
okantomi said:
Xoom all the way. It's got everything with HC 3.2, Tiamat Xoom Rom 2.2 Moray with oc cpu to 1504GHZ and oc gpu Tachi kernel. So fast, so smooth, r/w micro sdcard, usbOTG thumb drive and HDD...good sound, nice, naturalistic color, 7 screens with ADW EX....I'm in heaven!
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Click to collapse
so after rooting, can i just flash the tiamat rom 2.2 moray and the tachi kernal all together at the same time ?? so i would have both overclocks and all other features ? sorry i am not really good with android flashing and rooting, i came from the good old Dell axim x51v and flashing roms there was really easy compared to android
hector_122 said:
so after rooting, can i just flash the tiamat rom 2.2 moray and the tachi kernal all together at the same time ?? so i would have both overclocks and all other features ? sorry i am not really good with android flashing and rooting, i came from the good old Dell axim x51v and flashing roms there was really easy compared to android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have the right Clockwork Mod Recovery installed, flashing a rom/kernel couldn't be easier. You will have to do a wipe data/factory reset the first time you flash a new rom (to get rid of stuff in the system that could conflict). I usually flash the rom 1st, and then if I want some additional features from the kernel (in this case the rom includes the stock gpu version of the kernel and I wanted the overclocked gpu) I just flash the kernel after I reboot the rom and make sure everything is set up and working well. If I did both at the same time and had a problem, I wouldn't know what caused it. (Though most of the time it would be the rom...still it's better to make changes a step at a time.)
I never had a good experience when it came to Samsung products... digital camera broke, tv crapped out.... my sister has the samsung washer and dryer and they seem okay for now
I just got my xoom not that long ago and I'm very happy with it... the only thing thats a little annoying is the amount of apps... figured there would be more... im sick of seeing iPoo get all the good apps first lol
Well, I posted in the Tab and Xoom forums at the same time. The Xoom community seems to be more enthused about their tablet. The only plus side they have come up with in the two comments is that its lighter and thinner. From what I can see, the Xoom is the better tablet overall with stock 3.2. If I actually cared about thickness and weight I would go with the Tab, but I'm more concerned with overall performance and user experience.
However, I will probably wait until the tegra3 devices get launched (hopefully with ICS) in the coming months.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1259258
^^^The link to the other thread^^^
Waiting for Tegra3 ? Just when you will decide to buy Tegra 3 there will be news of coming tegra 4.....
Bottom line is it is not about processor or ram it is more about release of Honeycomb source for more custom roms.
And the apps available for HC are far less then gingerbread or ipad.
rohit3192 said:
Waiting for Tegra3 ? Just when you will decide to buy Tegra 3 there will be news of coming tegra 4.....
Bottom line is it is not about processor or ram it is more about release of Honeycomb source for more custom roms.
And the apps available for HC are far less then gingerbread or ipad.
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Click to collapse
There are actually so many really good tablet specific apps. There's not enough time in a day to play all the decent games, use all the productivity apps, tweak my system with all the root tools, draw, paint, listen to music and audio books, read and stream video, etc... What the heck else do you want?
rohit3192 said:
Waiting for Tegra3 ? Just when you will decide to buy Tegra 3 there will be news of coming tegra 4.....
Bottom line is it is not about processor or ram it is more about release of Honeycomb source for more custom roms.
And the apps available for HC are far less then gingerbread or ipad.
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Click to collapse
Its just hard to ignore the fact of running a ~1.4GHz quadcore processor in a portable tablet. I'm a severe technogeek and I like having the best, so when I hear something is supposed to come out in ~3 months I don't mind waiting.
okantomi said:
There are actually so many really good tablet specific apps. There's not enough time in a day to play all the decent games, use all the productivity apps, tweak my system with all the root tools, draw, paint, listen to music and audio books, read and stream video, etc... What the heck else do you want?
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Click to collapse
I have gone back to stock(bootloader locked again )
I have found good music player but disappointed with video players(mx,mobo,rock...)tried all.
My past Samsung infuse with single core processor handled movies better(that even played 1080p files)
Lots of reboots whether due to file or app.
rohit3192 said:
I have gone back to stock(bootloader locked again )
I have found good music player but disappointed with video players(mx,mobo,rock...)tried all.
My past Samsung infuse with single core processor handled movies better(that even played 1080p files)
Lots of reboots whether due to file or app.
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Click to collapse
I don't get it...you are using the Xoom with one hand tied behind your back. However, as they say, YMMV.
Xoom for build quality and pure android experience.
Samsung tab for the screen (yes it is better then the xooms)
With all that said i picked up my 3g xoom for 500$ and never looked back!
I just purchased this from Woot for $299 bundled with the dock.
I still haven't received it, I probably will next week, I just had some questions.
(I did own the TF300 dock bundle and liked it but had to sell it)
Do you think that's a good deal?
Do you still enjoy your TF700?
If you have CM10 on it, how does it work?
If you have any other ROM, what do you like about it?
Anything you feel I should know (or get)?
Case recommendations would be nice.
Thanks in advance!
yugendreams said:
I just purchased this from Woot for $299 bundled with the dock.
I still haven't received it, I probably will next week, I just had some questions.
(I did own the TF300 dock bundle and liked it but had to sell it)
Do you think that's a good deal?
Do you still enjoy your TF700?
If you have CM10 on it, how does it work?
If you have any other ROM, what do you like about it?
Anything you feel I should know (or get)?
Case recommendations would be nice.
Thanks in advance!
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Click to collapse
$300 with the dock is a fair deal for a new tablet with these spec's.
No I do not like my T700 anymore, the ram is not powerful enough to run at the tablets native resolution causing the machine to run slow and hang all the time.
CM10 works fine, it's the only way to stomach using this tablet. Don't keep this tablet unless you plan to root it. Heck Don't buy it period buy the new amazon kindle and root that. . .
I use a rooCASE you can find them on Amazon they are fantastic.
The rams fine, although 1gb is restrictive, most devices only have 1gb and android really dont need more currently. Theres a well known issue with Asus using cheap nand chips resulting to low IO performance, with custom ROMs and kernels this can be counteracted and isnt much of an issue.
This was the case with the tf300t also.
JoinTheRealms said:
The rams fine, although 1gb is restrictive, most devices only have 1gb and android really dont need more currently. Theres a well known issue with Asus using cheap nand chips resulting to low IO performance, with custom ROMs and kernels this can be counteracted and isnt much of an issue.
This was the case with the tf300t also.
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Ya, I had a Nexus 7 and it only had 1gb of RAM and it still flew. That is on a smaller tablet with the lower resolution.
I do plan on unlocking it and using a rom.
I was mainly curious if this thing is the beast I've heard about once it's unleashed or if the bitter people in the Amazon reviews were just unsavvy with tech and use everything stock.
I won't be doing too much except web surfing, maybe a little bit of gaming and some video watching and social media using. Nothing too spectacular. I just really liked my tf300 and remember dreaming of having this baby, or even the prime, in exchange. Mainly for the dock. Dat dock.
yugendreams said:
Ya, I had a Nexus 7 and it only had 1gb of RAM and it still flew. That is on a smaller tablet with the lower resolution.
I do plan on unlocking it and using a rom.
I was mainly curious if this thing is the beast I've heard about once it's unleashed or if the bitter people in the Amazon reviews were just unsavvy with tech and use everything stock.
I won't be doing too much except web surfing, maybe a little bit of gaming and some video watching and social media using. Nothing too spectacular. I just really liked my tf300 and remember dreaming of having this baby, or even the prime, in exchange. Mainly for the dock. Dat dock.
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Click to collapse
Well the biggest point of this tablet is the screen, which is still one of the best on the market, ive even been reading that the tf701 has a strange yellow tint to the screen, not the case here.
At stock their are issues with the tablet, caused mostly by that IO bottleneck, With cromi and _thatv5 or hundsbuah kernels this tablet is very smooth, for a bit of a gaming comparison i was able to play dead trigger 2 with tegra 4 extended effects at about 20-30fps using hundsbuahs kernel heavily overclocked, which is very acceptable considering its pushing a 1920x1200 screen.
I also have a tf300t in the house, and a side by side comparision makes the tf300t's screen hard to look at lol, before i owned the tf700 i thought the tf300ts screen was fantastic.
There is really no performance benefit over the tf300t but the tf700 is still a better tablet. For me the main advantage is our native linux dualboot. Turns this device into a very portable notebook with an almost unrivaled battery life, and fantastic for school etc, and then use android for media/ gaming etc.
JoinTheRealms said:
Well the biggest point of this tablet is the screen, which is still one of the best on the market, ive even been reading that the tf701 has a strange yellow tint to the screen, not the case here.
At stock their are issues with the tablet, caused mostly by that IO bottleneck, With cromi and _thatv5 or hundsbuah kernels this tablet is very smooth, for a bit of a gaming comparison i was able to play dead trigger 2 with tegra 4 extended effects at about 20-30fps using hundsbuahs kernel heavily overclocked, which is very acceptable considering its pushing a 1920x1200 screen.
I also have a tf300t in the house, and a side by side comparision makes the tf300t's screen hard to look at lol, before i owned the tf700 i thought the tf300ts screen was fantastic.
There is really no performance benefit over the tf300t but the tf700 is still a better tablet. For me the main advantage is our native linux dualboot. Turns this device into a very portable notebook with an almost unrivaled battery life, and fantastic for school etc, and then use android for media/ gaming etc.
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Click to collapse
Yea, that sounds like what I was kind of expect. From what I could understand.
I never really had to instal a kernel on any of my devices so I'm not familiar with what to choose and all. Any recommendations or links would be much appreciated. I would like to have it dual-boot linux, although I'm curious if it works with any rom I pick, because I'd honestly really like to be using 4.3 if it's running properly.
Should I unlock this thing right when I get it because it's a great deal and a great tablet so who cares about the warranty or should I wait a while?
I guess I'm just hoping I don't get a tablet that lags all the time. I've heard black and white on that. But I'm not doing anything crazy on it so I figure I should be golden.
Well i proberly recommend this
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2230059 for cromi
if you need more performance and the cost of battery
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2143093 this is a good choice.
I havnt tried android 4.3 on this tablet (cyanogenmod etc) as im not a fan of the 4.2+ laucher, but it should run fine, i know some ROMs lack alot of framework for the keyboard dock that the stock roms have, but thats up to you
The dualboot has up til now only supported stock/cromi roms, but with the new method should work fine.
My recommendation on unlocking would be to use the tablet as stock for 2-5 days to make sure there are no hardware defects, after that you should be good to unlock. In that 2-5 days i recommend reading through the forum to understand the methods used to flash roms, unlock, root etc
One example of this is backing up your mmcblk0p6 partition and restoring it after unlocking with i believes restores the drm keys that are removed during unlocking process, i think these keys are needed for full hd playback in some drm apps.