Database Info

Honeycomb Rumor

Before we start, it may appear Motorola and Samsung will be the only ones who will have a Honeycomb product until at least May/June. The reasons being:-
1. Honeycomb supply to manufacturers have been delayed until May/June. I dont know exactly what this means except that the manufacturers I work with cannot get access to Honeycomb for their products (but it may be related to the next rumor).
2. Honeycomb wont be open sourced and a major manufacturer is working with Google on trying to secure licensing.
Sorry I cant be more specific than this. The second rumor contradicts everything Google has done so far, but if I mention the manufacturer involved, it lends weight to the rumor.
Does anyone else have any further information to collaborate/debunk these rumors?
EDIT: When I say Honeycomb wont be open sourced, I meant Google plans to close source it and Honeycomb will require a license.

I'm gonna call BS on all of the above.
#1. New member, first post, no sources or company names given.
#2. Honeycomb SDK is already published. Functional installs of Honeycomb can and have already been built from this.
#3. Licensing means they CANNOT closed source it
Either present us with some evidence, or quit spouting rubbish.

FloatingFatMan said:
I'm gonna call BS on all of the above.
#1. New member, first post, no sources or company names given.
#2. Honeycomb SDK is already published. Functional installs of Honeycomb can and have already been built from this.
#3. Licensing means they CANNOT closed source it
Either present us with some evidence, or quit spouting rubbish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ couldn't put it better myself.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

There is a reason why this is a new account, if it isnt obvious to you.
I am not asking for speculative opinions, I am wondering if there is anyone else in the industry hearing either of these rumors.

Atleast give some sources?
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Sorry, the market for real Honeycomb products is actually very small at the moment so any hints will reveal too much. Please, if anyone else has heard anything just PM me.

Small huh? There are plenty of devices coming out quite soon. Acer's Iconia Tab A500, for example, has just had its FCC approval granted and will be out mid-April. That's running Honeycomb, so kinda slaps your "rumours" in the chops about it not being available until June.

FloatingFatMan said:
#3. Licensing means they CANNOT closed source it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What licence exactly?
FYI Android itself is licensed under the Apache software license, which is a non-copyleft licence.
If Google so chose, they could keep Honeycomb itself closed source, and their only open source requirement would be publishing the source for the linux kernel on shipping devices.
Regards,
Dave

foxmeister said:
What licence exactly?
FYI Android itself is licensed under the Apache software license, which is a non-copyleft licence.
If Google so chose, they could keep Honeycomb itself closed source, and their only open source requirement would be publishing the source for the linux kernel on shipping devices.
Regards,
Dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because they've already released it under open license.

FloatingFatMan said:
Because they've already released it under open license.
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The latest release of Android released under the Apache Software Licence is Gingerbread - that can't be taken back.
However, anything built on top of that source can be closed source if the developer so wishes, and that includes Honeycomb!
I still expect Google to release Honeycomb under the ASL, but the point it - *they don't have to!*.
Regards,
Dave

Seriously guys,do you really think that in times like these we're living,Google will abandon the idea that made their OS so successful?I highly doubt that...

tolis626 said:
Seriously guys,do you really think that in times like these we're living,Google will abandon the idea that made their OS so successful?I highly doubt that...
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I absolutely agree with you - I cannot fathom any reason for Google to make Honeycomb close source. This rumor (#2) is from a bigger company than the company that provided the first rumor.

Interesting news ! Thanks for the share !

FloatingFatMan said:
I'm gonna call BS on all of the above.
#1. New member, first post, no sources or company names given.
[...]
Either present us with some evidence, or quit spouting rubbish.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same as the troll who claimed Samsung were trying to charge networks for software updates yet everyone was willing to believe that...
I'm not arguing that this looks and smells like trolling, merely attempting to highlight that plenty of people round here seem to be quite happy to 'never let the facts get in the way of a good story'.

Sorry to double-post but Engadget has an article on the matter.
Here's a quote from Google:
Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we're excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we've decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We're committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it's ready.
Click to expand...
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Absolutely no mention of licences.
It does, on the other hand, talk of Honeycomb 'not being ready, which ties in to a lot of reviews and impressions of it as an OS.
Again, I feel this is very similar to the 'Samsung charging for upgrades' rumour - something takes a little bit longer than normal to happen and a minority start making up ridiculous rumours to try and explain it.

Step666 said:
Sorry to double-post but
Here's a quote from Google:
Absolutely no mention of licences.
It does, on the other hand, talk of Honeycomb 'not being ready, which ties in to a lot of reviews and impressions of it as an OS.
Again, I feel this is very similar to the 'Samsung charging for upgrades' rumour - something takes a little bit longer than normal to happen and a minority start making up ridiculous rumours to try and explain it.
Click to expand...
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I am not sure whether my post occurred before the Engadget article or not, but this article certainly validates rumor #1. It would be interesting to see how this affects manufacturers who have announced Honeycomb products (one poster mentioned Acer earlier). I know some are launching Gingerbread instead, which isnt ideal.
While the link between the two rumors is subject to interpretation, the two rumors were taken from different sources. The second rumor is less believable (even to me) however, the source is from a significantly larger company.

No, it doesn't validate rumour number one.
You claimed that manufacturers are unable to get a copy of Honeycomb - there's a big difference between Google publicly releasing the source code and passing copies of it to manufacturers.
Do you really think that when Google released Froyo's or GIngerbread's source code that that was the first time HTC, Samsung etc had seen it?
I really don't.
Also, as has been pointed out already, the fact that there are Honeycomb devices coming from a range of manufacturers goes some way to disproving your point.
As for the believability of your rumours, unless you can back them up with any sort of proof, I don't see any reason to believe either of them.

Well the op might be on to something at least. I'm not buying that top tier manufacturers won't be able to get the code as LG and Acer among others are going to be releasing tablets with honeycomb in the coming weeks.
http://www.androidcentral.com/google-not-open-sourcing-honeycomb-says-bloomberg

Thank you so much for this article - this is another source verifying the difficulty of manufacturers getting honeycomb source code. There is no doubt the Tier 1 companies will get preferential access to the code - the question is, who is seen as Tier 1 by Google.
Perhaps in regards to licensing, this may be just a legal formality for companies to get access to Honeycomb at the moment, and it is unclear whether these licenses will cost anything.
Thank you again, this has been a great help. This is a third party source we can use to explain to our clients why we cannot launch honeycomb at the date we promised.

I am glad Google isn't releasing the code so cheap companies can't just stick Honeycomb on crap devices and make it look bad.
Sent from my Incredible with the XDA Premium App.

Apathetic towards Viewsonic (June 2011 update)

1- OTA updater has been broken for six days, now (it started on Monday). This is completely unacceptable, given that this is the ONLY way to get updates from them officially. What if you got the item from Tiger Direct in the last week at $299, and have build 2963 on it? If you didn't go to XDA and fix this manually yourself, you'd be SOOL.
2- The last official firmware was in mid January. We are going on three months since the last stock update. We know there was a UAT that was significantly better than the one in January, but it was never released (and eventually pulled from the TapnTap servers) with a "TBD" for the new ETA.
I'm going to very blunt, and I hope that Viewsonic is reading this. I'm very disappointed in how this is all going down, ESPECIALLY given that you've had a big bump in user numbers in the last two weeks or so. You and I both know this, and yet you can't seem to get your act together, here.
I'm not your developer - you are not paying me, or XDA, to do your support work for you. And we certainly should not be the place to send users to get their stock updates - that's just ridiculous. Please get a meeting together with TapnTap, or whoever you need to, early next week and get them to fix these issues, please. If I were running the show over there, I'd have them on the phone a week ago asking for an ETA ASAP, and updating that web site with details on what's going on and when it will be fixed. Seriously, your web site still talks about the December firmware release (the one, btw, that the poor Tiger Direct users haven't been able to even get, since Monday) - are your web developers asleep over there?
If it wasn't for the user base here in XDA, my device would have probably been wiped and cleaned up right about now, and I would have put this thing up for sale. I actually know at least one dev here in XDA who's already done this. And, as time goes on, I'll be more inclined to do this if you've made the decision to completely abandon this device. Because, to be blunt, this is the perception that I'm starting to get, as the days drag on with no resolution.
I'm not asking for Honeycomb - I just want you to get your current problems fixed and at least get that 1.2 dev branch released. I know you have an account here, so maybe a reply to this thread would set all our minds at ease.
Thank you.
4/11/2011 EDIT -- agree with me and want your voice heard?
twitter: @viewsonic
contact us page: http://www.viewsonic.com/contact/
Phone Number: 866-501-6405 / 310-228-4000. (thanks snapz54 and chili_red!)
4/12/2011 EDIT -- OTA updater is still borked, as of this writing. And the next firmware update, as per their web site, is now "anticipated" in May.
4/13/2011 EDIT -- Even more details on who you can contact (thanks snapz54!): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12843221&postcount=189 The OTA Updater is still down, but should be up tomorrow (allegedly).
4/14/2011 EDIT -- OTA updater is up, finally. Showing "3588" as the latest, so no new update (this was not a surprise).
4/15/2011 EDIT -- I think it's time to change the title of this post.
6/22/2011 EDIT -- Thread is still alive? 4349 was pulled in mid-April, still no word on an update from them 2 months later. 3588 (from January) is still technically their "latest", as per the OTA updater. I am actually beyone aggravated, I am apathetic at this point.

I am going to return mine soon too, even at 299.99 , lack support = nth

Op why did you post this in the dev section
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

roebeet
+1 from Russia

roebeet said:
1- OTA updater has been broken for six days, now (it started on Monday). This is completely unacceptable, given that this is the ONLY way to get updates from them officially. What if you got the item from Tiger Direct in the last week at $299, and have build 2963 on it? If you didn't go to XDA and fix this manually yourself, you'd be SOOL.
2- The last official firmware was in mid January. We are going on three months since the last stock update. We know there was a UAT that was significantly better than the one in January, but it was never released (and eventually pulled from the TapnTap servers) with a "TBD" for the new ETA.
I'm going to very blunt, and I hope that Viewsonic is reading this. I'm very disappointed in how this is all going down, ESPECIALLY given that you've had a big bump in user numbers in the last two weeks or so. You and I both know this, and yet you can't seem to get your act together, here.
I'm not your developer - you are not paying me, or XDA, to do your support work for you. And we certainly should not be the place to send users to get their stock updates - that's just ridiculous. Please get a meeting together with TapnTap, or whoever you need to, early next week and get them to fix these issues, please. If I were running the show over there, I'd have them on the phone a week ago asking for an ETA ASAP, and updating that web site with details on what's going on and when it will be fixed. Seriously, your web site still talks about the December firmware release - are your web developers asleep over there?
If it wasn't for the user base here in XDA, my device would have probably been wiped and cleaned up right about now, and I would have put this thing up for sale. I actually know at least one dev here in XDA who's already done this. And, as time goes on, I'll be more inclined to do this if you've made the decision to completely abandon this device. Because, to be blunt, this is the perception that I'm starting to get, as the days drag on with no resolution.
I'm not asking for Honeycomb - I just want you to get your current problems fixed and at least get that 1.2 dev branch released. I know you have an account here, so maybe a reply to this thread would set all our minds at ease.
Thank you.
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This is an IMPORTANT post!! I think it should be voted to the front page. Viewsonic and for that matter all suppliers should have a commitment to their users/buyers. Our $$$$ is what support them and they should respect the user community. If they want to be selling more they should make what they have work!!!!
Please vote the post to first page, have them take note and take us seriously.
Thank you roebeet!!

roebeet
+1

I suppose if I wanted to keep it stock I'd be mad too, but I purchased this device specifically due to the hardware specs and the decent set of developers here at XDA.
My tab was rooted as soon as the battery was fully charged.
My Moto droid was rooted about a month into ownership and is currently running a gingerbread rom Moto claims the device can't handle (so we can go buy a new one).
What I'm trying to point out is that there is little incentive for companies to spend time and money supporting equipment that is out in the field unless somehing is seriously wrong with it.
Viewsonic's decision to cripple (lack of full market, etc...) the stock device is really similar to VZ's decision to do the same to their phones (bloatware, etc...).
My advice to you is follow the simple instructions posted here and elsewhere on the net and install a custom rom (vegantab 5.1 is a very nice place to start).
It is very difficult to screw up and your device will be all it can be months if not years sooner than it would be waiting for a stock upgrade.

Gumby,
Roebeet is a dev here. He's responsible for the TNT Lite and GADAM ROMs and was involved with Vegan as well. He's concerned about his ability to support us, not the performance of his tablet.
I believe the majority of modders are on TNT Lite because it is the most stable and well-supported ROM available. Viewsonic/TapnTap are making his job difficult. I'm guessing, but Viewsonic/TapnTap are probably stretched trying to deliver their next devices and have basically let GTablet development come to a screeching halt.
This is a shame and will probably cause many of us to look elsewhere for our next slate.

100 % Agree
Roebeet, thanks for bringing this up. I have been discussing this we others this past week. We were wondering exactly the same thing - Where is Viewsonic? They have not put out any updates or updated the website nor given us any information. I personally cannot understand this. They have a great product and could take the lead in the tablet market but are doing nothing.
Thanks for bringing this to everyones attention Roebeet. I am behind you 100%.

The fact it is on sale at woot and tigerdirect should be enough clues that viewsonic is moving dev resources away and probably to their next tablet product.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

We aren't waiting for stock updates, the updates just give the devs more goodies to work with.
thank you roebeet, for making it feel like this community has a voice. My other device is a Locked down droid X so I know the feeling of being abandoned and laughed at by the manufacturer of your product. All these companies get a little success, but they quickly forget where they came from. I don't see anyone rushing out to line up for a viewpad and maybe it will stay that way if we continue to voice our opinions and the truth about viewsonic.
I think these companies think they can operate on the standalone GPS model of update frequency, once a year. That is not the world we live in though. I'd say two years is fair support table with a firmware update a minimum of every six months and above all else, CONSTANT OPEN COMMUNICATION WITH THE COMMUNITY THAT DEVELOPS AROUND YOUR PRODUCT.
We will fall off gradually at first, then a bit quicker, then a bit quicker still until there is an avalanche of gtabs on ebay and craigslist. Selling at 40 dollars each and being repursposed and sold as digital frames to the housewives of the world.
You've been warned Viewsonic, this is a direct clear threat. Come to the community or lose your established base and hope for anything more than a bargain bin future.
Think of how many people would have returned this product day 1 without a community, seriously consider that, the number is high. If not for the selfless efforts of people like roebeet. With no where to go, the people give up hope.
So what is it going to be?

Thanks Roebeet, very well stated. They do need to get their **** together. We know right now the product isn't up to par with competition so if they want to compete it better be in the way of support. All we ask Viewsonic, is to keep us informed!

doctorisin said:
Gumby,
Roebeet is a dev here. He's responsible for the TNT Lite and GADAM ROMs and was involved with Vegan as well. He's concerned about his ability to support us, not the performance of his tablet.
I believe the majority of modders are on TNT Lite because it is the most stable and well-supported ROM available. Viewsonic/TapnTap are making his job difficult. I'm guessing, but Viewsonic/TapnTap are probably stretched trying to deliver their next devices and have basically let GTablet development come to a screeching halt.
This is a shame and will probably cause many of us to look elsewhere for our next slate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... didn't know he was a dev. Appologies, but the main points of my post are still valid (as you also noted in your speculation about their lack of support).
I guess I am wondering what they need to update that is holding up development of anything else? GB roms are out there now (and honeycomb ones won't be far off either) so what froyo fixes are showstopping?

Im_Gumby said:
Hmmm... didn't know he was a dev. Appologies, but the main points of my post are still valid (as you also noted in your speculation about their lack of support).
I guess I am wondering what they need to update that is holding up development of anything else? GB roms are out there now (and honeycomb ones won't be far off either) so what froyo fixes are showstopping?
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Click to collapse
dude, do you realize everything you say has no basis in fact? You are telling one of the guys that is our only hope of possibly running honeycomb on the gtab his own future. How do you know we'll get the source code? How do you know it will be usable? How do you know there will be a similar device we can port from? How do you know anything?
the simple answer is you don't. You seem to be arrogant and uneducated on the subject, so kindly back out of this conversation unless you have something relevant to add. You're stealing focus from an important topic.

Im_Gumby said:
..... so what froyo fixes are showstopping?
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Click to collapse
How about in sleep mode the gTab sucks up the battery like there's no tomorrow?
Hey Roebeet, I always thought it was SOL? But I do agree with you.

Exactly right, lets not lose focus... The scariest thing to me is that Robert is the originator of this thread. If he feels this way, then we may all be screwed as far as future support is concerned.
@Robeet -thanks for leading the charge and giving us a voice.
@Viewsonic. Please respond to this thread and keep an open dialogue with this community.

seems as if @roebeet got viewsonics attention on twitter?
any contact?

snapz54 said:
dude, do you realize everything you say has no basis in fact? You are telling one of the guys that is our only hope of possibly running honeycomb on the gtab his own future. How do you know we'll get the source code? How do you know it will be usable? How do you know there will be a similar device we can port from? How do you know anything?
the simple answer is you don't. You seem to be arrogant and uneducated on the subject, so kindly back out of this conversation unless you have something relevant to add. You're stealing focus from an important topic.
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You are right... google COULD decide not to release any more source codes.
And you might decide to be less of a tool.
Neither seems very likely.

My bad on the location - I thought I was in General when I posted this.
If a mod could move this, I'd appreciate it.
doctorisin said:
Gumby,
Roebeet is a dev here. He's responsible for the TNT Lite and GADAM ROMs and was involved with Vegan as well. He's concerned about his ability to support us, not the performance of his tablet.
I believe the majority of modders are on TNT Lite because it is the most stable and well-supported ROM available. Viewsonic/TapnTap are making his job difficult. I'm guessing, but Viewsonic/TapnTap are probably stretched trying to deliver their next devices and have basically let GTablet development come to a screeching halt.
This is a shame and will probably cause many of us to look elsewhere for our next slate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it. TNT Lite is basically an extension of stock - it gets updated, in general, when stock gets updated. If Viewsonic development dies, then TNT Lite dies - it's that simple.
We need the vendor to keep on top with updates as there are things that they can do for us, even to this day. UAT 3991 build was a perfect example (before they pulled it) - it's a MUCH better baseline to work off of than 3389 / 3588.
I know many are using the GB mods, and those would survive even if the vendor abandoned the device. But TNT Lite and anything else based off stock would fall by the wayside, and we really don't want that. Options are a good thing.
I want a response from them tomorrow or Tuesday - I don't like how they are treating their userbase right now (which includes me, as I own one) and I think we deserve an explanation and an ETA, at this point. If this happened at my day job, heads would be rolling by now.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about -- Pandigital. Their "Novel" white device was released in May and they are STILL releasing updates to it, to this day. Granted, they are still stuck on Android 2.0, but the fact they they just released an update a few weeks ago is a good sign that they haven't abandoned the device, yet. This is what I'd like to see from Viewsonic.
Im_Gumby said:
Hmmm... didn't know he was a dev. Appologies, but the main points of my post are still valid (as you also noted in your speculation about their lack of support).
I guess I am wondering what they need to update that is holding up development of anything else? GB roms are out there now (and honeycomb ones won't be far off either) so what froyo fixes are showstopping?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you lose your XDA devs, then there IS no more development for this product. One dev here has already sold their device, and mine has been relegated as a dev unit since February (which I'm A-OK with, btw). If Viewsonic abandons this product, then the developers will eventually move on. In my case, stock updates are critical to keep TNT Lite relevant - once those are gone, TNT Lite will become stale and die. gADAM can stick around as long as Notion Ink supplies updates, and that remains to be seen as well. So don't think vendor support isn't important, because it actually is.

Well said, roebeet.

Twitter trends / Cry for help

There are a couple big issues facing the gtablet currently. One is the apparent end of life for the gtablet and Viewsonic all but ignoring its users. The other is nvidia blatantly leaving harmony behind as a platform and not providing even the basics needed for the open source community to fill the gaping hole in their support. In light of ViewSonic responding maybe lay off of them a bit and let's focus on nvidia
(replace (at) with the actual at symbol... forum wouldn't let me use them in this post).
viewsonic fail:
Support seems to have disappeared for the gtablet. (at)ViewSonic seems to have abandoned its customers. #ViewSonicFail #gtabletFail
nvidia fail:
Tegra2 isnt all its cracked up to be when (at)nvidia states no support for harmony platform no Android 2.3/3.0 ever #Tegra2Fail #nvidiaFail
Tweet away... you don't have to use those specific messages but something using those tags would maybe get us some traction.

Done and Done.

I would also encourage people to sign up at Nvidia and ask for an official explanation why Harmony is being given end-of-life treatment:
http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/honeycomb-harmony
it only takes a few minutes to sign up.
Without the drivers for harmony devices the Gtablet will basically be frozen in time at 2.2 (unless you don't need any hardware acceleration)
This is a pretty big issue and something they NEED to at least address WHY they feel that Harmony isn't worth their time supporting.

pr0cs said:
http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/fo...eycomb-harmony
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Fixing your link
http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/honeycomb-harmony

Trying to post in their forum is like an act of congress.

Done, done and done.
MC

Adding my voice, as well.

pr0cs said:
I would also encourage people to sign up at Nvidia and ask for an official explanation why Harmony is being given end-of-life treatment:
http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/honeycomb-harmony
it only takes a few minutes to sign up.
Without the drivers for harmony devices the Gtablet will basically be frozen in time at 2.2 (unless you don't need any hardware acceleration)
This is a pretty big issue and something they NEED to at least address WHY they feel that Harmony isn't worth their time supporting.
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Done.
Let's try to get that thread as long as the Viewsonic one on this board.

Posted. This community should be heard!

Posted this and another link on their Facebook page. 5 minutes later it was gone.

OP - Maybe you could include the link to the Nvidia thread in your post?
http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/forum/honeycomb-harmony

I also signed up and showed my support.
My point being - Is what we have really a "Tegra 2"? Then why not support it OR at least give the dev community some help.

Just on twitter
@ViewSonic is standing by the GTablet and is not abandoning our customers. Yes, we are selling new tablet products, but the GTablet is still an awesome piece of hardware that users can continue to enjoy for a long time to come. Please see our updated favorites page: http://bit.ly/eJB4Ob
@8:49 pm EST

clankfu said:
OP - Maybe you could include the link to the Nvidia thread in your post?
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I will update it and add the link once I get enough posts under my belt to be allowed to post links. That's the problem of being a non-posting member since 2009... now that I've started making posts I haven't posted enough to be trusted yet.

I've submitted to reddit.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/go017/nvidia_drops_support_for_tegra2_platform_harmony/
Vote up and make your comments!

Nvidia have updated the tegra developers post:
UPDATE 12 APRIL 2011:
Sorry folks looks like I caused a bit of confusion. Since this is a developer forum my comments
were targeted at Tegra Honeycomb developers and for this we’d like to focus on Ventana. For shipping or production products, customers should contact the device makers directly for OS support plans. They are responsible for the OS shipping on their device.
In relation to our linux kernel git repository, NVIDIA will continue to provide full open-source support for all of our kernel components and will push more of that upstream over time.
Andrew Edelsten
Tegra Developer Relations
NVIDIA Corporation
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Passing the buck I guess. But NotionInk is saying that the Adam will still get honeycomb. Still no word from Viewsonic that I can find

StrangeAttractor said:
Nvidia have updated the tegra developers post:
Passing the buck I guess. But NotionInk is saying that the Adam will still get honeycomb. Still no word from Viewsonic that I can find
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what does all the mean though? will we or will we not get drivers compatable with gingerbread and/or honeycomb?

StrangeAttractor said:
Nvidia have updated the tegra developers post:
Passing the buck I guess. But NotionInk is saying that the Adam will still get honeycomb. Still no word from Viewsonic that I can find
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If the Adam is getting honeycomb then I want it too!! Come on ViewSonic!!

Why Viewsonic hates us

Viewsonic announced it's Honeycomb tablet @ 7 inches. Which means they have the HC source code... which means they hate the gtab community.... because we don't get it, even for modding purposes.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/12/viewsonic-7x-shrinks-honeycomb-to-7-inches-for-the-tiny-handed/

They don't hate the Gtab community. Don't try to anthropomorphize a corporation because you will only end up sad and depressed. All Viewsonic wants is to make money by putting out products and then putting out more products. We are numbers, not faces.

Fair enough. I suppose I am a bit idealistic that they would continue to support something older. Perhaps more my frustration is the lack of source code when it could be given... but that it an entitlement mentality I suppose.

forgiventhief said:
Fair enough. I suppose I am a bit idealistic that they would continue to support something older. Perhaps more my frustration is the lack of source code when it could be given... but that it an entitlement mentality I suppose.
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stop caving because one person says something!!!!
and to the user that commented to the OP, thought the info you stated (numbers, not faces) is true, STOP ACTING LIKE IT'S ACCEPTABLE.
To many 300 to 500 dollars is a lot of money and the company has a moral obligation to support it for a reasonable amount of time. This was in no way accomplished by viewsonic. Horrible business ethics and I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER VIEWSONIC PRODUCT. you vote with your purchasing power and viewsonic lost mine, my family's and my friend's votes.
as an aside, I suspect seeing all the progress made viewsonic might try to "save the day" and eventually release something for our g tab honeycomb flavored. I'm not fooled and you shouldn't be either. Your support should be for the devs like roebeet. If your running honeycomb and you haven't donated to him or the adamdevs you should feel worse than viewsonic.
vote with your money, I VOTE FOR OUR DEV COMMUNITY!
(before I get any posts about talking about donation, donation doesn't imply 3,000 dollars. Even if it's only a dollar, it says something.)

You do realize viewsonic just slapped their name on the Malta, right? You're mad at the wrong company.

schettj said:
You do realize viewsonic just slapped their name on the Malta, right? You're mad at the wrong company.
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Doesn't matter, though. As soon as VS slapped their name on it, they've adopted it.
The way VS is treating the gtab is worse than just numbers. They have intentionally ignored it, not giving it any press or anything at all. There isn't even a direct link to the gtab from their main website.
The gtab is doing way better than other "real" VS devices. It's the number 1 seller on amazon for goodness sake. I'm still baffled why VS isn't putting more energy into the gtab. It's like they don't even wanna mention it.

I think it is a way to get more people to move to their ViewPad line and off of the GTab. I will not switch to their new line just because they put 3.0 on it. Our Devs will get a port over to the GTab and it will blow their new line out of the water. Shady tactics if you ask me.

goodintentions said:
Doesn't matter, though. As soon as VS slapped their name on it, they've adopted it.
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But they don't have any code... they have no development resources. They have a brand name. Whooo.
Seriously.

goodintentions said:
It's the number 1 seller on amazon for goodness sake.
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Yes, it was for the week it was on blowout $280 clearance. Look, it's a great bit of first gen tegra2 tablet hardware with a dreadful screen that would make it unsellable at any price other than "half of what everyone else charges".
That's dropping under $200-$225 now, which is probably well below the breakeven point. So enjoy it, and support the hackers hacking away, but forget about any serious support for it from VS. You'll be much happier.

yes, the code for our G-tabs belongs to Malata, but so does the code for the Vega and the Adam. They are rumored to be at least getting official GB roms WITH hardware acceleration. VS is to blame for not providing us with that as well. If they do, but are keeping it hush-hush, I'll change my opinion.
Of course, Vega and Adam are running on the new 1.2 bootloader (always have been). Now VS teases us with an update that they pull, that is on the 1.2 bootlaoder? In essence, VS provided our devs, very briefly, with the tools needed to port any updates from Adam or Vega. So, while not actually giving us what we've requested, they are letting other companies, and third party developers do their work for them.
It may be that Malata has abandoned VS for their lack of support for the G-Tab, so Malata cut them off from future development releases.

snapz54 said:
and to the user that commented to the OP, thought the info you stated (numbers, not faces) is true, STOP ACTING LIKE IT'S ACCEPTABLE.
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I didn't say it's acceptable. In fact it makes me just as mad as it seems to have made you and I have made my opinion on that fact known many times on this board and the Nvidia developer board. I'm just saying that the people who want these updates are currently in the minority. I agree that we should get updates but we have to realize that might not happen. In fact I'd much rather use homegrown software from the fine developers on XDA, Cyanogen, and any other dev website that's working for better things for the Gtab than anything Viewsonic/Malata/Nvidia puts out anyhow.
This whole frequently updated software thing is new to the world. I mean think about Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft updated like once every five years. Apple was better, but in both cases users were made to pay for the updates. Now we buy these devices and expect free software updates indefinetly? Sounds good to me, but what about these companies? Where is the money for them? What incentive to they have to churn out more software at no charge to the customer? I'm just saying that there are two sides to this argument and both should be represented.

adampdx said:
This whole frequently updated software thing is new to the world. I mean think about Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft updated like once every five years. Apple was better, but in both cases users were made to pay for the updates.
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What color is the sky in your world?
The problem with Android is exactly the problem Google is trying to get a handle on....
Fragmentation.
When you leave updates up to the the hardware manufactures, you're guaranteed to screw your customers. Because the only way the HW guys make any money at all is by having the customer buy new hardware to get the shiny new features.
Hopefully Google will be able to beat these guys into submission, but I do feel for them... they thought they were getting in on a great thing with a cheap OS for their hardware, and instead they were turned into commodity manufacturers delivering Google ad revenue to Google. Ah well.

I'd much rather use homegrown software from the fine developers on XDA, Cyanogen, and any other dev website that's working for better things for the Gtab than anything Viewsonic/Malata/Nvidia puts out anyhow.
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But it's these updates that custom rom devs use to get the information they need to make their roms. If we ever get official hardware acceleration it will be bundled into one of the officially released updates. The drivers can then be added to existing roms, or future roms. The bottom line is that we NEED official updates if we are to ever get the G-tablet to reach it's full potential.
Now we buy these devices and expect free software updates indefinetly? Sounds good to me, but what about these companies?
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These companies, namely VS knows that they put out a crap product, in regard to software. In fact, they, at one point, directed their customers HERE for support for their device. They released a product in which the hardware outclassed the software. What we paid for was hardware, plain and simple. only recently have people actually said they're using stock firmware and it doesn't suck. Prior to the latest updates (3588 and later) I would suspect that everyone that bought a G-tablet, including myself, KNEW that they were going to have to flash a custom Rom. Just a few days ago, another 850+ G-tabs were sold on Woot, again. At one point it was the top seller on Amazon. VS has to save a little face and continue to support their software, and yes, provide updates.
Fortunately for VS, Notion Ink seems more interested in updating their product for us...of course, VS had to sneak in the 1.2 dev branch that's shared by the Adam.

some good points have been made, but none of the ones supporting VS have been valid.
slapping your name on something instantly slaps responsibility on you, this "passing the buck" mentality is a big part of whats wrong with the world. Everyone can blame someone else and nothing gets done.
The consequences in some small part are now realized. Myself and others will not support viewsonic in any capacity in the future. Actions like this catch up with you, VS is a horrible company that saw an opportunity to make a quick buck without a moments thought of how it might affect anyone.
stop supporting these type of actions, they are wrong.

snapz54 said:
some good points have been made, but none of the ones supporting VS have been valid.
slapping your name on something instantly slaps responsibility on you, this "passing the buck" mentality is a big part of whats wrong with the world. Everyone can blame someone else and nothing gets done.
The consequences in some small part are now realized. Myself and others will not support viewsonic in any capacity in the future. Actions like this catch up with you, VS is a horrible company that saw an opportunity to make a quick buck without a moments thought of how it might affect anyone.
stop supporting these type of actions, they are wrong.
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So you bought an $800.00 xoom?

snapz54 said:
stop supporting these type of actions, they are wrong.
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That would be "don't buy the product"
Since I wanted a device I can experiment with, and didn't want to spend more than $280, this was the only device available.
I bought it knowing what it was. An orphan device with no significant Vendor support.

i thought google said they aren't going to release honeycomb SDK? so doesn't that mean manufacturers are not allowed to release it?
but i guess if we buy the next VS tablet. we can port a honeycomb rom from that to the gtab.

ninditsu said:
i thought google said they aren't going to release honeycomb SDK? so doesn't that mean manufacturers are not allowed to release it?
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You're confusing SDK (Software Development Kit) with Source Code. That said, up to this point, Google has been reluctant to release the Source Code for Honeycomb for - what I can only assume is - the purpose of reducing hardware fragmentation and QA purposes.

schettj said:
What color is the sky in your world?
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Ha! Always good to get a laugh out of these heated discussions. As far as fragmentation goes, I agree. It's a problem that Google created and now they're trying to fix. I'm not sure I can imagine a world where there are several hundred different pieces of tech floating around from different manufactures that all use software provided by a singular, separate company. Oh, wait...that sounds like WINDOWS. He he... I wouldn't dare compare our beloved Google to the likes of Microsoft. Never.

schettj said:
That would be "don't buy the product"
Since I wanted a device I can experiment with, and didn't want to spend more than $280, this was the only device available.
I bought it knowing what it was. An orphan device with no significant Vendor support.
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Thank you. These things are on clearance for a reason. A lot of people here have unrealistic expectations. Companies don't make money by pouring resources into devices that nobody bought. I remember buying an Atari Lynx back in the day and only had it for about a year before everybody stopped making games for it and they were pulled off the shelves. I never once thought that Atari hated me.

Express your opinion to ViewSonic

If you are interested, there is an opportunity to provide your perspective on ViewSonic's decision to provide support for your G-Tablet device on Facebook.
Search for ViewSonic the go to discussions on the left hand side.
Steve

It may amount to nothing, but at least we have an area to vent where Viewsonic is at least reading it. Granted, it could be (and most likely is) some summer intern that's just posting canned responses to our complaints, but at least that's better than being ignored by their customer service area.

I can't, sorry. Viewsonic blocked me on FB as well as twitter.

I expressed my concerns on the nvidia developer forum. Will on Facebook as well.
Sent from my Flashback HC-TAB using XDA Forum App

Right now, nvidia is pointing its finger at viewsonic saying viewsonic isn't supporting the gtab. Viewsonic is pointing its finger at nvidia saying nvidia won't support the harmony tegra 2 beyond 2.2.
Have you ever called for support and then get redirected endlessly to another line only to go in a big circle and end up where you originally were?
I firmly believe nothing will ever come out of our complaints.
I've mentioned this before elsewhere. Both our acer iconia tab and asus transformer have gotten updates after updates. My g/f's transformer recently got an update for her dock free of charge after customer complaints that the dock was draining battery. Asus engineering team came up with a way to put the dock to sleep when not in use and offered the hardware update free of charge.
Mean while, we have gotten nada from VS in the last 7 months.

goodintentions said:
Right now, nvidia is pointing its finger at viewsonic saying viewsonic isn't supporting the gtab. Viewsonic is pointing its finger at nvidia saying nvidia won't support the harmony tegra 2 beyond 2.2.
Have you ever called for support and then get redirected endlessly to another line only to go in a big circle and end up where you originally were?
I firmly believe nothing will ever come out of our complaints.
I've mentioned this before elsewhere. Both our acer iconia tab and asus transformer have gotten updates after updates. My g/f's transformer recently got an update for her dock free of charge after customer complaints that the dock was draining battery. Asus engineering team came up with a way to put the dock to sleep when not in use and offered the hardware update free of charge.
Mean while, we have gotten nada from VS in the last 7 months.
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Nivida hasn't made a statement sine the April fiasco. I don't rst thatViewonic ever actually spoke wiht anyone at Nvidia regarding drivers. they claim that they did, simply ot shut us up.
The only thing we can do now, is leave negative reviews on as many sites as we can for the potential lack of support for their products. Even just a few people deciding not to urase frm Viewsonic would make difference.

TJEvans said:
I can't, sorry. Viewsonic blocked me on FB as well as twitter.
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well apparantly if you voice your opinion too much they will dete your posts and make is so you cannot post their facebook page anymore. i have been banned for simply asking "I have just one single question for Viewsonic (that i know will be ignored or deleted)..... With the "less than desirable" support i and others have recieved for your GTablet product, why would i spend any more money with you and buy a Ventana??" so now the only place i can post is to the "recomendations" section.

mmenzie said:
well apparantly if you voice your opinion too much they will dete your posts and make is so you cannot post their facebook page anymore. i have been banned for simply asking "I have just one single question for Viewsonic (that i know will be ignored or deleted)..... With the "less than desirable" support i and others have recieved for your GTablet product, why would i spend any more money with you and buy a Ventana??" so now the only place i can post is to the "recomendations" section.
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They banned you for that? Ouch. I'm surprised they haven't deleted my comments yet, then. I figured I was skirting with a ban, but no worries - I'll keep posting there every few days until they do.

roebeet said:
They banned you for that? Ouch. I'm surprised they haven't deleted my comments yet, then. I figured I was skirting with a ban, but no worries - I'll keep posting there every few days until they do.
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thanks... hope someone keeps up the fight!!!

roebeet said:
They banned you for that? Ouch. I'm surprised they haven't deleted my comments yet, then. I figured I was skirting with a ban, but no worries - I'll keep posting there every few days until they do.
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They're not stoopid. You're too high profile to ban. Banning you will cause a fire storm. Just like banning me will cause a fire storm also. And trust me, if I get banned it will definitely go on the front page of my website. And based on how many visitors I get, it will be a PR nightmare for them.

I don't think I will be a blip on their radar, to be honest.
Before their April CS change / support drop / abandonment, I had some pull over there (I think). CS knew me and we had a decent rapport, and I even had the ear of at least one manager over in VS R&D. But something definitely happened in April - I don't know what it was, but my guess is that somebody in middle or upper management looked over the costs and and profit margins for the GTAB, and basically said "cut this one loose". There was a very quick, and very noticeable (at least to me) change in how they treated their GTAB customer base. And, so far, that has not changed yet.
They even had a presence here in XDA, back in December / January. But I haven't seen anyone from VS post here in a VERY long time.

goodintentions/living enzyme, has something happen to your Facebook account? Can't find you on the Facebook campaign page and your posts in the Viewsonic forum has also disappeared. Just want to know if you are interest in being an Admin on the Facebook campaign or can recommend someone here for the job.

I'm having my man period. Very emotionally unstable. Decided to disable my facebook account.
By the way, thanks for condering me. Unfortunately, my life is very busy. My schedule also very erratic. This is not to mention the times I have to sleep on the couch due to monthly biology.

LOL. It's good to have you back.
I had some trouble locating this post. Saw you pop up again on FB and was about to ask again the same thing.
So can you think of any who might be interest in taking over running the campaign? How about this guy/gal? I just never notice him/her before. S/He certainly has the enthusiam.
I feel like I have taken the campaign as far as I can go. Time for some fresh blood.

Keep in mind that there are several layers, here - the one I complain about the most is continued Froyo support. This is also the thing I believe is the most likely to be fixed, especially since there are UAT releases out there, already. It's just a question of the various companies working out their issues and green-lighting it.
The Gingerbread / HC requests are a different animal. The reason why is because it's not just Viewsonic's headache, it's all the other companies that are using a Harmony board, including Notion Ink. NONE of them have source from Nvidia, and none have HC source from either Nvidia or Google. Not that they shouldn't try, of course, but I don't see this happening anytime soon (if at all).
I'd be satisfied with a new fully released and supported Froyo stock ROM, at this point. It would show that Viewsonic and their vendors are still supporting their users - it wouldn't make a big impact here since we modded their ROMs already, but a released 1.2bl that "stuck" would at least push development into that direction even more.

roebeet said:
The Gingerbread / HC requests are a different animal. The reason why is because it's not just Viewsonic's headache, it's all the other companies that are using a Harmony board, including Notion Ink. NONE of them have source from Nvidia, and none have HC source from either Nvidia or Google. Not that they shouldn't try, of course, but I don't see this happening anytime soon (if at all).
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Nickos over at Slatedroid share a similar view as this. To the best of your knowledge, is NVIDIA deliberately withholding Gingerbread or it just so happen that people on Harmony are more interest in getting Honeycomb/tablet OS? Has Notion Ink mention anything about bringing GB to the Adam?

Notion Ink had a GB alpha, but it has the same hardware acceleration issues as CM7. I believe they've since scrapped that and have concentrated on Honeycomb.
I honestly don't know what's going on, but my best guess is that Nvidia doesn't want to put in the resources to support GB on Harmony (no matter what they say in writing). The reason why I feel this way is because there are several vendors affected, and I suspect that Notion Ink, in particular, would want these drivers. But this is only a guess.
It's also possible that Notion Ink is beholden to another company to lean on Nvidia - perhaps Flextronics? We know that Viewsonic has this issue, but not sure about NI. There's a lot about this whole sorry mess that I don't really understand, to be honest.

roebeet said:
Keep in mind that there are several layers, here - the one I complain about the most is continued Froyo support. This is also the thing I believe is the most likely to be fixed, especially since there are UAT releases out there, already. It's just a question of the various companies working out their issues and green-lighting it.
The Gingerbread / HC requests are a different animal. The reason why is because it's not just Viewsonic's headache, it's all the other companies that are using a Harmony board, including Notion Ink. NONE of them have source from Nvidia, and none have HC source from either Nvidia or Google. Not that they shouldn't try, of course, but I don't see this happening anytime soon (if at all).
I'd be satisfied with a new fully released and supported Froyo stock ROM, at this point. It would show that Viewsonic and their vendors are still supporting their users - it wouldn't make a big impact here since we modded their ROMs already, but a released 1.2bl that "stuck" would at least push development into that direction even more.
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As usual, Roebeet, I believe you've nailed it. I realize margins in this stuff is pitiful but it's hard to believe Viewsonic hasn't seen they've done the hard parts already in gearing up a staff to do a Tegra tablet. Get a better screen and be the full featured kindle fire of the line. I think all the 500+ tablets will fail unless they get much more functional, but the 200-300 market is there for the taking if a decent company went after it. Kindle fire and the plethora of manufacturers will make it hard to win, but it is winable. In their defense, I must admit, it all looks like a losing proposition until the field gets trimmed a bit.
And, supporting a full blown Froyo would be a great support step.

Thinking maybe things may change for the better for the gtab once ics source code is released. Hoping we can see that on the gtab with some support from nvidea. I'm just guessing that the reason why HC wasn't released or supported on the gtab was because the source for HC never was released. i know the devs will have better progress with ics since they will have the source with it then they did with HC so I believe one way or another we will get ics on the gtab and hopefully get the support from nvidea or viewsonic back
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App

jbuggydroid said:
Thinking maybe things may change for the better for the gtab once ics source code is released. Hoping we can see that on the gtab with some support from nvidea. I'm just guessing that the reason why HC wasn't released or supported on the gtab was because the source for HC never was released. i know the devs will have better progress with ics since they will have the source with it then they did with HC so I believe one way or another we will get ics on the gtab and hopefully get the support from nvidea or viewsonic back
Sent from my MB855 using XDA App
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IThe source code of gingerbread was released also and we still couldn't have a GB rom with hardware acceleration and camera working, so I really dont think that having the source code of ICS will help so much .
Our last hopes are the devs who are working in the development of a fully functional kernel for HC, if they can do it for HC for sure they could do it with ICS...but I'm not too optimisic
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