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HTC/WinMo manufacturers stiffing users?

Hi,
I was looking at the iSuppli figures for the new iPhone 3GS and the Pal Pre and looking at the specifications of those phones it seems like they heavily outweigh even newer devices like touch pro 2 which cost like 30% or more. The Pre and the 3GS have
Much better application processors. ARM Cortex 8 approximately 50-70% faster than the ones in omnia
Separate Applications and Base Band Processors
Capacitive touch screens
16 Million color screens
Higher capacity and quality NAND memory
Considering that these manufacturers are also including costs of R&D for their OS in the phone price as well while manufacturers like HTC, Samsung and Acer just build shells for Windows Mobile which should be a lot cheaper how are the higher prices justified?
Another thing, people from HTC have been complaining for some time now that an 18bit color more would be too much of a hit/not possible in Winmo and are still sticking to 16bit while with the upcoming Omnia pro and Omnia II Samsung is using 24bit and 18bit respectively. The only thing better about Winmo device screens is the higher resolution.
The only thing besides hardware for Windows phone manufacturers is case design and shell development. Do you think that undercutting quality of parts without much justification is ok? I would like to hear what long time users think of it.
PS: Got 3GS and Pre information from http://www.cellular-news.com/story/37945.php
Constructive comments please
Thanks

[QUOTE Do you think that undercutting quality of parts without much justification is ok? [/QUOTE]
I don´t think it´s ok.
I decided to stay in HTC line devices for one great reason that makes the diference: XDA-DEVS!!!!
Without this great site I might turn my interest on Toshiba new devices, even with WM.
I don´t have any good comment respect the others OS...
Perhaps Android in a mid-future term...

They ask as much as possible for a device. Actually that's the reason I'd never really buy the rhodium. HTC always releases devices with a little flaw they fix in the next device (but make a new flaw, like FM radio in rhodium). What we need isn't that much: (F)WVGA, Tegra/Snapdragon/OMAP, 5-8 megapixel camera WITH flash and such others. I hope that Acer F1 is going to rock so I can buy my next device

HTC is a joke. They can only blame themselves and their lousy hardware / drivers for iPhone's being a huge success.

Just heard today the the new iphonie 3gs sold a million units already
Hope HTC gets there sh#t together soon...

to be honest, the only reason i buy htc/winmo devices is this site....and the fact i can get tomtom on it
but now i see tomtom is on the iphone, having used an iphone this week, i can say there are things il ike about it, but its a bit to dumbed down for me i feel, but then, it does just work, and the touchscreen seems to work much better than any htc device i've used
i seriously miss having a flashlight, i mean camera flash on my phone, my old samsung d500 was brilliant in the dark, also miss having a camera that doesn't have wierd blue on it all the time no matter how much i seem to fiddle with it

galaxys said:
Just heard today the the new iphonie 3gs sold a million units already
Hope HTC gets there sh#t together soon...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, the iPhone is ****ingly well done... I have tons of WinMo devices but, for most tasks, I use my iPhone 3G. It's, hardware-wise, so much better than those lame resistive screen-based HTC craps...
And yes, as soon as the 3G S arrives here (in July), I'll be among the first to purchase it. I love gaming on these things.

true. i am tired of defending htc with my friends who have iphone. even the new palm pre which i tested today is so sweet. the screen jumps at u. i loved it
when my contract is up next month i am so buying an iphone.
the only reason i stayed so long is XDA and the tweaking i could do. kept me interested but now i dnt have time to be tweaking.
i want a phone that works and does what it needs to do without constant resetting and tweaks from XDA

I believe HTC made the best financial choice for this year. Due to Economical situation they know there will less demand on high end devices. Therefore they have not risk any high R&D and expensive parts. They choose already existing platforms and just add few more spec. I believe that is the best way to keep their profit margins!!!! The sad thing is they do have still advantage over the other hardware manufacturers which makes them too confident.
Beside from the Hardware issues on the WinMO I believe it is the OS that keeps all Hardware manufacturer and also Software makers struggle. Window Mobile OS clearly out aged but Microsoft is not fast enough to come up with something NEW and BETTER. Be frank WinMo 6.5 is just a joke. It has no major changes. Win 7 has delayed few times and besides no one knows what going to come out from that development.
Clearly if MS and HTC continue in such way they sure will be losing huge market which we already started to see!!!!!
I know..many WinMo supporters will say compare to WinMo..Iphone can’t do this... Iphone can’t do that. The fact is that 90% consumer that buy a device for 500-900USD don’t wanted spend their entire time to tweak and modify a expensive device to function a bit better!!! Beside most of those are not technical and therefore the learning curve to handle WinMo is much much longer.
I believe as a long term user of WinMo we become use to the limitation of MS OS and hardware so that we already see those as normal. But I do trust that many of us forget that WE PAYING REALLY 500-900 USD for piece of CRAP!!!
We just NEED to see the falling prices of Notebooks and Netbooks then we know how much we over paying for our HTC devices.

"HTC is a joke. They can only blame themselves and their lousy hardware / drivers for iPhone's being a huge success."
Infuckingdeed.

Menneisyys said:
HTC is a joke. They can only blame themselves and their lousy hardware / drivers for iPhone's being a huge success.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was scared that XDA-Devs is a fanboy site, with no rational thinking allowed. Glad to see this isn't the case.
Let's call a spade is a spade - HTC has ridden way too long on the coattails of cheap design, cheap QVGA screens and crap hardware with no or poor drivers, selling for $649 unlocked.

Android Tablets on Ebay! Ipad wannabe :)

Has anybody seen this
Ipad Looking Andropad
The price is pretty cheap and has HDMi output. The seller seems to have good reviews too. Unfortunately I don't have enough spare money to try this out. But if anybody here is interested
Lot of chinese companies have shown interest in ANDROID devices, so I guess this was coming.

If its running 1.6 how does it have, "Browser comes with Flash Lite version 3.1 and supports playback of SWF contents up to Flash 9 and ActionScript 2.0"
Isn't that what the Hero's browser has?
It does look like a good device though

OWIE
mommy i know whaT i want for my birthday

Nice, though it's a rip-off and I would prefer a more expensive one that really has competitive hardware to the iPad.
Not sure I want Android on a Slate, though. I think I'll wait for the HP Slate, since I want to be productive on the thing.
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.

EnTourage Edge
You ought to go over to the Entourage site to see my new enTourage eDGe! Look it up!

Sethos II said:
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that what the Nook is for?

I recently asked a similar question!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=660767
guyjack said:
You ought to go over to the Entourage site to see my new enTourage eDGe! Look it up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im looking for more of a tablet,not ebook reader..i'm not a fan of the clamshell-touchscreen shape..very odd device imo..
Also you guys should check out enso-now.com they sell the 'zenPad'..its a pretty cool 5'' android tablet starting at $155, you can add gps for $25 and it has decent hardware specs..

Does anybody know anything about the Rockchip processor in it? I read somewhere that it was an ARM9 processor. That would be pretty old and slow. Wikipedia says it's based on Cortex-A8.

I am placing an order for one of these this next week. I contacted a different seller and they said that there are a few different versions. I am getting one with all the specs on that page except 4 gig nand and 512 ram. Now hopefully someone that knows alot more than I do will start releasing roms for it so I can get it running the way my G1 is.

can you please post a link/price to the one you bought? I'd love to see custom roms for these...
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

i would much rather support Google than apple i hate apple

Sethos II said:
Nice, though it's a rip-off and I would prefer a more expensive one that really has competitive hardware to the iPad.
Not sure I want Android on a Slate, though. I think I'll wait for the HP Slate, since I want to be productive on the thing.
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the hard ware on the one i saw ( and want) it a 1.2ghz, sorry to bring up an old thread but has anyone got one of these thinking of getting either this the ipad rip off or the other fully white one

cool
Hi
I receive this tablet, that cool, but just under android 1.5. 2gb flash memory. Autonomy not very large with wifi, but with no wifi that cool. With mp3 active I listen music about 3 hours and I past 100 % to 70 %, that cool.
Now I would like to past to 1.6 or 2.1, seller says me that will arrive but when I do not know (like him...).
So if dev can give support, I take it.

yoman74 said:
Hi
I receive this tablet, that cool, but just under android 1.5. 2gb flash memory. Autonomy not very large with wifi, but with no wifi that cool. With mp3 active I listen music about 3 hours and I past 100 % to 70 %, that cool.
Now I would like to past to 1.6 or 2.1, seller says me that will arrive but when I do not know (like him...).
So if dev can give support, I take it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound foreign. As if you are the seller of this crappy 7 inch tablet (from HK).
Are you trying to save face after another poster said that the processor was ancient?
Your also trying to see if someone will hack away and make this tablet Android 2.1.
Fat Chance.
This processor would choke on Droid 2.1.
Spammer

I put in an order for one of these yesterday, I'm definitely interested to see how well it preforms. If it is a fairly obvious process I'll crack mine open and take some shots of the internals for you guys. I'm guessing it will take about 2 weeks shipping though so don't expect anything soon.
As for getting a newer kernel onto these I would happily offer any assistance I can.
I think the biggest issues for me are
Marketplace access
Video benchmarking (bitrates and container formats)
Uniformity of these devices. These are offered by a few hundred sellers under at least 4 names hopefully they all are identical hardware wise as it will make drivers easier to write.
slaming These have a 600MHz ARM core and a 550MHz DSP for video decoding. Some sellers are adding these together and rounding up to claim a 1.2GHz clock speed. Its an old and regrettable tactic.
arashed31 This is the product page for the Rockchip 2808 en.rock-chips.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/ProductInfoExhibit.html?ProductInfoExhibit_ProductID=c373e9216b8b10d58f7e977394a65d1d&ProductInfoExhibit_isRefreshParent=false
Sorry can't post links my account isn't verified
Also mattrb you really need to take a chill pill "You sound foreign. As if you are the seller of this crappy 7 inch tablet (from HK)." is just about the most bigoted thing I've heard this week. The guy was being helpful telling you his experiences with battery endurance and you insult him, don't be childish.

BTW a little more info about the Rockchip 2808. From the research I have done it looks like this chip is based around the arm926 core. It isn't the fastest thing out there but it gets the job done. If the Rockchip version has onchip cache it should be quite decent indeed. Supposedly this core produces 220MIPs at 200MHz in the stock configuration so we should expect roughly 660MIPs at 600MHz. For comparison a Motorola Droid is based on the Cortex A8 at 600MHz which makes about 1200MIPs. The actual iPad uses the Cortex A9 core clocked at 1Ghz and produces about 2500MIPs (surely as we are without all of apple's crappy code we will have a serious advantage ). Also I have seen a few notes about a this chip being used in some devices at 886Mhz (google the Tongfang-q5). I doubt that there are different versions of the chip produced and I doubt even more the manufacturer would be overclocking the chip without some testing that it remained reliable. Hopefully this means we can squeeze some more cycles out of these tablets. This will obviously be at the expense of battery life and to some degree longevity. But at this price who cares *lmao*.
A little update: I confirmed that the Rockchip 2808 is a licensed ARM926EJ-S derivative wwwdotarm.com/community/partners/display_product/rw/ProductId/4010/ stupid link blocking
Second update: I just started a wikipedia page for the rockchip family. Any info you can provide would be most helpful. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockchip

Let us know how well it works. I might get one just to show off ppls with ipad.

White slate
I bought the white slaie (M001) yesterday. Spent around 60 minutes on it so far. I have a few isues, but hopefully tonight I will download and insdtall updated software. For 150.00, can't complain. That is what my ereader cost me in Dec, which I will probably now sell.

is this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Slim-Tabl...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3a5a793c51
the same thing you guys are talking about?
If so £70 (price & delivery) seems ludicrously cheap. At that price even if it's not brilliant it's got to be worth it right?

[Q] should I keep my gtablet

I bought my gtablet 2 weeks ago. I have 30 days to return the baby. Following are my questions.
1. I know lot of pundits are calling 2011 as the year of tablets. Did I jump the gun and bought it too early? gtab's spec was the reason for the buy.
2. Do you think in the future they will release firmware update to honeycomb since google doesn't recommend froyo for tablets?
3. lot of the current apps dont work.
4. you tube streaming is horrible.
5. last but not least the screen.
I appreciate the efforts of several guys on this forum for supporting the device. however I am still on the side line as far as introducing other roms on the device. so it limits my gtab to some extent.

Difficult question to answer since it ultimately depends on your expectations and personality. Viewsonic has (recently) been pretty good about releasing updates and working with the dev community here at XDA; that indicates that there is a possibility (not certainty) that they will continue to do so into the new year. The G-tablet's hardware will support Honeycomb, so it is reasonable to expect them to release an update IF Honeycomb is released within Q1 or Q2 of 2011.
If you are holding back on loading a rom, the question we need to know "why" before we can give you more meaningful advice. If you're holding off because you're considering returning the unit, that's one thing (and understandable). If, however, you are uncomfortable loading roms, that's another. All I can tell you is that the G-Tablet is a fantastic device with both VEGAn and TnTLite--much better and faster than stock TnT. I anticipate the XDA devs will probably actively develop/improve their roms for at least Q1 & Q2; probably longer if Honeycomb is released within that timeframe. We must acknowledge, however, that Viewsonic's recent updates are making strides into improving the user experience, so that remains an alternative. Bottom line: if you're willing to educate yourself on loading roms and doing the market fix, the G-Tablet is the best bargain out there currently.
As to some apps not working, some apps don't work on my HTC Evo either. The G-Tablet seems to run most apps very well. This is surprising since Froyo & Gingerbread apps aren't really designed for tablets. I see no reason to be alarmed regarding the G-Tablet's ability to run apps or play YouTube currently (which I have no problem with on TnTLite or VEGAn).
There will be better tablets released this year. For one thing, the G-Tablet's screen is poor quality when viewed at an angle. Also the front facing camera is mediocre at best. Other than those 2 issues, the hardware is very solid and will probably not be surpassed until Q3 of 2011.

no. do not keep it. i had one last week for two days (long enough to experience the latest update). its not great without the willingness to mod it by the end user.
today i bought a galaxy tab, and its exactly what i was hoping for when i bought the gtablet last week. sure, i now have a monthly data subscription, but only for the first 6 months (tmobile) and then i can drop it. and yes, i did spend more on the device... but maybe thats why the viewsonic product was so bad, because its an entry model device based on awful software and flimsy hardware (mine creaked).
the samsung has everything i was looking for... android market, swype, youtube, flash, etc. etc. etc... its just awesome.
dont wait too long to return. youll be sorry.

No one can answer that question for you, it is for you to decide. Not even the above poster's answer is valid - except for him and his experience. I also tried the Galaxy Tab and I hated it. Yes, much nicer screen, but the seven inch size was a no go for me. Everyone's needs and experience is different so don't do anything based on what someone here tells you to do.
If you feel up to mod'ing the G you can end up with a nicely functioning tablet, albeit with a screen that has a lousy viewing angle, but, on the other hand for a lot less money than other alternatives.
I am a total noob to Android and went to the irc chat room for the G and someone there walked me through the rom change. I now have a nice unit, runs smoothly, fairly fast and its doing what I need it to do. It still has a lousy screen viewing angle but I also have an extra few hundred bucks in my pocket that I didn't have to put out for a Galaxy that I didn't like.
Ultimately it has to be your decision. There are a number of people in here who are willing to help out if you want to take advantage of their help.
R

Take it back quickly. Get the Galaxy Tab......wait...didnt I just hear they are locking down the bootloader on it. No Gingerbread or Honeycomb unless Samsung lets you have it. So it has the the potential of being outdated already. But seriously, if your having 2nd thoughts about a purchase....RETURN IT!!!! It's your money. Why would anything we have to say have any bearing on your remorse.

If you're having buyers remorse already then I would say return it. Usually when someone asks a question like that they have issues or gripes with the device. This tablet has the hardware to be great and the software is catching up to it. There is a decent backing behind the product and that's a great thing. As for the screen users have been running tests with other screens to try and find an alternative.
For me I personally love modding my device to make it my own. If you're the type of person that wants a complete out of the box working tablet then I would return it.

I don't think any of the tabs out today has an advantage over the other. If ur gonna return the gtablet, don't get anything else that's out right now. I would just wait a few months. Or at least wait til the prices drop on the alternative tablets.
As other posters has said, u haven't seen the capabilities of this tablet without flashing a rom or modifying the stock ui.
Just to answer some of ur questions
No I don't think u bought it too early because tegra 2 tabs are gonna be expensive next yr albeit they will probably have better screens and camera. You just purchased a tablet with next years hottest cpu at a pretty fair price.
Yes, viewsonic has earned my trust that they will update this device. I also have the utmost confidence in our current devs to bring us faster roms.
All the apps I have works. If ur talking about the g sensor games then I would agree but that's not a lot of apps.
You tube streaming is super fast on my vegan tab. Other flash sites too! Especially justin tv. I have a wireless n router and when I stream from those sites no stutter at all.
And the screen...umm no comment lol.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and u should be too unless u got extra money to spend and/orthe patience to wait til next yr.

No....send it to me.

Thanks everyone. I am not new to android. Mt3g and currently vibrant. But never flashed a rom. So nervous. Things I like are hardware and no contract. On top of that I got it for 30% off. So really a bargain. But I offset it by buying extended warranty.
Called viewsonic cs but that number is not working. Tried 4 times, after the automated voice and 10 mins hold the call disconnects and it got me concerned.

nexusonemeover said:
the samsung has everything i was looking for... android market, swype, youtube, flash, etc. etc. etc... its just awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny, I can say the same things about my GTablet. Granted, it's maybe 95%-98% of the Market, and I had to tinker with it, but I'm a big boy who likes to tinker.
Unfortunately, the devs here have taken away some of the fun by making it so easy to download and flash the rom.
But hey, glad you are enjoying your Galaxy Tab. And if you were so unhappy with your GTablet, stop trolling the GTablet forums.
-=Sent from my VS GTablet (VEGAn b4) using Tapatalk=-

popezaphod said:
Funny, I can say the same things about my GTablet. Granted, it's maybe 95%-98% of the Market, and I had to tinker with it, but I'm a big boy who likes to tinker.
Unfortunately, the devs here have taken away some of the fun by making it so easy to download and flash the rom.
But hey, glad you are enjoying your Galaxy Tab. And if you were so unhappy with your GTablet, stop trolling the GTablet forums.
-=Sent from my VS GTablet (VEGAn b4) using Tapatalk=-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ill rephrase for the sensitive folks... some people need (or want) the device to work out of the box, no changes required. the gtablet just isnt that device.
in an increasingly crowded marketplace where devices are getting better and better at launch, a device like the gtab takes a backseat for out of the box readiness. yes, you can mod till youre blue in the face and get it to do most of what others do from the get go, but having to mod to get it almost there is not optimal for every user.
and to the other deflating comment, i love XDA and i will troll whatever forums and whenever i wish... pardon me for posting an opinion in a public forum.

I was also worried I made a bad decision with my gtab purchase a week ago as well. I came in to an unexpected $400 and decided to treat myself to a gtablet. The day after I got it I flashed the vegan 3 rom. That fixed the "bad software" issue for sure. The my only concern was with the screen. But my worry was 2 fold: 1) viewing angles. 2) "fuzzy" graphics. I'm used to my Droid X having razor sharp fonts and graphics, which the gtab does not. Part of the problem is the screen quality which is related to the viewing angle. I think the bigger part has to do with resolution. The gtab resolution is 1024 x600 pixels @ 10.1" while the Droid X is 854 x 480 @ 4.3". Packing 66% of the pixels into 42% of the screen size helps make things sharper.
So I'm now at the point where I'll keep the gtab. I'm not 100% satisfied, but it's pretty damn good. Maybe there will be luck with finding a better LCD that can be dropped in. If next year a better tegra 2 tablet comes out, then I might just switch and sell my gtab on ebay. I won't get what I paid for it, but I'm hoping to get at least $250 for it. I would have gotten $130 worth of use out of it.
As for flashing a new rom; It is really easy to do with the proper instructions. I had not done any rom flashing since I have a droid x, and was kinda reluctant as well. But now I look back and realize there really wasn't anything to be nervous over. Most of the "caution, you may brick your device" warnings you read are similar to the medical wavers you sign that say "you might die" even though you are just getting some teeth pulled. Yes, it can happen. But most of the time everything works out fine.

I think you would need to be happy with it the way it is today to keep it. There are no guarantees that it will get any further updates from VS. In fact it really seems like a product that they had branded just for the holidays.
I'm still undecided about mine, but I suspect that once I see what comes out of CES, the gtablet will probably go back to Sears.

sam96_77 said:
I bought my gtablet 2 weeks ago. I have 30 days to return the baby. Following are my questions.
1. I know lot of pundits are calling 2011 as the year of tablets. Did I jump the gun and bought it too early? gtab's spec was the reason for the buy.
2. Do you think in the future they will release firmware update to honeycomb since google doesn't recommend froyo for tablets?
3. lot of the current apps dont work.
4. you tube streaming is horrible.
5. last but not least the screen.
I appreciate the efforts of several guys on this forum for supporting the device. however I am still on the side line as far as introducing other roms on the device. so it limits my gtab to some extent.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nexusonemeover said:
ill rephrase for the sensitive folks... some people need (or want) the device to work out of the box, no changes required. the gtablet just isnt that device.
in an increasingly crowded marketplace where devices are getting better and better at launch, a device like the gtab takes a backseat for out of the box readiness. yes, you can mod till youre blue in the face and get it to do most of what others do from the get go, but having to mod to get it almost there is not optimal for every user.
and to the other deflating comment, i love XDA and i will troll whatever forums and whenever i wish... pardon me for posting an opinion in a public forum.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sam, I agree with the people who've said that noone can tell you. As someone who prefers not to mod myself, I am right there with you in feeling out the insecurities of dropping a chunk of change on something that may or may not be faulty in relation to actual hardware or that's shaky in terms of future software releases and support. The thing is, in a case like this, we're all early adopters here....and the problem with cookie cutter devices like the G Tablet (cookie cutter meaning the same base hardware as a plethora of devices coming soon) is that it really doesn't get a whole lot of respect in terms of software from the people that sell it because at the end of the the day, they're in it for the money like all companies are but more so they're not all about loyalty or trying to keep customers. If they can get you to keep your device for 30 days - that's money in their pocket no matter what.
That is the raw, real truth of the matter. I have certainly had my own ups and downs with it but unless there's a DEEP hardware issue - I'm not seeing a reason to return mine. If you REALLY don't want to mess around with ROMs and 3389 (newest OTA) isn't satisfactory for you, then I'd say return it. Something faster and better will always be on the horizon, and if you keep returning or waiting for the next best thing, you end up with nothing. And we'll always have buyers remorse, believe me...there's always a reason to return a buy.
At this point, we have no guarantees that Viewsonic will support it beyond Froyo. They have never claimed, nor said they would and when it comes to devices like this. That's a cold hard fact. They're dabbling in the tablet waters, and if it doesn't 'work out' for them they could just decide to call it quits in terms of releasing updates and supporting it. Even if they do decide to go ahead and jump into the market, when they release new equipment we don't really have anyone at viewsonic saying "don't worry, your tablet will be upgraded for as long as it can be". We just have to hope and have faith.
I would say, if you really don't want to nor see yourself modding your tablet. Even in the lightest, then maybe it isn't the device for you. Get an iPad...where you know Apple has a vested interest and will release updates for it as long as it can be updated. But if you see yourself dabbling, even a little bit (it really is pretty easy and for the most part safe), then I believe 100% that this tablet is going to be a powerhouse next year when honeycomb hits (barring any unforeseen internal hardware faults currently).
To Nexus, you've made a point in that the Galaxy Tab IS indeed a great device and workable right out of the box but there are pretty big differences which make them very different. I also think that yes, it is preferable to the G Tablet for people who want that out of the box usefulness. But is the Galaxy Tab a value, I really don't think so. Quite simply, you're paying a lot more for a lot less.
Kind of like buying a VW Bug with great insides vs. a VW Touareg with some glitchy insides (that are quite possibly fixable in the near future).
For one, the Galaxy Tab is single core - meaning right now what you see is what you get. The G Tablet will have new doors opened when Honeycomb allows the second core to be utilized synchronously (I think? and hope). The Galaxy Tab is a 7inch device which by all means is a big difference than the 10inch G Tablet. I have used 7inch devices and they feel like really big phones. Still quite usable and maybe even preferable by some, but not all. The G Tablet feels like flat computer in comparison and the bigger screen is obviously noticeable. The Galaxy Tab is $200 more than the G Tablet without a contract. It is $350 with a contract, but you must have data on the account for, you say 6 months, right? That's still a minimum of $530. Is the G Tablet perfect, no way. But by all means it's great hardware with great potential for a value price right now. The Galaxy Tab on the other hand, is a great out of the box experience fit for anyone out there, but lacking the power and potential of the G Tablet - better screen? sure...but not necessarily a better buy.
Coming from owning a Vibrant, maybe I'm a little biased, but I wouldn't be too sure Samsung will be paying attention to the Tab for too long into next year, especially when the new hotness the Galaxy Tab 2 is released....and all this talk about locking bootloaders etc. I dunno. I feel better that even if VS takes a dump and refocuses elsewhere, at least the devs here will be taking care of us for a while.

^^^ Very insightful reply. And, you made some good points I had not considered.
Sent from my SGH-T849 using XDA App

sam96_77 said:
Thanks everyone. I am not new to android. Mt3g and currently vibrant. But never flashed a rom. So nervous. Things I like are hardware and no contract. On top of that I got it for 30% off. So really a bargain. But I offset it by buying extended warranty.
Called viewsonic cs but that number is not working. Tried 4 times, after the automated voice and 10 mins hold the call disconnects and it got me concerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
30% off!!!! U lucky son of a gun haha. Well that makes the gtab a great buy. I'm jealous.

I was disapointed until Loaded Vegan and did the calibaration fix,also practically bricked it and had to load ubuntu linux cuz windows driver would not work but now i am very happy this thing is so fast!
And mind you the software is not optimized for Dual core processor.
Definately not for the none tech inclined.But if you are willing to root and want a solid Android device this is it!
I could get a galaxy tab but why would i pay for internet i can tether off my evo for free.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0b4

I will try the simple answer. Keep it.

If you dont want it, ill take it for $250. Wont pay $400 for it from Sears and all the "refurbished" ones on Sears Outlet @ $279 are no where close to me and they dont ship.

nexusonemeover said:
ill rephrase for the sensitive folks... some people need (or want) the device to work out of the box, no changes required. the gtablet just isnt that device.
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Completely agree with you. The Galaxy Tab is, in fact, the closest thing to an Android tablet that works out of the box.
Anyone buying an Android tablet before June 2011 is basically an early adopter. If you want something that Just Works(tm), your best bet is to go the premium route and get a Galaxy Tab. If you don't have the money and don't want a service contract, you're going to have to do some hacking in some way, shape or form to get things working.
And yeah, I can be a crabby ***** sometimes.

question about buying a tablet

Hi peeps been looking around at the android tablets on the market and wondering if i should take the plunge?.Thought i would ask here as you guys probably have more experiance than most.Can you recomend a couple?, i'm not looking to spend a fortune just want something that covers most bases and doesnt struggle to run the usual suspects.HDMI out would be a plus but any ideas you can offer or just give me ideas on what not to buy.Any helps good, thanx in advance.

I have a smoldering interest in a tablet as well but I will continue to hold off as my Lenovo X61t and Windows Phone compliment each other pretty well and I don't "need" one.
However, I have taken note of the Archos' that were just released. The general feeling is that they feel cheap in build quality but the price and performance is right there. This is engadgets take on the two tablets they have.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/24/archos-70-and-101-internet-tablet-review/
I have used the Samsung Galaxy S and it is a nice device. Gotta be honest though, nothing seems to be "more complete than the ipad", just in terms of docks, jailbreaking, best apps, etc.
There are so many 'knock offs' in this category, let us know what you find!

I agree in the upset front, it's a great piece of kit but I refuse to spend that kind if money. Have found plenty of cheap ones, and I don't mind the price tag but most are just a bit gutless lol. But yeah likewise bring the info if you find something good.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Back again, on the subject off cheapo knock off tablets have you seen the a-ok pad lol now don't laugh. I could be persuaded to gamble on something as (shall we say rough) if it ticked the right boxes. Anybody heard if them? Any horror stories?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Buying a new tablet
I'm in the market for a tablet, and have taken my sweet time for the last 3 months researching and looking for the best one to buy. I've done my fair share of research and now i'm asking you: Should I buy the ASUS Transformer Prime with the dock, od should i wait for samsung/htc/moto/lenovo/acer... next-gen tablet? My fear is you see, that I'll buy The Prime, and that it won't be supported by some software develeopers, and left out in the cold with some apps, or not on par with the next-gen 2012 tablets. I want the best hardware specs, possible future windows 8 compatibility, preferably tegra device, 3g isn't a must, nor GPS but preferred. I don't mind waiting for a few more months since this would be my first tablet, wich i don't really need. NO IOS/IPad talk please, android tablet only (but like i said, with a possibility of win8 in the future). Any reasonable advice is more than welcome, and thank you all very much in advance!

IIRC Asus Prime will begin getting ICS/4.0 Jan 12th.
With that said, I would definitely play around with one before buying. Numerous reported issues that can't really be fixed through OTA's or software. (GPS, WIFI, light bleed, glass/screen loose from rest of tab).
Typical Asus if you ask me, crapshoot on quality.
Also depends on what you want in a tab. If you don't really want to play around/mod/customize then I think the Ipad 2 or hold out a couple of months for an Ipad 3 would be your best bet.
If you have to have an Android you have one of two options. Wait for more quad core tabs to be released, or start looking at what's available now.
Samsung 7.0 Plus is probably the best out for 7"ers.
For the 10"ers it's a toss up right now. Galaxy Tab 10.1 has good support, decent performance, light, easy to hold, good screen, great speakers (for a tab). It's cons to me are the Tegra 2 isn't up to snuff with Honeycomb OS.
The HP Touchpad is a great buy for the OS and specs, and can also be ported to Android (Still need to play with one)
Asus Transformer TF101 is also a good buy but again a crapshoot on quality but can be had for a good price.
The new Moto Xyboards are getting good reviews but they are overpriced for what they are, are only sold through VZW and were "technically" outdated before they were even released. Also locked bootloaders are never fun if flashing kernels are your thing.
Right now I'm looking at getting another tab so I guess you could say I'm in the same boat as you. I have an OG Galaxy Tab 7 on the way b/c I got it cheaper than cheap and just wanna play with it.
Considering picking up an 8" Xyboard also.
ETA: I probably won't pick up a Xyboard however until they come down in price or a WiFi only version is offered.
The SGT 7.7 also sounds promising. Decisions decisions.

First of all, thank you for the fast and torough reply... And yes, sweet sweet decisions
I forgot to say that I'm in the market for a 10" minimum tablet, don't want smthng smaller 'cause i allready have an SGSII so I'm covered for mobility.
As for ASUS's build quality, like I said I never owned a tablet so I definately will try out/play with one for a couple of hours before purchasing, and watch out for the screen bleed on an ips display. But currently most of my pc's componens (2xmobo, 2xgraphic cards, and a lappy) are ASUS made and i must say i'm more than satisfied with them, and as I recall, when I was buying my SGSII there was talk about screen burn-in, overheating and wifi problems too, but I haven't had a single one with my device. Besides that, I don't really need GPS or 3g in a tablet so it's not a dealbreaker with me on The Prime.
The problem is: I wouldn't buy any other tablet now existing in the market, mostly because of the Tegra3 chipset The Prime has, so if I'm paying a hi-end device (around 700$) i want the latest and fastest performer in the ring. And yes, in my book that is android only, as i find apple's devices a bit limiting sometimes (without any fanboyism, I come from a long line of iphones before my android). The things I'm worried hardware-wise are: the amount and speed of Prime's RAM (1gb od ddr2), possible wifi signal problems, screen bleed, and that it's topheavy when docked (a minor thing really). I love that it has a full USB 2.0 port, so you don't need a jack/ adapter of some kind (e.g. like on a SGSII microUSB to full USB). Not really worried about the one speaker layout eather, altough i was a bit dissapointed since the TF101 had a stereo layout, but still, not a dealbreaker (hey, it's still a tablet)...
Now you may laugh at this seeing your sig, but in my mobile history (25+ phones) the worst were accually motorolas (v3 being the worst of the lot, but than again A925 was more than excellent) I'm not so fond of HP either, last month i sold my DV6 3020em, (that's the i7 touchscreen version for Europe since i'm european), and i can say it was utter rubbish, overheating, shoddy build quality, squeaky, noisy fans, you name it... That's why I sold it, but it had a touchscreen which was more than handy, and that's why i want a tablet, I just might look a bit more into the HP touchpad after all.
Acer is great quality for it's price, really great. But I only had Acer's laptops, and the Iconia tablet is as ugly as a bullfrog from chernobyl, so I wouldn't want one.
Tf101 is ugly too by my standards, too big as well, but the looks aren't so important if it was an excellent performer, which none of the now available androids are compared to The Prime (at least not on honeycomb).
I played with samsung 8.9 a few days ago and I can report is't a great little device, thin, capable, satisfying all in all, but i'd like a bigger screen, and a real keyboard and it's not a tegra device (I play a lot of games so i'd like the tegra zone, as chainfire's plugins don't support all tegra tweaked games)
Now I do like to install a new ROM every few weeks on my SGSII but i srsly don't think that will be the case on a tablet (except Win 8, when it comes out).
So i guess the question remains: should i wait for Samsung's next gen 10.1 answer or just go with the prime now
P.S. sorry for my poor english

cavkic said:
First of all, thank you for the fast and torough reply... And yes, sweet sweet decisions
I forgot to say that I'm in the market for a 10" minimum tablet, don't want smthng smaller 'cause i allready have an SGSII so I'm covered for mobility.
As for ASUS's build quality, like i said i never owned a tablet so I definately will try out/play with one for a couple of hours before purchasing, and watch out for the screen bleed on an ips display. But currently most of my pc's componens (2xmobo, 2xgraphic cards, and a lappy) are ASUS made and i must say i'm more than satisfied with them, and as I recall, when I was buying my SGSII there was talk about screen burn-in, overheating and wifi problems too, but I haven't had a single one with my device. Besides that, I don't really need GPS or 3g in a tablet so it's not a dealbreaker with me on The Prime.
The problem is: I wouldn't buy any other tablet now existing in the market, mostly because of the Tegra3 chipset The Prime has, so if I'm paying a hi-end device (around 700$) i want the latest and fastest performer in the ring. And yes, in my book that is android only, as i find apple's devices a bit limiting sometimes (without any fanboyism, I come from a long line of iphones before my android). The only thing I'm worried hardware-wise is the amount and speed of Prime's RAM (1gb od ddr2), possible wifi signal problems, screen bleed, and that it's topheavy when docked (a minor thing really). I love that it has a full USB 2.0 port, so you don't need a jack/ adapter of some kind (e.g. like on a SGSII microUSB to full USB). Not really worried about the one speaker layout eather, altough i was a bit dissapointed since the TF101 had a stereo layout, but still, not a dealbreaker (hey, it's still a tablet)...
So i guess the question remains: should i wait for Samsung's next gen 10.1 answer or just go with the prime now
P.S. sorry for my poor english
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Don't jump the gun on the Prime until stock has settled in, right now retailers are price gouging due to low availability. The Prime should be $500 for the 32GB, $600 for the 64GB, not $650-700 for the 32GB.
I have a Transformer and an Iconia Tab A100, and I can tell you from first hand experience that the build quality isn't nearly as bad as the above poster is making it out to be. I actually like the finish on both the original Transformer and the Iconia series a lot, and the Prime seems to be a winner also. Another thing to consider for both ASUS and Acer is that they keep their Android releases relatively 'vanilla' except for a few bloatware-type apps of their own, unlike Samsung and HTC, who just can't help themselves but smear TouchWiz and Sense over everything they produce.
The only real reported issue with the Prime appears to be the GPS accuracy, but at least to me, it's a non-issue, since I disable GPS and bluetooth on everything.
The Windows 8 bit is yet to be seen, porting a device to another OS is something you can hope, but never hold your breath for. We've yet to see how Windows 8 distribution is going to work and remember that even if you do install Windows 8 down the road, it doesn't mean that you'll be able to run all windows-based programs, since mobile devices use ARM CPUs, and everything written for windows right now is made for x86 CPUs, so it will be up to each third party to rewrite their programs for compatibility.
Although I would never write out a company with pockets as deep as microsoft, they have proven time and time again that they are unable to compete in the mobile segment, so I don't see Windows 8 with as much hope and awe as many others do. (Especially since Ice Cream Sandwich is the first Android iteration we can really call "excellent")
TL;DR - If you can find a Prime for a decent price, then it's an amazing device to be had for a very reasonable price. If you plan on waiting, then checking out the upcoming Iconia A700 isn't a bad idea either if the dock isn't that important to you.

littleemp said:
Don't jump the gun on the Prime until stock has settled in, right now retailers are price gouging due to low availability. The Prime should be $500 for the 32GB, $600 for the 64GB, not $650-700 for the 32GB.
I have a Transformer and an Iconia Tab A100, and I can tell you from first hand experience that the build quality isn't nearly as bad as the above poster is making it out to be. I actually like the finish on both the original Transformer and the Iconia series a lot, and the Prime seems to be a winner also. Another thing to consider for both ASUS and Acer is that they keep their Android releases relatively 'vanilla' except for a few bloatware-type apps of their own, unlike Samsung and HTC, who just can't help themselves but smear TouchWiz and Sense over everything they produce.
The only real reported issue with the Prime appears to be the GPS accuracy, but at least to me, it's a non-issue, since I disable GPS and bluetooth on everything.
The Windows 8 bit is yet to be seen, porting a device to another OS is something you can hope, but never hold your breath for. We've yet to see how Windows 8 distribution is going to work and remember that even if you do install Windows 8 down the road, it doesn't mean that you'll be able to run all windows-based programs, since mobile devices use ARM CPUs, and everything written for windows right now is made for x86 CPUs, so it will be up to each third party to rewrite their programs for compatibility.
Although I would never write out a company with pockets as deep as microsoft, they have proven time and time again that they are unable to compete in the mobile segment, so I don't see Windows 8 with as much hope and awe as many others do. (Especially since Ice Cream Sandwich is the first Android iteration we can really call "excellent")
TL;DR - If you can find a Prime for a decent price, then it's an amazing device to be had for a very reasonable price. If you plan on waiting, then checking out the upcoming Iconia A700 isn't a bad idea either if the dock isn't that important to you.
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Tnx for the reply, and I have to say I think you misunderstood me. I don't think I said anything bad about acer's or asus's build quality just HP's (and only the perticular model of the DV6 I had), just that they're a bit on the ugly side, but that's totally a subjective stand, and irrelevant to anybody else.
As far as Prime's price goes, it should be available in Croatia, about 2hrs drive from my home in 10days for less than 700$ with the dock for the 32gig version, which is not a bad pricetag considering where I live, and I'm ready to give that kind of money for it. The dock is accually something i like about the Transformer, and it would probbably be a dead heat between TF101 just because of the dock) and the Sammy 10.1 if it weren't for the prime.
GPS, like I said, I don't mind. The SGSII has a great GPS reciever which i hardly ever use, maybe 6 times since i got it in july.
As far as ARM windows goes, I know what to expect from it , nothing special, but it would be nice to have that option when it's available
So you are happy with the TF101 and the Iconia? But would you recommend buying now the Prime if I'm happy with the price? I should mention I probbably won't buy it before ICS, and I'll try to get a hold of a stock ICS one when it's out after Jan. 12. because I want to make sure i missed the first version shipment

I believe you about Motorola. Until my Droid X I have ALWAYS hated Motorola. I never had a phone that worked right after some wear and tear and always had problems. From before smartphones thru the Droid 1, 2, and 3. (Went through multiples of those). I'm also a Samsung and HTC fan.
I've never had a problem with Asus computer components myself, w/ that said, there are quite a few complaints when it comes to the TF201 on quality. With that said, you, as I'm sure you do, have to take into account the dissatisfied ones are always going to moan and groan much more and louder than the happy customer.
I guess I just wish it was like cars when it comes to Tablets and would love for them to let me take the exact tab I'm looking to buy for a test drive. (Not leave the store but just open the box and get a good look at it and test everything to make sure I'm getting what my hard earned money is paying for).
I really want a TF201, but I'm going to wait til a few more Tegra 3 tabs come out. I really think Motorola would have hit a homerun if they would have put a quad core in their Xyboards and kept the price what they're charging now.
The three tabs I'm really torn between right now are the Xyboard 8.2, TF201, and Samsung 7.0 Plus. But man we are so close to seeing quad core as the new standard for tabs so the other part of me just wants to sit it out and wait.

So true what you said about the sitting and waiting for the quad core as the new standard, but on the other hand, HOW BAD DO WE WANT ONE!?!
Personally for me it's no competition between the Prime and other tablets, the Prime is just on another planet.
This morning the store answered my email saying that the Prime will be available mid january (in about 10 days) and said that maybe they could reserve one for me because of the small supply, but said the price may be different depending on the usd/euro stocks, but under 700$ for the 32gig version with dock...
Still I'm not planning on buying one before a test drive like you said (mostly to check for screen bleed). And yes, I took into account the moaners which is true like you said again...
I think I wathched every single review/comparison of the tablet on youtube, and read at least 10 reviews online, and it's all mostly positive.
I'll update as soon as i get my hands on a test one, hopefully in about 10 days.

What to do guys...

Righty, my HD2 is about to go to where all good phones go when they meet their maker, the African sub-continent
Yup its time has come, the USB socket seems to no longer except data connections, (probably broken PCB/tracks) and the digitiser has started to act erratically
as much as id like to get out the soldering Iron and replace the digitiser it doesn't cost that much more to get a new one.
So I guess im coming here to pick your brains and gather up what the community feels is the best options
So the choices above are
get a cheaper HD2 and wait out for the WP8 device launch when I could then choose to get a cheaper WP7 device or get a WP8 one
Keep the king of all phones the HD2 and shell out on brand spanky new one
Nokia 800(cheaper)
Nokia 900(would rather)
Titan (cheaper)
Titan II (Would rather)
Something else, perhaps a Smaller HD2 comparable gem
Ive put those 4 on because im interested in what the general feeling of the community is on them, obviously the 900 and the Titan II are better but I suppose the question is, for those that know is it worth the extra money?
In terms of spec I don't care, they are all good, but if your suggesting another one then 3.7in is the absolute minimum screen size and CPU spec around that of the 3 year old HD2 is acceptable, I don't play games so a 1GHz snapdragon is ok and around 512MB of RAM is fine too, the HD2 has a bit less which is fine. screen size is what's important
Im aware those newer ones are not as mod able as the HD2, but apart from web based XAP installing I don't do that much on it that needs the Full unlock so would I miss it...I dunno, side loading some of my custom XAPs would be handy I guess....
One last thing, yes I can and have researched them, but im open to suggestions and im more interested in what you guys have experienced with them, good or bad. We XDAers tend to know out stuff a lot more than the average review site!
sooo..... over to you great chaps and lasses, what do you think?

I loved my HD2 and would still be using it if it wasn't for the social integration that wp7 holds, No going back now, But if you can pick up a cheap HD2 for now then surely its the better option being what ur familiar with and knowing wp8 hopefully has some nice surprises to look forward to later in the year.

I've got an LG E900. It works smooth, but has so many little flaws, that I would go for a cheap HD2. I don't know about the Titans. But after using WP7.5 I wouldn't consider to buy a new WP device which isn't capable of WP8.
Maybe you get an used WP7.5 device cheaper than an HD2 and consider this as an opportunity to test WP. Because I guess Android isn't perfect either, but you know of its flaws and there aren't any surprises. Like when I've got my first call. WP vibrates, then rings, then vibrates. When I wanted to change this behaviour I considered myself lucky of being able to at least choose a different ringtone.

OtoTheBear said:
But after using WP7.5 I wouldn't consider to buy a new WP device which isn't capable of WP8.
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That story is not over yet Microsoft just kept quit and that's it...
Anyway, I'd buy another HD2. It's already quite cheap and still the best. And when WP8 hits the stores, I'd buy a shiny new phone with new specs (second gen devices have not made a big jump but WP8 is hopefully going to catch up with android handsets).
The HD2 will always be nice (even when you got a new phone) as you can really, really play with it.

thanks guys, Its looking like a return to the king moment with half the vote suggesting getting a cheap HD2 and waiting for 1st gen WP8 devices to see what happens.....

Ok, ive had another thought, now there doesn't appear to be any development on this one but its unlockable to deploy xaps, I don't think its full unlock but as I said im not too bothered.
So, the phone im talking about, is the Samsung Focus s
From all information that I can gather its pretty good, all beit has a plastic feel about it, anyone have any additional thoughts on the matter?
ive got a day to decide before my phone will probably pack in, USB socket just fell off the PCB all together such an undignified end to the HD2 3 year reign

Well that's sad - but even the hd2 is not invincible
I think Samsung makes pretty decent phones (I played around with an omnia 7 and galaxy s2). The only downside is that they feel really cheap and shaby as you said.
Don't know what you're paying for it, but if it's really cheap, I'd buy it. Otherwise I'd stick with an HD2 and wait for the WP8 release.

chabun said:
Well that's sad - but even the hd2 is not invincible
I think Samsung makes pretty decent phones (I played around with an omnia 7 and galaxy s2). The only downside is that they feel really cheap and shaby as you said.
Don't know what you're paying for it, but if it's really cheap, I'd buy it. Otherwise I'd stick with an HD2 and wait for the WP8 release.
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well ive gone with the Samsung Focus S imported from the states, the screen size was the deciding factor, combined with the fact that dev unlock is fairly straight forward and interop isn't much harder. Titan was just too big, and the 800 was too small and inconsistent with what I was expecting, the 900 would have been great if I could have got one cheep, the Focus S ticked all the boxes bar the slightly plastic feel to them
theres sweet bugger all going on in development so perhaps ill try give something back to the community and learn a bit from the Gods on here
The HD2 is still holding in there, if I squash the whole lower portion of the phone very hard and remove the battery to charge it, it still kinda works, it just doesn't want to die