I have had my ViewSonic gTab for 3 weeks now and I am giving it a 5 star review, not because it is the best tablet on the market -- that honor would probably go to the iPad2 -- but because it is most definitely the best value in a tablet computer currently available. I paid $279 for mine from Woot (with free shipping!) and as has been noted in other reviews, the gTab has hardware specs that compare favorably to the Motorola Xoom at more than twice the price ($600). I played around with a Xoom last week for an hour and I can honestly say I saw no appreciable performance qualities that were better than the gTab.
Please don't let all those early reviews about the awful user interface software dissuade you -- the gTab's OS has been updated many times in the last 6 months, so most of those reviews are out of date. The gTab will automatically update itself on startup (just make sure you have a good WiFi connection) and the stock updated inteface is perfectly fine for the average, non techno geek user. You can certainly surf the web, update your Facebook status, check your email, and view movies with abandon. This is my first tablet and I have to agree with Steve Jobs, it certainly is a "magical" experience. You just don't have to pay $600+ to get the magic.
For those of you who want turn a good tablet into a great one, by all means update the stock OS with a custom ROM. It's really very easy to do... the hardest part is finding a non-confusing set of directions to follow. I installed the TNT Lite 4.2 custom ROM, and it literally took me about 15 minutes. I just downloaded two files from the web, decompressed them, copied them over to my gTab via USB, then rebooted the gTab. That's it! Getting Google market to work took another download of Titanium Backup, then using that app to clear some data out of gTab's system and then re-booting. Again, it took far longer to find a clear set of instructions on how to do it than to actually apply the fix. Once the fix was applied I had full access to the Google app market.
The TNT Lite interface is super fast and with the full Google market you will have access to thousands of apps, both free and paid. I have downloaded about 30 so far and they all seem to work just fine. I am also using it as an e reader, it comes with the Kindle app and I added the Nook app. The Kindle reader is really barebones, I would suggest going with the Nook app as it has a wide choice of font styles, sizes, page margins, etc.
As many reviewers have noted, the viewing angle is somewhat restrictive but I really don't see what the problem is... if the screen isn't clear you just move it in your hand until it is. What's the big deal? It's really only a problem if you intend to regularly share viewing it with someone else -- for instance if you are doing demos for a customer or watching movies with your loved one. In that case you might be better off with an iPad... or just buy two gTabs!
The only real con that I can think of is that are few accessories available for it. You can find cases, a docking stand, etc but they only available over the web. You're not going to find them on the shelf at your local Staples like you can for an iPad.
Pros and Cons in summary:
Pros:
+ great hardware specs, comparable to Xoom at half the price
+ Good battery life 10+ with WiFi enabled
+ 10.1 screen size great for viewing web pages, watching movies, etc.
+ Capacitive screen is very responsive
+ Comes with Flash right out of the box
+ Lots of great custom interfaces available from support community
Cons:
- Stock user interface may seem lackluster for more sophisticated uers
- Lack of accessories
| Standing screen display size | 10 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1024x600 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1024 x 600 Pixels |
| Processor | 2.1 GHz |
| RAM | 512 MB DDR2 |
| Hard Drive | 32 GB ATA |
| Graphics Coprocessor | GeForce |
| Chipset Brand | Nvidia |
| Card Description | Tegra 250 |
| Wireless Type | 802.11g |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 1 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 8 Hours |
