Overall experience with the Viewsonic Gtablet...

[sharpe351]

I'm starting this merely through a vast curiosity of all things Android, also I will be purchasing one very soon, due to the fact that my SuperPAD got superbricked recently (oddly enough, not my doing).

Mainly I'm curious about the ROM's out there for this tablet. I hear there are a few.
I would like to hear from regular users what the pros and cons of using these various ROMs are. I also would like to know if the tablets can or need to be overclocked, any workarounds that need to be done, bugs, etc. I am not new to this, so fire away. I also noticed that the Android Market is an issue for these tabs. Is the Market 3.0 working on these like on the SuperPad (full access)?

Personally, I tend to take a liking to CM7 because i'm familiar with it from the phone side, if the others available (TnT, Veegan, ?) are better, by all means please correct me.

There were/are alot of issues with my old tablet right out of the box, how is the stock ROM? I read that alot of you out there are changing it right away. Is it really that bad/buggy?

Thanks in advance to any info you can provide...
-Mike

 

[Rags]

I was a complete Android noob when I purchased my Viewsonic GTablet. Essentially, I looked at the specs and the price and read up on the custom ROMs and figured it was relatively low risk to get one and then figure out which ROM to use. The day I received it I powered up it and was less than impressed. I tried the market fix several times before it started to populate and most of the pre-loaded widgets couldn't be configured for Canada. I stuck with it for a week though before I finally gave up and applied my first ROM.

Most of the posts that I had read were favouring TnT Lite so I started with that one. I ran that for half a week but there was something that I tried to do and it failed so I then flipped over to Vegan 5.1. This was a better fit for me and I used that for the better part of a week until I started reading about the benefits of VEGAn Ginger Edition. I took the plunge again and was not disappointed! The look & feel was much better than any of the previous ROMs I had tried. I was using that one up until last weekend when I decided that the feedback on Flashback 7.1 was too enticing to not take a look... So far, Flashback is my favourite but I haven't tried any of the other Honeycomb ROMs. As it is still Alpha I am keeping it fairly clean with all my media stored on an external SD card so that I don't have to worry about backing up data in between builds.

My advice to you is to not even bother with the stock ROM. Boot it up, find out if you are on a 1.1 or 1.2 branch and move on to another ROM on the same branch. Give yourself a week with each until you find one that you feel meets all your needs. As many have said before, hold off on any of the honeycomb ROMs as once you see one you will never want to go back. I would also recommend not buying any apps until you have settled on the ROM you will stay with for a bit...

Long story short...I would recommend Flashback 7.1 but realize that it is still 'Alpha' and the developer is working out the few remaining bugs.

Hope this helps!

 

[sharpe351]

Indeed it has. Very interesting read. I actually had cm7 on my phone, but I switched to Harmonia and haven't looked back. Funny thing is that it is Froyo based, but clean, lean and smooth.

On the tablet side, however, it seems as though the tablets like the honeycomb ROMs more. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed cm7, but I changed up for the phone because of simplicity.

Sent from my LG OP V using Tapatalk

 

[Bobo2000]

My cousin has a Gtablet, and he likes it very much. 1GHZ Dual Arm Cortex, A9 processor you are in for a great tablet. It does come also with 512MB DDR2 memory, 2D/3D Graphics Processing, HD encode and decode, just too much for me to say.

 

[gadgetrants]

Let's see, a few random thoughts:

(1) ROM. I put in a VERY ENTHUSIASTIC vote for Flashback. It has a slight edge in development over Bottle of Smoke (as the latter developer has taken a late-summer break), but both are excellent. In particular, HC is much more "optimized" (graphically) for tablets and feels more polished than the Froyo/GB ROMs. The main things not working with HC ROMs are camera and hardware acceleration (improving daily).

(2) Overclocking. Not nearly as much an issue as with phones. I think more users actually underclock their gTab to improve battery life, while many overclock to check their benchmark score, and then throttle back down! I've seen a few users swear by overclocking for specific games, but the use seems relatively rare. Another factor is that there isn't as much work on kernels with the gTab as there is with Android phones (or so it seems) so it feels like less of an issue.

(3) Market. I'm not sure what version of the Market the HC ROMs are using, but it's tab-optimized and we have full access. Don't believe any c$#% you read about Market issues with gTab custom ROMs. There are problems here and there, but those are usually install-specific and are fixed by cache wiping, reinstalling, etc. Overall it works (and you can easily send apps to the tab remotely from the Market website).

Everything Rags said is spot-on, except I'd advise trying to stay stock for at least 24 hours. It's a macho guy thing...how long can your hold your breath? How long can you tolerate an abysmal stock ROM? LOL How long can you go?

As a mod (I'm a moderator, right?...that's what it says here!), I'd also strongly suggest you take a look at the stickies that talk about nvflashing. Some owners are a bit squeamish about doing it, but my advice is to learn how, and to remind yourself that it's the ideal tool for dealing with an unsuccessful flash. It will save your butt and always get you back to stock!

-Matt

 

[pbrauer]

I second Matt's comment about NVFlash (after all he is a moderator...), it seems drastic and scary, but it is absolutely hands down the best final option. I have gotten to the point where I go to it when I am doing major reflashing or moving from one dev's ROM to another in order to make sure that I am starting from the most vanilla as possible of a base.

Once you do it, you will find it is straightforward and easy to do.

 

[sharpe351]

I've been reading alot in my downtime at work. I plan on going home tonight to download some things. Maybe compile a list of the items needed. I have Windows XP at home, does that matter?

Sent from my LG OP V using Tapatalk

 

[gadgetrants]

Excellent, it sounds like you're ready for the leap. I've been doing it in Win7, but I'm sure XP is OK too.

Just remember: I'd estimate there's a 50% (maybe 70%) chance that it goes perfectly. But if it doesn't (e.g., when rebooting, it seems stuck on a boot screen) don't fret. After you've flashed a few ROMs you'll feel pretty confident and easily get out of stuck boot-loops, etc. I've seen several users go from "I'd better review one more time!" to "I can do this with one arm tied behind my back!"

-Matt

 

[Fuzzracer]

CM7 looked appealing to me as well but it wouldn't take for some reason( actually it did but I was to lazy to do all the google setup stuff lol ) and as far as waiting 24hrs and feel out the stock rom, I have to say I failed, failed and failed I had this thing rooted within half hour of opening it up, the HC roms do look sexy mmm just the unlock screen alone brings a tear to my eye lol. good luck and like they said don't forget to learn NVFLASH.

I'm using the newest century eyes. Everything works except you have to fix the market which is very simple to fix, and it can be overclocked without having to install a kernel that will do so. You would just need to download and install a program so you can. I use cpu master and it's very easy to use and it's free.

 

[gadgetrants]

Actually the "30-minute" types are a different, interesting breed. They've seen the reviews on the stock ROM--know it's horrible--and they make a firm plan to replace with a custom ROM. I really admire their clarity and determination! I think some of the 24-hour types end up flashing after a day, and then smacking themselves on the head: "WHY did I wait that long???" LOL

-Matt

 

[sharpe351]

Flashing ROMs isn't all that intimidating to me... I've dealt with it and the problems that come along with it for a while now. I may actually flash my phone again just to refresh myself on how to do it, lol. I know that I will need to check a few things when I get the tablet. Something about the build? I understand that they are interchangeable? Not sure though. I will probably flash quite a few ROMs before I get comfortable with one. I may lean towards the Honeycomb just for the sheer fact that they are so much better for tablets. I will do some lurking around tonight to see what's what. Thanks for all the input fellas. If I have any more questions I will try to post them where necessary. I like the input, and it seems as though there are alot of happy customers out there.

 

[gadgetrants]

Hmmm, sounds like I pitched my advice a bit low! Sorry...I have two kids and always feel like I'm parenting!

-Matt

 

[sharpe351]

Hmmm, sounds like I pitched my advice a bit low! Sorry...I have two kids and always feel like I'm parenting!

-Matt

No worries Matt. I don't plan on flashing before I fire it up the first time, I just like being prepared for the inevitable. I will flash eventually, just want to see what's out there and come up with a game plan for where I want to go with it. It's like walking into a dealer and asking them how many hotrod parts are available for the car you want to get.

Sent from my LG OP V using Tapatalk

 

[sharpe351]

Outside of basically a number, and a lockscreen, is there a real difference between the 1.2 and 1.1?

I read Fuganater's writeup about it, but is there really a BIG difference?

Also, am I reading this right?! There are 10 ROMs available for the 1.2 based setup, or are there more?

I have a 10" USB (standard size) keyboard/case for a tablet, will this work with the Gtab?

 

[Fuzzracer]

you just have to look around for the 1.2 roms most of them are going to be between this site and 2 others. did your tab come with a screen protector already on it or in the box sharpe? mine didnt I was just wondering if anyone else's did or not. I think most people like gad said know what they wan't up front. I was reading some reviews on amazon and this older woman was really upset about the quality of product out of the box. after a breaf scolding from people who replied to her review. she was then encouraged to root it and flash a rom. I thought that was funny