What would YOUR review of the vtab be?

hardsell

Member
Sep 19, 2011
26
1
I buy almost everything from amazon and they eventually ask for a review of your purchase....

so mine was:

rating: two out of 5 stars

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: VIZIO 8-Inch Tablet with WiFi - VTAB1008 (Personal Computers)

pros: nice screen

Cons:

hard to grip: the icons on the bezel, the notification icon, the power button, volume controls all made for a hard to grip device, in contrast the kindle dxg was much bigger but without a touch screen you could hold it like a book with your thumb on the screen when my thumb strays onto the screen (hard to tell as the glass over the screen covers the bezels as well) the device usually thinks I'm in multi touch mode so I cant just tap the screen anymore ...I should note that I read in bed so using one hand is a must have

heat: the device seemed to run hotter than other devices I have/had, suggestions to remedy this said to pretty much turn off everything that makes this an android tablet (wifi, background data, gps,, etc) rather than just an ereader I could have gotten 2 refurbished nook colors for what this cost

battery life: the vizio site says 10 hours of normal usage, without defining what normal usage is, I read to give the batteries a chance to charge a few times before returning, and still even with _everything_ off but the ereader program, I never got more than 7 hours from full charge to must charge warning while others at one of the two vizio only android forums (hmm, strange I can't find an official vizio forum for the device, although there is a phone number, I prefer to see help written out

sd card: I never tried using an sd card till the day after my 30 day return "window" expired only to find that the vizio wouldn't save to the sd card properly and the internal memory fills up rapidly

I couldn't get the video chats to work either as it says on the box

edit-> sales blurb says it fits in your coat pocket but not in any of my 3 coats even the one with "cargo" pockets

this tab might work if you primarily want to watch stuff, then it would probably be in a stand, and would be okay, but for working from just holding it.... not so good

You can see what other vizio users think/offer help, workarounds at:

[...] search for vizio forums a n d r o i d t a b l e t s d o t n e t
[...] a n d r o i d f o r u m s c o m s l a s h v i z i o

if I had a 32 day return policy this would have been returned after finding the sd card problem,which was just too much on top of my other problems, I tried to work out all the problems (my initial impression was to return it on the 3rd day) because of the battery life, heat, holding it thing.... but some of the forums said battery problems just need several charging sessions to work out the new device kinks but no luck here from full charge to low battery warning is now roughly six hours with _everything_ off but the ereader program
 

SEMIJim

Senior Member
Aug 20, 2011
359
23
Well, your review is your review, but...

I buy almost everything from amazon and they eventually ask for a review of your purchase....

so mine was:

rating: two out of 5 stars
I'd give it at least three stars. Possibly four.

Cons:

hard to grip:
Didn't you note, somewhere, that you have physical disabilities? Neither my wife nor I have had any problem whatsoever holding our VTABs.

Doesn't seem to get excessively hot to us.

battery life: the vizio site says 10 hours of normal usage, ...
No, they do not. They say up to. And many people, myself included, have gotten up to and more than ten hours of runtime.

This one's definitely a problem, I agree.

I couldn't get the video chats to work either as it says on the box
Isn't there an app for which video chat does work? (Personally, I don't care about that, so I don't really know. I do know that, even if it did work, the camera on the VTAB doesn't seem to be very good.)

edit-> sales blurb says it fits in your coat pocket ...
Aren't you reaching just a bit with this one? It's clearly an 8-inch tablet. Come on.

... (my initial impression was to return it on the 3rd day) ...
It seems you should have done so.

The VTAB is certainly not the best tablet on the market, but, IMO, it's a damn good value for the money. Are there some aspects of it that could use improvement, which I believe Vizio can improve--probably with little effort? Definitely. But even if they changed nothing, I still have no intention of returning the device w/in the 90 days Costco gives me. Neither does my wife.

Oh, and ask anybody who knows me: I'm a damn picky consumer!

Btw: We had vistors from out of the country that just bought four VTABs to take back home with them. Near as we can tell they appear to be enjoying the heck out of 'em :).

Jim
 

Djudjuus

Member
Oct 7, 2011
2
1
I would give the VTab fairly high marks. Probably 4 stars.
- The size is just right for me. - It seems to hit the sweet spot between the 7 inch models and the 10 inch tablets.
- It has some thoughtful design features like good stereo sound in both portrait and landscape modes.
- The navigation buttons move with the screen orientation without taking up screen real estate - a nice design touch.
- I like the no-nonsense custom user interface and the lack of pre-loaded bloatware.
- It boots up fairly fast - much faster than others I've seen.
- Build quality seems first-rate.
- Videos from Netflix and Amazon play very smoothly unlike other tabs I've seen.
- Even though the processor chip isn't the latest and greatest, I've been impressed the browser performance.
- Even though I didn't buy it for the infrared remote capability, I have found myself using it fairly often.
- Three free apps I find quite handy are - Advanced Task Killer, App2SD and Wifi swich on/off.
- Overall, I think Vizio made some smart price/performance trade-offs and created an excellent value in the Vtab.

David in Chattanooga
 

marc71

Member
Oct 20, 2011
17
0
For the price I paid for it from costco I'd give it a solid 4. Would probably give it a 5 if not for the SD card issue. Very impressive for the money...


Sent from my DROIDX using Android Tablet Forum
 

hardsell

Member
Sep 19, 2011
26
1
... (my initial impression was to return it on the 3rd day) ...
It seems you should have done so.

it was people HERE who posted you need to charge and recharge the unit which delayed my returning the unit on the third day, then it was MY own stupidity in mixing the received date with the ordered date that prevented me from returning it later

Didn't you note, somewhere, that you have physical disabilities? Neither my wife nor I have had any problem whatsoever holding our VTABs

I am legally blind and need to hold the vtab within 6 inches of my face every second it is on to use it, so no laying it on a table or using a stand at all for me and while I read that several people said this was a bit too heavy to hold constantly, I went ahead and let Lisa from mobiletechreview talk me into the vtab because its 4:3 was the best for reading that she had seen from the current crop of tablets (and who really sees more tablets than her:) ?) .... it's the changing of hands or grip (it hurts after 30 or 40 minutes) that is constantly hitting notifications, volume the back home settings and causing the problem

their have been a few posts about battery/heat (that's how I found this forum) here and elsewhere:

battery
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/22155-battery-life-warm-tablet.html
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/24013-only-thing-left-now-battery-issue.html
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/24960-1-4-update-battery-life.html (improved charging time)
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/21978-vizio-owners-future-ota-want-list.html (OP's #1 wish = better battery life, charging)
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/24217-battery-experience-please.html
Vizio Tablet- might be a low cost winner-first thoughts - Page 2 - Android Forums (post 19)
VTAB1008 - Accessories | VIZIO post: great, but

heat
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/22155-battery-life-warm-tablet.html
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/vizio-tablets/22000-hot-tablet-screen-sensitivity.html
Vizio Tablet- might be a low cost winner-first thoughts - Android Forums (post 8)

I'm usually a picky consumer too; researched the nook color for months, watched every youtube video about it but at the last minute went with the vtab for the 4:3 reading experience

and yeah it not fitting in the coat (in my neighborhood especially traveling by bus you don't want something that looks like an ipad in your hand) is a trivial thing but having something to read while waiting for eye doctor appointments (why do they always over book them?) was something I wanted from the vtab and they made it a selling point not me

to me I don't consider $300 cheap most reviewers label this a cheap (in comparison to the "big boys") tablet, to me it was a major investment and one that I may learn to live with but still sigh every time I pick it up thinking of the refurbished nook color at half the price ....
 

sa2

Member
Oct 7, 2011
23
0
I would give it 4 out of 5 stars because okay "Out of the box experience" yes no video conferencing, and the stupid stupid SD card thing.... uh... but Video conferencing does work using oovoo and I think I read elsewhere someone got Skype to work. I do have to admit though it does things for me that one can't imagine, and I have made mine work in ways I know other tablets may not be able to. For the money, 5 out of 5. The ability to be a jumbo remote to almost anything in the house 5 out of 5 (See how much a Logitech Harmony goes for). The HDMI out 5 out of 5. This thing can do so so much. Can't even start to begin.
 

marvin02

Senior Member
Aug 25, 2011
244
50
I posted my thoughts here, but I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. The biggest flaw is limited memory and no option to use the user installed sd card as it can be used on most Android devices. While there are more Android devices using internal memory at the /sdcard mount point those devices have 8 or 16 GB of internal memory not the 4 GB (only 2.4 accessible) that the VTAB has.

My wife just spent a week with our daughter and took the VTAB with her and used it almost every day to read or keep up with her Facebook friends.
 

hardsell

Member
Sep 19, 2011
26
1
wow if I had gotten this for $189 I would probably not have been so negative , but at my price paid of $310 it wasnt such a great deal


in thinking about my review I probably should not have been so negative

true it didnt work for ME and I was upset I could no longer get a refund

but I was thinking that this might be a good entertainment tablet as that seems to be the direction that vizio is going with it as the last 2 updates brought netflex and hulu and didnt seem to fix any of the many known problems

so for sitting on the coffee table and being a remote or for streaming movies to a large screen tv

I'll upgrade my 2 of 5 rating to 3.5 out of 5 rating

to compare other 8 inch tablets see

https://docs.google.com/document/d/157X97IE6SM-G7VNyQPPhwUpp6be5OAoVzUxaGrb1DK4/edit

the archos 80 g9 looks interesting with its dual core android 3.2 and a real wide bezel
 
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Tuberocity

Member
Oct 31, 2011
5
0
I just bought mine new at Costco for $234, and now, two weeks later, it went down to $194, and then $189. Not sure where it's at now, but at $189 I think it a bargain for what you get. Yes, it is a bit heavy. Yes, the battery life is litterally terrible. Yes, it's a bit difficult to hold, you can overcome this by laying it on your lap or if you have big strong hands like mine, it's not so much a problem, but I would hate to hold this for too long with small, non muscular hands, and arms; You will get tired quickly, and have to place it on your lap. The screen is great, not the best, but this is an under $200 8" tablet. I challenge anyone to get a better deal on a simular equiped, name brand, tablet. IR Blaster for all your video & sound needs is probably close to being worth the $189 in, and of, itself. Built in GPS that does not need wi/fi to work, can run off satelites just like a garmin though I have yet to figure out how to put in way-points through a third party app, and not sure how accurate it will be. The Vizio Tab has a lot of things going for it at $189, but add $60-$70 for a high speed 32gb card, and your at $250 which is still pretty good, but add another $100, and you get a capacitive screen, and better hardware overall. Also, the sound on this thing with an equalizer installed is awsome through headphones, and the speakers. Maybe awsome is a bit strong, but it is very, very good. I just wish Nintendo would add this kind of sound to their platform, the 3DS, but they fall well short in that dept, terrible sound accept on games through the speakers, headphone out stinks which is what led me to buying this Tab which sounds great on headphones. I'm on the fence about returning it as the battery life is 3-4 hours of mixed use. A Vizio rep told me they are working on Honycomb, but that remains to be seen, and Ice Cream Sandwhich is what they should be focusing on anyway, probably fix some of the battery drain! The Vizio reps also said this tab is totaly rootable, and that everyone working at Vizio has rooted theirs so there are possibilities for the future, but this may lay in never, never land. lol Anyway, at $189, I think you will be hard pressed to get a better tablet, but keep that charger plugged in, you'll need it! Oh, another tidbit, the USB/charging connector is flimsy to say the least, but I think it may be more on the male plug end, not the female part of the unit itself so a new cable may take care of this as the wobbly connector is actually on the plug itself, not the unit. Also, I just remembered in the specs, it said it will do the full HD 1080p, but, it also said licensed material only, and that Vizio adheres to some standard that prevents playback of non licensed materila. I am not sure there is a way around this. I also just read here in these forums, that the VTab will not treat the micro sd flash card as a drive you can run android programs from, just uses it for storage of videos, music etc. You can not run programs from it? Something to look into, maybe it's fixed in the update I got when I first plugged in a few weeks ago, not sure, but that wouldbe a deal breaker for me, and most, as the 2gb of internal storage goes fast. Maps for GPS use as noted in another thread (Vtab verses Fire) eat 1.5gb, and I intend on using this as a GPS also. Again, at $189 do your research, it's not perfect, but then I don't think there is a perfect tab out there. The Vtab has the IR blaster which is only one of two that do as far as I know, same with built in GPS. It's the Acer Iconia Tab A100 which is a 7 inch tab running Honeycomb, and with 8gb on board, it's still at $329, but also has much better hardware including built in 4G so you can buy a prepaid 4G account with no contract, and that's a plus for some. I have done my research in this price range, and the Acer seems to be one of the best 7 inchers out there right now, but no IR blaster. Can't have it all it seems, no matter the cost! lol However, if we can just wait it out, there will be a glut of tabs hitting the market as all major manufacturers have realized at this point, Tablets are here to stay, and will probably overtake computer sales at some point, and it's time to join the fray of tablet makers. As it stands, for the most part, tablets are just another toy, but a toy that does a lot more than a handheld gaming console, except for the upcoming Sony Vita which will be Android based if I am not mistaken. The Vizio would be a keeper for those that can afford to buy it, and wait for Android Ice Cream Sandwich to be the norm, and prices are down, and hardware is better. Maybe that's what I'll do, Though I am not one of the foregoing people, I can not really afford to keep it, and buy another later, but I could sell it for a $100 or so in 6 months, and buy the Tab I really want, which doesn't exist yet! lol
 
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droid_dude

Member
Oct 10, 2011
44
1
I use a different micro USB cable (the one that came with my Moto Droid phone) and it is much more secure. So, those who are having trouble with the flimsy plug that came with the VTAB, I suggest you go to monoprice.com to get a new cable.

Wow, according to Tuberocity, the Vizio reps said that all people working at Vizio have rooted VTABs. If this is true, it is very frustrating that this has not been released to the public because that would really help address a few of the critical flaws with the device (battery life, SD card issue, wifi tethering).

All in all, I agree that at $189 this is a great deal. Many more features than the soon to be released Amazon Fire.
 
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