G Tablet: Need Some Tips

mikespe

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I just purchased a Viewsonic G Tablet from Amazon for $299...I have heard great things about it and have done some research. I was going to get a used ipad 1st gen for about the same price but I really want to root & do a lot of customizing more than what the ipad allows...

I have read the articles on rooting/flashing ROMS for it. I already have a OG Droid rooted running UD3.1.1 and loving every minute of it! I want to do something similar with the gTab.

I have looked into ROMS to flash onto the gTab & it seems two stand out the most: CM7 and VEGAn....I am somewhat familiar with CM7 since when I was looking for ROMs for my Droid it was one of the more popular ones. VEGAn I don't know much about but it seems the reviews are mostly high praise for speed & battery life...I would like options like on UD (overclocking, etc)

For anyone who has a G Tablet what ROMs are you using & why? Any others I should look into (I know about TnT Lite but it is retired so I prefer not to use that one. I am waiting for Honeycomb to become more stable before trying it...that is the main one I want to strive for!

Any other tips I should know about the G Tablet? I am so excited & can't wait to get it delivered Monday!

Thanks!
 

mikespe

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That's what I was thinking...but I just figured I was more familiar with CM7...hey once a Droid Always a Droid I guess! :)

any other tips I can use? I just found out my G Tablet was shipped today! I hope it gets here by the end of the week!!!!
 

circustravis

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I followed a step-by-step from the XDA forums and had no problems getting mine working.

I also got one of the cases with a usb keyboard from Amazon so it can also function as a netbook.
 

mikespe

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I followed a step-by-step from the XDA forums and had no problems getting mine working.

I also got one of the cases with a usb keyboard from Amazon so it can also function as a netbook.

I saw those and thought it would be a good idea...but I was going to search ebay first to get a cheaper price. any particular model I should look for? Avoid? I was also wondering if they made those Otter cases like the one for the ipad. A friend has one and it is VERY strong!

Thanks again!
 

garyray

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I have an Evo that I use CM7 on. When I got my G Tablet I wanted to try something new. I read great reviews about Vegan & I've run into issues with Cyan before. Nothing major but I didn't want to struggle with anything.

Follow the instruction on XDA & you shouldn't have a problem. I went a little fast through them & didn't realize I had to do the NVflash on mine first.
Vegan runs great & is very customizable. The added soft keys help out a lot as the G's buttons don't have backlights. I leave mine sit for a couple of days & still have plenty of battery life. My only big complaint with Vegan is the long boot time. Other than that it works great.

I'm looking to get a keyboard/case for it & will probably buy one from Amazon. They have one listed that is "specifically" made for the G Tab.
Amazon.com: Viewsonic G-Tablet Case and USB Keyboard with Kick Stand - NEW IMPROVED model. Custom built to GSAstore Specifications to fit G-Tablet without covering any ports.: Electronics
 

garyray

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Wish I had waited and got that one! I got the one that had the tab covering the port. I "fixed" it with my dremel, though!
Yea I started to order one like that as well. There was a bluetooth keyboard & case for around $50 when I bought my gtab but by the time I looked again it had gone up to $130 for some f#cked reason.

Anyway I ordered the one I posted yesterday. Seems to have all good reviews, I'll see.
 

mikespe

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Yea I started to order one like that as well. There was a bluetooth keyboard & case for around $50 when I bought my gtab but by the time I looked again it had gone up to $130 for some f#cked reason.

Anyway I ordered the one I posted yesterday. Seems to have all good reviews, I'll see.

I would like to see your review on that keyboard. THat's the one I was thinking on getting...

My gTab is on the truck & should be there when I get home! I'm skipping the gym after work just so I can go hack into it!
 

garyray

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I would like to see your review on that keyboard. THat's the one I was thinking on getting...

My gTab is on the truck & should be there when I get home! I'm skipping the gym after work just so I can go hack into it!

I'll let you know once i've had it for a couple days. Should be here beginning of next week. There is a video review of it on Amazon. I'd prefer a bluetooth model but I couldn't find a decent one made for the Gtab.

It really is a steal for the price considering how great it runs. Which Rom are you going to load on it?
 

mikespe

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I just installed the Brilliant Corners Rom which has the 1.2 bootloader. Based on what I read it was the best choice since I plan on flashing Honeycomb once a few more bugs are worked out. I'm loving it so far! That tab is FAST running at 1.4gHz and the screen is VERY nice...I think the reviews on the screen don't are over-reactions...

What are some of the tweaks you guys have done to your gtab? what are some good tablet friendly apps to get?
 

barakisbrown

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before I installed Bottle of Smoke(Honeycomb) I had cm7 with pershoot kernel overclocked to 1.4. talk about nice and quick and very responsive..
 

barakisbrown

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Bottle of Smoke is quick. Yes, OpenGL and camera does not work yet. BOS 3.3 is nice quick especially since you can overclock the kernel that comes with it. I have had a few glitches but since this is my play device I do not mind at all.
 

garyray

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Bottle of Smoke is quick. Yes, OpenGL and camera does not work yet. BOS 3.3 is nice quick especially since you can overclock the kernel that comes with it. I have had a few glitches but since this is my play device I do not mind at all.

I think I may install this today. Does it have soft keys for navigation (home, back, etc)?

(edit)
NM just found a decent video review of it.
http://youtu.be/RW8yolWMQ6s
 
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mikespe

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anyone willing to share their experience with BOS Honeycomb? I am still on the fence as to whether I want to flash this ROM now or wait for Flash to be working...

Good or bad let's hear your stories!

Thanks
 

IanMcB

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There are some issues with 3.0 and up regarding WiFi. There are some workarounds that worked in my case for a while but then I got the WiFi error. I have gone back to BOS 2.4 and it seems to be working pretty well. The Polaris Office loaded with it FC's for me, but other than that no issues (other than Flash and the camera)
 

barakisbrown

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I am currently runnign BOS 3.3 and I think its pretty stable. Yes, I have had couple of reboots. I prefer 3.0+ because its alot smother than 2.4. I tried 2.4 and I personally think it was slow and just did not like the feel of it compared to the 3.0+ builds that roobert is putting out.
 

garyray

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There are some issues with 3.0 and up regarding WiFi. There are some workarounds that worked in my case for a while but then I got the WiFi error. I have gone back to BOS 2.4 and it seems to be working pretty well. The Polaris Office loaded with it FC's for me, but other than that no issues (other than Flash and the camera)

When I was reading the install guide it did say that during setup NOT to connect to wifi. Wait till you finish the setup & then connect to wifi or you will have issues. I followed that advice & haven't had a problem.

I installed it today. So far my biggest complaint is holding the home button doesn't bring up the list of currently used/running apps. Is there a setting for that?

Its been unresponsive some & when I left it charging and came back to it it was completely locked up.
I'll give it a few days & see how much I like it.

Honeycomb def looks better. Gmail & the market are way better. They still need to improve search on the market. Not sure why you can filter by content ratting but not by paid, free, popularity, etc. Also it doesn't seem to have predictive search. Maybe cause I haven't used the google search app yet & approved it for the first time?

Google earth crashed right away. My hunger shark game shows up in small screen but I think the fix for that is taking it off compatibility mode, which I just realized. Angry Birds & other games I've tried so far play just fine.

Because I really like the soft key nav I have to get used to the default look of this rom. The nav buttons seem smaller and are darker. Also the notification area is only a square that takes up less than maybe an 1/8 of the screen when you view it. Some people may like that.

I've hardly had time to really mess with it. I'll have to look to see if there are fixes for some of the minor issues I have with it before I decide to leave it on.
 

barakisbrown

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In HC, there is a soft button that does the same thing as holding the home button. Press it and you will see screens of the latest applications that are open.

I left wifi on while setting it up which I had no problems. I did a wipe of everything before I installed. Yes, I do miss Tweetdeck but I will live with plume until then.

Remember, its an beta so we will have to wait till it get better hopefully.