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Viewsonic G Tablet gets firmware update with Flash, USB peripheral support
Viewsonic's G Tablet may not have made much of splash when it debuted last fall, but it's certainly been picking up a bit of steam as of late. A recent price drop brought its cost down to just $280, and hackers have even managed to overclock its processor to 1.4GHz and get it running CyanogenMod 7 to boot. Now Viewsonic itself has given the tablet a further boost, with a new firmware update bringing support for both Flash and USB peripherals, which can apparently also be used with a docking station. The update's of the over-the-air variety, and should be waiting for you if you haven't turned on your G Tablet in the past few days.
ViewSonic G Tablet overclocked to 1.4GHz, goes on sale to celebrate
The G Tablet hasn't been getting much attention of late, slowly fading into obscurity as newer and fancier slates come floating on down the river. Now, thanks to XDA member pershoot, Viewsonic's Tegra 2 tab has a little extra spring in its step. He's managed to get it running at 1.4GHz (a 40 percent boost over stock) and, with the ability to run CyanogenMod 7, this 10.1-incher is definitely earning a reputation as something of a hacker's delight. Now it's even easier to afford, too, with Amazon knocking the price down to $280. Cheap and tweakable? Really, it doesn't get any better than that. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Viewsonic: There's no G Tablet 'manufacturing defect,' it's a user experience issue
In case you missed it, this weekend Staples announced that it was no longer offering the 10.1-inch Viewsonic G Tablet because of a "manufacturing defect." Well, as it turns out, Viewsonic is claiming there's really no hardware defect at all -- instead, the manufacturer of the Android 2.2, Tegra 2-powered tablet is reporting that there's really a "user experience issue." Nope, that doesn't sound much better, but according to Viewsonic's VP of Marketing Adam Hanin, the G Tablet saw a fair number of returns because of its sluggish software experience, which was caused by the preloaded Tap and Tap Android layer. A number of issues were also caused by the lack of Flash, which Adobe hasn't yet certified for Tegra 2 (we hear that's finally coming at the end of January). "We believe it is the user experience that caused all the returns, and we are taking important steps forward with the G Tablet," Hanin told us. So, what are those steps exactly? Viewsonic will be releasing an over-the-air software update before the end of the week and will also provide links for users to manually download and install a beta version of Flash on its support page. Naturally, we asked Hanin why the G Tablet was shipped in this half-finished state at all -- he told us that while Android and Tegra are great platforms, Google's lack of support for larger devices means that companies like Viewsonic have to "go out and put together their own software and app stores." We're not sure that's a great answer -- in fact, it sort of sounds like Viewsonic is trying to blame Google, Adobe, and NVIDIA for its own half-finished and laggy software, when it released the tablet on its own accord to retailers. Either way, we've now seen more than enough terrible "user experience" issues on the early crop of Android tablets -- Honeycomb, where are you?
Viewsonic G Tablet pulled from Staples stores, 'manufacturing defect' to blame
Oh boy, we've not been shy about our love for NVIDIA's Tegra 2, but the tablets that have opted to use it so far keep meeting the same miserable end: discontinuation from shop floor availability. First the Toshiba Folio 100 bit the British dust because of a bunch of quality control issues, and now Viewsonic's G Tablet is getting its marching orders from Staples, with only a "manufacturing defect" cited as the cause. If we weren't such charitable souls, we might suggest the defect was simply that this tablet wasn't very good yet someone still chose to manufacture it. Let's not be hasty, though -- it's a good idea to see what Office Depot does with its inventory before completely writing the G Tablet off. [Thanks, Rob]
ViewSonic outs 10-inch G Tablet: Android 2.2, NVIDIA Tegra 2 on the inside
Don't blink -- you might just mistake ViewSonic's new G Tablet for the ViewPad that we handled back at IFA. This guy, however, packs a very different list of internal specifications in a 10-inch tablet form factor that's beginning to look all too familiar. Showcased for the first time last night in New York City, this guy dumps Intel's Atom in favor of NVIDIA's Tegra 2, and rather than booting a pair of operating systems, it relies solely on Android 2.2 -- a mobile OS that Google has specifically said isn't tailored for use on slates. At any rate, there's also 1GB of RAM, a 1024 x 600 resolution panel, USB / HDMI, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 16GB of storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera and a chassis that measures 9.96- x 6.5- x 0.5-inches. We're told that it handled 1080p media without any trouble, and while the capacitive touchpanel was deemed "beautiful," the ultra glossy coating will certainly turn off those who plan to visit the great outdoors. It's expected to hit shelves in October with a lofty $529 $429 retail price, and with that, we'll simply wish it the best of luck and point you to the video past the break. Update: We've been contacted by the Powers That Be and told that our source had misquoted the price by one Benjamin. Readjust your memory, it's $429. It's always been $429.
