Meet the ViewSonic gtablet - feature. 
I am having a fun weekend tweaking and hacking my Viewsonic 10.1 inch dual core Tegra Android tablet. She Who Must Be Obeyed wanted a color ereader, and the Gtablet is bigger and heavier than she likes. So, I surprised her with a Nook Color, which is an Android tablet at its core, but connects to her books at Barnes and Noble, and is a thin, light 7 inch wonder. But, more on that later. Since she is perfectly happy with the Nook, I inherited the Gtablet. It got some bad reviews when it came out because of the kludgy interface that Viewsonic put on top of the OS. However, it has the best tech specs in the tablet world, with a gorgeous 10.1 inch screen, a dual core Tegra processor, and micro SD card and USB ports. It connects to WiFi with a b/g/n adapter built in, has BlueTooth, and can even be mounted in a docking station. The docking station adds an HDMI out port, and an Ethernet adapter. The Gtablet is longer than iPad, so is well suited to 16:9 video. This is a geek's dream machine; and, with a little effort, I rooted it, and installed the TNTLite mod, which brings Froyo 2.2 goodness back to the basics of Android. It also permits access to the Android Market, and Flash 10.1, and I can download and use thousands of apps. I even got SlingPlayer Mobile to work; so, now I have a 10.1 inch TV when I am mobile. You can get one of these at Sears for around $350 to $399. It is more tablet than iPad, and a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. That is all you get for now, as I am taking She Who Must Be Obeyed to breakfast, now that we are a two tablet family.
OK, that does it. I want to be adopted into your family and tech budget. I am preparing to file a Petition for Adoption in Hillsborough County. You can either agree and sign a Consent Order or it will be a fully contested proceeding with home studies and DSS investigations with full character and background checks. Please advise where and when you would like to be served. Be governed accordingly. That is all. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Over and out.
Posted by: charles jannace | January 22, 2011 at 03:16 PM
Be careful what you wish for. If I didn't want to stay here in the warmth of Florida, I might sign a waiver of extradition. On the other hand, it is sunny and 60 outside, and we are going to dinner after Mass, and then sit out on the patio, playing with our tablets, and drinking alcoholic beverages. Just a pleasant Saturday evening in sunny Florida.
Posted by: Rick Georges | January 22, 2011 at 03:21 PM
Thats a pretty nice set-up if do say so myself! That must put the ipad to shame!!!
Posted by: reverseengineering | January 22, 2011 at 04:24 PM
Neither the Nook Color or the Gtab can hold a candle to my new favorite Adam Tab, though it comes in at a bit of a higher price point. You get the best of both worlds, with the pixel Qi screen, (e-ink and full color options) a ground up reworking of the android interface with genesis, dual core tegra chip set with custom settings to conserve battery life, all the external inputs, and a swivel mounted camera in case you like video conferenceing. plus it's right up there with a 10 inch 16:9 HD capable screen for movie nuts, and full flash and android app support. Worth looking into when the allow their second set of buying (only the pre-orders have shipped thus far)
Posted by: Kevin | January 24, 2011 at 09:15 AM
I think a great use of a tablet for lawyers would be to replace the legal pad. Can you write on the screen of a GTablet and then save the file to your hard drive? Can you recommend a tablet that would do that?
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=723535666 | February 01, 2011 at 03:50 PM
I've been keeping my eye on the gTablet since reading your series of posts on it. I had pretty much decided to buy it when the price was right, then Woot offered it for $279 earlier this week. So I jumped on it. Rooted it last night and installed to new ROM. I'm already enjoying it more than my wife's iPad. But there is one serious lack, and that is the inability to protect it with a password. I'm hoping that the 3.x flavor of the OS will have that capability. Until that comes along, I'm leery of putting my firm Exchange email account on the tablet. It still has many uses for law practice, but I'm not willing to put client information on it until it has that basic level of security.
What are your thoughts, especially in light of your link earlier this week to Ride the Lightning's post and podcast on the Deplorable State of Law Firm Security?
Posted by: Barry Miller | April 01, 2011 at 04:32 PM
Great question. Since I keep my data in the Google Cloud it is protected by the Google password. No problem.
Posted by: rickgeorges | April 01, 2011 at 04:36 PM