ViewSonic gTablet Review – the budget tablet PC with powerful features

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011 at 6:36 pm

Bridging the gap between lower-priced options and high-powered tablet PCs like the Motorola Xoom, the ViewSonic gTablet enters the market. If your budget is well under $500 then this could be an excellent option for you. But how does the tablet compare on performance?

ViewSonic gTablet Key specs

Price: around $260
Released: late 2010
OS: Android 2.2
Size: 13 x 2.75 x 9.75 inches
Weight: 2.5 lb. / 1.13 kg
Screen size: 10 inch
Resolution: 1024×600
Storage: 16GB (expandable up to 32GB)
Processor: NVidia Tegra 2 Dual 1 GHz
Wi-Fi & Bluetooth connectivity
Camera: 1.3 MP
Battery Life: 8 – 10 hours

ViewSonic gTablet – good points

Battery Life: 8-10 hours battery life is excellent for a tablet at this price, putting it on an equal footing with the iPad 2, Galaxy Tab and the Xoom. Most budget tablet PCs have a very short battery life, but the ViewSonic gTablet definitely doesn’t skimp in this area.

Expandable Storage: The standard 16gb storage is about average for a tablet in this price-range, but the included Micro SD card slot gives you the option to expand it by up to another 32gb. For the price of the tablet, this is again a real plus.

Cost: Price is a major factor with this tablet, being offered at under $300 at the moment, way below the high-end tablet range, and only slightly above the lower budget options like the Superpad. Its performance in most areas is well in advance of the budget tablets, and its onboard processor is used by a number of high-end tablets such as the Galaxy Tab, Xoom and EEE pad.

Ports: This high-value, low-priced tablet has plenty of ports, including a USB port, mini-USB port and HDMI. This is actually more than the iPad 2 and means you have a lot of options for connecting other devices. The USB slot in particular will allow you to add an external keyboard, or a USB flash drive for extra temporary storage.

Screen: The ViewSonic gTablet includes a multitouch screen, unlike many of its competitors on the budget price range. This means you can pinch and squeeze to zoom, etc, or use multiple touch functions which some complex apps and games require. The only problem with the screen is that the angle isn’t as forgiving as some other tablets, so you will find yourself needing to view it more or less in a straight line.

Viewsonic gTablet bad points

Operating System: The Android system can be an excellent OS, but the gTablet doesn’t run the most up to date version. It’s running Android 2.2, which was designed for phones, not tablets. However, it can still run Flash and use a majority of apps available in Android – so you’ll still be able to play Farmville :)

Camera: At 1.3Mp, the camera isn’t going to win any awards, but it is sufficient for video calls.

No 3G Access: Unsurprisingly on a tablet at this price range, the gTablet can only utilise WiFi connections – so no mobile broadband. This means you can only connect at home or through WiFi hotspots.

Apps: Strangely, although the tablet runs the Android OS, the Android market isn’t installed by default. It includes a proprietary app store which has far fewer apps, although you will be able to find most of the common Android apps. But if there’s an app you specifically need, check on this before buying.

Interface: Out of the box the tablet uses “Tap n Tap” instead of the standard Android interface. Some people may prefer to switch back over to the standard Android 2.2 interface, which is easy enough to do.

Weight: It’s certainly not the lightest tablet on the market at 2.5lbs. You will definitely notice this when using the tablet for long periods as it will be harder to hold, especially with the limited viewing angle. You can however buy stands and external keyboards to alleviate this problem, and it’s certainly still far lighter than a laptop.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for value and power, this is an excellent purchase. If you’re happy with Android 2.2 (and if you’ve used an Android Smartphone before you probably are) and you’re not worried if certain apps aren’t available, then the ViewSonic gTablet will have pretty much everything you need. The ability to install firmware and override the Tap n Tap interface is a definite bonus.

It has an excellent processor, a webcam for video calls, a well-proportioned screen and it looks good. The ViewSonic gTablet is a definite competitor to the best-selling Android tablets when you consider its low price!