Two Weeks with the gTablet

I purchased the Viewsonic gTablet a little over 2 weeks ago, and since then, I've been able to play around with it, and customize it to my preference.

The gTablet is a nice, little Android-based unit. The biggest complaint from everyone, is the stock interface known as Tap-n-Tap. I immediately found this cumbersome and frankly, worthless.

To gain the advantages of the gTablet, I believe you must root the device and install a custom ROM.

To start, I chose the Cyanogenmod ROM. However, after playing around with this, there were several issues that made me want to change. Most particularly, the ROM was slightly "buggy," which caused some slowness.

I moved on to the TNTLite ROM, and in general, loved the interface, setup, and usability. Again though, I found issues, including not being able to lock the device, and moved to another ROM.

Eventually, I settled on the VEGAn-Tab ROM.  

Installing the ROM is a simple process using recovery mode (power plus volume up on restart), taking less than 5 minutes. VEGAn-Tab is fully customizable, and currently offers a "Gingerbread" ROM. I did have one slight problem getting a fully functioning Android Market. I resolved that though with a 2 minute fix.

Overall, I believe the VEGAn-Tab ROM is the best ROM for the Viewsonic gTablet. The ROM offers stability and "true form" behaviors that the other ROMs couldn't.

As for using the gTablet in my law practice, I'm slowly improving some of the functions. I have used the gTablet in 2 hearings, and plan on using the device to present/assist me in an upcoming CLE.

One of my favorite features of the gTablet is the oversized or expanded screen, which alleviates squinting and some eye strain.

I'll reiterate again that I do not believe any tablet device will effectively replace your desktop or laptop computer. Additionally, the current Android devices are simply inferior to their iPad counterpart, which I believe stems from the issues with Android fragmentation. This is a frustrating for developers, and certainly limits the number of available options (i.e., Netflix). For lawyers, app options are even more limited when compared to the iPad. These limited apps also limit the appeal of the gTablet and it's counterparts to lawyers.

Overall though I'm satisfied with my gTablet, and I'm considering purchasing a second one for my staff. If you're looking for a cheap Android alternative to the iPad, the gTablet will help you get there.