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My First Android Tablet – Viewsonic Gtablet – Product review

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

viewsonic1OK, so I stepped out and purchased my first Google Android  device.  For work I have a myTouch Android phone, but this is sort of a new world for me.  Since it was partially subsidized by my company, I decided this was the time and I bought the Viewsonic Gtablet.  Dual core, 16gig, 10.1″ Touch Screen Internet Tablet. Here are the specs.

Those who know me know I have a great distrust for Google (maker of Android system). I feel like they could very easily become some sort of “big brother” type entity causing a paranoid police state. But then again…  we also have to live in the world we were born into, so I am cautiously participating with my eyes wide open.

But back to the tablet. I chose the Viewsonic G-tablet for a couple reasons…

  • Price – At $250, it was 1/2 the price of other Android tablets and 1/4 the price of the iPad2.
  • Credibility – This model has been out for several months now and seems to consistently get high reviews from the tech community.

There is a couple of drawbacks to the Viewsonic Gtablet though.  First of all, and this is the major issue, the operating system that comes out of the box is horrible.  It is a Viewsonic / Android hybrid that is slow, clunky, ugly, and doesn’t have the ‘real’ android market available to it.  However, I knew this up front before purchasing.

When I read the reviews on Amazon there were several comments about how the stock software was terrible and the buyer really needs to “flash the rom”. So, understanding that up front, I did a little research on how to get that done and within a few hours I had successfully updated the software and the machine now screams with a custom Android 2.2 software build.  At the time of this writing Android 3.1 is the standard, but I don’t mind being a little behind in the operating system software if it means I can save half the price.

At the moment I’m working on developing several apps for the Android.  They are actually done except for reworking the graphics to display correctly when run in tablets. So these tablets came on the scene (for me) just in time.  I will post some examples of my apps when they’re done.

If anybody out there wants to get into the tablet world while on a budget…  The Viewsonic G-tablet is a great option. I would recommend it to anyone. Here are some links.: Amazon.com   CompUSA.com

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Posted in Android, Cool New Gadgets, Cool Stuff, Product Reviews, Technology | No Comments »

Google Streetview Car at Winco

Thursday, September 1st, 2011

googlecar1Well,  I guess even Google employees have to have a lunch break. 

While at Winco today I parked near this Google car so I thought I would snap a picture.  For those who don’t know, these are the Google cars that drive around and take pictures of every street in America so that people can view them on Google Maps.

A little side note here… they are also collecting other data from people, like personal wireless (WIFI) signals and anything else they can get for free. See article here. So be careful.  Remember… there are no secrets anymore.

googlecar2Ironically, the guy sitting in the car didn’t like me taking his picture.  If I had been thinking more quickly I would have set my razr phone to “Movie mode” and put forth a focused effort to really make him nervous. But then again, I’m not really the harassing type (these days).

I’m just wondering when one of the following inevitable events will happen with Google Street View:

  •  Street View Becomes a Paid Service – You know good and well that when enough people get hooked on the service, they will decide to make it subscription based. (can anyone say “HULU” or “Netflix”?)
  • Street View Gets Sold to the Government – Oh wait, they wouldn’t sell themselves to themselves would they? (You already know my feelings about this one: Article 1 | Article 2)
  • Google Street View Decides to Record Infra Red Signals – As long as they’re capturing your car license plates, kids playing in the front yard, house numbers, etc., they might as well record other sensitive data too. How about, how many people are in your house and what activities you’re engaged in when the car passes by. 

111[1]I use Google. In fact I have an Android tablet arriving at my house today. But I also have a healthy distrust of any organization that can gather so much information about me without my permission.

Oh, and yes. I still use a Razr phone.  So what!

Have you ever seen a Google Street View car in person?  If so, what were your thoughts about it?

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Posted in Local News, Technology | No Comments »

Nobody is Calling Anyone Anymore

Sunday, March 13th, 2011

telephone With the new technologies out there, actual phone conversations seem like they are going away for good. 

I have a teen-aged boy. He has a phone, but I’ve only seen him actually ‘talking’ on it once or twice.  For some reason, texting is a far better alternative for him and most others.  And Text he does. Thousands over the course of a month. I’m just amazed.

Thankfully there is unlimited text plans.

I think the big draw to texting is that the conversation can’t be overheard. When you’re talking on the phone, your words are being picked up by everybody else in the room, and perhaps those in the next room. Texting, on the other hand, is more difficult to eavesdrop on. Sure a parent can go back and look at the history, but that can be deleted.

Personally though, there’s just something about hearing the other person’s voice that makes the conversation so much more satisfying.  I’m not opposed to text messages. I use that form of communication daily. But often the awkwardness of typing on a tiny screen and being limited to 256 characters is just too restrictive.

And also, somehow I think my wife would rather receive an actual phone call when I’m away on a business trip than a short misspelled text message “LOL, hvn a great tme in cali. TTFN  :) ”.

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I’m all for the free market.  And if we are headed for better forms of communication that are more convenient than the telephone, I’m all for it.

Just don’t invent it and then ban me from using it while I’m driving.   :)

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Posted in General Living, Technology | No Comments »