Vizio 8” Android Tablet Bundle

[QUOTE=mrtoast98, post:56, topic:350410]
I was all set to buy an Archos 80 G9 with Ice Cream Sandwich preinstalled, now this thing pops up tonight for $100 cheaper and I’m confused. The differences I see right off the bat are that the Archos has more memory, a faster dual-core CPU, built-in GPS, it’s not a respiff, and of course it has ICS. Anyone care to speculate if these factors make it worth an extra C-note? Thanks.
[/quote]

Based on your description, yes.

[QUOTE=editorkid, post:31, topic:350410]
But what’s the advantage to rooting? This comes with Android Market (which presumably is upgraded to Google Play after activation). That seems to be the biggest reason to root most tablets.

(Plus, how? It doesn’t have a forum on XDA.)
[/quote]

Rooting gives you control of your device. You can back it up using Titanium, remove apps that the vendor burned into the ROM, and so forth. You can also completely replace the systems ROM with one from an independent developer, giving you quicker access to new releases of Android.It’s very likely that you can get Ice Cream Sandwich for this already.

Finally, you can install software that your vendor restricts, like wireless tethering software.

I run my phone and my galaxy tab rooted with stock roms. This gives me a stable device that I get to run the way I want.

Amazon’s Kindle reading app is available on most tablet platforms (not WebOS or Linux). But if you have an actual Kindle device (which the Fire is), and if you have Amazon Prime, there is a free book-borrowing program.

By the way, typing the tags that let you use bold, italic, and the like in forums like this is a true pain with the stock keyboard on most tablets! Including the Kindle Fire, which I’m using at the moment.

[QUOTE=mmoconnor, post:22, topic:350410]
I have had major serious problems with it since the upgrade.

Until the upgrade I loved it and used it constantly. Since the upgrade I have completely stopped using it and I am considering selling it.

My favorite apps, including Jetflicks no longer work at all. Also the buttons on the frame no longer work and you are forced to use the software buttons inside the screen which significantly reduces the size of the already very small screen.

I went from loving this tablet to hating it because of the upgrade. I wish I could send it back and I certainly do not

recommend it.
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I completely agree. I loved the heck out of this thing until the last update. It made the screen much smaller and now I can’t even get passed the unlock screen. I used it daily as an e reader and to chat with my deployed husband, now I am so disappointed that it doesn’t even work!

The Online membership is shared across all of your annual Costco purchases - so that’s not a fair comparison in your assessment. And even if you’re not a member, surely you might find someone who is and buy it through them. So bottom line - the delta is Case and HDMI cable. A case is pretty cheap at RadioShack -$20. So for ~$30 total, you can get a new tablet vs refurbished. It’s an individual call

I love when woot sells tablets, I get to read everyone telling them that their tabletis better than other peoples tablets… FYI neither of these are even on woot. And them you get the people saying “wait for this tablet”, when by the time you wait for that tablet 54 more will be out.

Anyways from what I have heard, this is a decent tablet, and gets good reviews, I recently just bought an iPad and love it, but was looking at this one before my purchase.

No I’m not saying don’t buy this and buy an iPad instead

In my native tongue “Vizio” means

vice, defect, fault, bad habit

If I buy this, then I couldn’t complaint about a possible flaw

Tempted … but I think I’m going to wait for the google nexus tablet. Though I thought it was coming out in May, I see rumors it’s slipped to July. Hmmm…

Does this have built in gps that will work with a mapping program?

Also, can you use the bluetooth to tether to an android phone that will provide an internet connection when there’s no wifi?

[QUOTE=zolttt, post:67, topic:350410]
I love when woot sells tablets, I get to read everyone telling them that their tabletis better than other peoples tablets… FYI neither of these are even on woot. And them you get the people saying “wait for this tablet”, when by the time you wait for that tablet 54 more will be out.

Anyways from what I have heard, this is a decent tablet, and gets good reviews, I recently just bought an iPad and love it, but was looking at this one before my purchase.

No I’m not saying don’t buy this and buy an iPad instead
[/quote]

So what exactly are you saying?

Bought this for my wife before Christmas during a woot sale.
She loves it, the included case makes a great stand, she uses it for recipes, and all sorts of other functions. Recently got upgraded to Honeycomb, something samsung hasn’t even managed to do for my verizon samsung tab.
We’re in for another, this is a nice tablet.

Loved mine until the last update. Now I have wifi and bluetooth connectivity issues. It’s no longer reliable. I am back to using my Touchpad.

I bought one of these from Costco about 3 weeks ago for $189. I’m thrilled with it. I do have to note that I am not an experienced tablet user, so I have nothing to compare it to.

If I didn’t already have one, I’d go for this.

If you have a Costco membership and it’s not too far for you, they automatically extend all electronics warranties to 2 years and you have 30 days to return electronics once you’ve purchased. That alone might be worth the extra $30 (sans folio, but mine was around $12 on Amazon).

Same deal here! I loved my Vtab until last Honeycomb update: now the browser will not run 10 minutes without crashing.

I bought one for my wife, loved it so much (ran circles around the HP Tablet) I bought one for me…did the upgrade to honeycomb with no problem.

This devise does everything a person could want in a tablet…has built in remote app to allow me to control the TV/Sound system wile working…as well as mess with the sports bnar by turning their channels to the game I want.

This tablet is back ordered by everyone including Vizio…I am ordering a couple of these for my sister in law and husband.

Yes to both.

This is rootable, but sometimes rooting doesn’t make it better. I think in this case you are better off sticking with the Visio updates. If you root it sometimes you lose functionality- for instance the IR blaster remote might not work right. Sometimes the drivers don’t work quite as well and you get performance issues. With devices that are really common rooting works awesome (I have a couple Evo’s that are rooted for my kids). For this device i would stick with Visio updates.

Vizio went with Gingerbread because it afforded them more room for customization (Google still keeps tight reins on Honeycomb), and because there are many more OS 2.x apps in the Android Market vs. Honeycomb apps. Vizio plans to release a Honeycomb upgrade for their first tablet at some point, and they’re also aggressive with firmware updates that improve performance and may add new apps (we’ve been testing their beta firmware releases on our unit). Even if you’re not a techie, it’s nice to know the company is continuingly working to improve the product. We noted a significant speed increase in the app launcher and tweaks to the IR blaster AV remote with these updates: the launcher went from sluggish to very responsive.

I got one of these the last time it was on Woot.

I have a rooted Android phone, and figured I’d do the same with this tablet.

Only thing is, once I got it, I let it sit for about a month before I actually opened the box.

Once I powered it on, it was asking to perform an update. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have allowed that update to take place, as it sealed the possibility of rooting the device (at least as of this post, 4/7/2012 that’s still the case).

So, if you plan on rooting it, don’t perform the update it prompts you to do.

Having said that, I actually like the (non-rooted) device. I haven’t had any major problems with it, with the exception of the built-in remote control app. I have a Vizio 32" 720p plasma TV. The remote control app is unreliable/buggy at best. I can’t control my TV with it without the app crashing.

Outside of that, I have had a pretty good time using it. The battery life is great, and I regularly use Google+ on it, as well as NetFlix, Crackle, Fring, DropBox, Skype and several E-Reader apps.

Never used the Bluetooth. I use it on my wireless network at home, as well as having it tethered to my phone when I’m on-the-go.

Recently, another message popped up about an update. Deathly afraid to accept that, as the second I do, someone will figure out a way to root it (since the last update, but not after this most recent update). Also, I’ve seen quite a few people complaining about instability after the most recent update.

I’m just going to keep it where it is for now, and enjoy it. I still have the clear plastic screen on it for a little bit of extra protection.

The USB charging cord (that plugs into a larger wall plug adapter) could’ve been longer, but that’s about the only other thing I would’ve changed.

I took advantage of this deal last year, and overall I’m very pleased. The screen is really, really nice and clear. The 8 inch form factor is great! I wish it were more popular. I don’t think you can appreciate how nice the good points are until you use it.

I also picked up a blue tooth keyboard which works great with it!

However, it does lag now and then, and since the recent upgrade I’ve had to restart more often because it seems to lockup. The way it’s internal memory is configured, you don’t have as much space to install apps as you would expect. Using App2SD helps, but isn’t perfect.

Last year I think this was a really good deal for the price. Right now, I think you can probably do better if you keep your eyes open. I’ve seen a lot of deals lately. Refurbed Kindle’s, pre-owned TouchPads and Playbooks, etc. If you like to fiddle with installing different ROMs – then those kinds of deals might be better for you.

However, if you want something that will work nicely out of the box, and you don’t plan on installing every app you come across…then I’m sure you’ll be happy with this deal. I just think that it would be more of a no-brainer if it were say $20 to $40 less.