PiroFyre wrote:Bought this before on one of the last Woot-Offs. Was pretty good. Just needed root.

For the uniformed, perhaps someone can explain what "rooting" is, as in "replacing the entire operating system?" How many hours does it take for a novice, how easy is it to mess it up? I question the word "just."

[quote postid="4947438" user="joulem"]I got one of these the last time it was on Woot.



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.

How do you tether this to your phone? Are you talking about a USB tether, and if so, what app are you using? I have Bluetooth DUN tethering my Rezound to my Transformer with PDAnet for tablets- and it works great, I was not aware that there was a way to use a USB phone to tablet to tether. Please let me know. Thanks

ivanivanovich wrote:Amazon's Kindle reading app is available on most tablet platforms....

A person who's evaluating the Fire (vs. another tablet and using a Kindle reader on it) will want to be aware that the rendering of a book on the Fire is different from the rendering on the Kindle reader apps (or even other Kindle hardware devices). If the book's author has used some of the advanced features available to an eBook author (e.g., text wrap around images) then the book only appears as intended on the Fire device itself. So, if reading books if the primary use then the Fire might be the better choice.

radi0j0hn wrote:For the uniformed, perhaps someone can explain what "rooting" is, as in "replacing the entire operating system?" How many hours does it take for a novice, how easy is it to mess it up? I question the word "just."

Here is a link that might help shed some light on your question.

http://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-to-root-a-device

rhmurphy wrote: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.

I'm not being snide, but this reminds me of the folks who modified hot-rod engines. Lot's of "ifs" and "cans" but it helps if you are an experienced mechanic and have a second reliable car.

Admittedly I am not a sophisticated tablet user, my question is: is this tablet a good unit to give to the kids to watch movies/play games etc. in the car? (how good is battery life and how many minutes of movies could it hold?) 450 mile road trip: ill do whatever it takes to get as much undistracted driving as I can!

I would purchase the square trade warranty

I love LOVE my Vizio Tablet... I also have an Ipad and choose to use the Vizio over the Ipad for most browsing using dolphin browser the Honeycomb update comes from Vizio as a "push" update so it is a no brainer and my tablets battery life doubled with the update... great screen to watch a movie or netflix or Hulu+ or sling box... or surf the inter web net whatever...

gak0090 wrote:[quote postid="4947438" user="joulem"]I got one of these the last time it was on Woot.



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.

How do you tether this to your phone? Are you talking about a USB tether, and if so, what app are you using? I have Bluetooth DUN tethering my Rezound to my Transformer with PDAnet for tablets- and it works great, I was not aware that there was a way to use a USB phone to tablet to tether. Please let me know. Thanks

I have a rooted (lol) HTC Incredible (v1). There is an app called Wifi Tether. It uses wifi (not Bluetooth or a USB cable) to create a "hotspot" to which I can connect my Vizio tablet, or netbook or laptop to.

Hope that helps.

jrteichman wrote:I love LOVE my Vizio Tablet... I also have an Ipad and choose to use the Vizio over the Ipad for most browsing using dolphin browser the Honeycomb update comes from Vizio as a "push" update so it is a no brainer and my tablets battery life doubled with the update... great screen to watch a movie or netflix or Hulu+ or sling box... or surf the inter web net whatever...

PS... I use its GPS NAV function tethered to my Iphone for the car via Bluetooth and MYWI app on iphone and my son also watches netflix in the car from my Iphones data connection... it is cool!

radi0j0hn wrote:I'm not being snide, but this reminds me of the folks who modified hot-rod engines. Lot's of "ifs" and "cans" but it helps if you are an experienced mechanic and have a second reliable car.

That is an excellent analogy, I think.

ivanivanovich wrote:Okay ... and then add in Costco membership, case, cable, and higher shipping....

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11663717

Get the Amex Costco membership card. Charge restaurants, gas, etc. It will pay for your membership.

Instead of "points" you get a check at the end of the year. Mine was for $399 this year.

philipgroven wrote:Admittedly I am not a sophisticated tablet user, my question is: is this tablet a good unit to give to the kids to watch movies/play games etc. in the car? (how good is battery life and how many minutes of movies could it hold?) 450 mile road trip: ill do whatever it takes to get as much undistracted driving as I can!

I would purchase the square trade warranty

You can load the movies onto the MicroSD card (does not come included) works with up to 32 gb cards... a 16 gb card will hold EVERY Harry Potter movie and 2 more! and your apps as well...

joulem wrote:Here is a link that might help shed some light on your question.

http://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-to-root-a-device

Very good link, and honest about the perils of rooting if you are not an enthusiast. I suppose $150 is not a lot to lose if you want the learning experience. But, like so much info on the net, there are a lot of places to get replacement tools and info that are quickly outdated. If one is not attentive, well, you'll find out!

radi0j0hn wrote:For the uniformed, perhaps someone can explain what "rooting" is, as in "replacing the entire operating system?" How many hours does it take for a novice, how easy is it to mess it up? I question the word "just."

Rooting gives the the equivalent of administrative access to change/install or do anything you want to do to the device. Generally the manufacturer locks this access down. When people root their device, they will go one step further and apply a custom ROM which will allow you to run a different version of the OS,have different functionality, etc. The link below will give you some insight. My recommendation before you root a device is do all you research before you root it so you know if it's worthwhile to do, and what potential you have of bricking your device. In the case of this Visio, I don't recommend rooting.

http://droidlessons.com/what-is-rooting-on-android-the-advantages-and-disadvantages/

joulem wrote:That is an excellent analogy, I think.

Mine is NOT "rooted" and works great...

joulem wrote:I have a rooted (lol) HTC Incredible (v1). There is an app called Wifi Tether. It uses wifi (not Bluetooth or a USB cable) to create a "hotspot" to which I can connect my Vizio tablet, or netbook or laptop to.

Hope that helps.

Ok- so you're connected via hotspot. I would do this, but I have not rooted Rezound. With verizon 4g lte and bluetooth DUN I can still manage downloads of 1.5Mbps on the tablet which is still pretty usable. I have not rooted my Rezound because I actually like the HTC sense, the camera/vidoe and everything works great- so I don't want to screw it up. I think the ICS update is around the corner anyway. A wifi hotspot is nicer though, this way both my kids could use the connection simultaneously, and it's better bandwidth. thanks for the answer!

ojohn wrote:The previous woot is
http://www.woot.com/Forums/ViewPost.aspx?PostID=4760881&PageIndex=1

To keep it short, I thought it was great until the charging connector broke 1 week before the 90 days - the charging connector is the weak point of this tablet, with complaints all over the net. It just breaks.

I bought 2 new ones from COSTCO for my kids (7yrs and 3yrs old) for Christmas. They LOVE them and both use them everyday...movies, games and, yes even, for reading.

The usb charging port broke on the 3rys old and I just had it fixed yesterday.

The tech said that Visio used a solder paste which is not very strong (especially for a port that is used quite a bit) and used microwaves to melt it into the connection. The solder paste will eventually break if you are not careful with the plugging/unplugging to charge. It cost me $85 to fix it with real solder and real heat this time which makes it extremely stronger. Well worth the happiness of my child.

Overall it is a great tablet. Works well. Keeps my kids busy and distracted at restaurants and other place where you don't want people to be distracted by your kids.

This is a great buy with the usb charging port being its Achilles heel.

Bought this deal back in December! Great little tablet, good size, does everything we need it to - videos online, browse the web. HOWEVER, we are on our 2nd tablet. First one went back because the power inlet broke inside the tablet. The second one is going back because it makes a horrible, high-pitched noise for no reason whatsoever (the inlet is also broken). Vizio was great about replacing the first one (known issue) but they're being difficult with this 2nd one; they say we are out of warranty, although we've only had the 2nd tablet for about a month and half. BUYER BEWARE.

i've had one since november. does all i want it to. you do have to be careful of the power connection though. i rarely use mine when plugged in...

Doing a factory reset and reloading your apps will fix the issues with the new update.

Just purchased our third one.
My first one had an untimely, but dramtic end ... I put it on the roof of the car as I strapped my grandson into his car seat. Didn't realize it was still on the roof until we hit a turn at 30mph. By the time we circled back it was in a hundred little pieces. Oh well, lesson learned!

ivanivanovich wrote: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.

Webos has a kindle app. Kindle Cloud reader can be used on linux devices with Google Chrome or Firefox.

mrtoast98 wrote: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.

Don't buy the Archos. If you can spend about $300, this is your tablet:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=asus+transformer

This will update to ICS. It's made by Asus,IPS screen- way better. Plus it gives you the option to add the keyboard dock which contains another battery, and USB ports -its really nice.

This is our third that we have ordered from Woot. The first has worked well enough that hubby wanted one of his own. So we ordered a second during a Woot-off, but the power connector was loose, so we had to return it for refund. So this will hopefully be a good belated-Easter gift for hubby.

HP Tablet with ICS surely runs circles around this.

radi0j0hn wrote:I'm not being snide, but this reminds me of the folks who modified hot-rod engines. Lot's of "ifs" and "cans" but it helps if you are an experienced mechanic and have a second reliable car.

No problem. For some, they don't mind being told what they should run. The iPad is fine for that kind of user. If you need control, you probably need to be rooted. The "ifs" then become your decision..sort of like removing a speed limiter from your car.

That's why I like being rooted...it's my choice.

ctvancejr1 wrote:Doing a factory reset and reloading your apps will fix the issues with the new update.

No, doing a factory reset and reloading the apps does not work. It does not fix the connectivity (or whatever it is) problem.

Videos play for a few minutes and then you get the "cannot play video, sorry this video cannot be played" message.

I have done numerous resets and reloaded the apps and tried different players but nothing helps.

Also, obviously, doing a factory reset does not fix the issue with the frame buttons now being located inside the screen reducing the screen size. The reduced screen sized messes up ebook and pdf reading.

Yes I can still use the tablet to play angry birds, but I bought it as a media player and ebook reader and now it is useless for those purposes.

I am disgusted with this thing.

xupthree60 wrote:This thing is overpriced. This same referbed unit sells for $50 more on new egg, but for 130 you can get a Iview 760gt .

The Iview is just as good or maybe better hardware, infact its basically the same hardware as a Galaxy s or Nexus s. Also has an official upgrade to ICS and both gingerbread and ICS versions are completely vanilla android with no bloatware.

The Iview 760gt is a decent tablet also. I just bought the skypad alpha 2 from Newegg similar to this. They claim the Iview 760gt has a multiprocessor, but in reality it is a single processor with a separate video processor (see the reviews at Newegg)- same as my skypad, but the skypad can clock to 1.2ghz. I have had a great experience with the skypad on ICS considering its single processor & separate video processor...but the thing I don't like is the resolution. The 800 X 480 is passable but not great, this tablet today has 8in screen at 1024 x 768 which should give you a better pixel density. I'm on the fence on whether to buy this and just try and sell the skypad- many people seem to like this.

Would someone explain to me please exactly how you get a Square Trade extra warranty for this? I see that Amazon sells them for various price points and lengths of time, but how do you determine what price to cover? The refurb price? Replacement price?

And once you have a warranty how do you attach it to a device? TIA!!

mmoconnor wrote:No, doing a factory reset and reloading the apps does not work. It does not fix the connectivity (or whatever it is) problem.

Videos play for a few minutes and then you get the "cannot play video, sorry this video cannot be played" message.

I have done numerous resets and reloaded the apps and tried different players but nothing helps.

Also, obviously, doing a factory reset does not fix the issue with the frame buttons now being located inside the screen reducing the screen size. The reduced screen sized messes up ebook and pdf reading.

Yes I can still use the tablet to play angry birds, but I bought it as a media player and ebook reader and now it is useless for those purposes.

I am disgusted with this thing.

No, "Factory Data Reset" does not work... in fact mine wouldn't even perform one.

A "hard" reset though DOES work!

Make sure it's powered down (not sleeping) and hold in the volume rocker (top AND bottom) while you power up. Do not release the rocker until you see a triangle with and exclamation point. Of course, you'll still have to reinstall everything, but I viewed that as an opportunity to "clean house!"

True, you do lose the capacitive buttons (and screen real estate) but the tradeoff is worth it for the ability to select your external SD card as your default storage.

Still loving mine ~ Wootalicious!

jnfr wrote:Would someone explain to me please exactly how you get a Square Trade extra warranty for this?

The day of the woot sale, if there's a Squaretrade button on the page, you can click it to get the warranty. Sometimes, like today, there is a very good discount on the warranty. Today through that button it is $28.99 for one year for this unit, $15.00 for a second year.

If you don't get that warranty today through that button, you can go to their website within 7 days,

squaretrade.com

and get it separately. I just checked and through the website the 1 year would be $75.99 on the website for this refurbished unit. That's their full normal price.

You can register your unit on their website by emailing them your emailed receipt from woot, or for store bought items you can email a photo or scan of your store receipt.

Once you get any warranty from them, every month or two you'll get an email with a 25% or 30% off code for a warranty for anything else you get anywhere else, the discount code is good for only 7 days or sometimes 2 or 3 days.

So, if you're getting this Vizio here today, get the warranty here today through the button on the front page. You can do that all day long, but only today for this model. It's a good deal, and as we see, you just might need it for this model.

(I want to be clear, this is a great tablet at a great price with a nice case. When it works.)

grabbed one of these the last time around about 6 months ago, this Tab works great and when watching movies and such is awesome. Glad it is back, need to let friends know... Thanks

I have this tablet package and it's awesome. Never been a big Apple fan and am moving to the Samsung Note ASAP - If you don't have a tablet this is a great price and a great tablet.

Bought this last time it was up because the 8 inch screen had the direction keys on the side of the case. Honeycomb moved it on screen and you loose part of your screen. also after honeycomb update half my apps have glitches. very unsatisfied. Was great before the update which it did on it's own and you cant undo.

dliidlii wrote:Exactly! Today is the 7th.It was $199 YESTERDAY. Check Camelcamelcamel Also Cosco sells it NEW for $189. Do you need a link for that too?

It's http://bit.ly/Hqh3BK and I believe Costco considers this a computer and therefore has an extra year tacked on to the warranty (don't quote me on that, but do call their 800 number to see if it's so). It's called Concierge Service and you get to speak to people who are fairly intelligent and speaka da English. Also, Costco has a 90-day 'no questions asked' return policy on electronics.

Bought this at Wallmart of all places before christmas for $189.99. I bought it for my daughter 8 yo and she loves it! I have to say i am super suprise at how functional it is for a cheep tablet. The customer service at Vizio is also very helpful and fast! I would highly recommend this tablet! It is not an Ipad but you could buy 4 of these for the same price! I have not had a single issue and now it is running honeycomb (automatic update) it is faster can run bluetooth 2.1 headphones and better graphics!

Agree. I see these new for around $199 at many places.

Add in the fact its another refurb, likely by the 3rd party refurbers who dont do much other then watching it boot and cleaning it off, i'd opt for a new one for a few bucks more.

But frankly, I wouldnt touch this model new either. Far too many other choices both used and new that are far better then this model/brand.

Vizio is ok...they have some decent products far cheaper then other 'brands' with similar specs and due to the economy many are choosing a visio tv for instance over a higher end brand as they are alot cheaper.

But I know 3 people who all bought this exact model and all 3 hate it. All 3 wish they had bought a different tablet, either new or used.

I played with 1. Played with another at a retail store. Was not impressed. Sales guy at the store said they sell a TON of these due to the price but they get a ton returned and buyer gets something else.

Not a great tablet and not even a great deal for a refurb. Not sure I'd want one of these NEW for the same price.

You get what you pay for and this tablet simply is not very good at any price.

But good luck to those who love them and good luck to those that buy these refurbs.

dliidlii wrote:Exactly! Today is the 7th.It was $199 YESTERDAY. Check Camelcamelcamel Also Cosco sells it NEW for $189. Do you need a link for that too?

1. Sounds like a little attitude there.
2. Let's forget about the Costco membership and say that it's worth it if you buy some other things there.
3. $189 PLUS $10 shipping and no extras.
4. Are we sure it's NEW? I don't see any indication of new or refurb, nor do I see any warranty information.

EQUALS - this is still a good deal!

ojohn wrote:The day of the woot sale, if there's a Squaretrade button on the page, you can click it to get the warranty. Sometimes, like today, there is a very good discount on the warranty. Today through that button it is $28.99 for one year for this unit, $15.00 for a second year.

If you don't get that warranty today through that button, you can go to their website within 7 days,

squaretrade.com

and get it separately. I just checked and through the website the 1 year would be $75.99 on the website for this refurbished unit. That's their full normal price.

You can register your unit on their website by emailing them your emailed receipt from woot, or for store bought items you can email a photo or scan of your store receipt.

Once you get any warranty from them, every month or two you'll get an email with a 25% or 30% off code for a warranty for anything else you get anywhere else, the discount code is good for only 7 days or sometimes 2 or 3 days.

So, if you're getting this Vizio here today, get the warranty here today through the button on the front page. You can do that all day long, but only today for this model. It's a good deal, and as we see, you just might need it for this model.

(I want to be clear, this is a great tablet at a great price with a nice case. When it works.)

"when it works" is the key phrase. Frankly, I think this tablet is junk and why on earth, if you do happen to like and want this tablet, would you buy a refurb for such a high price? And the SQ warranty?? SQ is GREAT. I highly rec SQ warranties, but sheez, adding the warranty and your now paying as much or more then a brand new one. In my area, WMT has them for $184.99 and Costco has them for $189, and costco adds a 90 day RETURN policy and extended warranty (1 extra year) to boot.

The tricks for getting into Costco without a membership:

At the door say you are going to the snack bar. All Costco snack bars are free to get in to the public! Once in you can look around but you can't buy anything - except at the snack bar. Try the pizza or the hot dog or the sausage and peppers sandwich. Note, this is an old promotion trick for Costco, not something underhanded, they used to want people to come in and look around. They don't promote this bit anymore but it still works.

The trick for buying something in Costco without a membership:

Use a Costco Gift Card. Costco members can buy a Costco gift card inside the store. (I've never seen them sold anywhere else but they might be.) When you have a Costco gift card, say it's a $50 card, you can get into the store and you can buy anything in the store at the Costco price. You can buy the $500 computer or whatever else at the Costco price using the $50 gift card plus additional. So get someone with a Costco membership to buy a gift card there for you.

Now back to woot, Vizio, and Squaretrade...