My Review of the VEGA

[Guest gdwhitehouse]

Hi

OK this post is a bit long (sorry) and it contains nothing very stunning, I just thought I should put my thoughts down for other propective purchasers that may be lurking...

Overview

I've had my VEGA since the 23rd of December and have now had some time to evaluate what it is really like as a device and what its arrival changed at home. I am not an Apple user so I have stayed away from comparisions with an iPad - I'm not sure they are valid anyway at twice the price...

General Use

This is actually the first time I have used my laptop (other than to apply software updates to the VEGA) since it arrived - all of my general browsing and email are now handled by the VEGA. As a consumption device the VEGA seriously rocks - iPlayer is great, all my MP4s play well and it streams music from my NAS drive beautifully. I have noticed the battery life on my HTC Desire is much better now I am not using it as much around the house - but there again I have been at home rather than work for most of the period!

It has taken a while to get used to the keyboard on here - I am an avid Swype user on my Desire, but Swype doesn't run on the VEGA. Having tried SlideIt, I think the 'distance' for Swyping may just be too large (I'm a landscape user). I have settled on Smart Keyboard Pro (I also tried the Gingerbread one), as you can customise that pretty heavily to suit your needs.

I am fascinated that I seem to favour a different set of apps on the VEGA to the Desire (I have more that allow me to read and view on the VEGA), but I am really liking that the apps I did buy for my other Android phones still work and I don't have to repurchase.

It is a pain when the other members of the family snatch the tablet though, as the device (with its Google integration) is set up for my mail and stuff like that - I can see I might be buying another at some stage!

Niggles

Inevitably there are a few niggles with the VEGA, chief of which is the viewing angle of the screen - it really sucks! It is easy to put a positive spin on it saying that people on the train can't see what you are doing - but it isn't great. However it is quite acceptable in day to day use on your lap, and you need to be realisitc about the price of the device and what else you get in the specification.

It is also fairly clear that FroYo (2.2) is not really a tablet OS - there are a number of places where the rough edges show though. Equally, there are just not enough apps out there that take advantage of the screen - I thought the new FT Tablet Edition would be good, but it seems to be designed specifically for the Galaxy Tab (or 7" screens maybe) - there is a way for the ecosystem to go I think.

Lastly, although there are loads of good workarounds for the lack of hardware buttons (I love Button Savior), there is no doubt that a couple of buttons would have helped enormously.

Summary

For £260 (including the MoDaCo payment) the VEGA is an absolute steal - it is an awsomely fast and easy to use device. In reality, without the MoDaCo updates for the Market and other apps I think the VEGA would be pretty useless to me. I can't comment on the performance pack - I paid and installed it straight away, so have no terms of reference - but the device seems to fly along to me.

So, if you are hanging around here and wondering if this is the right device for you, then if you are even vaguely technical (and I would assume you are if you are reading on this site) it is ideal. It offers complete flexibility with what you can install and how you can adapt the functionality. Couple this with the skill, enthusiasm and community spirit of the people on here, and it will remain that way for a good while yet. With Gingerbread coming along (and cross-fingers Honeycomb at some stage) things can only get better. However, if you want a really simple out the box experience - the VEGA might not be for you!

Lastly, my thanks go out to Paul and all those contributors on here for their efforts - I continue to be amazed at your skills. Now if Paul could code a software fix for the screen... :-)

G

Edited January 1, 2011 by gdwhitehouse

[Guest Dayzee]

Great review :-) and I'd pretty much agree with all of the above, particularly the keyboard expereience which mirrors mine with my nexus one.

A couple of added bits with regard to other mods.

You can now change easily from USB slave (to connect to the PC's and see files, or do updates and adb tasks) to USB host - lots of extra functionality opens up from this, including running stuff like USB mouse and keyboards etc, and USB storage and hard drives. It only recognised fat32, and not every device works, but still a brilliant step. This needs the mcr Rom and an apk, but is quite simple to install and use.

Also, with the right phone, you can tether your android phone as a wifi hotspots to get internet on the go, which is brilliant if you travel. This isn't true for all handsets yet, but it will be I'm sure. With my nexus currently running a 2.2.1 Rom, the ability to set as a wifi hotspot was already part of the Rom and worked without any further mods, but I think other users have also had success. :-) This really does make this device a little cracker, and at £250 is excellent value.

I definately would add the caveat that you need some tech skills to really make the Vega fly.

My thanks added to Paul and the people involved in the android community that make stuff happen :-)

[Guest Maxilogin]

Well written review - question on "streams music from my NAS drive beautifully." What / how are you doing this as I would like to do the same but haven't been able to so far (Lacie NAS).

[Guest gdwhitehouse]

Well written review - question on "streams music from my NAS drive beautifully." What / how are you doing this as I would like to do the same but haven't been able to so far (Lacie NAS).

I'm using an app called 2player for that - might be working for me as my NAS (a WD MyBookWorld) has a Twonky DNLA server running on it.

G

[Guest AndyCr15]

I finally got my review done -

http://hemorrdroids.net/advent-vega-review/

I was surprised how negative I was once I got rolling, which is odd, because generally I like the device!

I'd be interested in any comments on the review.

Thanks.

[Guest Lennyuk]

Why we are at it you might as well have mine too.

http://www.villainrom.co.uk/forum/content....iew-Advent-Vega

[Guest dagrim1]

I finally got my review done -

http://hemorrdroids.net/advent-vega-review/

I was surprised how negative I was once I got rolling, which is odd, because generally I like the device!

I'd be interested in any comments on the review.

Thanks.

Lol, this is EXACTLY how I use it! Very recognizable :unsure:

"I like it for checking e-mail on when I wake up. On my way to the little boys room, I pick this up and tuck it under my arm. When watching TV, I like having this in range should I want to look something up."