So I decided to do a benchmark, just for comparison’s sake. A G1, for reference, has a Qualcomm MSM7201A, at 528 MHz. The aPad beats it in every category. aPad iRobot Graphics Score: 112.00 CPU Score: 181.51 Memory Score: 150.96 File System Score: 50.64 Eken/iXsoon M001 Graphics score: 59.09 CPU Score: 102.13 Memory score: 105.4 File system score: 18.25 G1: Graphic score: 97.38 CPU score: 122.95 Memory score: 125.7 File system score: 10.52
So I’ve had the opportunity to play with an iRobot for a week or so now, and I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. Compared to some of the other tablets I’ve tried, this is much improved. Battery life is not bad, it fits nicely in your hand, and it has the Android Marketplace. The downside is that it does not do very well in direct sunlight (but what LCD really does), and it has no GPS. I’ve used it as a media player in my car, it seems to fit quite nicely in my existing cellphone mount. Talk about a great addition! Since it only supports external 3G usb sticks (and I don’t even know what ones work, at that), it won’t have any data, and since there’s no GPS, it can’t be used for much else than a media player when not on wifi, but it’s still pretty cool. Reliability is great. It has Android 1.5, which is not the latest and greatest, but I’ll give the manufacturer one thing: they polished it to the point of being extremely usable. No wireless issues, and only minor quirks with the keyboard (the enter key is in Chinese). They are even still releasing bug fixes, even if there will be no real update to a newer version of Android. I read some forums that were working on getting 1.6 to boot on the device, and it looks like things are coming along slowly. Most of the apps that I downloaded from the marketplace worked great – Youtube has a funny quirk that only lets it play on half of the screen, but Facebook works like a charm, the Gmail app is stellar, and the keyboard is responsive enough to take the place of my smartphone – which, by the way, […]
I was lucky enough to be sent this today – thoughts? Samsung ARM11 1.2Ghz Memory: 512MB NAND 4GB Micro SD card supports: 32Gb OS: Android 2.1 Screen: Capacitive 1366×768 10.2″ Battery: 6000MAH or more to last 5 Hours with wifi on. Bluetooth 3G external G-sensor Android Marketplace
I’ve been talking back and forth with the CEO of WiiPad Technology International Ltd, and he has been telling me about his upcoming product: The WiiPad launches in the next few weeks and it’s going to up the ante in the Android Tablet market. An Android 2.1 device that will play HD video flawlessly isn’t something to sneeze at, yet. This time around, the iPad clone matches the original in size as well as styling, and being larger than all of the existing tablets out there, this 10.2″ touch screen device will hopefully raise the bar higher in Shenzhen. Already previewed by video, it shows that the 1ghz ARM Cortex A8-powered tablet will be able to run WinCE and Android almost flawlessly. Flash apparently is to be included, too. There are literally dozens of tablets out there, but almost all are underwhelming in some way, and none come close to what is packed inside this upcoming device. We can only hope that the quality control is good, as it looks like the manufacturer in China really wants to make an impact with this one. While the video shows a rather wavy resistive touch screen, it is rumored (but not confirmed) that the factory will be bringing out a capacitive touch-screen version in the future. It could also be that the demo units were put together using the cheapest components possible, a resistive touch screen being one of them. In any case, time will tell. The ample screen size certainly will make a difference in end-user reception, and it should really make it worthwhile to use as a do-everything daily device. It will be able to handle almost anything you can throw at it, with a minimum 2gb of flash memory installed, and 256 of onboard ram to run all the […]
Just posting this as a warning to any would-be buyers. It is really important that you do your research before you buy, and make sure you know what you’re getting. I’ll make it known right now that not one single device that I emailed about was advertised at under 600mhz, and I won’t buy without first getting them to test the device – here’s a few snippets of responses I have received: Yes we run the apk. But I found sth strange. The application says the CPU is 300M, we rechecked the CPU provider Rock Chip it is 600M and one more DSP decode. I am not sure who is correct but we are going to promote it as 600M same as before, the speed is much better than 300M. I was still asked to promote the company selling the device. Obviously, I’m not going to promote or slag the company, as they are just a reseller, but you have to be honest with the people you are doing business with. Here’s another: Hi.friends. i have test use the program you send me.the ram is 128M.3GB HDD,and 300Mhz CPU.have front camera,wifi but not bluetooth . Yet again, another: The CPU now is 300MHz, because it is new listed products,we have to wait some time the system will upgrade.Please understand. It’s like a record player – the factories are churning out these devices, advertising higher specs, and the resellers are buying them up like crazy hoping to make good money selling to the international market. In China, the English saying they use is “the cargo was robbed empty”, implying that it sold quickly. I have met a friend, however, who is new to the market, and he gave me some good advice; the products on the market right now are immature […]
Hi Everyone! Thanks for spending some time on the site, I just wanted to point out the addition of a forum link at the top. The great guys over at Phandroid have graciously allowed me to link to their forum, which means you get a direct link to a huge knowledgebase of Android fans and users. So check it out, the link goes directly into the tablet section on the forum – if you want to look at the rest of the forums available just click the logo at the top left of their website. Link: AndroidForums
So, you’ve decided that you want to purchase an Android Tablet straight from China. What do you need to know? Where do you start? I’ve compiled a few tips, courtesy of other users of Aliexpress, and my own personal experiences. I use Aliexpress as a reference because they have a fairly good system in place, even if it does have its downsides – there are still scams rampant on any website, trying to get people to spend money for no product at all. I’ve read about people spending upwards of $10,000 as a downpayment and receiving nothing. This is peanuts compared to that. Do your research Know what you’re buying, make sure you’ve found everything you need to know about the product: speed, memory, accessories, return policy, and just make sure that you’re absolutely certain this is the one you want. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. You aren’t going to be able to pay $100 for a product that has the same specs as a $300 netbook in North America. However, you can expect cheaper prices when dealing directly with the factory, instead of through a reseller. Read more after the break.
Update: Remember when I mentioned you sometimes don’t get the product as advertised? Well this is true in this case. It shows 800mhz in the description, but it’s actually 200mhz. How did I figure this out? Using SystemInfoPro. So, as a word of caution, don’t purchase this unless you know what you’re getting into. I ordered a few iXSOON Tablets here. It arrived in only three days. Yes, only three days from the day of shipping, Tuesday. I’ll post the link, unboxing, and first reviews soon! This is the same one I posted about here. In the box, it comes with a USB adapter (I don’t know if it’s only for charging, yet), and a power adapter. Only 144mb of internal storage is available when you turn on the unit – I inserted 16gb with no issues, so far. Android 1.6 is installed, which is too bad, but I will try to upgrade to 2.1 soon. Specs (that were listed): 800mhz 128mb DDR2 7″ 800×480 2GB Built-in storage 802.11 B/G/N More pictures and impressions after the break.
Thanks for reading! I have just launched a mobile edition of Android Tablets. It should auto-detect your user agent and redirect you to the mobile site. Let me know how it works. Update: I have just added m.androidtablets.ca to the dns list, you can either go to it, or let the blog auto-detect your user agent. Thanks for visiting!
This 7″ Tablet is pretty good looking, with what looks like a brushed aluminium case, and a very spartan front. It contains two mini USB ports, 10/100 ethernet built in – as well as wireless, and comes with a standard 128mb of ram. The storage starts at 2gb, and can ship with up to 16gb of memory installed. The screen has a resolution of 800×480, but I have no idea whether it’s capacitive or resistive. This device ships with Android 2.1, to your door, for $225. More pictures after the break. Purchase: Aliexpress ($225)