[Updated] iXSOON Tablet Arrived!

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.

The device is, in a word, cheap. It’s slower than I expected (at 800mhz, it should be as snappy as any phone out there), but the size of the screen and feel of the device more than makes up for it. I’ve been using it with a stylus, but even that is unnecessary. I set up my mail on it (simple), so shoot me an email here if you feel that way inclined!

Turns out the USB cable just turns the device into a usb drive in windows – assuming you have an SD card plugged in. Handy enough as a feature, especially getting that elusive YouTube app on-board. It comes with a useful app loader, and is unlocked to allow apps from outside the marketplace, which is good, because the marketplace isn’t included. I ran the app loader, installed the YouTube app in about 5 seconds, and it automatically detected when I clicked links on youtube. Good stuff.

It says that it supports external keyboards, but surprise! There isn’t anywhere to plug it into.

There is a built in accelerometer/g-sensor, so it does detect when you change orientation. Good for reading ebooks, on the included app. The farm game on it is hilarious.

I’ll be honest though, one of the devices was problematic, the other seemed to have no issues. I’m not sure if it was the SD cards I was using, or what exactly it was, but it kept freezing and rebooting, not letting me view certain webpages, and just overall was a pain in the ass. Good thing I bought two, I’m pursuing a refund for the one (or a replacement, whichever).

You basically get what you pay for. It feels great, it’s a good size for your hand. The device has a very nice screen for viewing videos and playing games (better than a phone, not quite as good as a laptop, of course), and the features are just enough for the average user. If I were to buy another, which I will, I’ll get one with a usb host device built in, hopefully a 3G connection, and probably with Android 2.1, if available.



By | 2010-05-16T21:50:12+00:00 May 7th, 2010|Android Related, Feature|9 Comments

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Vancouver, Canada

9 Comments

  1. Sohip May 8, 2010 at 1:13 am

    good thing you noticed their false advertisement !.

    can u benchmark it against other android phones/tablet
    using this app for example to see how it stands against them?

    http://www.androlib.com/android.application.softweg-hw-performance-jiCn.aspx

    hopefully you will manage to find away to root it and load Android 2.1 on it 🙂

  2. koppit May 8, 2010 at 1:22 am

    I tried using as many keys and combinations as I had at my disposal to load the bootloader, and I had no luck getting that screen to show. I even had the 2.1 update ready on the sd card waiting to install. I’d have to crack open the case and find the USB leads on the motherboard, and solder them to a usb female adapter to use a keyboard, so I can see if there are other combinations (like holding X on some phones). The manufacturer was in touch with me and will give me a full refund, so I think I’m going to go with the 2.1 device.

    If you have a direct link to this apk I will download and run a benchmark, I don’t have the ability to read the QR code on this device.

  3. Sohip May 8, 2010 at 12:30 pm

    Here is a working link http://drop.io/androidtattoo/asset/softweg-hw-performance-apk

    Thanks in advance.

  4. rj May 17, 2010 at 6:56 am

    Thanks for the post. I wish that I find the post before I did my order. Did you manage to upgrade to 2.1 and installer android market on that tablet?

  5. koppit May 17, 2010 at 7:31 am

    I wasn’t able to get it to the bootloader, no matter what combination of buttons I tried.

  6. rj May 18, 2010 at 4:56 am

    thanks. did you find any other cheap android tablet that works better? i.e APad or iRobot

  7. koppit May 18, 2010 at 7:50 am

    I have two iRobots in the process of being ordered, but they come in three speed flavours, and I have yet to get the guy on the other end to run QSystemInfo on them to determine whether they are the 600,800,or 1000mhz versions. Once he does that, I will actually probably be selling them on the site, based on their specs and a special price I was able to get including UPS shipping.

  8. koppit May 30, 2010 at 10:26 am

    I have rooting info!

    -Download this package: http://www.rapidshare.com/files/387342034/eken_tools.zip
    -Then use the official updated ROM (script folder)
    -Open android_fs.tgz with 7zip and add the “su” command in system/bin without uncompressing it.
    -Change update.sh with the one in the package
    -Put the script folder on SD card and update your firmware a usual
    -Install superuser.apk
    -Install connectbot.apk
    -Put your device in debug mode (Settings/Appplications/Developement/USB debugging)
    -Start ConnectBot and open a local session
    -Type su and wait few seconds
    -A window will popup informing you that su want root:root. Click alway allow…
    -And voila you have root

    Doesn’t fill in all the blanks, but go here: http://slatedroid.com/index.php?topic=41.0

  9. […] 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 […]

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