cheapest chinese tablet - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi xda devs,
I'm thinking about buying a tablet to hang it on the wall, which wall act as a kind of weather station/alarm clock etc.
I don't need for that any powerful things, might be even cheapest chinese crap.
I have found for example something like this on dx.com:
dx.com/p/a13-7-capacitive-touch-screen-android-4-0-tablet-pc-w-tf-camera-wi-fi-g-sensor-white-148468
Do you think it's worth to buy it for that purpose? Does anybody know if it's rootable/any roms for that are available? Or maybe you could suggest me something cheap? Optimally at least 4.0 would be nice to have and 7" screen, wifi, and I don't think I need nothing more for that.

Well it could be worth it, depending how much you really want to display.
For the tablet you linked it's not easy to say as there are not many specs. It could be that it's one of the generic "A13-MID" tablets for which some custom ROMs can be found online. But I don't own one of them so I can't say how well those ROMs are applicable etc.
If you want to buy something in this class (Allwinner Processor) which is a bit more a "brand" it's a good idea to look at the tablets supported by this ROM:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1760929
It works really well (use it myself) and there is quite a big community. Just look through the tablet list if there is a model that suits you. E.g. the Ainol Novo7 Elf is a 7" tablet which could already be found below $80.

Pretty low screen resolution at 800x480, but if its just going to serve as a weather station/alarm clock then you'll probably be fine. Also wondering if all these cheap chinese tablets are actually shipping with Gapps installed since I doubt they are Google certified, yet in the screenshots I see Google Play.

My experience with cheap chinese "stuff" is that there is a higher chance that tablets have gapps than phones. Probably something about user expectations.

Related

Viewpad 10e

I've been lucky enough to snag a Viewpad 10e from Argos in the UK... Struggling to find any forums specifically for this pad though.
In a nutshell, its a great piece of hardware for £200 slightly let down by stuttery software. Very iPad like but with Android gingerbread.
Anyone else out there have any experience with this tab yet? Anyone know of any plans for it to get it's own forum/development community?
Cheers.
steviesteve78 said:
I've been lucky enough to snag a Viewpad 10e from Argos in the UK... Struggling to find any forums specifically for this pad though.
In a nutshell, its a great piece of hardware for £200 slightly let down by stuttery software. Very iPad like but with Android gingerbread.
Anyone else out there have any experience with this tab yet? Anyone know of any plans for it to get it's own forum/development community?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it a tegra 2 device? If so we all here would at least love a full working gingerbread rom.
No - sorry - its Cortex A8
Processor 1Ghz Cortex A8 Processor
OS Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
LCD Monitor 9.7” IPS LCD 1024 x 768 ; XGA
Brightness 400 cd/m2 Brightness
Memory DDR3 512 MB
Internal Memory 4GB
Band Wifi only
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth BlueTooth 3.0 and 2.1 + EDR compatibility
External Memory Micro SD card slot
I/O Interface Micro USB/ Mini-HDMI/ 3.5mm headset audio jack
Audio Stereo speakers/ microphone
Sensors G-sensor
Cameras Front: CMOS 1.3MP
Battery Li-Polymer 5400mAh
Charger 12V/ 2Amp
USB Micro USB
Dimensions 241.6 x 188.6 x 9.1 mm
Weight 620 grams
Accessories Power adaptor (with plugs), Quick Start Guide, 1Mobile Market QSG, Compliance information, Micro USB cable
Dude, return the tablet right now. Boycott viewsonic!
Its been over 24hrs with new toy now. Will be posting a review soon. I honestly like the look and feel so much that I'm selling my Galaxy Tab 10. I'll have some money left over as well cause the Viewpad is so cheaply priced. All that extra processor power is not needed for me, I basically use the tab for web browsing, a few notes, check the weather and the kids play angry birds! This pad is definitely suited to the job.
goodintentions said:
Dude, return the tablet right now. Boycott viewsonic!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. For that price, you are better to go with a much wider support device like the Kindle Fire or Nook Color. Don't expect your new toy to get any substantial update to improve it beyond what it is now. The gTablet community has already been bitten by Viewsonic false promises. Your device will most likely had the same fate.
PS: a no name brand tablet from China can do all you want at an even lower price. Did you choose Viewsonic for the peace of mind of a name brand? Viewsonic don't make their own tablet. They outsource the manufacturing, the software and the support. All they really interest in is take your money.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Honestly, I was really impressed by the response I had recently from their support dept. I really like the device and I have been through a few to say the least. Seems like it could be quite hackable and I may just use it to learn some new programming skills myself! (If I can drum up some support). In my experience, every forum/thread has loads of people frustrated by lack of support from the manufacturers/resllers but for me, the point of these forums is finding help... Ill keep my fingers crossed that the OEM is discovered soon and after that finding some hacks should get easier.
Third warning about Viewsonic, their products suffer longevity shortfalls. I am now the 3rd person telling you they have the consumer integrity of a wombat. Don't hold your breath waiting for anyone to pick it up and think it will be differently. So many people got burned via the g tablet and it's abhorrent lack of updates from the manufacturer (which when it comes to things like drivers etc for future OS upgrades becomes a critical part of the equation) not many people who have been around the android block are going to make another purchase from Viewsonic so you could very well be alone for the foreseeable future in this purchase. I don't even like having a Viewsonic monitor on my desk at work anymore. Again, take what you are hearing at face value, Viewsonic + android = meh. I enjoyed my g tablet when i purchased it and it does almost all that I need but I hoped for more and have gotten less. Keep it if you like, but 6 months from now when you are looking at another tablet you are going to be hard pressed to find anyone to buy your Viewsonic. The poor reputation flags are there already.
Keep in mind, Viewsonic is the same company that came to XDA saying they wanted feedback and input from this community about the g tablet. That was spring of this year and not a single thing has changed. They did that one firmware update in April and since then it has been nothing but pushed changes that then get pulled back.
Keep it if you are happy with it, I just wouldn't expect anything in terms of a large community ever coming of one of their devices.
It's been almost a year since they promised they'd release an update. Every time I've asked them about update, the only reply I've gotten is "we're working on it." I dare you to find any report of a different response than that.
Viewsonic needs to go back to producing nothing but display monitors and projectors. This company is not ready yet to play with the big boys in the computing market.
US vs UK - not exactly the same...
The G-Tablet was a US only product?!
The Viewpad 10e is only in the UK so far..... 9.7" IPS panel for £199, 9mm thick looks good value to me if your needs are not too demanding
Cant get my 10e to play videos from iplayer, any idea as to why not?
I decided to try one...
Works on live streaming for me from the app but not the others, think it could be to do with the Flash player version, read recently about other tablet users having issues with bandwidth / setting local storage to 0...
Which app did you use, couldn't find one in the 1mobile app store that came on the device
rustyfishhook said:
Which app did you use, couldn't find one in the 1mobile app store that came on the device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BBC iPlayer 1.04 apk from the web. It still is only working for me with live TV, Flash version 10.3, Flash 11.0 wasn't working...
Will play around with the different versions in the office today
Ok so I now have the Viewpad 10e working with BBC iPlayer.
I used BBC iPlayer 1.0.4 & Flash 10.3.185.25
I put these into a zip file on 4shared, not sure if I am allowed to share the link or not..
Hello
I'm very keen on the Viewpad 10e myself. Has anyone tried out the multimedia side of it? it would be great t be able to play 1080p movies, etc. By the sounds of the 3D stuff that comes with it, it should be a decent GPU in it, would be nice to know how it does.
Custom ROM
Does anyone know how to install a custom ROM on the device?
Hi all
I'm thinking of getting one of these too. But I'm a bit concerened about the 'dated' SC A8 CPU and the dated OS?
Some of the things I will want to do on this is video calling using Skype (yes, I know there are other alternatives, but it has to be Skype) and playing DivX/Xvid movies and some .MKV movies. Could anyone tell me if it will be good enough? I am quite impressed by the dimensions and the screen, but if the specs can't keep up then I'm thinking of a cheap and chunky Tegra 2 tablet like the POV which is actually £10 cheaper and I'll put a custom ViewComb 3.2 ROM on it...
Any suggestions/opinions?
Does anyone know how to root the device?
Just got one for my daughter.
First impressions : well-made bit of kit with a great IPS screen. worth it for the hardware, I would say.
Moon reader pro is great on it, as is perfect viewer for comics and pdf's.
Can't get the video calling working for some reason. Anyone had any joy with this ?
Have tried Tango and Fring. In both cases, the FFC doesn't seem to switch on. You can see the the other person on it, but they can't see you.
Also, with Tango, the mic is switched off, and can't be switched back on.
Some sort of firmware shenanigans going on here. Had a quick chat with Viewsonic customer support just now, who will email me back.
Bit concerned by the negative comments on this thread !
Wanted the archos 101 as HMV were doing it for £129 , but just missed the boat, and then this came to my attention in Argos. Hope I haven't landed a dud !
Well, so far, have managed to get all her bits on it. Their version of market is a bit limited, but there is enough to get you started. Go launcher was a must, after having it on my Galaxy S2 phone, and it seems to cope ok. Formatted some of her films as mp4's and the shipped 'vortex player' handles them well.
Video calling would have been icing on the cake really.
Oh yeah, and whatsapp functionality, but there are ways around that I am looking into now.
Overall so far - promising.
Root and custom rom's would really maximise this thing's potential.
Oh yeah, and won't talk to my macbook pro over bluetooth- first device ever to do that.

[Q] CyanogenMod for Cube U9GT-2

Hi xda-Members,
I have a simple question:
Is the Cube U9GT-2 compatible with CyanogenMod?
I've got Gingerbread on my tablet, but I'm not really satisfied with this OS, maybe because it's developed for smartphones and not tablets.
Greets Meldamos
Hi.
Unfortunately I cannot help with your question. All I know is that some people are experimentinig with ICS (Android 4.0) on the U9GT-2, and there is a beta firmware for it if you would like to give it a try.
I am also thinking of buying one of these tablets. I found it for 230 Euros (=290 USD, =190 GBP). I was just about to press the "Add to cart" button when I saw your post.
What do you thing about this tablet? Do you have it long? Are you happy?
Also can you please PM me with the information of where you bought it from and if you were happy with the transaction (if it was an online buy)?
Thanks
Little review of U9GT-2
Well I have this tablet for 2-3 Weeks now and I don't regret it. I bought this tablet over an online-shop called cect-shop, because the support is in german and it has a warranty of 1 year. And there it costs 200€ with 25€ express shipment (there in 3 days from china to germany ^^) and 25€ toll. All in all I paid around 250€, much cheaper than here in germany where it starts at 350€ up to 700€ and not almost on a level of the capacity this tablet has. By the way if you ask cect-shop, they'll send you a stylus pen with your tablet for free.
The tablet uses Android 2.3 with Honeycomb style, not bad but could be better. The OS seems not to be build for battery saving, because the power runs of after 2-3 days in standby.
I asked the manufacturer about ICS and got the answer that they're working on it, but still need time to finish the compatibility with U9GT-2. They'll publish it on their homepage I think.
On the look it get often mistaken with an Apple iPad but it's not exactly like one. The capacitive display works fine, it discerns up to 10 fingers but you are not using 10 finger actually ^^
The sound is pretty good I think, even if I don't really know how the standard quality of tablets are. The big trouble is like I said the OS. But it's a thing you can change and does not affect the quality of this tablet.
If anyone has precise questions feel free to ask. I'm not good at writing a review.
Thanks for the valuable info.
Few questions more if you are kind enough:
1. Can you confirm the manufacturer's site? I have found one web address in China and never managed to connect
2. Can you confirm the thickness of it? Is it realy less than 10mm? Does it actually feel like an i-pad when you are carrying it around?
3. The material on the back side is it realy aluminium?
4. I have noticed that on different sites they give slightly different specs from cect.Ie pandawill gives a CPU of 1Ghz, thickness of 7mm and battery capacity 8000mAh, though cect gives 1.2Ghz, 9.7mm and 7600MAh. This is a problem with the Chinese sites / products / clones I guess... Nevertheless, since you are in Germany, you must have heard or seen an Easypix Easypad, have you? I am between the cube and the Easypad 970 (at easypix.eu). They look very similar. Do you have any personal feedback on that ?
5. Finally, does the screen look and feel like being IPS or not?
Sorry if I bother you too much, but it's the first time I buy a gadget withut actually testing or seeing one, so I am a bit concerned. Thanks
christis said:
Thanks for the valuable info.
Few questions more if you are kind enough:
1. Can you confirm the manufacturer's site? I have found one web address in China and never managed to connect
2. Can you confirm the thickness of it? Is it realy less than 10mm? Does it actually feel like an i-pad when you are carrying it around?
3. The material on the back side is it realy aluminium?
4. I have noticed that on different sites they give slightly different specs from cect.Ie pandawill gives a CPU of 1Ghz, thickness of 7mm and battery capacity 8000mAh, though cect gives 1.2Ghz, 9.7mm and 7600MAh. This is a problem with the Chinese sites / products / clones I guess... Nevertheless, since you are in Germany, you must have heard or seen an Easypix Easypad, have you? I am between the cube and the Easypad 970 (at easypix.eu). They look very similar. Do you have any personal feedback on that ?
5. Finally, does the screen look and feel like being IPS or not?
Sorry if I bother you too much, but it's the first time I buy a gadget withut actually testing or seeing one, so I am a bit concerned. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay let's start:
1. Yes the manufacturer is available. There are also 2 supporter for questions available via skype. They're on workdays online so you can ask them directly. But there english seems not to be very good so better you keep your questions simple
2. I measured it now, I don't warrant than my results are exactly but they're 243mm x 190mm x 10,5mm (length x width x height). I have never had an iPad (too expensive for a tablet) but it feel very comfortable if I carry it around and it's not very heavy. I don't have a balance here but I think it's around 500-700 gram. Well it doesn't feel heavy for me that's all I can say actually.
3. YES it is aluminium and what a luck it is, because on the 3. day it got pushed against a aluminium pole and has only a really small dent left. A plastic hull would have cracked I think.
4. Don't look at the GHZ, many sellers push or fake them, maybe caused by stupidness or advertising. The U9GT-2 has a Rockchip 2918 CPU. Look for the specs on google. The battery is an advertising medium. I doesn't has 8000 mhA or even 7600 mhA. I has 2 x 4000 mhA batteries but they just sum them what they shouldn't do. Like I said the OS is not optimized for tablets and it really takes too much power in stand by. When playing you don't recognize the power loss. I played 3 hours a game called "deadly dungeon" (a dungeon crawler) and the battery has got from 63% to 49%. Well I've not saw the easypad, but they're exactly the same. They've got the same capacities and even the same OS. Throw a dice from 1-3 easypad and from 4-6 U9GT-2, that would be my solution ^^... Well I don't know if easypix is working on a ICS for easypad, just know that cube is working on it.
5. Well I don't know what you understand of a "feeling" for IPS. It looks like a monitor how you see it everywhere today. Don't know if you still have a cathode ray tube (I have one), but there is a difference. Of course, the games are sucking because they're not build for 9,7" displays . Some games are smoother with the resizing, others are bad. But the quality of the display is very good. Of course, not standard on notebooks over 15,6" (which I prefer) but for 9,7" it's high resolution.
Hope my answer could help you and other people who struggle on buying a china-tablet
PS: I've got many friends who look suspect at the tablet, like it could break every second, and I'm just smiling and laughing about their prejudices.
Fantastic answers.
Thank you very much for your effort.
I will follow your advice with the dice after the holidays
Happy Christmas
christis said:
Fantastic answers.
Thank you very much for your effort.
I will follow your advice with the dice after the holidays
Happy Christmas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
STOP!!! xD... Hope you did not buy it.
Forgot to mention that the EasyPad 970 can only use 8GB Flash HDD. U9GT-2 use 16GB! You get the double storage for the same price.
Sorry for my late answer, did not recognize the difference in the first place.
Sh*t. I bought one a few days ago
I generally know what NAND flash is, but not sure about its' importance. Mine still says 5.9 Gb free, after fully loaded with apps (I know they've got nothing to do with the NAND, but I can't seem to find a way how to run out of space in NAND). In any case, it is better to have double the capacity with the same cost, no matter what.
By the way, that NAND is some soldered microchip, or it can be a micro SD card on the motherboard so that it can "easily" be upgraded in the future if the need arises?
Nevertheless, I am happy with the tablet. Already rooted and experimenting. A couple of snags though, but I will find my way around them hopefully.
By the way, is there a way to hard - reset the tablet by hardware (since there is not a pin-hole or something)? Any combination of buttons pressed during power on?
The internal flash memory is installed in form of chips. Two in the Cube, as can be seen at tabletrepublic.com/forum/android-tablet-reviews/disassembling-cube-u9gt2-414.html, presumably one in the easypad. Apparently the 8GB of the easypad are partitioned in 0,5GB for apps and the rest for data while the 16GB in the Cube are partioned in 1GB for apps and the rest for data. I have read that by installing the cube firmware on the easypad 970, one can get 1 GB for apps, too. Personally, I think 8GB internally is plenty because media files (movies etc.) usually are stored on external SDHC cards anyway for fast swapping.
My 2 cents...
I recently bought one while I was in Beijing on holiday and was really amazed with the battery life with Android 2.3, considering I was streaming movies non-stop for 14 hours straight (in comparison with and iPad 2). The multi-touch keyboard sometimes has a lag although most the UI seems to be relatively smooth.
The camera located at the back also took decent pictures during day and night.
Overall this is a neat unit under $350.00 AUD considering most other units requiring a stylus or long fingernails to operate. I will be looking at rooting the device in a few weeks after I do a bit more research.
Let me know if you have modded your unit and your thoughts.
Thanks
Cube U9GT2 USB host controller issues
Hello everyone,
I'm hoping to solve a problem here, I just purchased a Cube U9GT2 Tablet 9.7
running: Android ICS 4.0.3 with a Kernel Version:3.0.8+.
With a build number: rk29sdk-eng4.03 IML74K eng-yangyun.20120108.124417 test-keys.
It came with an OTG/USB Cable and has both a USB and a USB/OTG port.
Let me just state this, I have tested all cables, ports and jump drives and have reformatted them to fat32, they were Fat32 also.
The problem I'm having is ICS can't see any jump drives I hook up to it. I installed a program from the Market called, USB Host Ctrlr. It ran a info check after install, and here is what it said:USB Host Controller Version Number:0.42 S3C USB Host Driver NOT Found! Root Hub Present. USB Host Mode is active.
I'm no developer or even a decent novas, but with decent instructions I can execute. Any ideas how to fix this, The price was Killer, when one is buying from a Chinese Company, the support is pretty limiting when you only speak English.
That's why the great price, I'm not complaining, I just want to get this resolved if possible.
In regards to the Tablet, I really like it a lot! pretty fast, smooth interface, easy to navigate, decent keyboard, (but I'm use to a smartphone).
It plays movies very nice, screen is plenty bright, It can use a Micro-sd card up to 32 gigs. Have not had any crashes yet, had it about 2 weeks. They have raised the prices about $13.00 I had to try one at that price, plus shipping was Free! I ordered it late on a Sunday night in USA, got it in 3 days DHL shipping, Hard to beat. Anyhow if anyone can help here, it sure be very appreciated. I would even be willing to pay something if reasonable.
If anyone is interested i can provide brand new AUTHENTIC CUBE U9GT2 at the price of euro 240.00.
The price include express shipping to all around the world (4-5 business days).
I am sending from European country so residents of EU will not pay additional taxes or VAT !!!
Let me know.
pashiamas said:
If anyone is interested i can provide brand new AUTHENTIC CUBE U9GT2 at the price of euro 240.00.
The price include express shipping to all around the world (4-5 business days).
I am sending from European country so residents of EU will not pay additional taxes or VAT !!!
Let me know.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pls check your PM

[Q] Looking for a tablet for under $100. Ideas?

Hey guys
I've been looking a LOT around amazon and such for a tablet under $100. Why under $100? I need it to be under that price because there's a very high "luxury" tax applied in my country to products over $100, and it's an extra money I would rather not give to the govt because it's plain ridiculous already. Also, I'm planning on getting two of them, and I can't afford more than $150-200 on them. Why? this stupid country only gives you a "coupon" of $400 to spend online -YEARLY-, and I don't want to use it all on just two tablets, or be left with less than $200-250 to spend on other stuff I also need.
Monetary reasons explained and set aside, I'm getting the tablet for my mom, who only needs to browse the web, get on facebook, get & reply to emails, maybe some chatting and whatnot. She doesn't need much and I'm sure a simple Zeepad or something similar would do, but I'm a power user who mods almost every device that comes across his hands, so I'm using this chance to get a tablet too -if- I like the one I'm buying to my mom.
My mom's needs are... well, the basics. Maybe playing a video or two and nothing else. Me, on the other hand, want to upgrade it to the highest android version available for it (whether it be GB or ICS, or even Froyo since some come with Eclair (Eww)) and give it lots of possible uses. These include using it as a VNC viewer, remote keyboard/mouse, some development (if I get a keyboard+case for it), some gaming (ok, maybe not THD or anything but if it runs Angry Birds I'm happy XD) etcetera.
So, to resume, I'm looking for something including these specs, if possible:
3G (optional but it would be a big plus)
WiFi (must, or if not, then 3G)
600-800Mhz CPU (ARM? Adreno? Cortex? wtf?!)
A decent GPU (PowerVR? (like my Defy)?, what's a good GPU in android devices anyways?)
No stylus-exclusive (avoid if possible)
No resistive screen (I've heard they suck, and I don't want to push a screen like if it were a button (Blackberry Storm anyone? Eww xD) and be forced to use a stylus. If I can use my fingers on a resistive screen and it feels like a capacitive one, then that's okay with me )
USB host (to be able to plug in USB drives, keyboards, mices, etc)
Ethernet port optional but cool if it has one.
Tethering ability (though I think this is more OS-dependant than anything else)
Full Android Market (stupid chinese tablets)
SD card reader
Medium-small size. My whole Nook Simple Touch has the right size for the screen size I'd like (I think that's 7-9 inches?), I don't want to carry a tablet of the size of a notebook. Something that can fit a big pocket in a jacket or a pant would be cool, like the NST . This is optional but not required.
Battery life to stand a lot. Hey, my phone lasts only a day even without WiFi turned on which sucks. I've heard their batteries are like 6 or more hours, which seems okay... I'm not really sure what is "good" in this aspect.
Camera would be cool.
Phone (or at least SMS) functions would be cool, too.
And last but not least, able to be upgraded, or at least with a good hacker community stabilished. I want to be able to upgrade the tablet to other android versions (I don't mind if they're experimental) or at least compile a version for it. With this, I'm saying I don't want to be using google translate to find info on how to install another ROM in my tablet because everything comes from chinese forums and the tablet uses a random, non-standard OMFG-9372 processor nobody knows -anything- about and have to use dodgy apps or hacks to modify it, mmkay? okay.
Now, I've done my homework and these are the items I've came up with, however I'm still looking for more devices:
EEpad MID: http://www.amazon.com/Android-Table...C2/ref=sr_1_99?ie=UTF8&qid=1334592070&sr=8-99
Elsse: http://www.amazon.com/Elsse-Interne.../ref=sr_1_125?ie=UTF8&qid=1334592099&sr=8-125
Pandigital: http://www.amazon.com/Pandigital-An...H0/ref=sr_1_60?ie=UTF8&qid=1334591812&sr=8-60
Zeepad: http://www.amazon.com/Zeepad-Tablet...7Q/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1334591744&sr=8-25
Skytex: http://www.amazon.com/Skytex-Primer...E0/ref=sr_1_50?ie=UTF8&qid=1334591812&sr=8-50
Zeepad (2): http://www.amazon.com/Zeepad-Androi...1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1334592627&sr=8-3-fkmr1
Coby Kyros: http://www.amazon.com/Coby-MID7015-.../ref=sr_1_121?ie=UTF8&qid=1334593041&sr=8-121
"Random" brands:
http://www.amazon.com/Boxchip-Corte...0K/ref=sr_1_82?ie=UTF8&qid=1334592041&sr=8-82
http://www.amazon.com/Tablet-Intern...5Q/ref=sr_1_91?ie=UTF8&qid=1334592986&sr=8-91
Now, my thoughts:
EEpad MID: Looks good, but it has no reviews, so that detracts me from buying it. I can't find much info on the web on modifying it though.
Elsse: Seems like an asian tablet with no official Android Market, but eh, what do you guys say?
Pandigital: Looks like it sucks .
Zeepad: There isn't much info about it
Skytex: Looks cheap-o and low-quality :/
Zeepad (2): Seems to have good features and such.
Coby Kyros: Now, this, coming from Coby it makes me think of a cheap device like the MP3 players they make, but surprisingly, it has more reviews than the rest of the tablets and it's under $100. Also, it seems to be more powerful than the rest of the ones I've looked at (in the links here), and the reviews seem to be good. It makes me think if it's possible to upgrade it to 2.2 or 2.3, it would be really cool if it would.
---
Sorry for the long read!... in case you want a resume, I'm just looking for two tablets: A simple one for my mom to browse the web, emails, play some games, chat and etc, and another one (or the same one if possible) for a power-user who would modify/upgrade it and use it as an IT work tool (VNC viewer, dev. tool, document editing, pdf reading, flash, some gaming, etc).
Any thoughts you guys have in relation to an android tablet to get? what's something "good" and something "bad"? I'd like to see opinions, reviews or suggestions on other tablets to look for or what other keywords should I look for in Amazon?
Thanks in advance!
- DARKGuy
Bump?
Coby Kyros is listed as "resistive" on Amazon, i'm not sure you've noticed that. I think you should check the Ainol (or any allwinner based device). They have somewhat limited community and support but it should be good for performance and gaming. Or bump the price range to 150 and look at Cortex A9 devices with reputable brands..
I agree with NightWatch71 about the tablet but not the price. I found it at around $75 in some places, but that was a long time ago so I forgot. Try looking around on Google Shopping.
Prices on Amazon change so often it's almost impossible to keep up and new manufacturers are releasing tablets a dime a dozen
This list is kept up to date tabletninja.com/finding-the-best-tablets-under-100/
A lot of the same options listed with a few new options from some newbies

I think I was taken :(

I bought a Nextway Fast 9 X from spemall.com as shown here:
http://www.spemall.com/Nextway-F9X-...PS-Screen-2G-Ram-1-5GHz-4K-Video-Black_g.html
After fully charging the tablet I started using it and it froze. I then restarted it and its froze a total of 5 times. Its had errors with the launcher, when opening the apps tab all the images would look like the background but pixelated.
Here is a link to the pictures i took: http://s1232.beta.photobucket.com/user/xstingstreetx/library/Defective
Next, I was able to disable some things for the tablet to run properly without crashing. However, this thing score terrible on benchmarks and is VERY slow moving. The processor is actually 1.08Ghz not 1.5.
I was able to root it thanks to Bin4ry see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1886460
Video by Bin4ry see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7EpkrCq1gfM
I was able to overclock on the stock kernel and such to 1.152 stable.
I was hoping someone could help to develop ROMs, Kernels, etc to make this thing work better.
Any and all ideas or feedback is appreciated.
Things that I didnt notice when I bought it is: I dont believe there is bluetooth or GPS
Also the GPS and blutooth either does not exist or possibly the software in the tablet just doesn't work with it.
xstingstreetx said:
Also the GPS and blutooth either does not exist or possibly the software in the tablet just doesn't work with it.
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so you bought a non-brand cheap chinese tablet and now you want someone to develop a ROM for it ?
edit: wait. that is not that cheap. why on earth would you buy a non-brand tablet with a budget at 200$?
krankdroid said:
so you bought a non-brand cheap chinese tablet and now you want someone to develop a ROM for it ?
edit: wait. that is not that cheap. why on earth would you buy a non-brand tablet with a budget at 200$?
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Click to collapse
Well no other tablet has competitive specs that I found. However I didnt know this tablet wasn't a 1.5 Ghz quad core as listed on the sellers site.
xstingstreetx said:
Well no other tablet has competitive specs that I found. However I didnt know this tablet wasn't a 1.5 Ghz quad core as listed on the sellers site.
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Click to collapse
if something sounds to good to be true. it probaly is..
sad to say the chances of someone making a ROM for non-brand products is pretty slim, since most ROM are created on the basis that a device is widely bought and used. Of non-brand phone and tablets there are such a variety that developing for them makes no sense.
Get your money back if you can, and get a branded device. For 200$ you can get a Nexus 7.
if you want the same size and format of the one you got, look around for what samsung, acer, asus, hell even what Point Of View have to offer..
Sorry, but you won't like it -
The main disadvantage of buying a no-brand device is although it may work better the known brands, in case of a fault (software or hardware), you're on your own.... Not many users have flashed/fixed/used this device. So if you brick it, get a bootloop or find a bug, not many can help you.
Not speaking about the variety of ROMs...
I've been there.... I've bought a no-brand phone and after a year it's main PCB failed. I couldn't find a replacement part and had to throw the device away.
Anyway.....
Use the device, enjoy and don't brick it
Sent from my digital submersible hovercraft.
xstingstreetx said:
Well no other tablet has competitive specs that I found. However I didnt know this tablet wasn't a 1.5 Ghz quad core as listed on the sellers site.
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Click to collapse
If the moderators will give me permission, I can give you a link to where there are 4 custom ROMs for this tablet. I have installed the BETA4 and it better utilizes the Retina Display (unless you have bad eyes, and there is one geared for that one as the defective one you are using does). I honestly don't know if your problem can be helped with software, but it might... I can also give you a link to the newest stock ROM and a Windows app to install it. I would rather get permission first to post 2 direct links... one is to Arctablet (and you can do a Google or DuckDuckGo search and find it by the way) and the other one is to a tablet distributor who was good enough to create download links and instructions on how to use the hokey Chinese installer. The question is though, is your problem hardware or a botched ROM?
It does not have Bluetooth or GPS. My Archos outdoes it in that way, but it is a true quad-core retina display and mine works very nicely... nicer now that I have the better use of the resolution available. Its wildly vivid. I honestly can find no real issues other than a few I had from not wiping the thing before I flashed it (oddly it suggested I not do so... which caused me grief w/Google Play eventually). It comes rooted, and if you have one of those that are like partly-rooted or whatever some call it, do a factory reset and it will come back fully rooted. The ROMs of course are all rooted. I have a cheap 10.2", which honestly if I had not had something else would have given me ulcers, but hey... I only paid $14 for it from Quibids (including bid prices), so I can't complain. This one cost me around $150 with a few extras, so a little grief I can handle. But so far... those are interesting words... so far, it is actually very impressive. My daughter has a boyfriend who is an Apple fanatic, and he's kind of fixated on it from certain similarities to what he is coveting these days.
I have it going at 1.2ghz (quad-core), although I have gotten it up to just under the 1.5ghz it claims (1440). It will do it, but I wouldn't bet on its stability. It comes at 1.0 preset from manufacturer, but is easily changed with the cpu app of your choice. I use Setcpu... works for me. It has 2gb ram... can't complain.
I read some arguments on the cameras, but I don't see it... I took some pics tonight of my daughter on her way to a costume party... they are the best thing I have this side of my Kodak. I'm sure it takes better video than the Kodak though. Anyway... its responsive, sharp, and does what I want. You have to buy a Bluetooth dongle for next to nothing to have Bluetooth though for some bizarre reason it shows its there. The one page that I mentioned gives advice along with pics on how to do some interesting mods to it. It is capable of more than they shipped it with. I am sorry that you are having troubles with yours... I don't know if you still have yours or not. I've only had this a few weeks. If you are interested, let me know... and if the moderators allow it, I will post links.
I hate that you have had such grief with yours. If I can help, I am willing.

Rooting An Obscure Android Tablet (Outform iDisplay)?

I was looking for a larger tablet, and came across the 15.6" iDisplay tablet. In brief, it's made for stores to have a simple interactive kiosk, and is built on Android 4.2.2. It was only $45, including shipping, so I figured I'd give it a try.
Overall, it's pretty decent, but it does have a couple quirks I'd like to fix, but can't, because it's not rooted. There's no guides online, as it's such a niche brand, but I'm wondering if there's a general rooting that I can try that might work.
Here's a PDF with some hardware specs; am I out of luck?

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