Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I'm really looking forward to this archos 70 7" tablet. I guess, I've already decided...

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

So far the best one is the Samsung Tab, that ZTE (from looks) and the eLocity.

In fact, I think with that eLocity is a winner. But I see I may be wrong depending on the lack of 3G connectivity (comon we want to insert a SIM from the side), lack of GPS (seriously now), lack of multi-touch (its got capacitative but no multitouch ..what the), build quality (looks good so far, but looks can be decieving), Market (I don't think its got it, but can it be hacked onto it like the Archos/CMs?).

Other sites of improvement would've been to:
add a full SD instead of microSD
increase the space of the hispeed flash from 4Gb to 8Gb (which is barely decent)
increase RAM to 1Gb (because this is the bottleneck)
increase screen to a better quality (colours, viewing angles, brightness, less glossy, transparency in sun) = go with a good TFT
increase screen to 9" with minimal besel and increase resolution from 800x480 to 1024x600
add in host mode with that full USB slot (connect a keboard)
they should've designed two latches that reveal the ports on the sides to act as a kickstand

wow, them Chinese really know how to krapify a great device (or should I say beautify a peice of sh*t)

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Apparently, 3G is indeed dropped from the first version so that it can get to market in US faster. The main advantage of the eLocity is Tegra II, HDMI port - suitability as a TV adjunct. If you don't intend to hook it up to a TV frequently, you'll want something else I think. Samsung Tab has what you mentioned, but not a HDMI port.

No official Android Market. I am suspecting that it might be a device that supports Amazon's competing Android app store instead.
But the most important bit (in this forum anyway) is that the company has said it will open source its UI software. That makes it most interesting.

Only time will tell for sure.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Easy with the sweeping generalizations, mate. I know many extremely smart, exceptionally talented Chinese individuals.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

All these terrible tablets with ARM11 processors, why do people keep posting them and expect to be taken seriously? I'm pretty sure most people on this forum were done with those back in 2008, after the N810 came out and would like to move on.

And as for people being "ambitious" and wanting to port Ubuntu and MeeGo to these things, you're going to run up into a hard, hard wall if these companies aren't competent in complying with the GPL or supplying any binary blobs they may have accumulated on the device. You'll also be extra stuck if they don't play along and keep them in sync with whatever MeeGo or Ubuntu are using (X11, Kernel.)

Just to sour things a bit ;)

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I'm more or less in the same position than you. I want to get a Tablet to see if it replaces my netbook. and I want all the goodies for less $$$ (Who doesn't?)

On the cheap side, I like SmartQ V7 (200$), Herotab G701 (180$) and Witstech A81E (200$). The three are 7" resistive and Android 2.x. I like the Android/ubuntu dual boot and HDMI on the first, the G-sensor, 800MHZ CPU and HDMI on the second and CPU and 2.2 (Flash 10.1!) on the third.
On the not-so-cheap side, I like Archos 70 IT (350$) and eLocity A7 (370$). Both are 7" capacitive with Android 2.2 and 3D graphics. I like the 250GB on the first and the Tegra CPU on the second.

Today, I'm inclined on the cheap side, but I don't know which one to choose (Maybe the Herotab...). But I wonder if it would be better to throw some more money and get a better one to last longer (I'm inclined on the Archos).

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Wow, I have NOT seen somebody can summarize any better than this. Thank you. One catch though, and a big one, most of these are not ready. If they are not ready, they should be looked at differently, very differently. For example, the eLocity A7 is to be delivery, and I think one of those you mentioned is only 2.1 and 2.2 is coming. 2.2 is NOT easy. Even a81e(wits) has 2.2 is only the recent batch and even last night, looking at the mp4nation forum, people still having 'mild' video problems. In a nutshell, 1.5, 1.6 are shipping, 2.2 is a totally different ball game. I am so pleased that our nitdroid is running........................................... ..........., you bet, 2.2, thank you nitdroid team!


bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Something tells me that those looking to fully replace their netbooks will be sorely disappointed. I think these devices are better positioned for casual use, and may replace 80% of the tasks you use your netbook for, but not the remaining crucial 20%.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Relook my own post, I think shopping for android 2.2 should better wait for a couple month, I think the current situations is still pretty murky/chaotic... yah, I know, I know, I placed an order... to looking for 2.2 run right out of the box may be over expectation. Not to mention android tablet, even on the smartphone side, 2.2 is NOT yet common, some of the smartphone, even today are waiting for the mercy of the carrier to dripple down the froyo.

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

You're very right my friend. And that is one of the big uncertainties for me. The first three are already proved and many forums around have the workarounds, patches and all that. While the last two are still to go out (it reminds me certain beta testing we were subject to recently...)

All the cheap tablets I'm looking are Android 2.1 (One offers 2.2, but it is true they have many bugs), which is not so bad, but we will end with the same no-flash-10.1 problem we have in our beloved N900's.

Finally, I also like the ZT180, except for the BIG size (10.1"). I don't think such big screen will be comfortable for travelling (Which is one of my big needs). It offers Android 2.1, Cortex A8 processor 1GHZ (Same than iPad) and can be found for 190$ (Including shipping) in Ebay, or 250$ (with case and 8gb SD) directly with Zenithink.us.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I agree with Capt'n Corrupt: people will be disappointed if they plan to get a tablet as a netbook replacement. My experience tells me that a tablet is best seen as a media device. I use my tablets (HP TC1100, Samsung Q1UP) everyday for media reading (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.) and media playing (video, Web TV, etc.). I am very happy with either device, but plan to buy an Android tablet that typically weights less than 1 lb (vs HP 3 lbs or Samsung 2 lbs) to give my arms a break. I use a 10" netbook when traveling (as a desktop on the go), or when I need to do extensive writing or number crunching. A tablet would be insufficient in those circumstances .

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I think a USB keyboard or BT keyboard should be able to handle intensive typing, or, voice dictation, It has been doing very well for me, albeit 5 to 10 min writing. BTW, I am used to do dictation as in my profession, so I may be biased

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Bun, if you can do that kind of things, more power to you. As I mentioned in another thread, I use regular Firefox with multiple plug-ins (esp. language support for Japanese, French and German) everyday for my reading. No other browser can accomplish that, desktop or palmtop. That's why I need to hang on to my Win 7 devices (netbook for travel, the 2 tablets for at home reading) at the moment.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

If you have not tried voice recognization for awhile, go and try it. 5 years ago, I gave up voice recognition because of the poor performance, I have to proof read it more wrong then rights. That was in my business, not a hobby. I am now using Google dictation as well voice search, I have only one word to say, OMG. Speedwise maybe subjective, but accuracy is %95 or higher. I am not sure that Google is doing a better job, or I get trained 5 more years since then :), more here, http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php...744#post839744 thread #55, a little more here, BT keyboard with pics, http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=57773

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Actually, the ZT180 runs on an ARM 11 1Ghz processor with 256MB RAM.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I do have two BT keyboards (sold one recently). Obviously at home there is no need for either of them. When travel, since I have to take my netbook with me (reason explained above), the seperate keyboard would simply add extra weight.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

This is quite a +ve review/preview of ZT180, http://gadgetmix.com/mids/zenithink-...nning-android/. I also made up my mind 7" or smaller.... and I am holding a 10.1" netbook now, there is no way I can put that in any of my pocket. Well, form factor is very personal, though.

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

In general, a BT keyboard or a hardware keyboard makes very little difference in functionality. However, a BT keyboard offers the flexibility of taking it out ONLY when needed. In light use, most vacation situations, palms graffiti and voice recognition filled my need more than adequate. Only if heavy duty use, I have to resort to my BT or USB keyboard

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

idk why people are hyped up about tablets all the sudden, back in 2003 windows xp tablets were thin and actually multitasked.I guess this is how apple manages to control peoples minds with advertesing fools lol

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I humbly disagree. The difference between windows xp tablet and this android tablet is the app store! the 100,000 apps is the KEY difference!

What do you think apple tablet comes from nowhere suddenly selling in the millions? The dumb apple app store!

What do you think Nokia has been doing business for years, suddenly 'cram' up the ovi store?

What do you think amazon, a successful online retailer out of the blue is thinking to set up his OWN android app store?

What propels Google's Android to boost his smartphone market from 1.7% to become 18% in 12 month?

What do you think why other than Apple and Nokia, everybody is making Android phones? (Well, HP is still on the fence because his palm stuff... I think HP is going to yield, sooner or later :) )

They all looking at the app store

You may disagree with everything apple has done, I personally think, apple's app store has changed the way how software gets its way into the gadget. And software makes hardware or hardware carries software has since become a chicken and egg situation. I gave the credit to, reluctantly, apple inc.

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

True. I love my two Win 7 tablets. BTW the hand writing recognition on the W7 is outstanding. That and the weird-looking build-in keyboard on my Samsung Q1UP are enough for my daily use. My only complaint is that earlier tablets tend to be heavy (>2 lbs). Athough I must say that each of my 2 tablets, though heavy by current standard, is a full fledged computer: core solo 1.2/1.33ghz, 2gb ram, W7, etc.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I have noticed Amazon dropped the ZT180 from $250 to $220 shipped, no need to monkey with ebay. My hesitation: 10 in form factor, I dont want, 2) people complaints about wifi unstable, keep dropping connections. But the bright side is, it is shipping and it is shipping now. Not like my a81e, got to wait till 1st week of November :(

If you are open minded about the form factor, that looked like a very good buy, with 1024 X 600, 10.2", even better than then N900! It is towards the heavy side though. And it is from amazon, a much more reputatble vendor.


bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

you people make me laugh "apps apps" just shows how much more you typical yanks are brainwashed to consumption. Please tell me fool,actually let me rephrase do you seriously think that windows xp has less "apps" then android? lol very funny

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

also what type of talking is "they all" are you like some yankee doodle that cannot speak english loollolooololol

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

If a fool does not know how to read between the difference of app vs app store, then dont bother.

May I ask Why dont bother?

Because a fool will bring you down to his level and beat you with experience.

BTW, this is kind of new to me too, where is win XP app store? Oh sure, the microsoft home page. You can dl 3rd party software from that and pay $.99 to $4.99 an app and have close to 250,000 3rd party apps?

No, we are talking about app apps app apps, I dont know what do you mean by app store, there is no such vocabulory in my non yanki doodli....whatever

When people cannot carry on with a decent conversation, they resort to personal attack. Thank god, this is the internet....

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Hey Bun, you probably have better eyes, but from my experience, 10" is much more comfortable to read than 7". Also, some video can take up more than the whole 7" screen. If the weight does not differ much, don't automatically rule out the big brother.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I totally agree with you, 10" is much more comfortable then 7" almost in all aspects, reading, movie etc. However, this is just my personal opinion, 7' is more portable than 10" (How much more portable, dont know). I think i would sacrify on view-ability for portability. Really, I think form factor is very personal. I may change after I try to carry the 7" for a couple of month and see how it goes. I am fully trained by the Nokia tablet form factor, i.e., something like 4 - 7" is my favorite.

In fact, my expectation of getting the android tablet is streaming video. That is my 99.99% reason to get one. The rest I have my N900. I just want a bigger screen to watch internetTV, nitdroid/android has quite a collection of internetTV and the nitdroid plays ok with low resolution, unwatchable with decent resolution, crashed with good resolution (just a guess)... out of desperate, I went to get the a81e. My main purpose, I have to confess :), not for work, not for business, not for travelling, I hope it will become my main TV, I watch some middle east, some asia, some europe and quite alot US.

Ebook reading, rare.

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

What about the Folio 100

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

r u guys for real lol its called a real store you go to the rreal world enter a real market go to non virtual electronics store and buy software or games from a video game store lol..no no actually you are right i am not even going to go down to your level bye bye

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Thanks for posting the spec for the toshiba folio 100. It is very tempting and is certainly a hi end android tab and a serios contender ... it is something I would keep following, as it is NOT yet released. As I posted earlier, there is a competition between shipping now vs coming. Only a spoiled brat like me order a droid tab today, I do think it is going to be easier to pick after 'a major android tab shake out" or a more mature 2.2 a few month later. What I think is mature..... what I did is impulse :)

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

copy from here, http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/...ts-a81e-2.html, just a rumorland post, take it with a grain of salt,
==============================
Neither. I hear that jim at the BuyADroid store is going to be selling an unnamed android 2.2 tablet with freescale a9 cpu or something, and 512mb ram, etc etc. Next gen. Also supposedly a UK retailer is going to be selling same spec next gen tablet called the advent vega by october 18th (unconfirmed) for under $400 usd. More news over at slatedroid. google buyadroid store if unfamiliar. Try your best to have just a bit more patience until archos or other tablets come along, you waited this long yah?
==============================
Confirmed my feeling that it is better to hold off any purchase for a month or two on android 2.2..

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Just came across this thread, lots info about looking for android tablet vendor, http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/...y-tablets.html

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Bun, if you are thinking of carrying your tablet with you, then 7" is certainly more portable. I use my tablets at home for reading (not e-books, but newspapers, magazines and blogs on the Web) as well as streaming live TV, either on the couch or in bed. So portability is not as important to me.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Yes, the job I am doing sometimes has to wait 15 - 30 min in one spot and cannot go anywhere, I would stick out my N900, or my android tab later, to watch internetTV. Everybody around me are totally amused that 1) that strange looking N900 can play so many different TV (WorldTV99) 2) I can enjoy with such small screen (well, after 9 month of training :) ). So, yes, I plan to carry my a81e all the time, I am looking for some shirt or jacket that will allow a 7+ inches gadget, in anticipation of my new toy arrival.

bun

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Sounds good. Do post review later about your new toy. Before I go to bed: are you still working on TV99? I just found out that my Archos 5 actually uses the following for its TV programming. You can find many channels there to add to the TV99.
http://vtuner.com/setupapp/guide/asp.../startpage.asp

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Bun, I think your stating it kinda weird. Portability on tablets depends:
A) firstly on the thickness (something medium will require you to carry in a bag/wrapped around your arm vs something small and light that can be comfortable in a purse/jacket's pocket)
B) the weight... obviously anything over 550grams will not be comfortable in your handbag/jacket's pocket.
C) BEZEL!! (if a manufacturer makes it with the minimum amount of bezel vs the usual millions of chinese tablets with supersized tablets.... your going to notice a huge difference when you try to store it in your handbag/jacket pocket and would downgrade portability back into a bag)
D) Screen size. The difference of adding from a 7" to a 10" is little but its still existent. I think one of those 7" with a lot of bezel is only slightly smaller than a 10" with very little bezel.

What I think;
1) have a smartphone with killer features (eg EPIC 4G) only that it has a replaceable battery, very very small amount of bezel and a screen size of 5.5". What do we have? A huge phone that feels awkward in your pocket but also a small tablet that just manages to fit into your jeans!
2) if a tablet is a must and portability is more important than more features, an Android tablet go with a puny 7" design like the Galaxy Tab and keep it super-lightweight so that lugging it around will be a breeze.
3) Or sacrifice a little bit to have a lotf more= have a beast of a tablet (features wise) with again very very little amount of bezel in 10" size that has a detachable keyboard accessory (netbook killer)

For an example of the last one, SEE THIS, as an example of what I would dream to own (obviously the Tablet Extreme model).

For an example of the first one, SEE THIS, as an example of what I would dream to own.

^If I had those two devices with all the accessories (attachable keyboard, memory cards, portable BD drive, portable 1TB hard drive) plus a PS3/HDTV, I wouldn't need any other personal electronics equipment ... would you?

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Who is kidding who here? Nothing touches the new Gen 8s in regards to features and price point. Catch is their Achilles heal is the bizarre way Archos has mapped app space. They stuffed the OS, stock apps, codecs, Archos UI and the user app storage all on the 512mb rom. The current Gen 8 products that released with 2.1 only have 220mb free space and when the 70 & 101 release with 2.2, they will have less than that, since 2.2 is about 25mb bigger and Flash 10.1 takes up 12mb of space.

Apps2sd will only help briefly, since part of apps still get installed to the device memory. As stands now, the Gen 8s will have the lowest app space of any official 2.2 device. In fact, the two year old G1 is the only device with less.

Leave it to Archos to screw up an otherwise great product. All they had to do was map the OS, codecs and UI to the rom and allocate some of the internal flash space for apps. Just like the Galaxy S phones, Tab, Incredible, Droid 2 and Droid X. The French can sure cook, but DANG they can screw consumer electronics up ;)

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

Hey guys Check This Out. Now that is a tablet worthy of buying, and its actually the same one as the eLocity without its obvious (what were they thinking?) flaws. The only things regrettable about this device is the:
1)glossy screen - comon, if its meant to be portable its meant to see sunlight
2)Space - they should've opted to a 8Gb/16Gb solution like the Galaxy S, otherwise users will be very restricted with space available for apps
3)Bezel!!! why didn't they shift the webcam to the corner and eliminate the landscape bezels and also decrease the portrait bezels. Why!!!!
4)RAM - adequate, but it really could've been better going with 1Gb LDDR2 instead of 512Mb to use the processor/GPU at its limits.
5)SD card slot instead of a microSD slot

If they had fixed those issues, all that is needed is a dedicated developer's board to emerge (eg CM/phandroid) and get Froyo + MIUI ROM + Google Apps (Market, Gmail etc) hack + overclocking to 1.5GHz.

And what you get is a tablet worthy of the title "iPad killer" and one that is certainly better than a "Playbook" (by RIM).

Also guys check this out. It one of the better Windows 7 tablets. There is a video please watch it, a full review from engadget will be up later. If you dont like such tablets, I STILL encourage you to visit and watch the video. This is just to show you how a 10" screen can fit every content in a webpage. You cannot do this with a 7" screen, and if you did by zooming out, it would be quite small and difficult to read.

SO I will summarize: 10" + very little bezel = sweet spot = feature-full and very portable.
Do you concur?

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

You forgot one important factor: weight. To be suitable for sustained Web surfing, a tablet can't weight (slightly) more than one pound.

Re: 7" tablet android.$350. comment?
 

I have NOT done my homework on 10" android tab. I noticed that some people are calling those 10" tab as the "infamous" 10" android tab. Why the term "infamous"? because it is rare, not common or known to have some problems? Just wondering.

bun