So, I bought an android tablet for wife - she's not a computer geek, plus I wanted to spend some time, hands on, with an android device to see how it stands in comparison to maemo. I had no previous experience with android, you see.

Seems I was unlucky.

I bought her this device, Joyplus M701, which from specs and videos seemed nice; it has Android 1.5.something, 7" screen, and promises 3g connectivity.



I have been disappointed, though, when it arrived, because it doesn't connect to the internet through the 2g/3g network (wifi is ok).
I have tried several sim cards, which all work on my n900, but no 3g icon is displayed on the status bar.
Also, I can't understand the damn' android market: I select an app, and it says that it's starting downloading, but 9 times on 10 it stalls at 0% and never downloads and never installs anything. Also, some apps it says they're installed, but I can't find them in the menu list.

However the lack of 3g working is the main trouble.
I've searched on android forums but the device is not known enough, like other Chinese products.

Here, I'm hoping that one of the fellow forum dwellers has enough android experience to help me troubleshoot the thing... I've no previous experience with this os as I said.

The alternative is send back to the importer and ask for my money back and I'll do that in some days, I guess.

The specs sheet from the link you provided does not mention 3G connectivity. And a quick Google search only pulls in 3G from mentions on other devices. However, this might just be a lack of mentioning on the part of these sites.

More importantly the 3G will not work in the US (which is what I am assuming, if this is not the case, then please disregard this post). Most of these type of Chinese devices are going to be designed for the general China-region area. They use different (or rather the US uses different) frequencies for their 3G cellular towers and thus devices. Blame the cellular networks, the FCC and the phone manufactures for this one.

In fact AT&T and T-Mobile use different 3G bands - which are again different from the rest of the world (though again there is a divide in bands with Europe versus Asia). No one seems to be able to make up their minds. At least you aren't trying to use this device on a CDMA network, you'd really be SOL.

Of course you should still be able to pick up 2G "EDGE".

Additionally your unit might have a defective cellular radio.

From what I've read you must have an Android phone (preferably a "with Google"-branded one) in order to access the official Android Market. Or at least in the past, but I imagine there are workarounds. However there are alternative "underground" markets and whether your tablet is using the official or an unofficial one is something you should check on first.

Are you able to download and install .apk packages directly?

Sorry I don't know more. It sounds like you got stuck with a "disposable gadget" =\

How much did you pay for it?

I'm in Italy, and the device has a sim card slot. It does show the field bars, and pops up a message when I phone to the sim card number, but there's no way to answer the call, and no way to make a call, I mean no keypad and no phone menu.

It connects to the android market, and I could download and install Dataviz Docs to Go, but other apps repeatably stall at 0% and are never downloaded.
I didn't try to install directly apk files. Could you please point me to a resource?

And, I paid it a lot of money, the equivalent of 391 usd, including 2g/3g module, bluetooth module, and gps receiver module. It was the only android table sporting a sim slot at the time I searched on ebay.

Here's the site of the importer (in Italian): http://www.extremehitech.it/tablet_m5000.html

He advertises it as M5000 but I received a Joyplus M701, which seems to have the same specs.

The good thing is that I paid through Paypal, so I don't think it will be difficult to get a refund, given that the device doesn't work as advertised, and additionally has a different model number.

Seems you may need to buy the module for 2g/3g. Then again, I can't read Italian and google didn't do a very good job translating :P

If what you received is not what you ordered, you shouldn't be surprised that it doesn't work as advertised.

The whole US part of my post is completely null since you are in Italy. I hadn't noticed the Sicily part of your post, my bad.

Model number re-branding is a common practice from OEM to Distributor (however, they always actually change the model number to what they are distributing it as, strange).

Their site lists the 3G radio as a module, therefore yes they should be equipping you with a radio compatible with GSM in Italy. If this is not the case, you should definitely send it back.

Based on this link: http://www.gsmworld.com/Roaming/Gsminfo/cou_it.shtml it appears you will need a 3G radio that supports the 2100 MHz band

That is a lot of money to spend on that. There should be a lot more Android tablets released soon and thus a better selection for you.

If you are unsure about whether the problem is with the SIM card or the tablet you should bring it into your friendly neighborhood (not a major carrier but rather a 3rd party cell shop) cell shop and very nicely ask if they will test a SIM card in the device.

I'll give Google a go for an Android tablet that supports 3G @ 2100...

So based on some reports the
Huawei SmaKit S7: http://www.pocketables.net/2010/05/h...ndroid-21.html
supports UMTS 2100 (3G), as well as 900/1800 (2G). Still trying to get some confirmation on that. http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=199911
http://www.expansys.com/ft.aspx?k=123978
This is more expensive then your current tablet though.

Also the Dell Streak on O2 supports those bands but as of now it's locked to them.
http://www.wirefresh.com/dell-streak...ontract-in-uk/
Plus it's only 5" (though there are rumours of a 7" and 10" version)

Watch out for devices like the SmartQ-V7 http://en.smartdevices.com.cn/Produc...912/04-40.html because they don't actually have on-board 3G (instead it's Bring-Your-Own-USB-3G-Modem).

This is weird, direct from the manufacturer:
Joyplus M701
http://www.joyplusgroup.com/products...782550442.html no mention of 3G

And
Joyplus M703
http://www.joyplusgroup.com/products...782550442.html
"3G: USB dongle"

That's can't be right...

http://www.freewarelovers.com/androi...-MAN_1.0.3.apk

via

http://www.freewarelovers.com/android

You're running a very old version of Android (there have been three major OS releases since 1.5) so even if you do get the market working properly you will find most of the good apps won't be available.

The problem with 3G is probably just that the device doesn't have the correct settings for your network. Go into settings, wireless controls, mobile networks, access point names then press the menu button and select 'new apn'. You will need to get the APN settings from the phone company: they probably have them somewhere on their website, or copy from a working phone (but be aware that the names of the parameters vary across different phones). (I hope that's the right set of commands to follow to get to the APN settings, but it might be different on such an old version of Android.)