Related
Has anybody seen this
Ipad Looking Andropad
The price is pretty cheap and has HDMi output. The seller seems to have good reviews too. Unfortunately I don't have enough spare money to try this out. But if anybody here is interested
Lot of chinese companies have shown interest in ANDROID devices, so I guess this was coming.
If its running 1.6 how does it have, "Browser comes with Flash Lite version 3.1 and supports playback of SWF contents up to Flash 9 and ActionScript 2.0"
Isn't that what the Hero's browser has?
It does look like a good device though
OWIE
mommy i know whaT i want for my birthday
Nice, though it's a rip-off and I would prefer a more expensive one that really has competitive hardware to the iPad.
Not sure I want Android on a Slate, though. I think I'll wait for the HP Slate, since I want to be productive on the thing.
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.
EnTourage Edge
You ought to go over to the Entourage site to see my new enTourage eDGe! Look it up!
Sethos II said:
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that what the Nook is for?
I recently asked a similar question!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=660767
guyjack said:
You ought to go over to the Entourage site to see my new enTourage eDGe! Look it up!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im looking for more of a tablet,not ebook reader..i'm not a fan of the clamshell-touchscreen shape..very odd device imo..
Also you guys should check out enso-now.com they sell the 'zenPad'..its a pretty cool 5'' android tablet starting at $155, you can add gps for $25 and it has decent hardware specs..
Does anybody know anything about the Rockchip processor in it? I read somewhere that it was an ARM9 processor. That would be pretty old and slow. Wikipedia says it's based on Cortex-A8.
I am placing an order for one of these this next week. I contacted a different seller and they said that there are a few different versions. I am getting one with all the specs on that page except 4 gig nand and 512 ram. Now hopefully someone that knows alot more than I do will start releasing roms for it so I can get it running the way my G1 is.
can you please post a link/price to the one you bought? I'd love to see custom roms for these...
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
i would much rather support Google than apple i hate apple
Sethos II said:
Nice, though it's a rip-off and I would prefer a more expensive one that really has competitive hardware to the iPad.
Not sure I want Android on a Slate, though. I think I'll wait for the HP Slate, since I want to be productive on the thing.
But I would prefer this over an ebook reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the hard ware on the one i saw ( and want) it a 1.2ghz, sorry to bring up an old thread but has anyone got one of these thinking of getting either this the ipad rip off or the other fully white one
cool
Hi
I receive this tablet, that cool, but just under android 1.5. 2gb flash memory. Autonomy not very large with wifi, but with no wifi that cool. With mp3 active I listen music about 3 hours and I past 100 % to 70 %, that cool.
Now I would like to past to 1.6 or 2.1, seller says me that will arrive but when I do not know (like him...).
So if dev can give support, I take it.
yoman74 said:
Hi
I receive this tablet, that cool, but just under android 1.5. 2gb flash memory. Autonomy not very large with wifi, but with no wifi that cool. With mp3 active I listen music about 3 hours and I past 100 % to 70 %, that cool.
Now I would like to past to 1.6 or 2.1, seller says me that will arrive but when I do not know (like him...).
So if dev can give support, I take it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sound foreign. As if you are the seller of this crappy 7 inch tablet (from HK).
Are you trying to save face after another poster said that the processor was ancient?
Your also trying to see if someone will hack away and make this tablet Android 2.1.
Fat Chance.
This processor would choke on Droid 2.1.
Spammer
I put in an order for one of these yesterday, I'm definitely interested to see how well it preforms. If it is a fairly obvious process I'll crack mine open and take some shots of the internals for you guys. I'm guessing it will take about 2 weeks shipping though so don't expect anything soon.
As for getting a newer kernel onto these I would happily offer any assistance I can.
I think the biggest issues for me are
Marketplace access
Video benchmarking (bitrates and container formats)
Uniformity of these devices. These are offered by a few hundred sellers under at least 4 names hopefully they all are identical hardware wise as it will make drivers easier to write.
slaming These have a 600MHz ARM core and a 550MHz DSP for video decoding. Some sellers are adding these together and rounding up to claim a 1.2GHz clock speed. Its an old and regrettable tactic.
arashed31 This is the product page for the Rockchip 2808 en.rock-chips.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/ProductInfoExhibit.html?ProductInfoExhibit_ProductID=c373e9216b8b10d58f7e977394a65d1d&ProductInfoExhibit_isRefreshParent=false
Sorry can't post links my account isn't verified
Also mattrb you really need to take a chill pill "You sound foreign. As if you are the seller of this crappy 7 inch tablet (from HK)." is just about the most bigoted thing I've heard this week. The guy was being helpful telling you his experiences with battery endurance and you insult him, don't be childish.
BTW a little more info about the Rockchip 2808. From the research I have done it looks like this chip is based around the arm926 core. It isn't the fastest thing out there but it gets the job done. If the Rockchip version has onchip cache it should be quite decent indeed. Supposedly this core produces 220MIPs at 200MHz in the stock configuration so we should expect roughly 660MIPs at 600MHz. For comparison a Motorola Droid is based on the Cortex A8 at 600MHz which makes about 1200MIPs. The actual iPad uses the Cortex A9 core clocked at 1Ghz and produces about 2500MIPs (surely as we are without all of apple's crappy code we will have a serious advantage ). Also I have seen a few notes about a this chip being used in some devices at 886Mhz (google the Tongfang-q5). I doubt that there are different versions of the chip produced and I doubt even more the manufacturer would be overclocking the chip without some testing that it remained reliable. Hopefully this means we can squeeze some more cycles out of these tablets. This will obviously be at the expense of battery life and to some degree longevity. But at this price who cares *lmao*.
A little update: I confirmed that the Rockchip 2808 is a licensed ARM926EJ-S derivative wwwdotarm.com/community/partners/display_product/rw/ProductId/4010/ stupid link blocking
Second update: I just started a wikipedia page for the rockchip family. Any info you can provide would be most helpful. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockchip
Let us know how well it works. I might get one just to show off ppls with ipad.
White slate
I bought the white slaie (M001) yesterday. Spent around 60 minutes on it so far. I have a few isues, but hopefully tonight I will download and insdtall updated software. For 150.00, can't complain. That is what my ereader cost me in Dec, which I will probably now sell.
is this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Slim-Tabl...t=UK_Computing_Laptops_EH&hash=item3a5a793c51
the same thing you guys are talking about?
If so £70 (price & delivery) seems ludicrously cheap. At that price even if it's not brilliant it's got to be worth it right?
So, I've been doing my due diligence before deciding...and have spent a good many hours reading up here in the GTab XDA forums. So, now I'm asking for some earnest / honest advice from the community here...
I own an Archos 70 IT currently, and it's a blast. Gonna hand it off to the wife, and want a 10 inch Tablet for myself. Do I take the chance now with the GTab...or wait a few months for the new onslaught of Tablets with Honeycomb pre-installed?
I'm wanting the Tegra2 base...and am hearing that while the GTab is dismal out-of-the-box, Devs are cranking out ROM goodness to improve on the shoddy UI, etc.
I'm pretty Flash savvy, as I also own a Galaxy S Vibrant. So no concerns there. However, having said that...I worry about the manufacturers ability to deliver once Honeycomb is released. Samsung STILL hasn't released Android 2.2 Froyo for my device!!
Whatcha think? Should I take the plunge? Thanks in advance for you suggestions!
**EDIT - Just found another similar post....so feel free not to comment - oopsy?**
I recently sold my gtablet and purchased the flat computing a10w. Its essentially a rebrand with a 1366x768 screen, hdmi, better rom. Etc. Same price too.
I couldnt reccomend the gtablet... the a10w im more than happy to.
Sent from my V9 using XDA App
I've had my G Tablet for 3 days now and really like it. I did use it before the firmware update and see a big difference in performance with the new firmware. I loaded a bunch of pictures and a movie tonight on its internal memory and all plays well. I would recommend the G Tablet, I think this is turning out to be a nice tablet.
Regards!
Ed
daml said:
I recently sold my gtablet and purchased the flat computing a10w. Its essentially a rebrand with a 1366x768 screen, hdmi, better rom. Etc. Same price too.
I couldnt reccomend the gtablet... the a10w im more than happy to.
Sent from my V9 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried to find info on this.
If it does in deed have the 1366/769 screen and an hdmi out for the same price, it might be worth a look. The rest of the specs are identical.
However, i found confilicting info. One article on it said it had the same 1024x600 and appeared to me just to be a rebranded gtab basically.
Also THIS post on xda says it just 1024x600
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816719
Does it really come with 1G of ram? If so, thats a nice feature (along with the higer res screen).
Edit: That is the A10T so maybe the A10W does have 1366/768, not bad for the money.
Does it have dev support like the Gtab?
Not worth it if you cant root it to honeycomb this spring (like is suspect you will be able to with the gtab).
At this point i see no subforum for the flatpad so suppor alone would be an issue to make me hesitant to buy it.....
G-tablet + custom rom = awesome!
The stock firmware is horrible. I had it out of the box for 5 minutes before I loaded vegan onto it.
There are 2 models. A10t with 1024, gb ram, 8 gb internal and A10w with 1366, 512 ram and 512 internal. Roms, hacks etc from the gtablet should be 99% comatible. All that will be needed is to change the screen resolution, and to setup hdmi.u
Sent from my v9 using XDA App
If a Honeycomb tablet is your goal, then it seems that you either wait until machines that REALLY have Honeycomb on them are available, or you get one that you think should be able to run it AND has great community support AND is hackable, including infrastructure things like tools, etc.
I think that the Gtab is one of the few that makes the latter...
If you go the former way, even then, you're going to have to watch out for tabs that are so locked down (saw an article that Samsung was thinking of making their devices unrootable) that you're stuck w the manufacturer's upgrade schedule.
Jim
jimcpl said:
If a Honeycomb tablet is your goal, then it seems that you either wait until machines that REALLY have Honeycomb on them are available, or you get one that you think should be able to run it AND has great community support AND is hackable, including infrastructure things like tools, etc.
I think that the Gtab is one of the few that makes the latter...
If you go the former way, even then, you're going to have to watch out for tabs that are so locked down (saw an article that Samsung was thinking of making their devices unrootable) that you're stuck w the manufacturer's upgrade schedule.
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said...and you nailed it on the head. After my experiences with Samsung, and the constant delays I was kind of looking forward to a product that worked as intended out-of-the-box. However, knowing the industry these days...any immediate release with 3.0 is gonna be anti-user friendly for the most part. Especially considering the big names releasing them. Seems like the good ones are gonna be tied into carriers anyways...lame-sauce.
All I've seen here has really helped me make up my mind for the GTab. Plus, I do thoroughly enjoy flashing some ROM goodness! Thanks for the info all!
Its like getting a new tablet going from vegan to tntlite and back and forth. I'm glad I have one to mess around with.
I can't even begin to think of the ways the various companies are going to screw with the newer honeycomb models. It seems like to them the dual cores are just an excuse to have 100s of things running at once and the end result is its just as slow as before.
I'm interested in flat computing. Sent them an email to ask about their lcd panel they use in the 1366x768.
daml said:
There are 2 models. A10t with 1024, gb ram, 8 gb internal and A10w with 1366, 512 ram and 512 internal. Roms, hacks etc from the gtablet should be 99% comatible. All that will be needed is to change the screen resolution, and to setup hdmi.u
Sent from my v9 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just ordered an LG screen per your recommendation in another thread and now I have to know,
Does the a10w have SIGNIFICANTLY better viewing angles than the gtab in stock form ?
daml said:
I recently sold my gtablet and purchased the flat computing a10w. Its essentially a rebrand with a 1366x768 screen, hdmi, better rom. Etc. Same price too.
I couldnt reccomend the gtablet... the a10w im more than happy to.
Sent from my V9 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you receive your FlatPad yet? I am very interested to hear your comment on the quality of the sceen.
Thanks.
the gtab has not the best screen but otherwise is a pretty good piece of hardware that should get honeycomb one way or another once it gets released. i wish it had gps, a viewsonic dock, and a viewsonic case.
It's completely possible to be happy with the Gtab but it depends on what your looking for.
I personally find it a great peice of hardware, and it along with my G2 work together very well. I find I don't need to be attatched to my PC near as much were I would look something up on my desktop because the G2 screen was just to small. The Gtab screen is fine, I showed it to my friend and he said "I don't know what the people on the forums are complaining about".
Now if your wanting a tablet that is going to be top of the line for more than a year you are going to be waiting awhile, the tablet race is going to move very fast for a year or 2 until we get to a stable level with 2-3 major competing brands.
To me the Gtab is a great tablet with plenty of hardware to hold me over for that year or 2 until I find that stable platform that will be good for 2-3 years or more.
Of course I go from buying new products (went through 3 android phones in 6 months) to using a product for 3-5 years because it works well enough for what I need.
Agreed -- paired with an Android phone, this tablet is great value for dollars...
For me, the screen is the biggest shortcoming -- but as someone else pointed out, in some ways, the reduced viewing angle could be considered a "feature" if you are worried about security (i.e. someone looking over your shoulder)
At home, that isn't a concern for me so I would prefer an IPS screen or AMOLED (as in my phone) to be able to share the tablet for video playing...but the current screen isn't unusable so I'll live with it...
GPS would have been nice -- but I can pair with my Android phone and it works fine
I doubt I would ever use the tablet as a camera (especially when I have a 5MP camera in my phone and a 10+ MP "real camera") -- so again, the weak FF camera is fine if we ever get VideoCalls working properly...
I would have preferred a full size SDCard slot to the microSDCard...or even support for SDXC (new standard)...but small gripes...
Overall, there is nothing wrong with the hardware -- and the Devs here have made the software competitive with anything out there...Honeycomb will only make it better!
As an aside, I would like to see the soft buttons on the left hand side from TNT (and TNTLite) brought over to Vegan (which mas the soft buttons on the right top of the notification bar)...The TNT soft buttons are very similar to what has been shown in Honeycomb (which had theirs in the bottom left)
I am one of the donkey in a small company working to develop our first android tablet with dual screen.
S\dince this will be our first flagship android device, we would like to make sure our device match the needs of our future customer.
It will be a 7" dual screen device as title stated.
The machine is planned to be
- Dual core CPU, for instance by Samsung
- 512MB DDR3 and 1GB SLC
- dual touch on both screen
- swappable battery
- back-flipping screen
- 5/8Mpixel camera and 720p camcoder
- target to sell around 450usd
- target to weight 700g less
We love to hear from our customer, as we did for all our other products. Please feel free to comment, or simply kick my ass if you totally disagree with the concept, we are more than happy to have our ass kicked in order to prevent making a device no one will buy.
Is it two 7 inch screens? Or two 3.5 inch screens?
Does it close in the same way as the DS, so both screens are facing each other?
Could be a great concept. A tablet that fits in your pocket.
it should be 2 7" screen, we take consideration of cost, weight, and usability, since it is a 360 back-flipping machine, there is no concept of "closing" it, it can be both facing in, or both facing out.
Sorry folks if it's just me being particularly dumb. But I'm not getting it.
It it like the screen on the Dell Inspiron Duo? Are the screens on a swivel so one can face the back?
Have you got a link to something similar?
love the idea. That price range would be perfect too. I would be looking for one that can make phone calls too.
Being able to make phone calls is the deal breaker for me. Don't know why more tablets can do this.
And your device should be 8mp at least. 5 is too little for a high end device now a days.
Personally I love this idea!
If you have to cut corners, cut on the camera. 5/8 mp on a dualscreen tablet is not necessary at all. Take the iPad route to save money, go with a cheaper camera.
Some phones have more RAM than 512MB, so if this is a tablet ideally youd want more than that
Thanks a lot for the reply.
Seems there is no similar one in the market. Think of a door that can be push or pull 360 degree.
A 5MP is costing less then the dual core, but 8MP seems out of budget, we can even support up to 12MP, but the point is the image quality.
Yes it has 3G, HSPA+, can dial, as a speaker phone, and connects to headset. We are trying to make a all in one tablet for sure.
We think 512MB suits the current needs, considering my X10i has never less than 80MB free. More ram means more current draw.
Not knocking the idea, I'm just interested if anyone has any ideas on what uses a dual screen device like this would have? Smaller size for mobility is one, but I'm looking for usage ideas. How would you use the two screens effectively/differently than a single screen?
Watching a video on one screen, while doing something productive on the other, would that be possible?
Keep in mind that your device should be competitively priced to sell well. Look at the asus transformer. Selling like hot cakes.
Personally, the idea of it isn't terrible but I don't think I would use it. It's not something I want in a phone.
I think I owe everyone a thanks. So here it is
@dquille there are many usage in a dual screen device, social sharing is one, multi-tasking is two, some little more piracy maybe, all depends on how you use it, just like single vs dual core CPU.
@Zaigham it can be done, but personally I dont think anyone can work like this, my example will be, say, reading a excel file while typing message? But we look on social sharing more, you will see what we are talking when more information can be given.
@DPMAce yes we totally understand this point, but thats too early for us
@vbetts thanks for the info, in my opinion phone is secondary nowadays
Hello there,
in september 2012 I bought my first tablet, a LC-Power MIRA-1. Shortly after, on the 19th I posted a [Q] post here because I had a few questions. In the following weeks, some replies back and forth, more quirks came to light.
In short, I was semi-happy with the MIRA-1 (everything was fine save a few situations where the single-core tablet speed could not really keep up, for example, starting firefox and the keyboard, it always froze 2-3 secs "firefox is not responding. close/wait?")
Still, I do believe, I learned some valuable lessons about android and others with the MIRA-1 or thinking about getting one were helped too.
Fade in today.
I recently bought the new LC-Power SINA-1. It cost me 200EUR (Germany). In comparison, the MIRA-2 (which is like the MIRA-1 with an extra camera and a smaller rechargeable battery) still costs 160 EUR
I found the new SINA-1 to be a very interesting product, especially considering the price.
I came here to write my own review. I am in no way affiliated with LC-Power and I do not get a dime for writing this.
My motive for writing this and yes, maybe even advertise, is very simple. First of all, xda-developer has helped me before and I'd like to give back. More importantly however, I believe in tablets that do not cost an arm and an leg as well as the android (modding) community. I would very much love to see the LC-Power tablets get the attention they deserve...
Thank you for keeping with me so far. Let us begin!
Technical specs for the new SINA-1 tablet:
CPU: ARM Cortex A9 Dual Core 1,5GHz
GPU: Mali 400 QuadCore 250MHz
RAM: 1GB DDR3
Memory: System 1GB + 16GB NAND Flash (+ MicroSD up to 32GB)
Display: 10.1" IPS 5 Point Touchscreen, 1280x800
Networking: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Cameras: 0.3MP front, 2MP back
Connectors: micro-HDMI out, micro-USB host, micro-USB connector, 3.5mm headphones jack
OS: Android 4.1
Want to know more? google it
As I mentioned before, the tablet costs 200 EUR (Onlineshop, Germany, Dec, 15th 2012)
Material and built quality:
The first impression is very good. The tablet feels solid, has a certain weight to it, but is not too heavy.
The front appears to be glas and if it is not, it must be a very hard plastic. The back is made out of aluminium. I have no doubt that both can be scratched, please forgive me for not doing the experimentation on that. However, in a few days of extensive (time) yet normal (application) use, I have yet to see any marks besides fingerprints.
Where the front and back meet I can not feel any sharp edge (MIRA-1 I could).
It is very thin (quite a bit thinner than the MIRA tablet and a bit higher as well)
Overall, I would give the material and quality very good marks. I dont doubt that it could be better in some regard, even if I can't name one right now.
Display (visual):
The 1280x800 resolution suits the tablet well. It is definately a neccesary step up from 1024x768 (MIRA). Even if I did not exactly see pixalation with the old ones, the picture is indeed better with the higher resolution. Webpages like reddit look sharp, the text in 100% zoom is not too small. Pictures look vivid and good. Videos are even better (given the source material is of sufficient resolution itself).
The viewing angles are what you would expect from an IPS panel. Frontal (no angle) is best, the more you move to the side and increase the angle, the more you lose contrast and brightness. I have seen worse and have yet to observe the "picture went negative", but viewing some content with 2-3 people should not be a problem when you dont mind sticking your heads together
The brightness (350cd/m²) is good, in fact, in a dark room you may want to lower it a bit. Even on the lowest setting it is not too dark.
The contrast is equally good, or should I say "normal". It did not attract attention, neither positive nor negative...
First tests with a bright (300W) lightsource led me to believe that the glossy display does not become a shaving mirror when you have a bright light behind you, but it is definately harder to see the picture. Especially noticeable with movies.
Due to it being winter without sun, I can not test the tablet with summer-sun-brightness outside. I fear the results will not be too good. You may want to keep that in mind if you live in africa and will be using the tablet in the sun - might be trouble. (Then again, I don't know any tablet that has a matte display)
The illumination (is that the right word?) - the background light source illuminating the display with the same brightness consistenly - is adequate. There are a few bright spots (tested with a black fullscreen per 1.0 eyeball), especially on the lower left corner/border).
It is not noticeable when looking at brightly coloured images, but it will be a nuisance when watching a movie which is very dark.
I felt that here, my old MIRA-1 did do better. There, I never noticed bright spots like this before.
Display (touch):
The 5-point-capacitive display does very well in accepting touches, even light ones. 2-point touch (zoom) works equally great and the short test with fruit ninja confirmes that 5 points can be tracked. I did not experience any noticeable lag with 1,2 or 5 points in normal operation.
If you take a paint app and draw with your finger, a slight lag can be observed, however, as I understand current technology, this is common and just the way it is.
In conclusion, the display visually is adequate. Are there better displays out there? Yes, definately. Do you get them for 200 EUR? Definately not! Do you need a better display? Well, I can not answer that for you. In my opinion, the illumination is the only real and still overlookable drawback, everything else is fine. 8/10
The touchscreen part of the display is as it should be. I can not really imagine some way to improve it. 10/10
Together 9/10
Actual Performance:
The performance is quite good and right were it should be. There are faster tablets and phones out there and if we were talking about speed in my workstation or gaming rig, I would be right there with the "FASTER!!!!"-crowd. But since I don't plan on playing skyrim or bf3, rendering 3d images or encoding hd-videos on the tablet, I dont need huge speed reserves, I want a tablet that performs well with the usual tasks like webpage browsing, playing media files and so on.
As mentioned before, this is one of the main problems I had with the old MIRA tablet. 2-3sec freezes, applications (mainly the browser) that did not react and had to be waited for. With the SINA-1 they are gone. The OS works like a charm, switching applications goes instantly, browsing webpages is fun and the waiting in the browser now is for the reason it should be - networking speed! (browsing with firefox+adblock+hackers keyboard)
Since the old MIRA did perform well with movies and the games that I tested, it is no wonder that the SINA-1 does perform equally good. HD videos work well, jumping around in them works fast, even over HDMI with 1920x1080.
And I have yet to find a game that does not run perfectly on the SINA-1. I have tested the occasional gamer games like Angry Birds, some RPGs and even some 3D shooters.
It is hard to give points for the performance. On the one hand, I am fully satisfied (10/10), on the other hand are tablets and phones being sold with much much more power, at least on paper.
Button/Connector placement:
There are only two buttons, power and volume up/down. Both are placed on the right higher side, where I would have placed them myself. They feel high-quality (they dont dangle/wiggle) and have a distinct pressure point that needs some force. This helps you in knowing when you actually pressed the button and not press buttons by accident.
The connectors are on top (right side). One exception would be the headphone jack which is on the right side above the buttons.
The USB host (where you can plug in normal usb devices) is no longer a common USB port (like MIRA had), but a micro-USB. A short adapter cable came with the tablet.
The normal USB host (where you connect your tablet with the pc to access the memory/sdcard from the pc) is also micro-USB. A longer cable came with the tablet.
I would have liked the normal USB port to stay.
Also, these two distinct different USB ports look the same. Some attention must be payed to not confuse them.
HDMI is mini-HDMI. Adapter did NOT come with the tablet. (Which would have been nice!)
Power In is 5V at 2.5A. Adapter came with the tablet (duh!) - the cable is a bit short for my taste. About the same as with the MIRA before.
Note: the tablets rechargeable battery can no longer be loaded over USB
The connectors are close together, but not too close. you should be able to connect all 3/4 with power at the same time.
The microSD slot is on the right side, almost on the back.
Speaker: The speaker(s?) is on the backside. I feel like the device is not as loud as the MIRA tablets, but still works well for watching movies or listening to music in a normal room when you are alone.
Software:
Android 4.1 is working great.
Some might argue there are a few needless apps preinstalled. For example Google Maps and Navigation on a device which has no GPS and no mobile internet built in.
But there is no real crapware either.
Google Play:
Google Play is installed and working fine. The device gets shown as "Rockchip SINA-1"
I did run into some trouble with my old MIRA-1 and some apps. A few were apparently not compatible (although I did not understand why), others that were compatible did refuse to install (I can not and will not exclude a layer 8 problem here)
All those apps work now with the SINA-1. Install is fast and there is no trouble. The 16GB memory will suffice for a lot of apps.
Battery:
The rechargeable battery is a bit less powerfull than the one in the MIRA-1 and a bit more powerfull than the one in the MIRA-2.
Still, with the higher speed and I would assume, higher resolution, more power is needed. Hence with usage, the charging level does indeed go down. Quite a bit faster than with the MIRA-1. I will have to correct my earlier estimate from 5-6hrs down to 4-5hrs.
In fact, bring your loader if you are gonna go out all day and will be using the tablet much.
Support:
LC-Power is usually quick in answering normal support emails, but they will not exactly fall over each other trying to resolve any exotic issue that might come up. Maybe if you speak mandarin and mail them directly at tech and dev headquarters in probably china you might have some luck, but I doubt that the LC-Power people in Germany, USA or UK or ... had much to say about developing the device and customizing the android (except of course, maybe some translation)
Also, do not expect regular android updates or any long time support and new android versions. 2-3 months ago I was promised 4.1 for the MIRA-1, still hasn't been released.
Connectivety:
Wireless LAN b/g/n is working as intended. I feel however, that the signal strength is weaker than with the MIRA-1 tablet.
Bluetooth: What can I say. Its Bluetooth. Its there, it can be used, it works...
Mobile internet: Only per additional USB dongle (or tether your mobile phone...)
Ethernet: Apparently there are USB dongles for Ethernet LAN out there. Havent seen one yet, but I havent looked hard either.
Modding:
So far, there has yet to establish a big LC-Power community with modders, mods and custom roms. I really really hope it will happen some time. But dont hold your breath, you are on your own. Spread the word of the LC-Power devices, lets get a high enough market share an the chances of a active modding community will rise dramatically. Or do it yourself...
So...
if you dont care about mods and custom roms, the SINA-1 is ok for you.
If you want to play around, learn android, program aps, make mods, maybe even a custom rom, feel free to give the SINA-1 a try.
If you want to download the newest custom ROM, install it per 10 step manual and prag in school about your mad hacking and modding skills, look someplace else...
Rooting:
The device does not come pre-rooted. (MIRA did)
I welcome that change to some degree. I honestly believe in not giving the run-of-the-mill users the ability to break something beyond their own (or even some specialist) capability to repair it.
Then again, I also am not fond of the tricks one has to employ to actually root a device IF someone knows what he is doing and wants to use a device to its full potential.
That being said, it was relatively easy to root the SINA-1. Instructions at the end of my review
One last sentence about the stock ROM. It is not available for download (at least I could not find it). I know of no way to reflash it or recover a bricked device. You wont find extensive help, manuals and tipps to that end. Make sure to have an appropriate backup and/or tread carefully.
I myself will investigate, if you have any insight into that topic, feel free to contact me...
Summary/Conclusion
I really like this tablet. A lot. I found it superior to the MIRA-1 in almost all aspects (especially speed, compatability, screen resolution and build quality). It has however its week points (battery run time, uneven lightning of the display).
Since it is a 10" tablet without mobile internet, it obviously was made for home usage. Browsing webpages from the couch, watching a movie while your in a room without a TV, or listening to music without bringing your stereo, add a game now and then when you are bored. This is where this tablet shines. I could imagine it being used in a work environment / office as well. And when the batterie gets low, you hook it up.
The occasional traveler should be happy as well. Get a dongle or tether it to your phone and you can surf the web in the bus/train. Hook up your headphones and watch a movie (just hope the sun doesnt shine too much). Also, dont expect the tablet to last a flight around the world without loading up...
All in all, a very decent device with a very attractive price.
So should you get it? Well, it depends...
If you have a MIRA-1 or 2 and you are really happy with them, you dont care about waiting 1-2sec for some apps. Then dont get the SINA-1
If you have ANY other single core tablet that is not up to its tasks, makes you wait for apps, annoys you in some way, yes, give the SINA-1 a try - and sell the old one for some cash...
If you are thinking about getting the MIRA-1 or 2 (or another similar single-core device), try really hard to look for the other 40 EUR and get the SINA-1. Or get the MIRA used for like half its retail (~80 EUR), but be warned about the possibility of the tablet being to slow now and then
If you have another dual-core (or more) high-end tablet, probably with a big name on it like some fruit or samsung or nexus.. Sure, buy it. whats another 200 EUR. Or dont, I dont think it will be an upgrade. Just another tablet, even if it is a decent one
the get it or dont get it reasons in the modding subsection still apply
I myself regret nothing. I watch movies in bed, I surf the web on the couch. If I am really lazy I even open up teamviewer to do 2-3 clicks on my PC without getting up. I take the tablet with me on train rides and watch a movie or surf the web with my phone tethered. And I recently started to use it at work for presentations (put my notes on it). And when I am bored, I do play a game now and then.
Mind you, I did/could have done all that with the old tablet as well. But it sure makes more fun now
End of the review---
I certainly hope that this rewritten and formated review is more informative and better on the eyes.
I think I got most of my english mistakes as well.
I hope this helps some folk decide
If you have questions, feel free to ask them here. I will try to look back now and then and answer those questions.
good day
Catwiesel, Germany
Addendum:
How to root the SINA-1
Disclaimer: no guarantee, you break it, not my fault bla bla...
First, it was not difficult. It was done by the "root with restore by bin4ry method"
step 1: enable usb-debugging and allow installing of "foreign apk's" (or whats it called in english)
step 2: get a usb driver for windows (7 x64 in my case)
step 2b: since you probably wont find a driver, modify the google drivers from the android development sdk. add the line to the google.ntx86 and ntamd64 block:
%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_2207&PID_0010&MI_01
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
step 3: add the file adb_usb.ini at /users/[username]/.android directory with the following line:
0x2207
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(i had to do this in my user account and in the administrator account*)
step 4: connect the tablet with your pc, make sure all drivers were installed and usb debugging is on
step 5: google, find and download the zip archive with the batch file, scripts and tools needed
(root_with_restore_by_bin4ry_v17.zip did it for me)
step 6: extract the archive, best to some easily found directory like c:\rootit
step 7: start a command line (cmd.exe) (as administrator?)
note: the actual rooting only worked for me when i started the command line as administrator
step 8: start runme.bat from c:\rootit, ch
step 9: choose method 1, wait for it to finish
(all this information was googled and very little trial and error. did not take me more than 30mins with no clue before hand whatsover)
Drivers
can you please explain how did you installed drivers?
I'm having troubles following your manual. I need sina-1 for developing but i can't connect it with adb cause drivers aren't installed correctly.
tnx for review.. I bought SINA-2 and use your method of rooting and it works.. have U tried some custom rom already? I don't know which is compatible with my device...
Does anybody know how to flash recovery or custom rom to this tablet. I have googled and nothing found. Maybe there is no recovery or custom rom for this device.
Update 9 months later
very small update after a few months of light and sporatic use:
- rechargeable batterie runtime:
I might have overestimated the runtime originally. additionally, rechargeable batteries dont get better over time...
that means that you really will be running to the charger a lot at home and should take it with you.
do not expect to be able to surf the web or watch movies the whole day without recharging.
- wireless range:
the wireless range is really really bad.
I originally stated it to be not great, but actually it is really bad.
No other device I ever had or currently have had a worse range.
expect slow transfer speeds even when directly next to the router
expect trouble even behind one wall / more than 5m away
expect no connection or unuseable for anything expect the most rudimentary stuff (getting an email) behind more then 1 wall and/or more than 5m away
--> apparently this WAS a problem with the earlier SINA-1 tablets and LC-Power will fix it. This would also mean that the newer ones should not have this problem
--> this bad wireless connection might also be a reason for the bad batterie runtime
- micro-sd:
I've had bad trouble with my 32GB MicroSD card(s) (SANDISK 32GB SDHC microSD Class 10)
the previous tablet (mira-1) took it, my even older mobile took it, the SINA-1 did not...
since my 8GB and 16GB cards were working I thought my 32gb card is incompatibel
--> A few weeks ago I could test another SINA-1 (new), no trouble with my 32gb microsd...
- Android
no new android / update has been released by LC-Power (that I can find)
- Modding:
still no real community
- Apps / Games
a few games (that might need a somewhat more powerfull device) that I can tell you are working are:
magicka, pokerstars, terraria
- built, glas, buttons
after light and cautious use over many months, the tablet can still look like new (if you clean it)
I have no scratches, no color scraping off, the buttons dont wobble. its like new
- the power-in jack
this needs a mention too, since it really is not well done. the plug fits, but will fall out very very easily.
best not to move the tablet when you have it plugged in
conclusion:
my first review still stands more or less... for its price this is a okay tablet
if the wlan is indeed being fixed and the batterie will run a bit longer for the current sold devices, this is still a good buy for ~150 EUR
since I do not really know what is wrong with the microsd issue (my tablet broken? newer tablets unaffected) I can not use it for reviewing. but be warned
HOWEVER...
there is a new LC-Power SINA-2 tablet that I will be reviewing soon...
I will post the link later
Thank you so much for sharing.
Very useful review, thank you.
Sent from my LT30p using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Front camera not supporting video calls
Hi!
I was wondering if anyone who owns this tab had any issues with incoming/outgoing video calls (via skype/facebook/ooVoo).
Fact is, I can't make video calls via any of the above software, when i try, skype just blanks out and goes to previous screen. When incoming calls arrive it does the same but it says that I have a missed call.
OoVoo on the other hand connects to video call but automatically uses the back camera instead of front.
I don't get it. Any advices/ideas?
Thx
Here you go guys This tablet got CM10.2 fully working, with stock kernel <3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=58477955&postcount=1187
Hope this helps!
The Grüß,
H.
And Sina 2 review?
Hi
Please can you all help with android tablet recommendations. I have google searched but there are so many that it is overwhelming.
Its for my son, he is autistic and has limited language, he relies on his current tablet a LOT but it is almost obsolete. So managing to choose one with the right criteria is completely crucial to me and that’s why I wanted to ask you experienced people.
My criteria is this, in order of importance:
1. Needs to be mainstream manufacturer. This so I can buy spare screens when they get damaged, extra batteries etc for as long as possible with availability (I know battery fitting is usually a solder job thats fine). Also, for OS-updates if needed.
2. Needs to be easily root-able. I am not great at this kind of stuff but need to root (easily) so that I can backup the entire thing easier and also use apps such as link2SD. Needs to be fairly idiot-proof rooting.
3. Needs to be TWRP compatible (see above, he can mess up stuff on the tablet so having lots of backup points helps me a LOT).
4. Min 16GB memory if its with a good SD card slot (to use Link2SD for apps), otherwise probably 64GB minimum. He has a lot of apps to go on it!!
5. Around 8inch in size. Bigger screen makes them easier to break so 8 inch is ideal as an upgrade from his current 7 inch. I could maybe push to 10 inch if thats whats needed for the other criteria but would rather 8 inch for toughness.
6. After-market rubber bumpers need to be available, though I think they are for all the major brands from what I have seen.
Please, any help at all would be appreciated. I can google up a model and see it’s the size and GB but then spend a while researching if it can be rooted and then if there is a TWRP and it takes a while and I keep ending up back at square-one. Hopefully you folks who know so much more than me will be better equipped to say what tablet fits my criteria.
Thank you so much for your time. Much much appreciated.
Alex
Please any suggestions at all would be appreciated even if just a starting point.