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[Q] Best hackable sub-$300 Android tablet?

I'm looking to get my first Android tablet. I've always rooted and run custom firmware on my Android phones, so I need a "cheap" Android tablet with a healthy developer community and a lot of support.
My first thought was to go for the $250 Nook Tablet, spec for spec it's better than the Kindle Fire; but didn't an update come out for it recently that made rooting it near impossible or so highly difficult that it hasn't been done yet?
Then the $200 Kindle Fire came to mind, very popular tablet must mean a very healthy/active hacking/dev community right? But isn't it also locked down in such a way it can't be rooted or modified anymore?
Then I see a $189 Lenovo A1 Tablet at Best Buy with decent specs. It's running Android 2.3 which I'd normally prefer over Android 3.0/Honeycomb but now that ICS/Android 4.0 is out, I'd definately want to run that on my tablet. So is ICS running very good/stable on any sub $300 Android tablet?
I wonder when the $250 Tegra3 based tablet from Asus (or is it Acer...) comes out. Suggestions on which route to go?

My friend has a Kindle Fire, and it's too slow to be called a tablet. It's an E-Reader that can run Apps.
Even the web browser - scrolling and loading pages - is laggy.

Colton127 said:
My friend has a Kindle Fire, and it's too slow to be called a tablet. It's an E-Reader that can run Apps.
Even the web browser - scrolling and loading pages - is laggy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it run any custom firmware? Or is it 100% stock? The first thing I plan to do is run a custom ROM on it. Even if it's to remove the bloatware and put in a few tweaks, at least it'd be better than stock. My Galaxy S II right now runs a custom ROM based on the factory ROM, so it has full hardware support and such but it's got a lot of tweaks put into it and bloatware removed, etc. the end result is it's got better battery life and runs faster/smoother than any stock Galaxy S II ROM. I'm hoping to get ICS/Android 4.0 onto a tablet, as that's the way to go, but if the dev community isn't quite there yet, then I'm hoping for a custom/tweaked out ROM as a tide-me-over.

glitchsys said:
Does it run any custom firmware? Or is it 100% stock? The first thing I plan to do is run a custom ROM on it. Even if it's to remove the bloatware and put in a few tweaks, at least it'd be better than stock. My Galaxy S II right now runs a custom ROM based on the factory ROM, so it has full hardware support and such but it's got a lot of tweaks put into it and bloatware removed, etc. the end result is it's got better battery life and runs faster/smoother than any stock Galaxy S II ROM. I'm hoping to get ICS/Android 4.0 onto a tablet, as that's the way to go, but if the dev community isn't quite there yet, then I'm hoping for a custom/tweaked out ROM as a tide-me-over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He runs stock rooted with Android Market and a custom launcher.
I tested Opera Mobile on it - which uses full hardware acceleration. It was the smoothest browser I tested on the device, but it was still jittery and lagged while scrolling. The GPU and CPU are obviously not that great.

Colton127 said:
He runs stock rooted with Android Market and a custom launcher.
I tested Opera Mobile on it - which uses full hardware acceleration. It was the smoothest browser I tested on the device, but it was still jittery and lagged while scrolling. The GPU and CPU are obviously not that great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it is a cheap tablet new, but I thought it was dual core. Kind of disappointing it's sluggish even with HW acceleration. I just checked the Kindle Fire Android Development forum and it looks like they have ICS/Android 4.0 ROM's for it but the 3 main issues are no HW UI Acceleration; 720p and HD video in general; No bluetooth. I don't care too much for Bluetooth and the 720p video thing isn't that important at the moment (I think), but the no HW UI Acceleration could pose a problem, especially if the CPU is as sluggish as you say.

glitchsys said:
Well it is a cheap tablet new, but I thought it was dual core. Kind of disappointing it's sluggish even with HW acceleration. I just checked the Kindle Fire Android Development forum and it looks like they have ICS/Android 4.0 ROM's for it but the 3 main issues are no HW UI Acceleration; 720p and HD video in general; No bluetooth. I don't care too much for Bluetooth and the 720p video thing isn't that important at the moment (I think), but the no HW UI Acceleration could pose a problem, especially if the CPU is as sluggish as you say.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is Dual-Core, but it was still laggy when I had tested it. I guess it really bothered me because I was so use to the extremely smooth and fluid iPad 2 & Galaxy S II I own and use day-to-day.
I never tested any custom ROMs, but wish I was able to. It seems to have a lot of popular ROMs and a good developer community.

Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A

Sorry about that. Thanks for moving this thread/keeping things organized, I really appreciate what you guys do.
Right now I'm leaning toward the HP Touchpad or the Kindle Fire. Seems CM7 is the better option for both devices and good enough as a daily driver; but CM9 is further along on the Fire than it is on the Touchpad.

I'm in about the same situation.
I vastly prefer the 7" form factor, although I could probably be persuaded to a 10" for the same price range...
Currently, I'm leaning towards the 16G Nook Tablet, mostly because of the RAM advantage it has vs the Kindle Fire.
The fire seems to have a more active dev community, but, once it is rooted & has a working ROM (ICS preferred), isn't that the main thing to be looking for?
However, I am not set on any specific tablet, and am very open to suggestions...

I'm still rocking the original Nook Color. Runs CM7 like a champ, and CM9 builds are showing great progress.

For a thread revival, I figured I would state my final decision & reasons for it, just in case anyone else is looking for similar information...
I ended up going with a Nook Tablet...
I considered the Kindle Fire, but it has 512MB vs the 1G of RAM that the Nook has.
Checking the dev status for the Nook, there is a CM7 running (fairly well, now that I've given it a shot). Once that is 100% (and, in my opinion, it is very nearly there), there really isn't much of a reason to avoid it.
In the day I've had it, I have to say that it has ended up being much better than I was expecting.

check out this tablet
/watch?v=JUhiQZE4_VE&feature=g-u-u&context=G2a75f87FUAAAAAAAHAA
it's a youtube link to a NCIX review on a new tablet seems nice for the price I can't post full link cause I don't have enough posts maybe someone can help me out and post it for me? thanks

Android pre-installed on Atom x86 tablets

I've searched high and low for this but can't find any information. Does anyone know what is the source of the Android that comes pre-installed on various Chinese/Taiwanese tablets with Intel Atom (x86) processors? Is an image available somewhere? I'm pretty sure it can't just be Android-x86 as these tablets often use Atoms with PowerVR SGX 5xx graphics which IIRC are not supported by Android-x86 .

Like as not, you guessed right the first time...
I realize this is a pretty late response, but...
What you are probably looking for is Android-x86.org, in fact, after all.
I would not be one bit surprised, if any cheap-ish Chinese x86 tablet, you find, is running a knock-off of the Android-x86 project. The Chinese manufacturers may list atoms with PowerVR graphics chips, but what's listed, and what's functionally supported, when you receive the tablet may be two entirely different things.
That said, Android-x86 runs reasonably well, if you don't mind tweaking the kernel config to fit your hardware, before compiling. (Reasonably <> perfectly, of course...)
XTCrefugee said:
I've searched high and low for this but can't find any information. Does anyone know what is the source of the Android that comes pre-installed on various Chinese/Taiwanese tablets with Intel Atom (x86) processors? Is an image available somewhere? I'm pretty sure it can't just be Android-x86 as these tablets often use Atoms with PowerVR SGX 5xx graphics which IIRC are not supported by Android-x86 .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

tekowalsky said:
Chinese manufacturers may list atoms with PowerVR graphics chips, but what's listed, and what's functionally supported, when you receive the tablet may be two entirely different things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that the cedarview/clover trail Atoms have PowerVR chips is down to Intel. That's how they're designed. It's not something an OEM could change, Chinese or otherwise.
Without hardware graphics support, cedarview Atoms are pretty hopeless. They simply aren't capable of doing things like HD video, or pretty much anything related to 3D graphics. There's some limited Linux support, but aside from that it's Windows only if you want a capable system. Without an Android driver (which Android-x86 lacks) it really wouldn't even be worth trying, believe me.
Most likely (as others have said in other threads) these tablets run Android-x86 with some custom (probably unlicensed) PowerVR driver

Android TV box or Raspberry Pi?

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to ask this. But since the members visiting this sub-forum might have better idea of android tv box/stick i am putting forward my query here.
My requirements are 24/7 torrenting and playing movies in Sony FHD TV.. I don't care much about playing games or browsing in TV..
is there any android stick/box (preferably around $80) which can play high bitrate full hd movies without any hiccups while simultaneously downloading torrents? or am i better off with a raspberry pi??

vic6888 said:
Hi,
I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to ask this. But since the members visiting this sub-forum might have better idea of android tv box/stick i am putting forward my query here.
My requirements are 24/7 torrenting and playing movies in Sony FHD TV.. I don't care much about playing games or browsing in TV..
is there any android stick/box (preferably around $80) which can play high bitrate full hd movies without any hiccups while simultaneously downloading torrents? or am i better off with a raspberry pi??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Ugoos UT1 and I'm happy with that, I also picked up the stick version that is the UM2. I spent quite a bit of time checking out the Pi's and I found their raw power to be way too little for things like 3D gaming or 1080p playback. Good little devices, but I prefer the Quad Core units such as the ones I mentioned above. A new box is coming out called the Ugoos UT2 which is also looking good.
For installing custom firmwares, tweeking and maybe configuring the device via scripts and so on, then maybe the Pi will have more of a larger community with more projects. But for the items you've highlighted the Pi wouldn't be very suitable. Please correct me if I'm wrong Pi owners,

BlobLobba said:
I have a Ugoos UT1 and I'm happy with that, I also picked up the stick version that is the UM2. I spent quite a bit of time checking out the Pi's and I found their raw power to be way too little for things like 3D gaming or 1080p playback. Good little devices, but I prefer the Quad Core units such as the ones I mentioned above. A new box is coming out called the Ugoos UT2 which is also looking good.
For installing custom firmwares, tweeking and maybe configuring the device via scripts and so on, then maybe the Pi will have more of a larger community with more projects. But for the items you've highlighted the Pi wouldn't be very suitable. Please correct me if I'm wrong Pi owners,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
from what i have read Pi is pretty good as a media playback device but i'm not sure whether it can handle torrenting and media playback simultaneously.. one of my room mate has got a Pi.. will have to test it this weekend and see if it holds up well for my requirement..

vic6888 said:
from what i have read Pi is pretty good as a media playback device but i'm not sure whether it can handle torrenting and media playback simultaneously.. one of my room mate has got a Pi.. will have to test it this weekend and see if it holds up well for my requirement..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One option could be to get two low price sticks, use one for torrent and one for media playback. Using media sharing to access the files between them. In that configuration I would suggest a UM2 and a Pi

BlobLobba said:
One option could be to get two low price sticks, use one for torrent and one for media playback. Using media sharing to access the files between them. In that configuration I would suggest a UM2 and a Pi
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is also an option.. hearing rumors that Android 4.4 will bring a new UI for TV. Are these sticks upgradeable??

vic6888 said:
that is also an option.. hearing rumors that Android 4.4 will bring a new UI for TV. Are these sticks upgradeable??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I think regarding 4.4 upgradability, I imagine the first possibility of that maybe via custom ROM. I checked out the stock firmware updates for the Ugoos regularly, as I have the UT1 and UM2. Let's wait and see what they release.

BlobLobba said:
Well I think regarding 4.4 upgradability, I imagine the first possibility of that maybe via custom ROM. I checked out the stock firmware updates for the Ugoos regularly, as I have the UT1 and UM2. Let's wait and see what they release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an android stick (MK908, quad-core 2GB RAM) and a Raspberry Pi. In terms of movie playback, the RPi is far superior due to better software support. The XBMC software is much more mature on the RPi.
I have no experience on the RPi with torrents, but I leave that to my NAS. An android stick's hardware is more powerful, so I guess it'll be better for torrenting. That being said, I use Openelec for my RPi and it comes with a transmission add-on for torrenting, so I assume it'll work ok.
Anyway, if movies are the main focus, definately go for an RPi and find another solution for torrenting if the RPi is not sufficient.
my setup:
A NAS for media storage and downloading
RPi with Openelec for media

I had a Pi, to be honest it was bloody hard work. My MK808 is MUCH better at everthing. It plays 720p perfectly (I don't bother with 1080p) it downloads torrents running Ttorrent and I can plug my 1Tb hard drive (passport) directly into it without a hub!
The Pi was a pain compared to the MK808, the 908 should be even better.
Pete
Sent from my GT-I9205 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I believe the 808 received much better support than the 908 does.
I think (custom) developer support is essential for setting up a working system.

I'm running it stock, works fine. I was blown away by how well it plays my film collection. Avi, mkv, mp4 or whatever, it just works!
Pete
Sent from my GT-I9205 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

BlobLobba said:
I checked out the stock firmware updates for the Ugoos regularly, as I have the UT1 and UM2. Let's wait and see what they release.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What websites do u check for firmware updates UT1 and UM2 and what Air mouse Keyboard work best for UT1 and UM2 you know any?

el_easy said:
What websites do u check for firmware updates UT1 and UM2 and what Air mouse Keyboard work best for UT1 and UM2 you know any?
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I'd be interested in this too. I have a Kaiboer F4 (same box different name).
All I could find was this chinese site with update 1.1.0 - which I already have. It's dated August 20th 2013.
http://www.evolvetechsolutions.com/collections/kaiboer/products/kaiboer-f4.htm

mad_sunday said:
I had a Pi, to be honest it was bloody hard work. My MK808 is MUCH better at everthing. It plays 720p perfectly (I don't bother with 1080p) it downloads torrents running Ttorrent and I can plug my 1Tb hard drive (passport) directly into it without a hub!
The Pi was a pain compared to the MK808, the 908 should be even better.
Pete
Sent from my GT-I9205 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Erm...what? Just flash OpenELEC on a SD and be done with it basically. H.264 videos play perfect out of the box for me even 1080p isn't any problem at all. The Pi is much better at playing videos (exception of DivX but who uses that anymore) than any Stick could be in my opinion.

Kevi754 said:
Erm...what? Just flash OpenELEC on a SD and be done with it basically. H.264 videos play perfect out of the box for me even 1080p isn't any problem at all. The Pi is much better at playing videos (exception of DivX but who uses that anymore) than any Stick could be in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried playing movies which are more than 8GB? how does Pi performs for those movies? And can i run transmission or any other torrenting software if i use OpenELEC ??

Kevi754 said:
Erm...what? Just flash OpenELEC on a SD and be done with it basically. H.264 videos play perfect out of the box for me even 1080p isn't any problem at all. The Pi is much better at playing videos (exception of DivX but who uses that anymore) than any Stick could be in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was just so unreliable due I suspect to the ****ty USB implementation. I tried OpenElec (and several others) but I could never get it to work as I wanted it (and I've been running Linux on my PC's for 10 years). I threw it in the bin once I'd got the Android stick plugged in. The MK808 is faster, more reliable, easier to setsetup, and works perfectly with my USB 1TB hard drive without a hub (try that with a Pi). I find the video playback far superior too using MX player without having to cough money for codecs that you need for the Pi.
Pete
Sent from my GT-I9205 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

You should probably use the pi as a 244/7 torrent box and the android mini pc as a game/ video player. Its way easier to use the pi as a cheap, power efficient torrent while not wasting processing power from the android on something like that. Thats what I do and it works great!

el_easy said:
What websites do u check for firmware updates UT1 and UM2 and what Air mouse Keyboard work best for UT1 and UM2 you know any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I check this Ugoos Firmware download archive they maintain on this page here.

minix x5 with new 1080 rom works great for me, have not had a ras pi

I used to use my CX919 for what you mention, until it died.
Played everything fine, Did not try 1080P content.
Great features, horrible build quality.

These quadcore tv sticks seam to die because of poor thermal design. I have bought a T-R42 (like CS918/K-R42 but with bluetooth) and I'm going to run an Ubuntu on this box.
I don't mind the RPi and actually I have one and I like it but keep in mind that you get only 512MB of memory and a 700MHz single core while you get 2GB of memory and a 1.6GHz quad core on these rk3188 tv boxes/sticks.
Also keep in mind that you might need a case, a power adapter and a wifi-stick for the pi which might cost you at least additional 25$ while this was all included in the T-R42 box I got and which sells now at 80$ including shipping from some chinese sellers (I payed 90€ and got it from a local seller).
One big advantage of the RPi is that there have been millions of them sold and there exists a vast community.
cheers
CRizziR

[Q] As a laptop owner, am i screwed? Or are there workarounds?

First of all, let me list my Laptop specs
CPU: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (2.40GHz 6MB Cache)
GPU:NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX660M 2GB with DirectX® 11
RAM: 8GB
I heard that the Nvidia shield officially doesn't support Laptop streaming, but has a good and reliable method for supporting streaming been released yet via third party app or something? If so, are there any good guides in order to do so(without screwing up any in the process?) I think i did hear that some laptops with some GPU(that i've never really heard of: Kepler I believe) can support it, but i'm not sure if my Laptop would fill the bill. I think I also heard something about optimus, but i don't even know what that is.

John6670 said:
First of all, let me list my Laptop specs
CPU: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (2.40GHz 6MB Cache)
GPU:NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX660M 2GB with DirectX® 11
RAM: 8GB
I heard that the Nvidia shield officially doesn't support Laptop streaming, but has a good and reliable method for supporting streaming been released yet via third party app or something? If so, are there any good guides in order to do so(without screwing up any in the process?) I think i did hear that some laptops with some GPU(that i've never really heard of: Kepler I believe) can support it, but i'm not sure if my Laptop would fill the bill. I think I also heard something about optimus, but i don't even know what that is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, Nvidia shield game streaing feature is NOT FORMALLY supported by Nvidia at the moment but it may come in near future. however, with the newer mobile GPUS ( keplet architecture based- such as series 600/700 etc) - u can probably try some other third party apps - ' splashtop + Droidmote combination ' - follow this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2506438 .
some i heard tried kainy instead
Am in a similar situation like you with a mobile GPU GTX 680M but i am waiting for my shield to arrive, so can't confirm whether the methods mentioned above are good for smooth gameplay.

I'm not positive this will all still work for you, but cgutman worked on making streaming work from mobile kepler.
Check it out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2394478
Specifically this post might be useful: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47843410&postcount=91

Aaronneyer said:
I'm not positive this will all still work for you, but cgutman worked on making streaming work from mobile kepler.
Check it out: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2394478
Specifically this post might be useful: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47843410&postcount=91
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay guys, my Shield wont be coming until tomorrow. That said, I checked the above link, and it looks like someone got it working?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2394478&page=2
OMG!!!! It works. Credit to @cgutman!!!!!
Used the registry entry you provided. I am using a Lenovo Y400, that has the intel GPU disabled. It freaking works!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a Lenovo Y580 which isnt that much different from a 400. So maybe there is hope? Once I get it, i'll test it out, and maybe ask questions to things i dont understand

mobile streaming has been completely halted by nvidia in their latest updates. The only workaround that doesn't involve a 3rd party app (negating the native protocol support between tegra 4 and kepler) is to downgrade and then apply the reg fix. This also only works if you have a sole discrete gpu or can completely shut off optimus in the bios. poopoo to you nvidia.

Any PS4 emulator for android ??????

Hey everyone !!!!!!! Do you know any PS4 emulator for android. I searched on Play Store and got one but it has bad reviews. I searched on Google and got some apps but who knows if they work or are safe. Please provide me an apk if you know one which works and is safe.
THANK YOU !!!!!!!

Hi Arc,
I strictly doubt that any ARM based processor (except for the M1 by Apple) is capable of emulating PS4 in real time performance.
Therefore, there are no good apps for this, and if there are - you will likely have severe performance issues.
Most PS4 based operations are done with the help of a x86-64 architecture, which you mainly find in desktop-grade CPU's.
Which phone do you have?
Picture below is gotten from pinterest.com and reflects the specifications of the PS4.

denNorske said:
Hi Arc,
I strictly doubt that any ARM based processor (except for the M1 by Apple) is capable of emulating PS4 in real time performance.
Therefore, there are no good apps for this, and if there are - you will likely have severe performance issues.
Most PS4 based operations are done with the help of a x86-64 architecture, which you mainly find in desktop-grade CPU's.
Which phone do you have?
Picture below is gotten from pinterest.com and reflects the specifications of the PS4.
View attachment 5341345
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
None of the specs match to my phone (Lenovo Tab 3 10 plus) so no chance. Anyway thank you for reply !!!!