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"You can enjoy the joys and wonder of Android without spending a fortune...!"
I now intend to see if this is true!
Thread Purpose:
Provide a discussion area for those of us who are financially impaired, like myself, but want to experience the joys and wonders that tablets and android might hold...
At the moment the thread may also touch on android on mini-tablets (which might also make calls...) and larger tablets (with keyboards...hdds...lcd monitors etc) simply because on a shoestring budget you have to make do with what you have.
I hope to explore ways in which you can use Android it in new and interesting ways without paying out massive amounts on expensive hardware.
I'm not sure if it is totally achievable or not, but I'm sure it will be interesting to find out what you can do for less compared to the expensive options which are out there.
Idea's, comments, thoughts, discussions are all welcome.
The more unusual and interesting the better!
Thread Structure:
This first post will provide an index and links to the main discussion points/topics on the thread.
[Will see how this works!]
Periodically I shall post a new topic to discuss.
23March2011 - Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method One: Using your existing laptop or PC
Method Two: Using the android emulator (also on your existing laptop or PC)
Method Three: Using your existing phone
29March2011 - Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part One: Justifying the purchase
Part Two: Android From The Box
Part Three: Passing the grade? (A-E)
Part Four: Passing the grade? (Continued...F-J)
12April2011 - Topic Three : Low Level Basics
Part One: Oh ADB Debugger!
Part Two: The Root Of It All
Part Three: Backups, ROMs and Flashbacks
Part Four: First Time Flasher! (added 1stAug11)
27June2011 - Topic Four: Low Level Interfacing
Part One: Android RS232 I/O
22Sept2011 - Topic Five: Development Tools & Tricks
Part One: Screenshots & Remote Control
Part Two: Scripts & Shortcuts
Side Topics
04May2011 - Side Topic: The Future! Quad core and beyond
02June2011 -Side Topic: Multi-Touch Technology - with No Touch Screen!
Q&A:
crevlthe: Are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution of tablets?
[I'll keep updating this thread every few days]
- please post comments, thoughts and ideas anyway, particularly if topic related.
I would love to hear about peoples thoughts and ideas
(simply reference Topic X:Method X/Step X etc if you want to comment on one item in particular).
Enjoy!
Small Print:
For the following posts I shall try to reference the source websites where possible, however apologies if I get this wrong, please feel free to pm me or post on the thread with any corrections and I'll amend the entry. Regarding images, where possible I shall try to use my own images, but at times this may not be possible. If you find I have used your image and you do not wish it to be used, then simply let me know and I'll change it. Where possible I shall state where the images have come from.
Clearly, the details in the thread are purely discussion and while I try to make them as accurate as possible I can not guarantee this. Damage or loss may occur by following some/all of the instructions, so if you do, do with care and at your own risk, I take no responsibility for your actions.
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Before you can do anything with Android, you probably want to see it!
This topic will outline various ways you can "get at the driod" without spending anything.
Method One: Using your existing laptop or PC
This was the first way I got to play with Android (a long while ago), and that is using an Android live CD. I used something similar to the live CD from http://www.android-x86.org/ (images taken from site), which allows you to boot your computer with Android.
You can burn the image on to a CD/DVD and boot it cleanly or you can use a virtual machine and boot within that.
With a little bit of legwork, and a compatible computer you can boot from a USB key so you can carry your droid with you.
You can even install it, even dual boot, if you are brave!
While this is a simple and very cheap option (at most it should cost a CD/DVD to burn on), there is one slight problem...most computers don’t have touch, gravity sensors etc etc!
You have a number of options if you are seriously wanting to use this more:
1. You can continue to use the mouse (at least they seem to have a cursor now!)
2. You could probably make use of a large touch-pad (can be expensive, but cheaper ones are around)
3. If you have a small screen you could try adding a touch screen (8-10” touch screen overlay can be quite cheap but you will need to install it yourself and that can be tricky and will risk damage).
Perhaps this method could be interesting to try out as a low cost GoogleTV platform, but there would need to be some work done regarding the control method. Someday I may look into this option in more detail...
Microsoft Kinect not been plugged into to android yet???
Anwser: Yes it has! Ok, shame I don’t have one.
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method Two: Using the android emulator (also on your existing laptop or PC)
Of course for the developers out there, there is always the Android emulator which comes as part of the Android development package. Each time Android update the SDK (software development kit) for the latest release of Android, the emulator is updated to run the newest version of Android (this is often the source of early ROMs).
This does allow you to play with the latest Android version as soon as it is out, so you can get a feel for what features are improved etc and you can try out different versions to get an idea about the differences between them. You don't even need to install anything more than the Android emulator SDK if you don't want to write any code, as you can run the emulator separately to the development environment.
However, not only does this have similar control issues (except maybe that you get “soft-buttons”) but it is quite slow even on a fast machine.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
The advantage of course is it opens up a whole world of development options. The google developer site provides instructions for getting set up. Once you’ve jumped through the hoops, you can try it out by having a go at the various tutorial applications.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
Again this is something I may look at in more detail another time (such as getting setup, exploring what you can do with it and perhaps some simple development steps).
Topic One : Show Me The Droid
Method Three: Using your existing phone
You might just have that elusive Android device already, you just don't know it yet!
Clearly this option will vary wildly on the type of device you have and how in-depth you are willing to go. I’ve not managed to find a full list of devices which do support running android but it is safe to say that the “list” is growing all the time.
For me, my Phone is a Windows Mobile Phone, the HTC Blackstone, it’s quite an old device (in relative terms) but it has a good screen (3.8", 480 x 800) and modest processor (528 MHz ARM 11).
Fortunately for me, the XDAndroid group support this device, so I was able to make use of one of the many Android builds on the forums. I’m not quite sure what the current status is of this project, it seems although device specific threads have stopped, there are Android builds going up to 2.2.3...which I’ve had working on my device.
For the blackstone, running android is fairly pain free, since you install the files to your sd-card and if things don’t work out, you just delete them. One key component I required, was ditching (swapping) my class-6 SD card for a slower one (yes, slower!), once I’d switched to a class-2 one, android was up and running nicely.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
However, don’t get too excited yet, as many of the builds will have features which don’t work yet, such as Bluetooth support, camera and in-call voice (you can spend a long time getting the right mix of files for your device to get all these working) and many 3D accelerated games won't work. A lot of progress is being made here (I’ll go into this in more detail another time). Some issues you can live with and some you can’t. Also, if your device (like mine) is not a total powerhouse then you can expect things to run at less than optimal speed. Overall, don’t expect to be replacing your OS with an all singing all dancing Android one this way, unless you have decent device to start with.
All is not lost! By using one of the many dual-boot apps (they simply show a splash screen as soon as possible on power up) allow you to quickly select between your normal Windows Mobile OS and the Android one.
i.e. Gen.Y DualBoot by yozgatg
(Click Image For Larger Version)
This means you can keep a build of Android (or several if you wish) on your SD card and have a play with Android from time to time.
Personally I think this is an excellent option, even if the results aren’t perfect and it’ll probably cost you a fair bit of time experimenting, but the results are totally worth it.
I might revisit this in more detail if people would like me to. Hopefully I can learn a little more about the internals of how it fits together and provide a post on that.
For HD2 users (and some other phones), who are just too spoilt for choice, they can also install Android to their NAND (internal memory). This means they can totally replace the Windows Mobile OS on their system with Android, and because the device is fast, it apparently runs well enough to do so.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part One: Justifying the purchase
First off, the most important bit for this topic, how much does it cost?
I managed to get (buy) it for $90 (£56), including free shipping (limited time special offer).
Note:
I would not recommend this tablet at it's "normal" price of $130, since there are other tablets in that price range which are clearly better.
However, for me, the lower price was key here.
To put it in perspective, the Samsung Tab 7 Inch was £500 here - or $800!
The specs:
Code:
Model: Haipad M701
CPU: Telechip Tcc8902, 800MHz (ARM11)
OS: Android 2.1
RAM: 256MB
ROM: 2GB
Screen: 7 Inch Resistive (800 x 480px)
Ext Ports:
9v Supply
3.5mm Audio
Mini Usb (OTG Host) - hopefully will support Mass Storage devices
HDMI
TF (MicroSDHC)
Size: 192 x 114 x 15mm
Weight: 330g
Extra Details:
Gravity Sensor
Android Market
Adobe Flash (not supported)
Camera 0.3Mp
Wifi 802.11 b/g
My thought process regarding the purchase is this:
1. I really want an Android tablet, I’ve been look at them for months (in fact probably just after the iPad came out). In all that time I’ve lusted after tablet after tablet, but each time it came down to the cost, and the fact that I simply did not have $200/$250/$300 laying around. Throughout that period the number of tablets available have ballooned, the capabilities and specs too. I found myself looking at the affordable tablets, and then looking at the next one up (hdmi), then the next one (10” screen) and then the next one (multi-touch), until I’d priced myself out of my purchase.
2. With the advent of the tegra chips and honeycomb, the price of admission has been bumped slightly (I’d say you are starting at $300 for a low end one (quality of the screen/touch is be compromised - Advent Vega)) - previous to that an A8 based tablet, such as the A81 for around $200-250 was a good deal. To be a serious contender for anything which comes after honeycomb (for the tablet branch), and gaming platform that is developing (of which Cordy is the thin end of the wedge), the power step provided by the Tegra family is a must.
3. Back when I first started looking at tablets, I was in fact considering a very similar device (the X10 and the G10, of which the Haipad M701 is fairly similar).
4. Aside from wanting to use the latest and greatest releases from Android and games etc, there is a need for more modest requirements to be met. Can a basic tablet do this, I intend to find out?
These "modest" potential uses would be:
A: Replace/supplement a poorly designed portable Toshiba DVD player for in-car use, which in my opinion was probably the worst product I’ve ever purchased (despite the quite promising spec sheet) - although obviously I may need to revise this status soon!
B: A Doodle pad, something which my phone gets commandeered for quite often by my off-spring. So a slightly larger screen would be useful for this.
C: Simple Web-browser, most of the time only a quick check on the web is needed, so this may be more helpful than firing up the laptop (which being a work one, dislikes my wifi and network most the time).
D: Music player, either from connected memory for in the car or perhaps from the network.
E: eReader, I’ve read a few books on the Blackstone’s 3.8" screen, so a larger screen would be helpful.
F: Require a device with camera and HDMI at minimum, since this will hopefully provide more options to experiment with (1st build of Android on the blackstone, didn’t have camera support which ruled out things like google goggles etc).
G: USB Host (mass storage), I am hoping that the device will allow me to use external storage devices via the usb, this would be very handy for dealing with camera pictures and videos etc.
H: USB Device keyboard support, I find it very annoying that the Blackstone has no h/w keys, this seriously limits what you can do with it (such as emulation programs etc) as there is no easy way to control things.
I: RS232 Support: Although I seriously doubt it, it would be really useful to get RS232 monitoring running on the device.
J: A development platform for writing android software on and to learn about android.
In Summary:
Overall, aside from the video/USB requirements, I hope that I am not being too ambitious for this device, but clearly I probably am. If/Once I get the device, I shall evaluate it against these requirements and also see what other uses I can put it to. I don’t expect the device to manage all of the uses above (particularly out-the-box), but hopefully it an fulfill at least some of them (even if it takes some custom firmware/modding or even some custom hardware to achieve this) I shall be happy.
For all I know, the tablet may well never turn up...and if it does it could be next to useless (i.e. next to that Toshiba DVD player...). As it happens, one review of a similar device was “expensive paper weight”, I’d estimate it about the weight of a medium sized cup of coffee (without the cup), so might be useful for when we get the fans out in the office this summer.
My purchase timeline:
Purchased tablet on 17th March (estimated delivery 10 working days).
Item shipped on 18th March (estimated shipping 15-20 days).
“Departure from outward office of exchange” 22nd March - Left the source country.
Received item 28th March!
Overall Delivery time: 11days (7 working days).
In return for the excellent shipping, I can say that the item was from PandaWill.
Out of the box review coming soon!
Thread has moved from "General" to it's new home in "Android Software and Hacking General". At first I didn't plan for it to be Android exclusive but as it turns out, it is, so hello to all on this thread.
I am very new to Android, so please be kind!
I hope this thread can be a beginners introduction of some kind, let me know if there are errors or if you would like more information on parts etc.
Regards.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Two: Android From The Box
Packaged in a retail box:
(Click Image For Larger Version)
- Tablet (thankfully)
- 9volt 1.5Amp Output Power Supply (US plug)
- US to UK plug adaptor (a nice touch, clearly they take notice of the shipping address)
- 2x USB Cable (mini USB to USB male, short mini USB to USB female)
- Basic set of ear phones
- Product dimensions measure exactly as stated in the spec (I’d previously printed out picture of the screen to 1:1 scale based on the measurements).
Although I didn’t expect to get an HDMI cable, I didn’t expect the HDMI port to be a mini one, so it would have been helpful to have included one here (or at least an adaptor).
(Note: The USB car adaptor is not for it and did not come with it, but I thought it helps as a guide for size - it won’t charge by USB).
Charging:
(Click Image For Larger Version)
The first thing I did was to plug the tablet in for a charge, there are two reasons for this. Firstly to check that the power supply is functional and safe (i.e. does not over heat) and secondly for the battery.
If the battery is at a low level, you have to treat it carefully - particularly if was in storage (as it will gradually lose charge over time). Li-ion batteries if drained below their bottom limit, will “crash” their voltage, this causes a lot of damage to the battery and it may never recover fully (or in attempting to do so it may cause excess heat == bad news). You should always avoid switching any device on when the battery is in this state, so always charge just in case before trying to switch on (most electronics should refuse to turn on, but best not to count on it).
For this reason I was pleased to find that the battery was charged to approximately 60-80% (I guess) which is around the recommended storage/shipping level. Also the charger or tablet did not burst into flames, which was nice too!
Turned On:
Switching on the device, immediately the screen shows a colourful splash screen, then some linux penguin/mole, before displaying the normal android boot. Instantly I am pleased that the screen is working! I am also impressed that the screen quality, brightness and colour look quite good.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
60 Seconds later and Android has booted!
I would be interested to know if this is particularly fast or slow (my only comparison is booting the Blackstone Android from SD, which takes about 4 mins). For me, 1 min seems fast enough, certainly as fast as starting windows mobile. For normal use, the device can be put to sleep with the main ([]) button, which is instant on and off.
Screen was already calibrated, and the normal start-up wizard ran for Android.
Pre-Installed Software:
Aside from the standard stuff, you get ES File Explorer, Meridian Media Player, Skype (I’ve not tested that yet), SkyFire Browser, Aldiko eReader, QuickOffice, YouTube App and Android Market. The pre-installed Android Market worked fine, and I was downloading new apps in seconds. There are also some Chinese apps which I’ve not tried, but overall, there is everything to on there to get you started off and enough for you to use it directly out of the box.
Aside from some demo pictures and a video, there was also some video which I guess was taken when they tested the unit, it is a good sign that they appear to have taken the time to check the unit works, calibrate it, check things like the camera are functional etc (not sure if this was Pandawill or the manufacturer, but it was within an office so I suspect the former). At 0.3mp, the front facing camera clearly isn’t amazing, but in reasonable lighting it is good enough to see the subject in question quite clearly (one thing though is it is mirrored - guess for skype use (if that works)).
Out Of The Box Impression:
Overall initial impressions are, the screen appears to be pretty good for the money. Colours are slightly more washed out than a more expensive screen, but not overly so. The resistive touch screen does take a firm-ish touch to use, but again, not overly more than other resistive touch screens.
The size and weight of the unit appears to be nicely balanced, it is easy to hold in a single hand (for an adult) while using it with another (or thumb typing and holding either side). The outside bezel is just the right size that, if you need to, you can hold the edge with your thumb without touching the screen etc. The plastic housing, which is rigid and feels solid, makes the unit feel quite good quality. The piano black finish of the back (like a psp) does attract fingerprints however the screen itself doesn’t, which is great.
Although it was never going to be the fastest Android experience, however the unit does seem to keep up with the operating system fairly well, definitely fast enough to be usable.
The unit feels nice and appears to work well, so far excellent value for money.
Next time I shall evaluate the tablet against my requirements and see how it fares...
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Three: Passing the grade? (A-E)
Crunch time! How does the low cost tablet fare when lined up against my expectations and needs?
Meeting My Requirements:
A: Replacing A Portable DVD Player
Viewing photos, videos and listening to music from the pre-installed samples was easy and the units response was reasonable. There was good video playback of the 720p sample (I expect this was encoded to suit the device obviously), and the photo browser did a nice job of displaying and sorting through the photos. Sound was ok, by no means hi-fi standard but enough to listen to over moderate background noise (sound as good as the DVD player - but can’t really say this is hard). This will take a bit more investigation to determine what formats are supported and from where (local storage, microSD, flash stick, HDD, network, internet etc etc). However, even if videos need to specifically encoded as long as they can be played from a mass-storage device (or at a push the SD card), this should meet this requirement fine (did I mention the old DVD player is terrible...).
B: A Doodle Pad
It took no time at all for my offspring to try this, safe to say the unit passes this test with flying colours. One huge improvement is that the Blackstone touch sensitive call buttons etc were not in the way any more. Still to find the perfect app for this:
On Windows Mobile its My Note by MyLostBlog which is a good balance between clear interface and function (I still prefer 2.1 over 2.6).
(Click Image For Larger Version)
On the DS, Art Academy is favourite (although what it has in features, it lacks flexibility). Also Flip Note is worth a mention, I would love to find a similar app on Android.
Art Academy (art software) / Flipnote (animation program)
(Click Images For Larger Versions)
At the moment the star for Android is AutoDesk’s SketchBook Mobile (perhaps a little complex for younger children to fully do everything but easy enough for them to use and enjoy most of the features, excellent for adult use too!). AutoDesk’s app shows the quality that is possible with Android (although at the expense of lag free response on this particular device), I’m still very impressed and the 7 inch screen makes it all the more enjoyable.
C: Simple Web-browser
First off the lack of flash is annoying, but there is at least “some” flash support (I assume flash lite) from the Skyfire Browser, and even the google browser when it came across an embedded YouTube video it directed it to the YouTube app to play.
Browsing is reasonable, the wifi signal is probably below normal, but if you have a good signal, the browsing speed as comparable to my phone (for me the google browser appeared to be faster, but that might have been down to my wifi signal at the time). Here, multi-touch or at least the dual-touch of the later M701 models would be useful, as Pinch-to-zoom would be helpful. At least with the 7 inch screen the need to zoom in and out all the time is reduced (also I’m sure by experimenting with different browsers and settings the perfect balance will be achievable). It will never replace the desktop for web-browsing, but it is fine for quick searches etc.
Google Browser / Skyfire Browser
(Click Images For Larger Versions)
D: Music player
I’ll hold judgement on this until I find a more flexible app, since I had problems navigating around my music and playing it by folder unless it was on the SD card (I was only using some files I had available, I’m sure it is a lot simpler with correctly tagged albums). Once playing the music though, it managed ok (although it did experience issues if you attempted to “multi-task” and load apps etc while music was in the background - although that may have been the app I was using and/or fiddling around with the usb connections). The quality isn’t the best I’ve heard, but it is sufficient. I think overall, with the right app, the unit will perform this task without issue.
E: eReader
Just by trying the pre-installed Aldiko application, it is clear to see that this unit is great for reading. The text was very clear and easy to read with plenty of text visible and even on the smallest font setting (point 10) you can easily read without issue. The g-sensor rotates the screen as required (hopefully there is an option to turn it off - for reading while laying down [Yes, there is a setting for android generally]). The screen is slightly shiny so would suffer in direct sunlight, however it is reasonable for reading in average lighting. I also tested with a pdf, which displayed ok using QuickOffice, but features such as re-flow (available with Adobe’s reader) would definitely help to fit things on the screen.
[Update: Once I've installed Adobe reader, pdf's are very easy to read, although the lack of resuming where you left off means you have to keep track of page numbers yourself (this is no different to the Windows Mobile version).]
CONTINUED BELOW...
Congrats!
Really great post
enotar said:
Congrats!
Really great post
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I should be adding some more later on today.
I'm open for suggestions for topics etc.
Topic Two : A Low Cost Tablet
Part Four: Passing the grade? (Continued...F-J)
Meeting My Requirements (Continued...):
F: Camera & HDMI
As I previously mentioned the camera is not very good, but since it is front facing (it’s located to the right side of the ([]) button) it clearly is not suitable for taking snaps etc. Using google-goggles, the images are just about usable, but it appears the google-goggles app can’t take the pictures directly (you can import pictures which then allows you to take photos using the standard app and open them).
(Click Image For Larger Version)
[Android Logo taken with camera]
I’ve just tested the HDMI (I’ve managed to get a mini-HDMI cable) and after enabling the output via the settings page and restarting, the screen correctly displayed on the TV. Films and games do look good on the TV, although some adjustment to the alignment would be useful. Although you can output in either 1080p and 720p, the resolution is matched to the device 800x480 (although I might be wrong for direct video output), also from first impression, 1080p is lower colour depth than 720p output.
G: USB Host
Ideally the USB connection for host/OTG would be it’s own full size female usb socket (i.e. a normal USB socket) but instead you need to use the USB cable provided which converts the miniUSB to a USB socket. Tested with microSD card reader, flash memory stick (4Gb Kingston), the Blackstone (in mass-storage mode) and even 2.5 HDD which worked even without extra power (I was surprised at this as it is only a generic enclosure with a random laptop drive, however I did not try this with a low battery just in case that did damage). All of which appear under the /scsi/ directory. So far I’ve been unable to find how to “unmount” the drives (you can unmount the sd-card and the internal nand memory via the settings but not the OTG device), so when you disconnect you get “USB Device unexpectedly removed” message.
H: USB Device keyboard support
Using the same OTG cable, plugging in a keyboard was easy and seamless (it just works straight away). In fact, I tested this using a Logitech wireless Keyboard and Mouse and both worked perfectly (aside from the fact the keyboard is about 5 times the size of the tablet). I also tried another USB keyboard, which in the past I've noticed does not work when within DOS on a PC (where the Logitech does), this did not work, but I suspect this is simply the keyboard being slightly unusual. Keeping an eye out for a small and cheap keyboard now.
I: RS232 Support
I attempted this just out of interest but not really knowing what to look for can’t be sure it did anything. I don’t expect this to work without some serious work, but will see what can be achieved if anything. The reason for this is that many low level electronics projects can be controlled/monitored using RS232. In addition to this, I’ve also tried a bluetooth dongle (it has no bluetooth built in), and LAN adaptor, clearly they didn’t magically start working (no doubt the build does not have the correct drivers installed etc), but this is something I will look into.
J: A development platform
At a basic level, I can copy over built APK (android application) files and install them, even the ones which I had issues with on the Blackstone work fine on the device. Developing applications and working directly with the tablet is possible (will look at this in more detail another time), as a development device it is ideal.
The not so good...
Hardware Interfaces:
The single OTG mini usb port is annoying, it would be help to connect more than one device etc and not need to use an adaptor cable.
The mini HDMI, again would be good not to need a special cable for this (at least would have been useful to know ahead of time).
Buttons...no physical home or volume buttons, this does make things difficult sometimes (I believe there are software solutions for this, or options to re-map the keys).
Out-Of-Box mapping is: ([]) is power/screen key, right-side of rocker (with Home Icon) is the menu key, left-side of the rocker (with menu icon) is the back key! Once you get used it, it may be the best layout anyway, will need to experiment.
No Usb charging, from a pure ease of use point of view this would be very helpful, but most tablets don’t support this.
Sticking out of the SDHC card (puts the card at risk of snapping) - later version of this tablet this doesn’t stick out.
Obviously multitouch, bluetooth etc would be nice, but we know that.
The Grey Grey market:
This device “IS” a fake...Real Haipad vs. Fake
I can’t work out though if the unit functions any worse than a real one, all I know is, this one functions better than I was expecting and I’ve not found anything which the originals (if it is a fake) did which this doesn’t (so far).
I've now confirmed this with Pandawill, that the tablet is OEM, not a HaiPad original (at least they 'fessed up to it!). Considering it was sold as part of their own "Fight Against Internet Crime" promotion due to their recent DOS hack attack, it is a little naughty but as you can probably tell by now, I am still very happy with the device, no matter it's origin (but glad it was discounted). Also, the device does function as described by the specs, so other than the manufacturer the rest of the listing is accurate.
The only real issue is that new firmware will be a problem since I can't be sure if it will work or not.
Not all joy and perfection (I’d be mad to expect it):
Most applications appear to work, however, I’ve found that Angry Birds has issues with the surface texture graphics (the text which shows the menus/scores - a pain, but the rest of the game is playable). Apparently later versions such as Rio work fine, this just appears to be a feature of the telechip processor and does this for all HaiPad M701. Since I am not obsessed about Angry Birds (I can stop any-time I want, no really I can...) I can live with it. Also Raging Thunder 2 isn’t playable since I can’t see the menu blocks to select anything, I guess for the same issue.
Most games appear to work fine, such as Air Control, TurboFly 3D (lags sometimes, but not surprisingly since its full-on 3D graphics), Waveblaster (works very nicely, with G-sensor working), Pacific Wings (no g-sensor control). The G-Sensor doesn’t work on some games, but fortunately most have alternative options if that is the case.
It's a mixed bag for games, but fortunately I never intended games to be it's main use and I am quite happy with decent puzzle games etc anyway.
Overall - "A solution for now, but not the future":
The unit runs an ARM11 at 800MHz, with 256RAM, lets face it, it will never do all the graphical gymnastics that the Nvida Tegra 2 processors will perform and doing all but the very basics will probably leave it out-of-breath. Such a device is no laptop or even netbook replacement, but much like the iPod touch, it is a media player with many bonus features (& on a much better budget).
I’m sure as time passes (probably not long either) more and more applications will leave this type of low cost tablet behind, with the pace of processor development at the moment this should really be no surprise at all. But for now, the market is open and the apps are flowing, so I’ll sit back and enjoy them!
Topic Three: Low Level Basics
Part One: Oh ADB Debugger!
One of the first steps in getting properly connected to your devices innards is to ensure you are able to use the ADB (Android Debug Bridge).
The ADB is command-line terminal which allows you to directly control the device and file system of the device (or emulated device) from a PC or MAC.
On the face of it you might wonder why the ADB is of much use, the answer is that it allows a direct route to the entire file system as well as providing debug access directly on target as well as monitor log outputs as programs run. Overall it is similar to ActiveSync for windows mobile. Another reason to have this working is that if your device fails to boot, something messes up your system or say the touch-screen fails, you can use ADB to access everything on the device and also re-flash it. Also you will probably need ADB to root your device (more on that later).
There are a number of guides available for setting up ADB, so I won’t go into detail on them. Personally I followed Google’s own developers guide for setting up the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) since I also intend to write Android software and the ADB is part of that.
However, after a quick search, the following guide appears to cover most of the details.
The UnLocker - How To: SetUp ADB/USB Drivers for Android Devices.
For my device, the ADB driver needed some fiddling around with, since windows would not accept the driver was for my device [Editing the ini file and adding the VID and PID of the hardware didn't help me].
Eventually I found the following (following a tip from SlateDroid): The app PdaNet appears to supply suitable drivers.
I also recommend adding the location of ADB to your system path, so that you can call it from any command-line location.
Once the drivers are installed, check that when the device is connected (and debugging is enabled via settings) that typing “adb devices” from the command-line shows a device).
C:\> adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to write software using Ecilpse you’ll also want to check that it can connect and deploy applications directly to the device for testing.
Within the Ecilpse, under the run menu select “Run Configurations...”, within the Target Tab, the “Deployment Target Selection Mode” must be set to “Manual”.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
This enables the “Android Device Chooser” to prompt when you attempt to run/debug from Ecilpse.
(Click Image For Larger Version)
Build and run your application or a test one and it should now run directly on your device.
There are also a number of GUI apps around which make use of ADB to provide easy ways to manage applications, transfer files etc all without needing to mount and unmount your sd cards to and from the device. At the moment I’ve started using DroidExplorer, even from initial impressions it is clear the features are quite extensive (you could probably write about 20 guides on how to use all of it correctly).
an excellent article overall.
question about the tablets: are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution, or are there a large variety of apps natively designed to run at the bigger resolution?
crevlthe said:
an excellent article overall.
question about the tablets: are most apps up-sized to fit the resolution, or are there a large variety of apps natively designed to run at the bigger resolution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is an interesting question!
Although my tablet is WVGA which is the same as the blackstone (so I can't test this directly!).
You'd need a much higher resolution device to go beyond the officially supported resolutions, (obviously Android 3.0 supports more).
From what I've read and from doing some app development, apps should scale to fit the screen (if programmed correctly). I've read that some apps don't scale for some tablets, what the root reason is for this, I wouldn't know, since the support is there in the API.
Basically, the android sdk provides various ways to describe the layout of your screens, and they encourage you to use ones which describe them in terms of proportional amounts (for the Linear Layout) or in terms of position of items i.e. to the left of item A (for Relative Layout) etc. The other layouts all work along the same lines, i.e. you don't worry about the size of the screen and calculate each position by hand like you do with windows mobile etc, it is all determined by the API.
You can see the different layouts code here and if you find the ApiDemo APK (I'll post if you like) you can view them. However, you can break all the rules and still use the Absolute Layout, where you return to the good old days of x,y co-ordinates. Even then you can use a values which are relative to the screen size and pixel pitch (see Difference of px, dp, dip and sp in android..) so there really is no reason to hard-code it.
As for graphics, I've not done this yet, but I know this handled if you use "9-patch" png files...they describe them here.
The idea here is that the black pixels around the edge allow the designer to say which bits are fixed size and which bits can be stretched to fit etc. It is a really tidy way to do it I think. Imagine how you'd have to do it otherwise if you created a button image with an icon on which would need to be resized to fit!
Oh, there are also provisions to provide low-res, med-res and high-res versions of the graphical resources, so again everything should scale nicely and look good without the need to scale everything all the time. There shouldn't be any need as such for "large" versions of apps, unless the developer wants to change how the app works by making use of the extra space or if they want ensure the "small" version takes up less space. I'm not sure how it determines which resource to use etc or if they all get installed etc, I've not looked into it.
So as long as the designer of the app has done all this correctly then it "should" scale correctly to whatever resolution. Of course, to claim this is true, they would need to test all resolutions. Fortunately you can manually create high-resolution emulated devices so it can be done but that is not the default.
[Now you mention it though, I shall ensure I test any apps I create at least once in high-resolution, it sounds like a good idea!]
I think this might have been why the retina display didn't make it to the iPad2, it would have required app developers to produce yet more app versions to deal with it and re-do the graphics yet again. Unfortunately I don't know anything about how iOS deals with these things, but you don't get the standard sized app in the middle of the screen or a x2 type option as you do with iPads.
Thanks for posting the question, hopefully it answers it (in theory anyway).
Topic Three: Low Level Basics
Part Two: The Root Of It All
I looked and looked for this information but I couldn't find the clear answers I wanted regarding rooting, so here is the info I was after.
What is ROOT, do I need it?
Rooting your device is not essential, for most the things you do with a tablet you will not need root access. Rooting is the process by which you enable “Root” access to the system’s low level files and hardware, this is achieved by enabling “super user” [Linux term for the highest level access which has higher level permissions to files than a normal user (like an Administrator)] access.
In most cases, apps will access hardware and files through the Android API, but in some cases they may need better control of the hardware than the API allows or access to files which are normally locked.
For this reason these applications require “root” access, typically apps which take screenshots (I assume to allow access to the screen data) and backup programs (I expect to allow access to all your files) are such programs.
Am I Rooted?
One thing I had trouble working out was working out if the device was rooted already or not. The quickest way to find out is to try to use an app which requires root access, if you device isn’t rooted it will tell you.
A good way is to download “Terminal Emulator” from the market (or direct from the author) . Then type: su which stands for Super User! (if your device is correctly rooted the “$” will change to “#” (ideally it will also prompt you for permission to enter superuser mode first - see SuperUser.apk below)).
Other signs you are rooted is to look for the “su” file in /system/bin/ but this will not confirm if the file is set to be executable correctly or in some cases different names are used to make it harder for unwanted apps to locate it.
Can I break/brick my device by ROOTING?
Actually ROOTING the device shouldn’t really cause any problems (since all you are really doing is installing a file which allows you to grant “Superuser” access). However, since ROOTING (by definition) allows entering into “Superuser” mode, this mode does allow you make much more serious changes to the system than you would in a “Normal User” mode (which is the whole point!), so clearly there are some risks involved while in this mode (and you may want to consider how this fits with your warranty). If your device isn’t open, then I suspect the main risk is getting your device into an unlocked state so that you can perform the root process first (since my tablet was not locked in anyway, I don’t know about this aspect).
Once ROOTING is complete, you don’t remain as a “Superuser” but any application is able to use it if they require. For this reason, the Superuser.apk application is typically installed, which detects when a request for “superuser” permissions are made and allows you to accept or reject the request.
The ROOTING process itself is reversible, which you may wish to do if you need to return your device for repairs etc.
How to root?
There are many guides and methods, but I shall take one specific to my tablet (posted by OffWorld on androidtablets.net) and explain each step in detail, since none I found explain what it is you are doing.
First you need to get the latest su and superuser.apk files from here.
Now, connecting the device to your pc, open a command prompt and type:
adb devices
Adb will respond hopefully with your list of devices:
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF device
This confirms your device is attached and adb is able to communicate correctly.
Command 1:
adb shell mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
This runs adb (the terminal program to your device) and mounts the specified folders with read/write access.
Command 2:
adb push su /system/bin/
This sends the “su” program to the location on the device (note this assumes have the “su” in the same directory as you are running adb from). You can confirm this by navigating to the location on your tablet and see that the file has been transferred.
Command 3:
adb shell chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
This changes the permissions of the “su” file you’ve just transferred [details about chmod].
By using the command: adb shell ls -l /system/bin/su you can see the permissions.
We’ve changed the permissions from -rw-rw-rw- to -rwsr-xr-x, this allows the file to be executed.
Command 4:
adb push Superuser.apk /system/app/
This installs the Superuser.apk package on the device. This is important since this app allows you to control superuser access, rather than just allowing any program to obtain “superuser” rights.
Command 5:
adb shell reboot
Restarts the device.
Following this process, you will have the SuperUser application installed and applications will request Superuser access if they require it.
Note:
You may find for screen capture programs you need to allow permissions automatically or you may only end up with screenshots of the permission screen! Yes that's how I got the above one...
Excellent topic ! i've got the same pad and was wondering if you did find out a good way to completely backup the firmware. I've used Titanium but that's not a complete dump.
JiePieWie said:
Excellent topic ! i've got the same pad and was wondering if you did find out a good way to completely backup the firmware. I've used Titanium but that's not a complete dump.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to Xda!
That was going to be my next topic.
I've just been focusing on my WM development stuff at the moment (new RSSTab in the works), but will return to the tablet after I am done.
I'm not quite sure the best way to back it up yet, I was planning on trying out the ClockMod route, trouble is I'm quite new to it, so a little cautious about doing it before holidays.
I hope to try out some low level interfacing using the usb at some point too, as I've got a development board to play with.
Side Topic: The Future! Quad core and beyond
This time next year, Rodney...
Just saw this, and thought I would share here!
ASUS planning quad-core Tegra 3 tablet
See the two videos which are on the linked page...
Yes that is 2560x1600 resolution, hopefully to go into a 10" retina display.
Simply said, the future of these chips look rather interesting to say the least (no doubt are related to Sony's NGP).
Looking at the video, what we will be able to do with mobile devices will be rather impressive. Combine that with the new touch and perhaps kinect type control technologies as well as improvements with battery capacity/recharge tech, improved clear & colourful screens and things are shaping up nicely.
Boy are we going to have some fun hacking the innards out of them!
It is easy to see that for me, I've made the right choice by not spending lots of money on an impressive and expensive tablet at the moment. Since I'm happy to wait for a better tablet and until then I can have fun playing with my basic one.
Let just hope that the manufactures come up with a decent device, that is able to be hacked and perhaps might even be half decent out-of-the-box.
What is next? Who knows!
It's interesting really since I think that phones are quite close to the point where they have about as much processing power as they need** (perhaps with the exception of ones which include extra connectivity to HDMI/pico projector, keyboards etc). When they are subjected to the confines of a 3.8"/4" screen, you start to hit the limits of usability rather than processing power. Tablets have given the hardware room to stretch it's legs a little and show us what it can do!
**I'm not saying they won't need more in future, but I think perhaps an upgrade won't be as essential or spectacular, as it once was, until they evolve to the next form of course. I suppose the ultimate progression though is the usability of something like a tablet or pc but packaged in the form of a phone or smaller device in some form or another.
The software needs to catch up now though, we need better multi-core programming techniques, far far better privacy protection, and better stability overall. Thankfully hardware gives us the grunt to do this, it just needs to develop and improve to the point where coding can be done at the highest level of abstraction (which allows time to be spent on creative aspects rather than low level code details).
If you want to look even further, the prospect of re-programmable hardware is getting closer. This is where all the single purpose chips (such as video decoders) are replaced/supplemented by ones which can be re-programmed. Not only does this allow for codecs etc to be updated while still keeping the advantage of hardware decoding/coding (i.e. realtime without loading the main processor or drawing lots of power), but some applications could in-theory call in dedicated processing for specific tasks allowing for some amazing performance when performing complex and processor intensive tasks.
Fun times are a-coming!
Bright things are ahead for our fondle blocks, I don't even care too much if they are android or ipad or something else, as long as we can buy it (without selling a leg or two - ok, not iPad then!), program it, play with it and push it to it's limits and beyond!
Side Topic: Multi-Touch Technology - with No Touch Screen!
ZeroTouch 'optical multi-touch force field' makes a touchscreen out of just about anything
I wonder how much this costs to produce, quite a nice solution and ideal as a add-on to current screens. Depending of the cost of each infra-red and LED module it hopefully won't be too much. Imagine getting it fitted to your coffee table at home!
Hi friends and spice mi 500 owners!
As local devices like mi 500 don't have a separate section for them on xda, here's a specific thread for our mi 500 where you can share everything related to the phone: ROMs, recoveries, themes, games you can play and everything that can be done on an Android.
Rooting your phone:
Download Bin4ry rooting tool from his thread.
Install drivers on your windows pc using pdanet.
Connect your phone to your pc.
Unzip Bin4ry's tool and run the RunMe.bat batch script.
Follow the instructions that roll in the command window and you will be done.
A big thanks to Nileshtambe for this.
ClockworkMod ported to Spice Mi 500!
Download CWM or TWRP recovery.
Rename the downloaded file to recovery.img and transfer it to your phone's sd card.
Download Mobile uncle MTK Tools from Play Store.
Open the app and select update recovery.
Select yes in the confirmation dialog and your recovery will be flashed.
Thank you Yuweng for porting CWM, and NileshTambe for confirming it's working.
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Specs of Spice Mi 500:
Dimensions: 143x77.4x10.5 mm
GSM Phone,Quad-band GSM 850/ 900/ 1800/ 1900
MHz
Battery: 2400 mAh
5" TFT display with 480x800 resolution, 186.59 ppi density and 0.1361 mm dot pitch.
Weight: 205 g
Capacitive multitouch touch screen
Storage:
Internal: 2.07 GB
External: upto 32 GB
Ram: 512 MB
ROM: 4 GB
CAMERA:
Secondary/back camera: 5 megapixels with autofocus and dual LED flash
Primary Camera: 0.3 megapixel
GPS/A-GPS, proximity sensor, accelerometer
The phone is dual Sim and supports dual standby. Other hardware features include 3G, Bluetooth, Wifi and everything else generally found in a phone.
The phone can currently be ordered from saholic for inr 12,499.
Whatever follows ahead is not meant for noobs, neither for those who don't want to risk their devices. Following anything below might lead you to voiding your manufacturer warranty.
P.S. If any developer has got this device, please port clockwork mood recovery to this device. If you have got any specific rooting method that worked for your mi 500, post it below our pm me.
°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*
Reserved
°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*
°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*
Reserved for future
°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*°*
Subscribed.
Received my Spice Mi-500 - running commentary
Just received it 18 hours ago - this will be a running commentary on it. In a week's time I will post my full review
1) Looks good - not too bulky
2) Screen resolution is 800x480 - but its not pixelated. Screen bright and colors look accurate
3) Camera pathetic - some software bug creates hyper-contrasted and hyper-colored photos - needs a software update to fix this (NB: changing the camera settings on contrast, color, etc does nothing and photos still look pretty bad)
4) No compass - no magnetic sensor - Is this not present or has this not been activated??
5) The CPU and GPU are pretty good - MTK6577 dual core 1Ghz processor is fast and Antutu benchmark scores are very close to the Samsung S2. GPU works well on HD games (not fully tested)
6) Software is android 4.0.4 - not too many tweaks by Spice. A few preinstalled apps like TOI, dhingana, etc
7) Very responsive and fluid - no hangups or crashes yet
8) Battery life seems fine (but, not fully tested). GPS sucks away battery at the rate of 1% per minute. 3G usage is not as battery hungry
18hr report - great value for money phone - desperately needs a software update to fix the camera bug
Hello Vind_r,
Welcome to xda (I noticed it was your first post) and also to this thread.
Have you had any prior experience with any Android smartphone? Do you know rooting and stuff? If yes, then please check out if the processor given in the original post works for the mi 500 or not.
If no, you might want to check out the [URL ="http://www.droidiser.com/2012/07/must-have-apps-for-android-beginners.html"]list of must have apps for your new Android phone.[/URL]
Coming to the benchmark thing, can you post a screenshot/snap of the benchmark screen showing the results. Also try out the quadrant benchmark score and post it here so that we can compare it with some other devices. You're the only one here (at present) who is having the device, that's why I am asking you to do so much stuff
vind_r said:
3) Camera pathetic - some software bug creates hyper-contrasted and hyper-colored photos - needs a software update to fix this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try alternative camera apps from the play store. Search for "camera"to get few relevant apps.
vind_r said:
No compass - no magnetic sensor - Is
this not present or has this not been
activated??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this compass application:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.devuni.compass&hl=en
If it works fine, your device has a magnetic sensor. Android phones most probably have a magnetic sensor.
vind_r said:
Just received it 18 hours ago - this will be a running commentary on it. In a week's time I will post my full review
1) Looks good - not too bulky
2) Screen resolution is 800x480 - but its not pixelated. Screen bright and colors look accurate
3) Camera pathetic - some software bug creates hyper-contrasted and hyper-colored photos - needs a software update to fix this (NB: changing the camera settings on contrast, color, etc does nothing and photos still look pretty bad)
4) No compass - no magnetic sensor - Is this not present or has this not been activated??
5) The CPU and GPU are pretty good - MTK6577 dual core 1Ghz processor is fast and Antutu benchmark scores are very close to the Samsung S2. GPU works well on HD games (not fully tested)
6) Software is android 4.0.4 - not too many tweaks by Spice. A few preinstalled apps like TOI, dhingana, etc
7) Very responsive and fluid - no hangups or crashes yet
8) Battery life seems fine (but, not fully tested). GPS sucks away battery at the rate of 1% per minute. 3G usage is not as battery hungry
18hr report - great value for money phone - desperately needs a software update to fix the camera bug
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can u plz post antutu,quadrant,nenamrk,nenamark 2 scores?
Is it scratch resistent?
which you is present in this phone?
does it gets heated?
is it really 200 grams ?
how is the battery life on heavy usage?
can it play nova and gta or any HD game like those?
how are all the sensors?
how is web browsing?
does second Sim gets disabled while first has data connection on?
does the screen gets fingerprints?
is the body made of cheap plastic our and solid material?
how does it feels in hand? is it easy to carry and has a comfortable grip?
can it be really used with single hand i mean can your fingers reach every party of the screen?
Mi-500 benchmark
droidiser said:
Hello Vind_r,
Welcome to xda (I noticed it was your first post) and also to this thread.
Have you had any prior experience with any Android smartphone? Do you know rooting and stuff? If yes, then please check out if the processor given in the original post works for the mi 500 or not.
If no, you might want to check out the ]
Coming to the benchmark thing, can you post a screenshot/snap of the benchmark screen showing the results. Also try out the quadrant benchmark score and post it here so that we can compare it with some other devices. You're the only one here (at present) who is having the device, that's why I am asking you to do so much stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have experience rooting a lot of android devices - I have had android phones and tablets and have rooted/unlocked/hacked/installed custom rom/etc on them all!!. But I am not going to root/hack/customise my mi-500 for the next month - want to check out how all the hardware/software parts work before I start tweaking it. In a month of so, I will definitely start customising my mi-500 and I will certainly report back on this forum.
Coming to the benchmark, I have attached the Antutu benchmark scores - scores quite well (especially when one considers the price). But, am not a big believer in benchmarks - like real-life testing using real-world apps. The processor seems quite capable - In 1 day of mild usage, my Mi-500 has been very smooth, very fluid - does not hang/stutter or slow down in anything mild. I have browsed extensively using the stock browser, played a couple of casual games, recieved/sent emails, opened pdfs/ppts/doc/xls etc using kingsoft - basically used it non-gaming, work purposes - processor has handled it well. Will start throwing more intensive things at it over the weekend and will report back. Have not tested the GPU extensively - another thing I will do this weekend
droidiser said:
Try alternative camera apps from the play store. Search for "camera"to get few relevant apps.
Try this compass application:
If it works fine, your device has a magnetic sensor. Android phones most probably have a magnetic sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have used multiple camera apps - all end up looking similar - there seems to be some weird OS/firmware level bug that creates horrible pictures. On the veiwfinder screen, things looks balanced - when clicked and opened, everything is over saturated. Definitely needs a software update/camera firmware update to correct this
My mi-500 does not have a magnetic sensor (or it has been deactivated at the OS level). No software recognises/identifies any sort of magnetic sensor and no compass or map app shows this either. Have used multiple android system informers/elixer/compass type apps - all report that there is no magnetic sensor.
---------- Post added at 04:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------
vind_r said:
Have used multiple camera apps - all end up looking similar - there seems to be some weird OS/firmware level bug that creates horrible pictures. On the veiwfinder screen, things looks balanced - when clicked and opened, everything is over saturated. Definitely needs a software update/camera firmware update to correct this
My mi-500 does not have a magnetic sensor (or it has been deactivated at the OS level). No software recognises/identifies any sort of magnetic sensor and no compass or map app shows this either. Have used multiple android system informers/elixer/compass type apps - all report that there is no magnetic sensor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone else with a Mi-500 also have the same camera problems? And does any other Mi-500 have a compass/magnetic sensor in it?? Could I have received a dud Mi-500 with these two problems?
rjunraj said:
Can u plz post antutu,quadrant,nenamrk,nenamark 2 scores?
Is it scratch resistent?
which you is present in this phone?
does it gets heated?
is it really 200 grams ?
how is the battery life on heavy usage?
can it play nova and gta or any HD game like those?
how are all the sensors?
how is web browsing?
does second Sim gets disabled while first has data connection on?
does the screen gets fingerprints?
is the body made of cheap plastic our and solid material?
how does it feels in hand? is it easy to carry and has a comfortable grip?
can it be really used with single hand i mean can your fingers reach every party of the screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Antutu benchmark posted - please above
2) Have not tested the screen for scratch resistance. Will not test it deliberately - but, it will be evident in a month or two if it is.. Will reprt back
3) It does not get heated under normal and 3g use. Top of screen gets heated when charging - makes it very difficult to hold to ear for ~2-3 mins after charging - cools down soon though
4) Battery life not yet fully tested - but has lasted whole day with 3G on and intermittent use
5) Have not played any HD game on it yet
6) No magnetic sensor/compass - do not know if this is a bug in my phone or if it is omitted altogether or it it needs to be activated at firmware/OS level through a software update. But - at the moment, no compass - no gyroscope. All other sensors present - proximity, accelerometer, etc
7)We browsing is super smooth using stock browser - dual core processor really helps (+ ICS browser is quite good)
8) If 3G is on on the master SIM, then data can be used on the 1st sim and 2nd sim is active also (for calls only)
9) Spice have sent it with a screenguard on - leaving it on for 1-2 weeks. So, havent checked if screen is oleophobic or regular
10) It is indeed 200g. It has a second flip cover based back cover also included in the package - if you remove the stock back cover and put this flip cover, then the weight goes up by 10-15%
11) Feels comfortable to hold. Of course with a 5 inch screen, no way can you do everything one handed - you need two hands or to keep it on a table for some activities
12) Material is white with a silver trim on the side - all plastic. Feels decent
vind_r said:
1) Antutu benchmark posted - please above
2) Have not tested the screen for scratch resistance. Will not test it deliberately - but, it will be evident in a month or two if it is.. Will reprt back
3) It does not get heated under normal and 3g use. Top of screen gets heated when charging - makes it very difficult to hold to ear for ~2-3 mins after charging - cools down soon though
4) Battery life not yet fully tested - but has lasted whole day with 3G on and intermittent use
5) Have not played any HD game on it yet
6) No magnetic sensor/compass - do not know if this is a bug in my phone or if it is omitted altogether or it it needs to be activated at firmware/OS level through a software update. But - at the moment, no compass - no gyroscope. All other sensors present - proximity, accelerometer, etc
7)We browsing is super smooth using stock browser - dual core processor really helps (+ ICS browser is quite good)
8) If 3G is on on the master SIM, then data can be used on the 1st sim and 2nd sim is active also (for calls only)
9) Spice have sent it with a screenguard on - leaving it on for 1-2 weeks. So, havent checked if screen is oleophobic or regular
10) It is indeed 200g. It has a second flip cover based back cover also included in the package - if you remove the stock back cover and put this flip cover, then the weight goes up by 10-15%
11) Feels comfortable to hold. Of course with a 5 inch screen, no way can you do everything one handed - you need two hands or to keep it on a table for some activities
12) Material is white with a silver trim on the side - all plastic. Feels decent
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is the touch responce and scrolling?
Can u upload a video review on youtube?
I m still not sure about hd video and gaming fun and also about battery life.
---------- Post added at 11:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------
How many touch points does it have?
Spice mi 425 had 5 touch points so i guess this one would also have
rjunraj said:
How is the touch responce and scrolling?
Can u upload a video review on youtube?
I m still not sure about hd video and gaming fun and also about battery life.
---------- Post added at 11:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:00 PM ----------
How many touch points does it have?
Spice mi 425 had 5 touch points so i guess this one would also have
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen is 800x480 - but its still sharp at normal distances (its not a retina display by any stretch, but at normal viewing distances it does not matter). It has only 2 touch points - but have no complaints as it is very sensitive and the sensitivity can be dialled up or down at the OS level.
Battery life is quite good - no fully tested, but in normal usage with 3g always on and wifi off and auto brightness, even after 8 hours of moderate usage, 50% battery life is left (single SIM only - am sure if both SIMs are present and active, this will decrease the battery life)
Spice Mi-500 is manufactured by Chinese OEM Konka - sold in China as Konka W990
Found this when I was exploring the menu options. Please find below additional details and specifications of this phone. (have also attached two photos of the W990 - obviously, other than the branding, it looks exactly same as mi-500).
Hope this information helps those of us creating custom ROMs etc.
BTW - this forum is not allowing me to post links
###################################################
Konka W990 3G WCDMA Android4.0 MT6577 Dual Core 1.0GHz Dual Sim 4.0"WVGA 5.0MP
Description:
Konka W990, 3G WCDMA, Android4.0, MT6577 Dual Core 1.0GHz, Dual Sim, 4.0"WVGA, 5.0MP, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Smartphone, Wifi, GPS, FM radio, Multi-touch, Schedule Power on/off
Brand / Model
Konka W990
CPU
CPU: MTK6577 ARMv7 Cortex-A9 Dual-core 1.0GHz
GPU: PowerVR SGX531 Ultra
OS
Android V4.0
Default English.
Memory
RAM : 512MB / ROM : 4GB eMMC
MAX supports 32GB Class 12 Micro SD Memory Card (TF-Card)
Size
143 x 77.4 x 10.5mm
Weight
205g with battery
Screen
5.0" WVGA, 480 x 800, 16M Colors (TBD),TFT-LCD
Capacitive Multi Touch Screen
Network
Dual Sim, supports W+G / G+G
2G：GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800/1900 MHz
3G：WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+: 2100MHz
Color
White
GPS
Built In GPS & A.GPS
Connection
Bluetooth with EDR & A2DP
Wi-Fi : IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, supports Wi-Fi hotspot
micro USB 2.0
Camera
Dual Camera
Back 5.0 mega pixel / Auto Focus / Flash LED
Front 0.3 mega pixel, supports Skype Video Calls
Support to shoot 3GP 720P (1280x720) with sound, Max 30 mins.
Sensor
Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor
Radio
FM
Video
AVI, MP4, FLV, 3GP, MOV, ASF, MPEG, RMVB, H.263, H.264, etc.
Audio
MP3, AAC, WAV, etc. / 3.5 mm Audio Jack, Beats Audio
Special function
G-sensor, P-Sensor, L-Sensor, FM radio, Wifi, GPS, Multi-touch, Dual SIM, Schedule Power on/off
Package Includes
- Li-ion Batteries 2350mAh x 1
- Earphone / 3.5 mm Audio Jack
- USB Cable
- Charger
vind_r said:
Found this when I was exploring the menu options. Please find below additional details and specifications of this phone. (have also attached two photos of the W990 - obviously, other than the branding, it looks exactly same as mi-500).
Hope this information helps those of us creating custom ROMs etc.
BTW - this forum is not allowing me to post links
###################################################
Konka W990 3G WCDMA Android4.0 MT6577 Dual Core 1.0GHz Dual Sim 4.0"WVGA 5.0MP
Description:
Konka W990, 3G WCDMA, Android4.0, MT6577 Dual Core 1.0GHz, Dual Sim, 4.0"WVGA, 5.0MP, Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor, Smartphone, Wifi, GPS, FM radio, Multi-touch, Schedule Power on/off
Brand / Model
Konka W990
CPU
CPU: MTK6577 ARMv7 Cortex-A9 Dual-core 1.0GHz
GPU: PowerVR SGX531 Ultra
OS
Android V4.0
Default English.
Memory
RAM : 512MB / ROM : 4GB eMMC
MAX supports 32GB Class 12 Micro SD Memory Card (TF-Card)
Size
143 x 77.4 x 10.5mm
Weight
205g with battery
Screen
5.0" WVGA, 480 x 800, 16M Colors (TBD),TFT-LCD
Capacitive Multi Touch Screen
Network
Dual Sim, supports W+G / G+G
2G：GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 900/1800/1900 MHz
3G：WCDMA/HSPA/HSPA+: 2100MHz
Color
White
GPS
Built In GPS & A.GPS
Connection
Bluetooth with EDR & A2DP
Wi-Fi : IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, supports Wi-Fi hotspot
micro USB 2.0
Camera
Dual Camera
Back 5.0 mega pixel / Auto Focus / Flash LED
Front 0.3 mega pixel, supports Skype Video Calls
Support to shoot 3GP 720P (1280x720) with sound, Max 30 mins.
Sensor
Gravity Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Light Sensor
Radio
FM
Video
AVI, MP4, FLV, 3GP, MOV, ASF, MPEG, RMVB, H.263, H.264, etc.
Audio
MP3, AAC, WAV, etc. / 3.5 mm Audio Jack, Beats Audio
Special function
G-sensor, P-Sensor, L-Sensor, FM radio, Wifi, GPS, Multi-touch, Dual SIM, Schedule Power on/off
Package Includes
- Li-ion Batteries 2350mAh x 1
- Earphone / 3.5 mm Audio Jack
- USB Cable
- Charger
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
More information taken from the Chinese site on Konka w990 - of course, Spice have deactivated some of the Chinese specific functions like cloud storage, chinese voice recognition, chinese character input using stylus etc
Please note that the text below is taken from the Chinese website and so is obviously in highly tortured english!!!!
An atmospheric appearance, craftsmanship, taste of the election
● Konka dual-core using the large international companies, auto-sensing holster, opening the lid bright screen, closing lid put out the screen, user-friendly operation with thoughtful design, all-round for you to consider.
● innovation process stainless steel mold injection, the border is more narrow, thinner body, higher strength and feel better. The three-dimensional laser engraving process battery cover, delicate texture, comfortable non-slip.
● unique ultra-fine capacitive stylus, the industry-leading, then the complexity of Chinese characters can be accurately written, designed specifically for the Chinese people are used to.
Cortex-A9 architecture 1GHz dual-core CPU , a leading architecture, dual-core configuration, powerful performance
● Konka dual-core 40nm ultimate craft new Cortex-A9 architecture CPU 1Ghz dual-core ultra-high configuration with DDR2 high frequency memory the eMMC memory technology, performance almost equal to the top level bring more speed operation experience, the menu switch fast and smooth multitasking operating hand in hand.
● Built-in independent graphics processor GPU responsible for 2D/3D graphics calculations accelerated par with high-end performance, smooth running Need for Speed Urban GT 3D fighting game, more brilliant screen.
3. support the Android4.0 operating systems, smart to experience a new upgrade
● Konka dual-core support Android4.0 intelligent operating system faster, more fluid menu to switch, and more powerful.
● innovative face recognition unlock function, quick screen shot, panorama, font adjustment, image editing, and new features, bringing a new exceptional operating experience.
4. 5.0 -inch WVGA high-definition capacitive touch screen, open full HD Horizons
● Konka dual-core with a 5.0 inch wide viewing angle, resolution up to 800 × 480 , colorful, bright and clear.
● High sensitivity capacitive touch screen, supports multi-touch, free to stretch the picture, web pages, quickly and accurately reflect the humane new experience.
5. 500 megapixel AF autofocus camera, support LED flash, easily record a wonderful life
● Konka dual-core built-in 500 million pixel high-definition camera, super photosensitive ability to support AF autofocus with LED flash, ready to record the wonderful life lens effects comparable professional digital cameras, and more support for bar code scanning, business card recognition application.
● Independent front camera, video telephony, network video chat, self-timer ... casual.
● more support 720P HD video playback, playback, and easy to record high-definition video, ready to watch, delicate and smooth screen.
. cloud computing, cloud storage, cloud application Trinity, experience Intelligent era leading technology.
● Konka dual-core super cloud computing technology and support original handwriting function, can any handwritten the hybrid input text, letters, numbers, symbols, Bifeng free to choose the color, presented exclusively for your pen wind Wencai via MMS form of microblogging, e-mail, send a share.
● support the intelligent cloud applications - KOVO - Konka intelligent cloud voice system, the leading Chinese language understanding and recognition engine to achieve a number of functions, artificial intelligence and language exchanges and communication between the user and the phone.
● support for secure cloud storage, the configuration Mycloud private cloud server, fragmentation segmentation, multiple encryption and multiple backup cloud technology, free oversized exclusive space, so you can be anywhere, anytime remote access cloud backup photos, contacts, files, etc. .
7 , WIFI , GPS , Bluetooth, everything, QQ , microblogging, living navigation, HIFI music ...... rich smart applications, unlimited wonderful all in one.
---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------
vind_r said:
Have used multiple camera apps - all end up looking similar - there seems to be some weird OS/firmware level bug that creates horrible pictures. On the veiwfinder screen, things looks balanced - when clicked and opened, everything is over saturated. Definitely needs a software update/camera firmware update to correct this
My mi-500 does not have a magnetic sensor (or it has been deactivated at the OS level). No software recognises/identifies any sort of magnetic sensor and no compass or map app shows this either. Have used multiple android system informers/elixer/compass type apps - all report that there is no magnetic sensor.
---------- Post added at 04:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:50 PM ----------
Does anyone else with a Mi-500 also have the same camera problems? And does any other Mi-500 have a compass/magnetic sensor in it?? Could I have received a dud Mi-500 with these two problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Confirmed that the Mi-500 does NOT have any magnetic sensor or compass (the original chinese version also excludes compass/magnetic sensor in its descriptions. So, its not just my phone - all Mi-500s lack a compass.
Tried using Google Navigate without compass - works quite well and maps out orientation well - only problem is when you are stationary - then, it does not show which direction one has to start out. But, after 5 mins of usage, did not have too many problems.
Installing and Rooting CWM
Hi Folks
I am using ZOPO ZP900 Leader phone and since the Spice Stellar uses the same processor MTK 6577, I am sure most of you will be seeking ways and means to Install CWM and root the phone.
MTK requires a Flash Tool to load ROMs. I have made a detailed guide for Installing CWM on ZOPO which can be accessed here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1899412
For video guide you can see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfemoi6Aizw. The method is same when using Flash tool !
Note ZOPO device comes rooted but without CWM and hence my requirement was slightly different.
You can use this method to flash CWM and use the options including making a nandroid backup, but I am not sure if flashing any of the available Su signed.zip files in this forums will effectively root this device (this was method to root the earlier Spice MI 410).
I am not a dev and maybe a dev/experienced member can comment on this.
Nevertheless this is a beginning ! If anyone make headway please do share and report for others benefit.
Also note there are many MTK 6577 devices and some have already released MODs based on Stock Rom. PLEASE DO NOT FLASH THEM since rest of the device hardware is very different !
Cheers !
vijayar said:
Hi Folks
I am using ZOPO ZP900 Leader phone and since the Spice Stellar uses the same processor MTK 6577, I am sure most of you will be seeking ways and means to Install CWM and root the phone.
MTK requires a Flash Tool to load ROMs. I have made a detailed guide for Installing CWM on ZOPO which can be accessed here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1899412
For video guide you can see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfemoi6Aizw. The method is same when using Flash tool !
Note ZOPO device comes rooted but without CWM and hence my requirement was slightly different.
You can use this method to flash CWM and use the options including making a nandroid backup, but I am not sure if flashing any of the available Su signed.zip files in this forums will effectively root this device (this was method to root the earlier Spice MI 410).
I am not a dev and maybe a dev/experienced member can comment on this.
Nevertheless this is a beginning ! If anyone make headway please do share and report for others benefit.
Also note there are many MTK 6577 devices and some have already released MODs based on Stock Rom. PLEASE DO NOT FLASH THEM since rest of the device hardware is very different !
Cheers !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For porting cwm use yuweng's guide present here at our xda....just search it. ...
My experience as a mtk user is that, I should better go back to samsung for any of their exynos or snapdragon...!
You can get the recovery.img of your stock recovery, then you can mod it so cwm can work with your android model.
If you don't already have the recovery.img file,to get it, first install terminal emulator on your phone(Your phone must be rooted for this!), then launch and type in:
$ su
# cat /proc/mtd
This should give you an output like:
dev: size erasesize name
mtd0: 00040000 00020000 "misc"
mtd1: 00500000 00020000 "recovery"
mtd2: 00280000 00020000 "boot"
mtd3: 04380000 00020000 "system"
mtd4: 04380000 00020000 "cache"
mtd5: 04ac0000 00020000 "userdata"
Now, check for the "recovery partition" , that is which "mtd" it's on. Here it's on mtd1, it might be different for your phone. With that info type in the terminal emulator(You should have your sdcard inserted before proceeding):
# cat /dev/mtd/mtd1(OR whichever mtd YOUR "recovery" is on) > /sdcard/recovery.img
Now upload that recovery.img file at http://builder.clockworkmod.com and see if the cwm works out for the Mi 500.
hi i brought two mi 500 ,, 2 days prior i had brought karbon a18 for my fried
battery backup is good but not good as mi 350 , screen is better in a18 but battery sucks of karbon only 1500 ma
gps and wifi sucks battery like hell
if i play 1080dpi battery drains like hell 2-3 points per min
camera is ok not bad , face unlock which i love most....
MI-500 and Exchange/ActiveSynch
Hi All,
Yesterday I purchased Spice MI-500. Its one good looking phone and I am loving it already. But there is a disappointment. I am not sure where the problem exists. Your inputs would be valuable.
I am trying to connect the phone to my office MS Exchange 2010 / ActiveSynch server using Email stock app. With all the credentials / settings correct, it errors out saying "Can't connect to server"
Talking to my admin, he reported this error on the server: 2012-10-12 06:52:07 10.51.1.90 POST /Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync/default.eas Cmd=FolderSync&User=somename%5Cusername&DeviceId=S piceMi-500&DeviceType=Android&Log=V141_LdapC1_RpcC13_RpcL 31_Cpo19968_Fet20013_S108_Error:deviceIdNonAlphanu meric_Mbxcmail02.officedomain.com_Throttle0_Budget D <truncated>
Note: Error:deviceIdNonAlphanumeric
The device id is : Spice MI-500.
Is "-" the problem? How do I work around this? Its defeating my purpose to buy this phone as a business / smart phone.
TheXSample - SXELROM v2.0 for JXD S7300B
This is a summary of the original article (in Spanish) is in my blog .
For updates on this article, I suggest visiting one of the links above.
_____________________________________________________________________
UPDATES
04/02/2013: Patch_Xsample_2.1.rar
Mirror Mega
Change log:
Tincore KeyMapper
AutoProfiles. By enabling this option, the KeyMapper automatically load profiles, depending on the application that is running in the foreground.
AXIS Investment Selection
Dialogos selection list of options
Elimination of unnecessary controls
UI Enhancements (simpler interface)
Better integration Holo
Scalable Icons
Component Selection pressing physical controls
Renaming profiles
Exporting profiles *
Importing profiles *
* With these options opens the possibility to share applications among users profiles.
Driver Tincore
Acceleration of the driver
Investment AXES
Accelerometer support *
Fixed some bugs
Support for specific calibration D-PAD **
Added hot-key [VOL-] & [L2] to reset current profile ***
* Now you can assign horizontal or vertical tilt to one of the axes of the sticks. With this option, you can play many N64 or PSX titles (preferably on emulators that support analog), and the inclination to use the console to control the action in games. Example: Mario Kart 64 may play a "Wiimote Style" or Forsaken, can be controlled by tilting the tablet.
The D-PAD ** console, as already explained is analog, but which behaves as digital.
There is a problem with the D-PAD and their center (neutral position) is shifted to the right, so the analog calibration can influence the response of the D-PAD, for example, that in some games and emulators respond correctly to one side, usually to the left.
To avoid this, in games / emulators that specifically use a d-pad instead of analog, recalibrate the driver is suggested to use the D-pad as the main entrance. To do this, simply open the tool and select "Calibrate" in the Stick 0, and use the D-PAD to calibrate the device.
Note: The calibration is stored in the profile of the game, so it will not affect other profiles created with KeyMapper.
*** This combo is useful if you experiment problems or get stucked with your current keymapper layout. You can use in any time to reset profile to <RESET TO DEFAULT> values.
Requirements
Having installed the rom-SXELROM TheXSample v2.0 before installing this patch.
Instructions
Unzip the zip in the root of the microSD
Start the console with [Vol +] and [POWER] and select "Apply upadte from EXT".
Select the patch you want to apply:
- Patch1200
- Patch1320
- Patch1500
App is installed in the data, that is, as user application, and eliminates the above.
_____________________________________________________________________
List of changes
Here is a short list of changes included in this version of firmware.
Later in this article, there is a section with extended information about these changes.
Firmware
New kernel changes allowing more CPU settings and more conservative values ??(donation version includes SetCPU)
This includes new governors set for the console hardware
Minor changes in memory management.
NTFS writing enabled.
Speed ??1.2GHz default rom
All changes to the stock rom v1.7, as the inclusion of the new Full Screen option
Tincore Driver
Support for multi-directional swipes.
All controls can be swipe-type (Support up to 20 swipes configured simultaneously)
Establishment of standard joystick driver for the device. It works and is recognized by the system as analog joystick 4 axes and 16 buttons
Improvements and optimizations in the driver code, to get even less lag.
New algorithm for pointer modes sensitivities
Support for remapping keys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlJxrGBvews
(Dead Trigger mode driver with Joystick)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRowLsgyGw
(Temple Run using the full interface with console controls)
Tincore KeyMapper
Changes and improvements in the user interface of the tool
Improved display rotation tool wing pair.
Self adjusting menus always leave visible objects / widgets on screen
Defining swipes using drag & drop, to start and end points
Simplification in the definition of areas for pointer modes
Highlighting groups of objects / widgets
Calibration Sticks in two modes: Auto and Manual
Basic implementation for remapping controls for mode "Key"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj-ZNQWQoQw
(Modern Combat 4 Touch mode, with Swipes activated to switch weapons)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvM8mgOl0aU
(Nova 3 Touch mode, with Swipes activated to switch weapons. You can see that there are no breaks in the 360 ??º turns, and changing weapon swipe too fast)
Download Links
TheXSample - SXELROM v2.0
Rom - Google Docs Mirror (GDrive)
Patch speeds and Swap
Patch - Mega Mirror
Patch - Mediafire Mirror
Thanks
Many people involved directly and indirectly in the development of this Rom: Christian Troy, fun_, Lomax, fuser-invent, Tincore, Namco69, Yoshi41, Skelton, Deen0X and who stay to name.
Special mention of Durruti, inspiration especially for TheXSample and Tincore
I hope this rom will please and utility of those who wish to try.
=============================== Older Versions ===============================
TheXSample - SXELROM v1.0 para JXD S7300B
Usage of this article
Usage of this article is alowed by copy or link reference to anyone with the only condition of keeping original author and a reference to the original source of this review. The mentioned reference is the following:
Source and Updates of the info from this article.
Original (in Spanish) is in my blog.
For updates I suggest to visit any of the mentioned links.
About this article
This article is a summarized version and only contains the most relevant features..
To read the full article check the previous link
Features
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zz_YYYRiCz4
(SXELROM beta, showing some features)
Only features present
at the time of the writing of this review are listed.
(Separate external and internal mount points)
Based on Skelrom v1.0 for JXDS7300B, private 1.4stock firmware sources and JXD 1.5. Includes all Skelrom and last official firmware fixes.
Clean code. Official sources only. No alien code.
New mount points. Now internal and external mount points are at the same level in the filesystem and not one inside the other. Swap is easier.
Deep sleep improvements. WiFi disable when sleep saves a lot of battery.
New Kernel features by Skelton andTincore (check Kernel chapter)
New specific governors tailored to device hardware. Specially new "ondemand" scores more than 10000 Antutu points with console processor running at 1.3GHz (No cpu stress needed)
New "ondemand" governor allows cooler execution.
50Hz to 60Hz screen fix, The same that we suggested JXD to incorporate in his 1.5 firmware (Check screen refresh note)
New Tincore input kernel driver. It provides lower input lag and lots of extra configuration options to support new sticks and buttons operation modes.
"Tincore Keymapper", UI Mapping tool to configure specific input kernel driver options (check Tincore Keymapper chapter)
About new Kernel
This firmware's kernel has been created using JXD 1.4 sources. Those sources, whith some small chanes, have been released as JXD 1.5 firmware.
(new governors added)
More important kernel feautres:
Chanes in CPU and voltage to improve temperature and stability.
Support CIFS/NFS for seamless net shares filesystem mount.
I/O schedulers and NAND optimizations. Improve read/write operations and memory access.
Mali driver optimizations to speed up 2D and increase graphical memory cache buffer.
(Antutu Benchmark result with new firmware improvements, governor “ondemand” and 1.32GHz. Reaching 10000 points which is a bit better than 1.5GHz with performance governor)
About new input kernel driver: Tincore Driver
Tincore provided a new kernel driver to improve latency and support many missing features in original drivers.
(Keymapper, with new features like pointer mode)
Driver improves response times because it is more optimal and faster than the original. This reduces input lag
New driver enables key events for all sticks when mapping tool is disabled, This allows to use right stick as a key pressing digital stick. Because of this it can be used by emulators and games that can be controlled with keyboard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPntj4ojtq4
(Showing some of the new features of the Tincore's Driver)
Keymapper tool features
(Keymapper using original JXD driver)
The new mapping tool supports both JXD driver and, naturally, the new Tincore driver.
The tool supports multiple stick modes (split/combined/pointer...) and allows to define where is the screen pressed when a button or stick is operated.
The tool supports profile save and restore and portrait mode.
Because of its backwards compatibility the tool by itself is a good replacement for the JXD mapping tool. Ley profile support is already a great addition.
Download links
TheXSample - SXELROM v1.0
Rom - Mirror Mega
Patches
The patch includes a file folder with different kernels at different speeds (1200, 1320 or 1500 MHz) as well as the possibility of exchanging the SWAP and the external memory and return to conventional partition system JXD. Within each folder is how to install and that is what.
Patch - Mirror Mega
For more updates check original article.
How to install:
Download the file and extract the contents of "TheXSample-SXelrom v1.0 for JXD s7300B.rar" to your sdcard root
With the deviced tunerd off, insert the microsd with the files, press and keep pressed the button [VOL+] and, without releasing, turn on your device with [POWER] button
Keep [VOL+] pressed until you see an android image with a progress bar. The firmware will be installed automatically and at the end of the process the device will reboot.
Your device is updated!
Thanks to:
This firmware has been possible thanks to the work of several persons. All valuable contributions have been in the form of coding, suggestions, testing...
Thanks go to Tincore, Skelton, Christian Troy, fun_, fuser-invent, LomaX, Namco69, Yoshi41, Deen0X and more.
Also thanks to web shops Willgoo y Zococity that provided testing devices that allowed tetst and feedback for the team.
(Because I have more than one console, I was able to perform a series of tests in parallel to obtain useful information that was used in the development of some of the features of the firmware)
I also want to give special thanks to the couples (wives, etc) several of whom have been working on this project, that it takes patience and an understanding that we do this because we love, and we want to share it with more people.
I hope this project is the starting point for more projects of the same type, which are extremely rich in both technical knowledge in general, but especially on a personal level, because in my case I meet interesting people, who always is rewarding and I hope to keep in touch. ^_^
Zalu2!
Deen0X / TheXSample
Update, check the first post...
Update, check the first post...
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After months of advertising, the ICOO ICOU Fatty2 is now finally on sale. The entry-level price of the tablet (Wi-Fi only) is RMB 899 (USD 149), which is much higher than competitions like the Yuandao mini one (USD 119) and CHUWI V88s (USD 119), both of which have the same 7.9 inch IPS display. But the Fatty2 is pricier for a reason, the 5500mAh battery it features gives the slate an extraordinary 10-12 hours run time, and the Wi-Fi reception is the best I’ve experienced on a Chinese tablet!
Key Features:
◇7.9 inch 16M-color IPS display at XGA resolution (1024X768 pixels)
◇Weighs 310g, 198*134*7mm in size.
◇Rockchip RK3188 SoC., 1.6GHZ quad core Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP4 GPU, 1GB DDR3 RAM
◇Stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
◇16GB of built-in-storage
◇2.0MP front facing camera; 5.0MP rear-facing camera
◇Stereo speaker
◇HDMI TV-out
◇Bluetooth V2.1
◇USB host
◇MicroSD card slot
◇Standard 3.5mm audio jack
◇1080p video playback
◇5500mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery, 10-12 hours battery life
Main disadvantages:
Too similar to the iPad mini
So-so Cameras
Pricier than alternative options
First Impressions
The one thing that sticks out most about the Fatty2 is how much it looks like an iPad mini. And I'm not talking about the interface and apps, but the weight and size of the tablet, which is so thin and weighs so little you'd almost think you were browsing the web on a piece of paper.
The ICOU Fatty2 may not have the Retina Display and 2GB of DDR3 RAM of many 9.7 inch Chinese tablet, but it still looks beautiful and is extremely responsive. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Most apps are designed to run on standard resolution, only a few apps actually support the latest superior graphics of the retina display.
The 7.9-inch ICOU Fatty2 is only slightly larger than many 7 inchers, thanks to the narrow screen bezel it uses. When I pick it up with one hand, it seems just right. While many of the 8 inch tablets beg to be held with both hands, it feels natural to hold the Fatty in one hand, even for a long period of time.
Retail Package
It seems ICOO determined to stick to this colorful packaging approach for its tablet products this year. Fatty2 is wrapped up in a paperback box which has 7 colors to it. I personally prefer more simplistic style taken by Samsung and many other internationally well-known manufactures, but I can’t say that this packaging isn’t attractive.
Again, ICOO has carried on its wonderful tradition with a slew of buddle fittings. You will find a 5V-2A charger, a USB data cable, an OTG cable and a pair of SONY earphones along with the fatty2.
Design and Build
The front of the tablet is dominated by a 7.9 inch IPS display, with very small bezel around it. At 198*134mm, it is even smaller than the popular Apple iPad mini (200 x 134.7mm), and only slightly bigger than the Nexus 7 (198.5 x 120mm) and Kindle Fire HD (196.7 x 133), both of which use a much smaller 7-inch display.
As for thickness, the ICOO ICOU Fatty2 is easily the slimmest tablet I have ever seen, at 7mm it is even thinner than the ultra-slim iPad mini (7.2mm) and Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 (7.9mm). Although Yuandao has claimed the their so-called 6.8mm mini one is the thinnest tablet on earth, it is later proved to be just another lie, amongst many lies told by this unprincipled tablet maker.
All the connectors are hosted on the bottom edge. From left to right are a mini HDMI port, a micro USB port, a 2.5mm DC port, a 3.5mm audio jack, a tiny microphone pinhole and a MicroSD card slot which supports cards up to 32GB.
Again, ICOO has taken a simplistic approach with the hardware keys, only a power/standby key and a volume rocker will be found on the transition area between the right edge and the back. Personally, I dislike the arrangement that the power button is actually below the volume rockers. Moreover, I am really disappointed that, in portrait mode, the lower part of the volume rocker is actually volume +. I know this may be due to the fact that we more often use the tablet in vertical mode, but if a tablet is designed to be like an iPad, it should be arranged like an iPad.
The back of the slate is partially plastic, partially aluminum. This is, contrary to the button layout, a brilliant arrangement. The plastic can guarantee solid Wi-Fi reception, and the use of hairline metal can avoid the feel of cheapness. A 5MP auto-focus front facing camera sits comfortably on the upper left corner, and the only speaker gate is on the lower left corner.
Also, you can choose to purchase a magnetic protection cover or a Bluetooth keyboard for your Fatty2, both of which are at relatively low price (cover: $7, Keyboard: $17). When you open the cover, the Fatty2 magically wakes up. And while you close it, the Fatty2 automatically goes to sleep. I have only seen this useful function on the iPad series and some Windows tablet before. Its presence here on a low-price Chinese tablet is pretty surprising. The Bluetooth keyboard feels even more solid than the tablet itself, at just 7.7mm thick it can turn your Fatty2 into a super-slim ultra laptop in just a second!
Screen
The Fatty2 sports exactly the same display used on the iPad mini. The IPS display technology together with the 7.9” XGA display delivers seamlessly brilliant colors that redefines the best visual experience a tablet can offer.
The ultra slim 7.9” XGA display offers brilliant contrast ratio, the best color gamut and response time, making text or image-viewing extraordinarily crispy and vivid regardless the viewing angle.
http://image14.poco.cn/mypoco/myphoto/20130702/01/173385433201307020105472732452363556_005.jpg[img]
[img]http://image14.poco.cn/mypoco/myphoto/20130702/01/173385433201307020105472732452363556_004.jpg
There is nothing special about the resolution and some 7" tablets like the Nexus7 and the Kindle Fire HD even push the pixel density above 200 ppi. If you did the math already, you'd know the Fatty2 is far behind at 163 ppi. The Retina display of the new iPad is the standard-setter in tablets at 264 ppi, and you will always keep in mind the existence of the Google Nexus 10, which holds the tablet record of 300ppi. Hacing said that, the Fatty2’s display is still vivid enough for most users, packing an XGA resolution in such a small screen definitely brings much better visual experience than most of the computers.
Even when you put the Fatty2 next to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, which features a more expensive, more vibrant Super AMOLED Plus display, it still won’t be outshined. In fact, the IPS display the Fatty2 sports is likely to be more accepted by the majority of users as its color expression is more close to real.
Performance
The Fatty2 is powered by the 1.6GHZ quad core RK3188 Chipset, along with 1GB DDR3 RAM, which put up some incredible benchmark scores.
The 17,472 overall Antutu benchmark score handily beat the 16,734 notched by the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, and smashed scores achieved by the Allwinner A31 powered Onda V818 mini and Actions ATM7029 powered Ainol NOVO8 Dream.
It’s more or less the same story on the Quadrant Advanced. Again, the RK3188 powered Fatty2 scored higher points than the other 3 devices.
In the graphics-focused Nenamark2 test, the Fatty2 scored 55.6 FPS, higher than the category average. But the Allwinner A31 powered Onda V818 mini scored a much more impressive 58.9 FPS, thanks to its impeccable PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU.
The An3D Bench XL also centers on the 3D capability of the device. But the Fatty2 turned the tide around this time, notching an incredible 37,018, blowing the other 8 inch competitions out of the water.
Vellamo is by far my favorite Benchmark application, the scores of certain device are very consistent, regardless of the version of the software. Although the Fatty2 was beaten by the more all-optimized Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 in both HTML5 and Metal test, it still smashed the other two quad-core slates.
CF-bench also witnessed the Fatty2’s capability, the 15888 final score easily outshined its competitions.
Fortunately, the Fatty2’s real world performance cohere with its benchmark scores, at XGA resolution, it is truly the fastest tablet I have ever used, and I want to continue using it until the Quad Core A15 era’s here.
The stock web browser works fine enough, but I am more of a fan of Dolphin HD and Chrome. Even with more than a dozen of webpages opened in different tabs, the Fatty2 remained super responsive with no delay and lag at all. Most apps I have used on this device work perfectly, but with this resolution you will find a few of the apps specifically made for 16:10 screens appeared somewhat distorted on the Fatty2’s display, but I don't mind that as the screen and colors are incredibly amazing, and until you hold this in your hand it’s hard to put in writing just how beautiful it really is.
With 1GB of DDR3 RAM, the Fatty2 isn’t as strong as the PIPO M9 in multi-tasking, with lots of big applications running at the same time the smoothness could be crippled. By big applications I am not talking about the chatting apps such as Skype and ICQ, or even games like the “Angry Bird” and “Temple Run”, I am talking about real big apps such as “IRON MAN 3” and some Office applications. So, for anyone who’s not a psycho tester like myself, the Fatty2’s RAM is enough!
Although the Fatty2 isn't exactly the most incredible multi-tasker, it really shines in the game department. In both portrait and landscape modes, the tablet is easy to hold and control, making it a snap to play games where you need both thumbs on the screen. One-handed tapping and swiping is easy as well, thanks to the form factor of the unit. While you can appreciate the size of a 10-inch tablet for gaming, the 7.9 feels very good in your hands. Also, it had no issues with any of the games I opened up on it, ranging from “Temple Run 2” to “Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots” to “Virtua Tennis” to that lone pre-loaded level of “Dead Space”. I even loaded the insanely graphic-intense “Need for Speed: the Most Wanted”, and quickly became obsessed with the fast racing and crushing. Despite the fact that these games can be processor intensive, particularly on a tablet, I had no issues whatsoever.
Movies and Videos play very well with the stock video player and there are several on the market you can use if you find videos that do not work on the stock player. In my actual test, I have no problem playing any local video file in my mobile disk. Even with a few 1080P videos which cannot be played through hard-decision decoding, you can use soft decode them smoothly, thanks to the extremely powerful RK3188 quad core chipset.
Audio
Sound-wise, while the HD videos really show off what this tablet is capable of, you'll want some headphones or an external sound solution. I am not saying the Fatty2’s speakers are bad, in fact, it is much better than most of the 7-8 inch tablets I have used in the audio department. But the single speaker still doesn't pack nearly as powerful an audio punch to match the visuals. Even at full volume, sounds like a whirring computer fan or a printer will easily drown out anything from the tablet.
Cameras
The cameras mounted on the ICOO Fatty2 aren't anything to write home about. Rear camera photos are decent, especially if you have enough light, and shooting video in 720 HD also can be seen as a bonus.
Of course, 5MP cameras on different Chinese tablets perform pretty much the same, and the Fatty2 isn’t really disappointing, it just cannot produce crisp HD photos that you would expect to go with this fabulous display. It is still worth using the camera on-board, especially because if you've ever seen someone holding up a full-sized iPad to take a photo or shoot video, you know how ridiculous they look. With this sleek 7.9-inch pad, it's much easier to get away with using it as a camera and not looking like you're a protester at a rally.
Connectivity
The Fatty2 is well equipped in terms of connectivity. There is a Micro USB connector for computer connection. There is a microSD card slot as well. The 16GB of internal storage helps too.
The Wi-Fi support includes a/b/g/n versions, with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz band compatibility. Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA support are also available. In my actual test, the Fatty2’s Wi-Fi reception is more than satisfactory, thanks to the M500 Wi-Fi module it features. This type of Wi-Fi Module is more often seen on those high-end smartphones. Below is the readings of Wi-Fi Analyzer on different spots and the comparison with readings of other tablets:
Also, the addition of Bluetooth is always a good thing, not only can u use it to transmit files without a data cable, u could also connect your tablet to those bluetooth input and audio devices:
Naturally, the Fatty2 supports USB on-the-go, and the adapter is already packaged in the paperback box along with the tablet. You can connect card readers, USB flash drives and other compatible devices to your tablet and access their contents through the file manager. Mice and keyboards are supported as well.
Unlike the iPad or Samsung Galaxy tabs, there is an independent mini HDMI port, all you need to do is to buy a $5 HDMI cable, and you can enjoy your tablet content on a much bigger screen.
Battery Life
The tablet is powered by a 5500mAh battery which, coupled with the power-efficient 28nm RK3188 SoC., is more than enough to make the Fatty2 one of the best tablets in terms of battery backup. In our battery test the slate achieved a score of 86 hours. This means that if you use the Fatty2 for an hour each of gaming, web browsing, and video playback every day, you will have to recharge it every 86 hours. And the tablet stood 11 hours, 55 minutes of online video streaming (30% of screen brightness, 50% of speaker volume), blowing the Beneve Miracle One’s 10 hour record out of the water:
In local video playback, the ICOU Fatty2 broke the long-held record by Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, and smashed the other 8-inch Android tablets I’ve tested:
Charging the tablet is relatively fast, with the buddle 5V-2A charger you only have to wait 3 hours for a full charge (0%—100%). Shutdown charging support not only guarantees the efficiency, but also gives the tablet a longer life span.
Verdict
The good:
1. The screen is truly impressive. Although the resolution doesn't match the iPad4 and Nexus10's Retina Display, it is definitely in the same ballpark and provides very crisp images.
2. The slim chassis and narrow bezel design make holding the tablet in one hand no longer that much of an effort.
3. The slew of ports and slots the Fatty2 provides for its users are truly wonderful, you no longer need to buy expensive adapters to enjoy functions such as HDMI or OTG.
4. The Wi-Fi reception of the tablet is amazing, arguably the best I have experienced on a Chinese tablet.
5. The 5500mAh battery paired up with the power-efficient RK3188 SoC. gives the tablet an incredible 10-12 hours’ run time.
The bad:
1. The price is the biggest barrier to fully enjoying the Fatty2. Although compared to the iPad and the bunch of Samsung tablets, it is incredibly cheap already, yet its major competition comes from other Chinese tablet makers: the Yuandao Mini One, the Chuwi V88s and CUBE U35GT are all $30 cheaper than the Fatty2.
2. The Fatty2 ships with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and uses the stock user interface. Although ICOO has promised an upgrade to Android 4.2 and a delicately designed Metro Launcher, and there are already a few beta ROMs out there. However, without a clear date in sight who knows when the official ROM will arrive.
3. With the 7.9 inch display and similar-sized chassis, it is pretty much another iPad mini look-alike, and this can bring you some queerish stares and annoying questions.
Final verdict
The form and size of the Fatty2 feels perfect for a device you can grab to take with you for a long trip, a meeting, or a trip to the ballpark. It isn't as unwieldy as a 10-inch tablet, but the tradeoff is the screen loses real estate previously devoted to input. As a result, it doesn't feel like a serious business device, even if you paired it up with the Bluetooth keyboard, the lack of capable Office applications is still standing in the way of carrying this Android slate around for tight-scheduled business meetings.
What you will really find in the Fatty2 is a very pretty, functional media device. Android fans should consider this device if it fits their needs, but with other similar options in lower price ranges, you'll want to take a hard look at those needs and decide if it actually works for what you need it to do. For a casual entertainment unit, it works well. Any more than that, and you're going to find the capabilities stretched very thin.
With more Chinese tablets coming to the table every day, most now in quad-core configurations and with equally impressive screen options, the Fatty2 faces quick obsolescence unless it can compete. A price drop and software upgrade would be a big step in the right direction.
This review took me weeks to finish, why doesn't anybody care to read it?
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
jupiter2012 said:
This review took me weeks to finish, why doesn't anybody care to read it?
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because it's too long.
Wow nice review, where did you buy?
vetro5 said:
Wow nice review, where did you buy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, and more importantly, where to buy at $149. USD. The prices I have seen via Google search point to $200. USD and upward, so far. I also tried eBay and even the Fatty 1 is $160. USD, and again, the Fatty 2 is over $200.
Quite impressed. Now want to see if there are any bugs and kinks, strange things etc, which you never know about from a smaller brand and a smaller user base.
Where i can get model like this (clone of iPad mini) but with:
- Android 4.1 (+)
- quad core processor
- 2gb of ram
- 16gb of storage
- GPS integrated (so i can use offline navigation software like Sygic or Mireo)
- the same screen size 7,85" or 7,9"?
I loocked MSI Primo 81, Yuandoa Vido mini one and Cube U55gt - but this models have not GPS
Is there any good china tablet with my spec?
sylver said:
Where i can get model like this (clone of iPad mini) but with:
- Android 4.1 (+)
- quad core processor
- 2gb of ram
- 16gb of storage
- GPS integrated (so i can use offline navigation software like Sygic or Mireo)
- the same screen size 7,85" or 7,9"?
I loocked MSI Primo 81, Yuandoa Vido mini one and Cube U55gt - but this models have not GPS
Is there any good china tablet with my spec?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps you should check the goopad android-sale.com
More specifically - http://android-sale.com/goopad-mini-3g.html
fortissimo said:
Yes, and more importantly, where to buy at $149. USD. The prices I have seen via Google search point to $200. USD and upward, so far. I also tried eBay and even the Fatty 1 is $160. USD, and again, the Fatty 2 is over $200.
Quite impressed. Now want to see if there are any bugs and kinks, strange things etc, which you never know about from a smaller brand and a smaller user base.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The retail price in China is RMB899, which is like 149 USD. But the price may vary in different countries, in relation with the taxations and transportation costs.
Hello,
Nice review thanks I wanted to buy this tab and now that I've read your review I want to buy it even more. But I have a question where did you bought it please ? I've founded it on many sites but I don't know any reliable sites where to buy it. I would be very pleased if you could tell me where you bought it. Thanks
Ramir0u said:
Hello,
Nice review thanks I wanted to buy this tab and now that I've read your review I want to buy it even more. But I have a question where did you bought it please ? I've founded it on many sites but I don't know any reliable sites where to buy it. I would be very pleased if you could tell me where you bought it. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am Chinese, so i nought it on TAOBAO. I guess there are also a lot of online shop for oversea buyers.
jupiter2012 said:
This review took me weeks to finish, why doesn't anybody care to read it?
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the Power button at the back of the tablet, is it very often that you turn off your screen accidentally?
Just bought one... hope wifi problems wont happen to mine by the way thanx for the review
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app
darkest_lightning said:
Just bought one... hope wifi problems wont happen to mine by the way thanx for the review
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does anyone know where can we update the firmware ?
I have seen some info that there is Android 4.2.2 for fatty2 but i can´t find the rom to download
In this link from their site says that fatty 2 has android 4.2.2 ...
www.aoicoo.com/en/ProShow.asp?id=40
but to download roms it goes to a chinese site:
http://soft.aoicoo.com/
Could someone from China please help cause i cant understand chinese ....
Regards,
butcher
The Chinese post office site finally says my tablet is send so i'm waiting for it now :laugh:
I did some google translate on the link you provided and came up with a download for the fatty 2 and the fatty 2 2gb version.
but it seems to me like the only language in the update is simplified chinese... hope it 's not
the home page with lots of firmware directions:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=nl&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://soft.aoicoo.com/
the fatty 2 upgrade:
http://translate.googleusercontent....id=295&usg=ALkJrhjK0r_oqPfz-rvjutlU33jwZrd-yw
(downloading takes like forever, its half an hour now...)
hope this helps a bit.
let me know is if you update your firmware and have some other languages besides simplified chineese.
grtz
---------- Post added at 08:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------
just finished downloading the firmware and took a look inside the files with googletranslate.
looks like you can set it to English also.
readme file:
Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co., Ltd.
Unified production tools
User Instructions
2010-3-20
Document Revision History
The date of enactment Compiler version number / modify people modify the description Effective Date Remarks
1.0 2010-3-20 Cw edition
1.1 2010-10-12 LY increased error description
1.2 2011-06-28 LY configuration parameters to increase the data dial operation
1.3 2011-11-15 LY increased quickly check firmware mode
1.4 2012-03-02 LY increased common setup instructions
Directory
Overview 4
1 using the object 4
2 Component Overview 4
2.1 Tools directory structure 4
2.2 The configuration file used to set 4
2.2.1. Language Day 4
2.2.2. System section 5
2.2.3 Configuration 6 commonly used functions
3 Step 6 Use
3.1 modify the configuration file 6
3.2 Installing the Driver 7
3.3 firmware upgrade nine batches
3.3.1 Interface Introduction 9
3.3.2 Procedure 9
3.3.3 Error Messages Explained 9
4 Precautions 10
Outline
Unified production tools Rockchip Microelectronics Co., Ltd. is to improve customer productivity tools specifically developed . The tool is primarily used in factories in large quantities of the product firmware upgrade operation.
1 Using Objects
The need for large quantities of the product firmware upgrade factory.
2 Component Overview
2.1 Tools directory structure
config.ini
Tool configuration file that can be used to set the language and upgrade tools related properties , methods are detailed profile specific settings common settings .
Language
Language file storage directory , all currently supported language files are stored in this directory .
Log
Log storage directory , save the log normal upgrade process output and error information, log function can be modified in the configuration file to enable or disable items LOGFLAG recommended that you turn facilitate future error analysis.
RKBatchTool.exe
Production tools program
2.2 The configuration file used to set
Note: red for common setting items
2.2.1. Language Day
Kinds = 2 / / current number of tools to support all of the languages
Selected = 1 / / Specify the current tools used language
/ / Selected = 1 ( Chinese ); Selected = 2 ( English )
LangPath = Language \ / / language directory where the file
Lang1File = Chinese.ini / / Chinese language file
Lang1FontName = Arial / / Chinese language fonts
Lang1FontSize = 9 / / Chinese language font size
Lang1Tag = CHN / / Chinese language logo
Lang1CHNTitle = Chinese / / Chinese language selection Chinese display title
Lang1ENGTitle = Chinese / / English language selection Chinese display title
Lang2File = English.ini / / English language file
Lang2FontName = Arial / / English language fonts
Lang2FontSize = 9 / / English Language Font Size
Lang2Tag = ENG / / English language identification
Lang2CHNTitle = English / / Chinese language selection English Show Title
Lang2ENGTitle = English / / English Language selection English Show Title
2.2.2. System section
RKUSB_VID = 0x2207 / / RockUsb device VID, not set , venting can
RKUSB_PID = 0x290A / / RockUsb device PID,, do not set , venting can
MSC_VID = 0x0BB4 / / MSC device VID, not set , venting can
MSC_PID = 0x2910 / / MSC device PID, not set , venting can
FORCEFLAG = FALSE / / whether to adopt mandatory erasure, have not used
FORMATFLAG = TRUE / / if the user after the upgrade disc is formatted , format set TRUE , other values without formatting
DISKVOLUME = Rockchip / / formatted disk volume label for the specified user
COPYFLAG = TRUE / / upgrade directory or file is copied to the user's root directory , set TRUE copy, other values are not copied
DEFAULT_COPYDIR = / / copies the specified directory or file you want to copy the path
FORMATDATADISKFLAG = TRUE / / if the data after the upgrade disk is formatted , format set TRUE , other values without formatting
DATADISKVOLUME = Rockchip / / formatted disk volume label for the specified user
COPYDATADISKFLAG = TRUE / / upgrade directory or file is copied to the root directory of the data set TRUE copy, other values are not copied
DEFAULT_DATADISK_COPYPATH = / / copies the specified directory or file you want to copy the path
LOGFLAG = TRUE / / logging , set TRUE Enable logging , other values close the log function
SUPPORTLOWUSB = TRUE / / scan full speed usb device switch, set TRUE to scan Full speed usb device , other values are only scan high speed usb device
DEFAULT_FIRMWARE = / / default load firmware path , specify the default firmware path, the tool starts automatically when you open the default firmware
CHECK_MACHINE_MODEL = TRUE / / Firmware matching checking function ,
By setting CHECK_MACHINE_MODEL items, you can check before upgrading the firmware upgrade is allowed , permitted
Conditions to keep the value of the device firmware file MACHINE_MODEL parameter values match.
QUICK_CHECK_MODE = TRUE / / Quick check firmware switch is set to TRUE open the Quick checksum firmware functionality, but this feature is not complete parity there is a certain risk.
FW_VERSION_MODE = / / firmware version display format
DEC: Decimal display
Other: hexadecimal display
MISC_MODIFY_MODE = / / MISC partition to modify signs,
WIPE_ALL: erase userdata, cache and user area
WIPE_DATA: erase userdata and cache area
Other values are not modified by the original partition contents misc
MSC_WAITTIME = 30 / / Wait Msc device re-connection time ( unit: seconds )
RKUSB_WAITTIME = 20 / / Wait RockUsb device re-connection time ( unit: seconds )
2.2.3 configuration commonly used functions
Open Demo copy function:
Set FORMATFLAG = TRUE,
COPYFLAG = TRUE,
DISK_VOLUME = disk label
DEFAULT_COPYDIR = file or directory to be copied path
Android projects need to add a setting:
MISC_MODIFY_MODE = WIPE_DATA; prevent users after copying disk data recovery program to be erased
3 Use the procedure
modify the configuration file
Plug the device to be upgraded , if prompted to find new hardware , install the driver Rockusb
run the tool, select the firmware upgrade
3.1 modify the configuration file
Modify the configuration file , see the configuration file used to set
3.2 Installing the Driver
Before upgrading the firmware , turn off the player. Press and hold the upgrade button and simultaneously connect the device to a PC USB port. If you have not installed device drivers , it will pop up the following tips:
Select " Install from a list or specific location ( Advanced ) " and click Next.
Select the driver folder rockusb.sys
This completes installation of the USB device driver .
3.3 Batch firmware upgrade
3.3.1 Interface Introduction
3.3.2 Procedure
plug the device
Select the firmware
Verify that the device enters Rockusb state (Maskrom and Loader states belong Rock usb state )
upgrade or repair equipment
3.3.3 Error Messages Explained
" Failed to load configuration information can not be operated " because Config.ini file loading error , you can get from a publisher file to replace the correct Config.ini
" Failed to load firmware , you can not operate ! " No choice because the firmware or the firmware can not be read correctly lead , make sure that the firmware is correct
" other operations are running , please wait ! " As other operations currently in progress , please wait until the other end of the operation then
" device not found , unable to operate ! " Please confirm whether the device is connected, or whether Rockusb state
" creation process fails, you can not operate ! " Please restart the program before proceeding
" object create operation fails, you can not operate ! " Please restart the program , and then when the line operation
" does not support this type of equipment can not be operated ! " Please confirm whether the device into the Rock usb state , if the current state of the U disk , first switch before doing so
4 Precautions
batch upgrade multiple devices connected to the same HUB best on while upgrading equipment should not exceed four .
modify the configuration file , you need to re-run production tools
use of production tools , do not open other upgrades
production tools in the production process to the device automatically generates a UID unique code , the only code you need to ensure reliable, please use a computer equipped with a card production tools .
When Boot firmware version update , we recommend using the repair function to do the upgrade .
darkest_lightning said:
The Chinese post office site finally says my tablet is send so i'm waiting for it now :laugh:
I did some google translate on the link you provided and came up with a download for the fatty 2 and the fatty 2 2gb version.
but it seems to me like the only language in the update is simplified chinese... hope it 's not
the home page with lots of firmware directions:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=nl&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http://soft.aoicoo.com/
the fatty 2 upgrade:
http://translate.googleusercontent....id=295&usg=ALkJrhjK0r_oqPfz-rvjutlU33jwZrd-yw
(downloading takes like forever, its half an hour now...)
hope this helps a bit.
let me know is if you update your firmware and have some other languages besides simplified chineese.
grtz
---------- Post added at 08:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:15 PM ----------
just finished downloading the firmware and took a look inside the files with googletranslate.
looks like you can set it to English also.
readme file:
Fuzhou Rockchip Electronics Co., Ltd.
Unified production tools
User Instructions
2010-3-20
Document Revision History
The date of enactment Compiler version number / modify people modify the description Effective Date Remarks
1.0 2010-3-20 Cw edition
1.1 2010-10-12 LY increased error description
1.2 2011-06-28 LY configuration parameters to increase the data dial operation
1.3 2011-11-15 LY increased quickly check firmware mode
1.4 2012-03-02 LY increased common setup instructions
Directory
Overview 4
1 using the object 4
2 Component Overview 4
2.1 Tools directory structure 4
2.2 The configuration file used to set 4
2.2.1. Language Day 4
2.2.2. System section 5
2.2.3 Configuration 6 commonly used functions
3 Step 6 Use
3.1 modify the configuration file 6
3.2 Installing the Driver 7
3.3 firmware upgrade nine batches
3.3.1 Interface Introduction 9
3.3.2 Procedure 9
3.3.3 Error Messages Explained 9
4 Precautions 10
Outline
Unified production tools Rockchip Microelectronics Co., Ltd. is to improve customer productivity tools specifically developed . The tool is primarily used in factories in large quantities of the product firmware upgrade operation.
1 Using Objects
The need for large quantities of the product firmware upgrade factory.
2 Component Overview
2.1 Tools directory structure
config.ini
Tool configuration file that can be used to set the language and upgrade tools related properties , methods are detailed profile specific settings common settings .
Language
Language file storage directory , all currently supported language files are stored in this directory .
Log
Log storage directory , save the log normal upgrade process output and error information, log function can be modified in the configuration file to enable or disable items LOGFLAG recommended that you turn facilitate future error analysis.
RKBatchTool.exe
Production tools program
2.2 The configuration file used to set
Note: red for common setting items
2.2.1. Language Day
Kinds = 2 / / current number of tools to support all of the languages
Selected = 1 / / Specify the current tools used language
/ / Selected = 1 ( Chinese ); Selected = 2 ( English )
LangPath = Language \ / / language directory where the file
Lang1File = Chinese.ini / / Chinese language file
Lang1FontName = Arial / / Chinese language fonts
Lang1FontSize = 9 / / Chinese language font size
Lang1Tag = CHN / / Chinese language logo
Lang1CHNTitle = Chinese / / Chinese language selection Chinese display title
Lang1ENGTitle = Chinese / / English language selection Chinese display title
Lang2File = English.ini / / English language file
Lang2FontName = Arial / / English language fonts
Lang2FontSize = 9 / / English Language Font Size
Lang2Tag = ENG / / English language identification
Lang2CHNTitle = English / / Chinese language selection English Show Title
Lang2ENGTitle = English / / English Language selection English Show Title
2.2.2. System section
RKUSB_VID = 0x2207 / / RockUsb device VID, not set , venting can
RKUSB_PID = 0x290A / / RockUsb device PID,, do not set , venting can
MSC_VID = 0x0BB4 / / MSC device VID, not set , venting can
MSC_PID = 0x2910 / / MSC device PID, not set , venting can
FORCEFLAG = FALSE / / whether to adopt mandatory erasure, have not used
FORMATFLAG = TRUE / / if the user after the upgrade disc is formatted , format set TRUE , other values without formatting
DISKVOLUME = Rockchip / / formatted disk volume label for the specified user
COPYFLAG = TRUE / / upgrade directory or file is copied to the user's root directory , set TRUE copy, other values are not copied
DEFAULT_COPYDIR = / / copies the specified directory or file you want to copy the path
FORMATDATADISKFLAG = TRUE / / if the data after the upgrade disk is formatted , format set TRUE , other values without formatting
DATADISKVOLUME = Rockchip / / formatted disk volume label for the specified user
COPYDATADISKFLAG = TRUE / / upgrade directory or file is copied to the root directory of the data set TRUE copy, other values are not copied
DEFAULT_DATADISK_COPYPATH = / / copies the specified directory or file you want to copy the path
LOGFLAG = TRUE / / logging , set TRUE Enable logging , other values close the log function
SUPPORTLOWUSB = TRUE / / scan full speed usb device switch, set TRUE to scan Full speed usb device , other values are only scan high speed usb device
DEFAULT_FIRMWARE = / / default load firmware path , specify the default firmware path, the tool starts automatically when you open the default firmware
CHECK_MACHINE_MODEL = TRUE / / Firmware matching checking function ,
By setting CHECK_MACHINE_MODEL items, you can check before upgrading the firmware upgrade is allowed , permitted
Conditions to keep the value of the device firmware file MACHINE_MODEL parameter values match.
QUICK_CHECK_MODE = TRUE / / Quick check firmware switch is set to TRUE open the Quick checksum firmware functionality, but this feature is not complete parity there is a certain risk.
FW_VERSION_MODE = / / firmware version display format
DEC: Decimal display
Other: hexadecimal display
MISC_MODIFY_MODE = / / MISC partition to modify signs,
WIPE_ALL: erase userdata, cache and user area
WIPE_DATA: erase userdata and cache area
Other values are not modified by the original partition contents misc
MSC_WAITTIME = 30 / / Wait Msc device re-connection time ( unit: seconds )
RKUSB_WAITTIME = 20 / / Wait RockUsb device re-connection time ( unit: seconds )
2.2.3 configuration commonly used functions
Open Demo copy function:
Set FORMATFLAG = TRUE,
COPYFLAG = TRUE,
DISK_VOLUME = disk label
DEFAULT_COPYDIR = file or directory to be copied path
Android projects need to add a setting:
MISC_MODIFY_MODE = WIPE_DATA; prevent users after copying disk data recovery program to be erased
3 Use the procedure
modify the configuration file
Plug the device to be upgraded , if prompted to find new hardware , install the driver Rockusb
run the tool, select the firmware upgrade
3.1 modify the configuration file
Modify the configuration file , see the configuration file used to set
3.2 Installing the Driver
Before upgrading the firmware , turn off the player. Press and hold the upgrade button and simultaneously connect the device to a PC USB port. If you have not installed device drivers , it will pop up the following tips:
Select " Install from a list or specific location ( Advanced ) " and click Next.
Select the driver folder rockusb.sys
This completes installation of the USB device driver .
3.3 Batch firmware upgrade
3.3.1 Interface Introduction
3.3.2 Procedure
plug the device
Select the firmware
Verify that the device enters Rockusb state (Maskrom and Loader states belong Rock usb state )
upgrade or repair equipment
3.3.3 Error Messages Explained
" Failed to load configuration information can not be operated " because Config.ini file loading error , you can get from a publisher file to replace the correct Config.ini
" Failed to load firmware , you can not operate ! " No choice because the firmware or the firmware can not be read correctly lead , make sure that the firmware is correct
" other operations are running , please wait ! " As other operations currently in progress , please wait until the other end of the operation then
" device not found , unable to operate ! " Please confirm whether the device is connected, or whether Rockusb state
" creation process fails, you can not operate ! " Please restart the program before proceeding
" object create operation fails, you can not operate ! " Please restart the program , and then when the line operation
" does not support this type of equipment can not be operated ! " Please confirm whether the device into the Rock usb state , if the current state of the U disk , first switch before doing so
4 Precautions
batch upgrade multiple devices connected to the same HUB best on while upgrading equipment should not exceed four .
modify the configuration file , you need to re-run production tools
use of production tools , do not open other upgrades
production tools in the production process to the device automatically generates a UID unique code , the only code you need to ensure reliable, please use a computer equipped with a card production tools .
When Boot firmware version update , we recommend using the repair function to do the upgrade .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello darkest_lightning
Thanks for your awnser.
But one problem still resides. where is the Android 4.2.2 because the firmware version of Fatty 2 and Fatty 2 2G are of Android 4.1.1 ...
Maybe it´s bull**** of them in the english site that the fatty 2 can have Android 4.2.2
But many thanks for your post
Regards butcher
Got my fatty yesterday... must say i'm pretty pleased with it. It's fast, wifi s good, comes in english, nice screen and fully charged i used it for 3-4h and still has 65% battery left. There are some chinese apps and market on but you can hide them so they wont bother. Didnt do the firmware update yet but everything seems working well for now
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app
Article too long, I only saw a few pictures.
darkest_lightning said:
Got my fatty yesterday... must say i'm pretty pleased with it. It's fast, wifi s good, comes in english, nice screen and fully charged i used it for 3-4h and still has 65% battery left. There are some chinese apps and market on but you can hide them so they wont bother. Didnt do the firmware update yet but everything seems working well for now
Sent from my HTC Sensation using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
darkest_lightning it comes with 4.1 ? or 4.2 ?
Regards,
Butcher
the_butcher said:
darkest_lightning it comes with 4.1 ? or 4.2 ?
Regards,
Butcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Butcher looks like it's 4.2.2
Grtz
darkest_lightning said:
Hi,
Butcher looks like it's 4.2.2
Grtz
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi darkest_lightning
Well i think they let out the firmware of 4.2.2 because i downloaded this firmware from soft.aoicoo.com:
I installed one of this LOL don´t know witch one ...
2013-10-11 › [F 系列升级固件]Fatty2 多视窗软件363
2013-10-11 › [F 系列升级固件]Fatty2 多视窗软件362
and it is Android 4.2.2
Very nice by ICOO released the new firmware and it looks like 4.1.1 because surfing the net is smooth like hell
Regards,
Butcher
rk3188[x7010] - Performance Tweaks, Test Journals, Learning diary, and custom ROM nV 1.03 for x7010
First of all, I wanted to say thanks to LEOLAS of FREAKTAB for all the knowledge I've learned and also for OMA for making his roms PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE AND FREE!!
PLEASE DO NOT COPY/PAST MY/THIS ARTICLE/POST Without Giving the right credit/Link to this post and XDA Forum too!!!!
I'm A WRITER AND I Dont like PLAGIARISM !!!
although It is fine for me if you will rewrite it in your own words
Oh I will introduce my self first, I am From the Country of [>--] Philippines, though very few developer came from our country, this is because of the LACK of INTEREST / PASSION of most of my countrymen.
I am th3f33, Pronounced as DAFFY or read as The Fee, ayt? xD The real name is Demi francisco, I am a Professional DESKTOP and Laptop Tech, and was used to be my previous work / job. Now I am currently focused on Web Developing and Programming (HTML,CSS,PHP,MySQL,JAVASCRIPT,ETC) that's why I am pretty familiar in the way the ANDROID Language goes (C+,Perl,PHyton,java Ayt?). I AM THE MAD PROGRAMMER!! lol XD (Just like hohouin kyouma).
For the sample/preview of my first cooked rom performance, Here is a YOUTUBE Video for it, stress test in HD Games.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm1ewtDljuk&feature=youtu.be
Vid is 14 minutes long, it would be better to check this first at least the first 5 minutes, and if you are interested, then you can continue to read.
So the device is:
SKYWORTH SKYPAD X7010
(quickly phased out on Skyworth MAIN Upon the release of x7011)
Full SPECS: (Stock)
Rockchip 3188 Quad Core Processore (28nm, 512kb l2 cache, 1.6ghz)
2GB Hynix DDR3 SDRAM 1600(h5tq4g8) Clocked @ 300mhz idle, 400mhz 1.2v
Hynix 8GB Internal Nand FLASH h27ucg8t2atr
Mali 400MP4 GPU @ 600mhz
Wifi and BT By mediatek (MT5931 and MT6622BT)
UP TO 64GB micro sd support
USB OTG
NTFS SUPPORT
HDMI SOCKET
7", 1280 x800 resolution
Audio is Realtek RT3261
NO GPS, No other sensor except accelerometer
Stock OS JB 4.1.1 (Ported/unperfected rom, missing libs, cannot run NBA2k13 on stock rom 4.1 due to the missing lib)
Facebook Group for my Custom Rom with Links to Download - please join my group, im CREATING an Army XD
https://www.facebook.com/groups/187854081403188/
NV v1.03 Custom rom By: Th3f33 (yey its me!~)
Features:
Rooted
Tweaked for MAXIMUM Performance for the price of a little battery timespan.
ANDROID SDK 2.0 4.2.2 (4.3) Based
Incomplete UI (Kitkat Based/Transparency), Not calibrated very well...
Internal storage(system) increased from 1GB to 2GB while internal SD decreased to 4.4gb
Anti-Aliasing x4 Unlocked on Developer Options
Comes with the CWM Recovery (Thanks again to LEOLAS!!! YOU ROCK!! HAPPY NEW YEAR)
Faster Reading And Writing Speed
Nand Flash and RAM Tweaks
GPU Tweaks!
99.7% Fully Functional and Error Free (As far as I tested, until Nov 2013, Im not sure right now, but may not have any problems updating google apps at all)
Bloatware Removed / Reduced
Added Apps:
Root Explorer
Jota+
Android Kitkat 4.4's Office
Android Kitkat 4.4's Google Launcher
Chrome
Rebooter App
PPSSPP (PSP Emulator)
Viper4Android Sound Effects
DOWNLOAD LINK IS SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE of the whole article...
if there are some that i had forgot to mention, please do remind me XD
Instructions.
1.Install Adb Drivers after downloading the zip,
2.enable usb debugging or enter the bootloader mode by turning off the device, then holding both the volume button and power.
3.run the nV flasher, install drivers, if not yet in bootloader mode, reboot now by pressing the reboot on the flasher.
4.clear nandb then flash!
I AM NOT HELD RESPONSIBILITY IF IN ANY CASE YOUR DEVICE GETS BRICKED!
EXCLUSIVELY FOR Skyworth's Skypad x7010 only, but may also work on chuwi v88 [not tested]
I do provide unbricking service for a fee, but if you will read thoroughly this whole post, you will see the keywords to search for to unbrick rockchip rk30 devices!
DETAILS
I do believe that these tweaks / Performance increase / Speedup can be applied to all RK3188 devices, with the same logic / techniques can also be applied to rk3066 to maximize the performance. BUT BEWARE ON THE RAM(MEMORY) CHIP!!!!
Now here are the information on What i Modded and how to Improve the Performance
NOTE: (If the performance of my tablet on the video on youtube is the same as the performance of stock rockchip rk3188 tablets/devices, please do say it to me so that I will be able to change some Description on all of my posts across the INTERNET!! Thank you!)
so.... here is the learning diary and test journal
CHAPTER 1. Full brick at 1st week
The x7010 did not had any kind of update OTA from skyworth, and was replaced quickly by x7011. Since skyworth is a chinese company, i am not really expecting anything from them. but the sad part for me was when i bought the tablet, (About $150 converted currency) and then looked over the internet for supports such as CWM Recovery, CROM, Cyanogenmod or anything else, I FOUND NONE! Great! Not even a Copy of STOCK ROM! Which give me the idea of studying/learning the developing since i had already interested in doing so, and will also make me one of the pioneer custom developer/cooker for our device.... YEY!!... but it was not easy, IT WAS A HARSH PATH....
After my 1st week of trying, I already got a FULL BRICK ON MY DEVICE, But lucky me, im a great actor, so it ended up replaced from the store since it was still covered in the 1week replace 1 year service warranty. (I had softbricked the device by trying to flash Finless rom 1st try, then glassrom 2nd try, then i fully bricked it by flashing with no bootloader & parameter, erase nand db so that the store wont find out that it had been rooted and flashed!)
Chapter 2: Unbricking Success!
So on my 2nd chance, First thing i did was to do a ROMDUMP for backup (NO CWM YET), then I tried to create another CWM Again BUT I FAILED, Where i left it as is with no recovery but working system.... then i posted my 1st post here and in freaktab WHERE I stated that I want to learn and dont want to be spoonfed... Then after a few days, leolas tried to make the CWM!!! but I cant seem to flash it via flash_image, so I used a 1.37 rk tool, to flash the recovery, (Now i know that i messed up the partition offset of the recovery before so it doesnt really boot to recovery!). but by testing out what i understand from the forums, researched alot regarding parameter, mtd partition, the way android system boots and operates, i finally flashed the CWM Successfully on my device! so i backed up trice the device, and since i was so excited, i tried to flash a new rom again, but the excitement and an old mouse that double/triple clicks BRICKED my device by flashing it with NO PARAMETER AND BOOTLOADER, and all other are checked and the flash are already being erased.
No more bootloader mode, no more adb, not detected in PC In any way. then i found out the pin 8& 9 shorting for the nandflash unbrick method, tried it, stripped down my tablet, but i was so sleepy so it resulted in a failure. I dreamed that i will be able to revive the device by retrying it so when i woke up, the first thing i did was to do the PIN SHORTING then i plugged the usb cord, then poof,! Success! MASK ROM MODE FOUND!! then flash my romdump (Backup from cwm with tar and tar.a cannot be flashed ). Although i have one problem, the dump have the system in .tar and i need a .img, so once again, GOOGLE! kept on searching till i stumbled on a forum where an instruction of how to make a System.img flashable from update.zip. Using a Linux mint VM then plus learning basic syntax of linux, got it working ! .
Chapter 3 - BRAVERY!
This scenario made me think that NOTHING CAN STOP ME NOW! since it was the most difficult part for me, especially the unbricking part. so ill make it a little bit short, i flashed many roms, and recorded the differences for every rom,(ALL ROM ARE FOR RK3188, m9, u8gt,mk908, t428, glassrom, m9, etc), some rom displays, some don't, some boots, some doesn't. I also learned to logcat, read logcats, read and debug using dmesg. the rom that had been most compatible for my device is the chuwi rom v88 by oma (Yeah it rocks!) with working wifi, bluetooth, and everything else except for 3 problems, Inverted Camera, Accelerometer not working and NO SOUND! NO AUDIO! WAAAAA but was able to use it still, and checked the performance. run some benchmarks, played some games, although no sound, it was fine, with a few random lagging.... still, i continued to study it and modifying.
Next part was the System UI - framework.res and baksmaling and modfying apks, mostly for the User interface, and those were pretty easy since you can use the TRIAL AND ERROR Technique!. I have already the idea for the configs in build.prop, and just did some trial and error. By doing all of this, continuously, i am learning different syntax & commands too using adb and terminal emulator. so in the end, i maximized the performance of the rom, without touching the kernel. But i still notices the lag, one scenario is this, Fresh boot, Playing NBA2k14, then by some reason, after the camera zoom, the game slows down or get a little lag, about 22 - 28 fps, in order to get back to the max fps gaming, sometime i touch the notification area, sometime pause - resume. and when i am on max fps on any game, then accidentally touched the home / recent button, when i return to the app, it gets so lag! and when playing simultaneous game, it gets really lag.
Start the tweaking
I know this symptom, Applying my knowledge & experience in desktops. I had declared to myself that THIS IS THE EFFECT OF A BOTTLENECK! (Unbalanced specs & performance) or Memory bus width too low therefore bandwidth limits the overall performance so i checked the OC of the device, then found out that it was not overclockable thru software.
Google is my friend, and found out that i need to compile my own kernel that enables the Clock adjustment of the device to exceed the 1.6ghz. I was too naive that I Underestimated RK3188's Power. my initial goal was to OC the CPU itself, but after googling hours and hours, asking my mentor on how to compile a kernel, looking for sources which was the same for our device, eventually i found none xD, then, I stumbled upon.... OVERCLOCKOMATIC / Patchomatic!! a linux app that enables patching kernel's clock settings. And i found out that it can patch ram / gpu / cpu!
Since i was An Experienced Overlclocker (Overclocking on desktop, e5400 (2.7ghz Raised to 3.15ghz), On AIR / STOCK FAN + Exhaust & intake circulation). First i did was a hand made heat spreader (To make this, you need an aluminum foil, fold it into three, with the width of about 1-1.5 inch, then cover most of it with any tape except for the part that will be connected to the target(my target is the cpu), and the other end for the receiver/outer/safe place to transfer heat.) first, my target is my procie and spread it through the sd card slot, and another one from the procie to the aluminum case on the wifi & bt (it was covered!) i moved the 1st end from the sdcard slot to the back cover later on when i realized that i might damage the sd card or the socket itself .
Then I tweaked it and tweaked it for days, checked stability, compared results.
our kernel is 3.0.36 compiled on ubuntu! Yey! at first i was running the device on 1.8ghz, then later on i reverted it back to 1.6ghz, due to heat issues that may damage the device with prolonged use and to save battery spantime too.
But not everything is about the clockspeed, especially when i checked the GPU CLOCK IS ALREADY MAXED, So what would be the cure or solution for the bottleneck....
of course, the logics of tweaking a processor or ram or gpu are the same for the desktop. SO HERE ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT I LEARNED AND WILL SHARE FOR EVERYONE EVEN IF THEY ALREADY KNEW IT OR HAD IT ON THEIR DEVICE ALREADY OR DOESNT hAVE A CLUE!
Chapter 5: OVERCLOCKING? the correct term to it for me was clock correcting / clock tweaking.
This is the EXACT modification of the kernel clock and stepping on both cpu & gpu and ram on my kernel which IS INCLUDED IN MY CROM Where everyone in our country(philippines) with x7010 tried and was satisfied of the great improvement of performance. and last week, some russian had already visited our facebook group and was testing my rom already . they also shared some roms of their own, although i think they are ported too.
nV 1.03 [first Edition] by th3f33 Download Link:
http://bagongpleion.net/th3f33/nv103.rar
RAM
modifying the RAM (2g DDR3 sdram 1600mhz) to be run @800mhz like a ddr2 instead of the stock @400mhz like ddr1 thus increasing the bandwidth have a huge impact on MALI-400mp4 gpu since the Quad Core Rockchip Processor were fast enough to make up for the lost clock cycle but lacks bandwidth because of the 32 bit bus width. BEWARE! Our ram is 2gb ddr3-1600mhz, which have a normal voltage of 1.5v. Low profile sdram modules have only 1.2 / 1.3v normal running voltage. YOU WILL NEED TO MANUALLY CHECK THE SDRAM MODULES ON THE DEVICE ITSELF TO IDENTIFY What type of ram it is, is it a ddr3 sdram? ddr2? a low profile? and clock timings? Ive used google to fully identify my hynix ram specs and even tried running the RAM @ 800mhz 1.5v and no restarting / corruption issues! it just that it drains the battery really fast. for our device, the exact and sufficient Voltage for the ram to perform well @ 800mhz is around 1.3v - 1.35v although im using 1.3v only. THIS IS NOT APPLICABLE TO ALL RAM and WILL REQUIRE MOST OF THE ATTENTION, EFFORT AND TIME TO APPLY CORRECTLY AND SAFELY!
I cannot guarantee your life or you freedom !
Some Info on ram: Lower clock speed of ram have faster clock cycle (on default clocks of actual ram sticks) Higher Clock Speed of ram have slower clock cycle BUT Bigger Bandwidth.
Low Profile RAMS Uses less energy(VOLTAGE), expect a slight decrease in overall performance....
Some Rams have lower clock cycle and latency in their stock settings compared to other. This are the high profile / OC'ed version of rams..
Anonymous asked: "Why did you use ddr800 against ddr400 config for our ram?"
RK3188 is a quad core processor with 512kb (L2 cache per core i believe) running @ 1.6ghz which are ULTRA FAST and can be compared to an AMD athlon Mobile processor ! it was so fast that before that RAM Cycles to refresh, all the data have been stored in the ram had been processed already, so there was really no need for the quick cycle, PLUS The GPU Is an Onboard/SOC/bundled along with the CPU (like intel's I series and AMD A Series). Now They will need a Bigger bandwidth so the power of the cpu can be utilized more since more data (RAM IS 2gb, can store a lot of data! Really...) can be passed as the bandwidth is higher. therfore GPU have a wider data path for transferring the rendered graphics data to the cpu to process then pass back to the GPU or ram, dpending on situation, without clogging up the I/O Path.
Short Answer: Faster GPU and Read/Write speed at no cost (aside from a little energy drain for the increased voltage of ram, since the cpu can handle that load!)
Chapter 6: Cpu and GPU
CPU
Kernel patched, using rkpatchomatic / overclockomatic! (linux)
I also reduced the Clock stepping and adjust the voltage of the cpu from:
312mhz @ .9v
504mhz @ .925v
816mhz @ 1v
1008mhz @ 1.075v
1200mhz @ 1.150v
1416mhz @ 1.250v
1608mhz @ 1.350v (this may not be right, if i am not mistaken it was only 1.3v @ 1.6ghz on stock)
(6steppings)
to
504mhz @ 1v
1008mhz @ 1.115v
1416mhz @ 1.250v
1608mhz @ 1.350v
(4steppings)
AND the GPU speed increase by loading the driver module with:
insmod /system/lib/modules/mali.ko (removed mali_dvfs & mali_init_clock=133)
and also changing the GPU voltage and stepping FROM:
133mhz @ .975v
200mhz @ 1v
266mhz @ 1.025v
300mhz @ 1.050v
400mhz @ 1.100v
600mhz @ 1.250v
(6 Steppings)
To
200mhz @ 1.05v
400mhz @ 1.15v
533mhz @ 1.2v
600mhz @ 1.35v /1.3v
(4 steppings)
OR
266mhz @ 1.05v
400mhz @ 1.175v
600mhz @ 1.35v
(3 steppings)
The Steppings Reductions Resulted in a VERY VERY Fast Application Switching (Not using a multiwin rom, but able to run about 6-7 HD games with seemingly no lags on switching). BUT Additional battery power may be consumed because of higher idle values for each settings.
My theory, explanation, and strategy was.....
GPU & CPU Steppings logic are the same, while for the GPU the clock increases, so as their texture and pixel fillrate. But gpu power may not be nough @ 1.25v during heavy loads, that is why i've used the maximum allowed voltage for the gpu, and adjust most of the voltages so that the system will never be short on current especially when switching state.
Wanderer asked: "why did you reduced the steppings and what exactly is that?"
Stepping is the term I used for the clock settings / stop point, It came from intel, they use Speedstep and steppings. as you can see, Most of the time, when not playing hd games or not running so many many apps, The cpu (based on my new config) will either run fine at 500mhz, - 1ghz only. (large bandwidth maximizes the power of the quad core of rockchip). so it wont need to adjust itself to 1.4ghz unless it really needs it, and it will not revert back to 500mhz unless all apps and memory are cleared and closed. (Even if you press the recent apps, it will stay @ 1ghz and will not drop to 500mhz). When running a solo HD game, except for 2013 Q4 HD games like CoD & GTA SA, cpu will be fine @ 1ghz, when running other apps, like browser, music player, etc etc, it will be kept in memory, and the cpu will have to speed up itself so it will be stable @ 1.4ghz, when running multiple hd games, it will run @ max 1.6ghz.
The stepping settings helped the cpu to be STABLE @ certain clock during prolonged usage.
Plus, rk3188 is not a very good at clock switching / stepping adjustment. Some users of rk3188 uses a cpu tweaker and set their clock permanently to 1.6ghz right? but it consumes battery faster. I tried different numbers of steppings and clock config and this was the best result for performance. Well in reality, if you are going to overclock a desktop processor, you will disable the speedstep or clock switching feature because it consume power and energy. imagine that the processor needs to consistently monitor the cpu load and adjust it according to its needs. even a human will have a delay of a few seconds during the adjustment and calibration of the strength, the same logic applies to the processors too, plus if you will add the stress of the switching of the GPU, bugs and lags are generated, sometimes, it takes quite a while for the gpu to adjust its clock, from 133, to 200, then lags a little, adjust cpu, then gpu from 200 - 400, then suddenly you pressed the home button while playing, gpu reverts back to 133mhz which is far from the max, ew, where in my config, you start at 233, making everything seems to be so smooooooth, even if you enable AAx4 in the developer options you wouldnt notice the impact of it in performance, then you can disable hw overlay and enable gpu rendering too to maximize performance! if you want to save battery, then choose the 4 steppings on gpu, if you are a hardcore gamer on tablet, then use the 3 steppings on gpu, if you want more, replace the 400mhz config in the 3steppings with the 533 from the 4steppings.
STORAGE
I have Also increased the Speed if reading / writing in the nand flash by mounting mtd partitions with:
ro noatime nodiratime noauto_da_alloc data=writeback barrier=0 nobh
TIP {
instead of using an app to mount the android folder in external sd, you can use a terminal emulator, then this command to mount the folder from exterlan sd - internal, so you can play more games! (Note: please do create the /Android/data and /Android/obb on both internal and external SD
$ su mount -o bind /mnt/external_sd/Android /mnt/sdcard/Android
or
# mount -o bind /mnt/external_sd/Android /mnt/sdcard/Android
to remove the mount/bind
$su umount /mnt/sdcard/Android
or
# umount /mnt/sdcard/Android
The mount / bind is not permanent though, and you will need to enter the command every restart of the device.
}
end of message...
Elp Psy Congroo
XDA:DevDB Information
nV v1.03 [1st revision], a ROM for the Android General
Contributors
th3f33, th3f33
ROM OS Version: 4.2.x Jelly Bean
ROM Kernel: Linux 3.0.x
ROM Firmware Required: ANY x7010 firmware / softbricked
Based On: AOSP
Version Information
Status: Stable
Current Stable Version: v1.03
Stable Release Date: 2013-11-14
Current Beta Version: v1.00
Beta Release Date: 2013-09-09
Created 2014-01-07
Last Updated 2014-01-07
Reserved
ROM Screenshots, And Benchmarks:
Passmark Results:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Antutu:
Rom:
Reserved
about:
if there are any question, or criticism, or bugs, or anything else, feel free to post, i will entertain anyone :good:
th3f33 said:
if there are any question, or criticism, or bugs, or anything else, feel free to post, i will entertain anyone :good:
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can you provide a version that have a default Android icon on the NavBar? [Back][Home][Switch]
Hey TH3F33! Its me Patrick! Hehehehe, nice you're already starting to spread your name and our tab, I hope this becomes successful and well known, will always have your support!
Edit: They really should make a forum for our tab.
Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
samplermonhar said:
can you provide a version that have a default Android icon on the NavBar? [Back][Home][Switch]
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Yes, maybe I will do that maybe tomorrow, I just have to finish another task from my work.
The nV 1.04 will be Philippine themed
re
Jabbzz said:
Hey TH3F33! Its me Patrick! Hehehehe, nice you're already starting to spread your name and our tab, I hope this becomes successful and well known, will always have your support!
Edit: They really should make a forum for our tab.
Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
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Tnx
I was already creating our own forum, just be patient, its a virtue. :good:
Why are you using xt890 ? Lol
th3f33 said:
Tnx
I was already creating our own forum, just be patient, its a virtue. :good:
Why are you using xt890 ? Lol
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No I mean a category here in XDA..hehehe..
XT890 is my smartphone, the one I use for texting, blah2. Motorola RAZR i
Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
Jabbzz said:
No I mean a category here in XDA..hehehe..
XT890 is my smartphone, the one I use for texting, blah2. Motorola RAZR i
Sent from my XT890 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
we alreay got a place, check facebook group -.-
Looks like only a few skyworth users visits xda....
Sent from my x7010 using Tapatalk
Wait a moment, is there a 4.3 rockchip rom? The blobs it is using are from 4.2?
Edit: sorry, I just saw this: ANDROID SDK 2.0 4.2.2 (4.3) Based
jsevi83 said:
Wait a moment, is there a 4.3 rockchip rom? The blobs it is using are from 4.2?
Edit: sorry, I just saw this: ANDROID SDK 2.0 4.2.2 (4.3) Based
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep it is a 4.2.2 based on 4.3
two thumbs way up for you kabayan! I'm no coder, but I love to read and tweak usually consolidating tweaks/scripts for my myPhone Vortex.
Good thing its a fairly popular phone in India, else I would have been stuck with the stock rom.
I'm curious if your rom can be applied to the recently released tablet from Starmobile : Engage 8 quad+
It sports the same processor as your Skyworth but with 1G of RAM only, 8G internal. Been looking around and I've read through
the list of roms you've tried (PIPO, M9, GLASS) and its a good thing I found your thread. I would have risked to root and flash
my tablet with any of those roms.
I'm currently reading on rooting my tablet using this method below, however I'm now hesitant to proceed. Would you have another method that
would work? or at least give me a little more confidence of root success. Thereafter, its CWM, then flashing time! woot
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/88850-rooting-rk3188-tablets/
btw, I've found the manufacturer of this tablet, guess Engage 8 is a rebrand of this unit.
http://www.google.com.ph/url?q=http...Q4BrZw&usg=AFQjCNEsT9Dux2uMCLEZykSB5umoY8nyOQ