Cheapest half decent Android Tablet?

Kevin!

long_b wrote: »

With that level of ARM processor (v5) it won't be able to handle Flash, even with an upgrade to 2.2?

I haven't bought it to handle flash, I'm used to being without it anyways being an iPhone owner.

It's still well capable to run many android applications including Angry Birds and youtube flawlessly & for the money you can't really expect it to run flash anywho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLQZpQb1VbA

fransdev

I just ordered these little fellows from that website.

Khannie

Well....my zt-180 just arrived. First impressions: Can't believe it was only 130 euro. The screen is very impressive. Resistive seems reasonable enough. There's a slight drag on the screen but I think that's just because it's fresh. I'll post up some pics and a video later. Going to check out 720p video on it now....

Hellrazer

Khannie--where`d you get it for 130??

Have a bid on adverts for a 7" one @ 100.Ive started getting into the whole android rom/rooting/development stuff so I want one to mess around with.

Gonna take the one for the 100 to flash with different roms etc but Id love one of the larger screen ones for everyday use--Let us know what your first impressions are.

Khannie

using it to type this. First impressions are excellent. played back 720p content no bother. normal xvid stuff looked a bit blocky but I think that was just the player. touch screen isn't as responsive as the capacitive screens but its still ok. might post up a vid later.

Khannie

Further flutin' so more impressions....The touchscreen is....ok. It's not super but it works for what you want it to to. Perfect for text input and ok for scrolling.

The video playback is very impressive. The highlight of the tablet for me (and mostly what I bought it for). I tried a 720p x264 encoded video and it was spot on. I also tried a 480x320 x264 encoded video and that looked like crap. I later discovered that this was because the video looked like crap anyway.

I installed opera mini as the browser. That's pretty nice to work with.

The 1030 rom that it comes with still has the lock screen bug (in that the lock screen doesn't power off). I'll be installing the newer 1204 rom tonight.

I installed launcher pro and upped the number of rows / columns and reduced the number of screens to 1. Looks pretty decent.

In general I'd say it's not as responsive as my phone is, but it's pretty responsive.

Battery life seems to be rubbish to be blunt, though I know it takes a few charge / discharge cycles to get to its proper state.

Overall, for 130 euro including delivery I'm very seriously impressed.

Hellrazer: I got it on pandawill.com. I'd pay for express delivery if I was getting one again though. Total time from placing order to delivery was 27 days (though that was over Christmas).

Zascar

Khannie Do you know any other good Roms that you can put on? I'd like to give it a go on mine...

Khannie

1204 seems to be the only real alternative at the moment. I heard a guy was trying to put a froyo rom together but I wont be holding my breath. Zenithink wont release their source for whatever reason. I think they're slowly but surely getting it right. At least there's still active development which is nice.

Hellrazer

Khannie wrote: »

1204 seems to be the only real alternative at the moment. I heard a guy was trying to put a froyo rom together but I wont be holding my breath. Zenithink wont release their source for whatever reason. I think they're slowly but surely getting it right. At least there's still active development which is nice.

Lots of activity on Xda developers about these.Seems theyve got them working with usb broadband dongles--Now that would make it a must buy.

This thread is well worth a read if you can stretch to reading 300 pages.


http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=740631

Theres a link there to root the zt-180,get the usb broadband dongle working,increase the wifi range.

Im gonna order one later

mik_da_man

Mine got cleared through customs today
Should have it tomorrow
Anyone get Vat or duties charged on theirs?

Kevin!

I hope I haven't made a mistake ordering the FlyTouch - Khannie's review seems quite impressive on the ZT-180 to say the least.

atleast we will have two for comparison at boards.ie :]

Khannie

Well....my tablet lasted all of....20 hours or so. The screen seems to have a loose connection somewhere. I video'd it for pandawill customer service and they said I can give it a lash myself if I want and that they'll still honour warranty if it doesn't work out. This is both brilliant, and terrible. Brilliant that they'll still honour warranty, terrible that it happened. Was so happy with it until that happened.

edit: attached an avi in a zip file. Viewing the avi requires xvid codec.

Hellrazer

Khannie

http://videos.wittysparks.com/id/3510345727/

Sounds like its a loose ribbon cable--Seems common on these.

mik_da_man

Mine came this morning via DHL
I was charged €20.07 by customs :mad:
didn't have the change in the house so have to go to the depot later and collect it :mad:

Khannie

Hellrazer wrote: »

Khannie

http://videos.wittysparks.com/id/3510345727/

Sounds like its a loose ribbon cable--Seems common on these.

Man...I didn't see this 'til after I'd done the work...but it was a loose ribbon cable alright. The cable that connects the motherboard to the screen (on the motherboard end). Working perfectly now. Very easy disassemble. Slight trouble getting it back together but only slight (there's a bulge there now, I'd say another 2 minutes effort should sort it). Delighted I don't have to send it back anyway.

I'm more inclined to do the battery mod now having taken it apart and still having warranty. You can see there's room in there for a larger battery alright. Saw some on dealextreme for RC cars that might fit the bill with a bit of flutin'.

Khannie

Sorted. It took a bit more than 2 minutes flutin'. There should be a reassembly guide because it's easy to make an arse of it. There are metal pins that shift to the side. When you're reassembling it you should just manually shift them as you slot the main part back into the backplate or you run the risk of bending the pins. Anyway, a bit more disassembly, figuring out the problem and I'm back in business. Good as new and happy out.

Dr.Winston O'Boogie

srsly78 wrote: »

Archos 101. Buy one in peats for e350. Has several bugs tho, waiting for software update. All other tablets are garbage, steer clear of samsung + toshiba.

Where would you pick up the Archos 101? Presumably only online and not in the shops in Ireland?

srsly78

niallo24 wrote: »

Where would you pick up the Archos 101? Presumably only online and not in the shops in Ireland?

Lots of places are reported to have it in the other thread (currys was one), I got mine in Peats on Parnell St.

mik_da_man

Got my 180 today, impressed so far for the price
I bought the GF a archos 101 for christmas and it's a pretty neat device.
Smyths and Gamestop stock them.

mik_da_man

Seeing as these may be able to use a 3G usb I seen this on Bargain alerts

A Three 3G usb modem for €9

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056132327

maiden

I bought 2 zt-180's, one from america - no duty, then one from pandawill -€20 duty.

One is having a slight prob, when going to write in text, the keyboard is not showing up??? Any ideas??

Kevin!

attempted delivery this morning, express is so fast.

They want 18e for duty, even though it was declared as 30$ but I suppose the government always wins.

Corholio

niallo24 wrote: »

Where would you pick up the Archos 101? Presumably only online and not in the shops in Ireland?

Got mine in Xtravision. Got an 8gb one for 269.99 in their 70% off sale, and then used a Voucher i got for christmas, so got it for 245.

Eoin

That's great value. How are you finding it so far?

Corholio

eoin wrote: »

That's great value. How are you finding it so far?

Really liking it so far. I like the way the stock menus are set up actually, I know a lot of people install other variants of this but im quite happy with it the way it is. Before i got it I was wondering how using a touchscreen as casual as using a laptop would be, but it's great.

Video is quite crisp on it, sound is actually pretty good on it, i read some reviews that said it was poor but i find it a good quality.

Overall so far extremely happy, and still plenty to discover on it im sure.

omahaid

I is pleased - got my 3 3g dongle working on my zt 180 (Huawei e1550 in case anyone is wondering)

Corholio

omahaid wrote: »

I is pleased - got my 3 3g dongle working on my zt 180 (Huawei e1550 in case anyone is wondering)

*Shakes fist* :P

This is the one thing that would make my Archos perfect, hopefully someone comes up with a solution to be able to use them on it.

Khannie

Just wondering why people are generally (not just here) so excited about the 3g dongle thing. Why wouldn't you just set your phone up as an access point for the tablet if you wanted that? Surely you'll always have your phone with you?

omahaid

Khannie wrote: »

Just wondering why people are generally (not just here) so excited about the 3g dongle thing. Why wouldn't you just set your phone up as an access point for the tablet if you wanted that? Surely you'll always have your phone with you?

The battery on my phone wouldn't be the longest lasting battery ever, but having a dongle in the phoca means its one problem I don't have to worry about.

overeager

I'm looking at this little divel:

http://www.euogo.com/flytouch2-10-inch-android-21-tablet-with-gps-infortm-x220-1ghz-cpu-256m-ram-camera-hdmi_p414:9523fd88d3ce33cba3f88e17761f5dd0.html

Ive read all there is to read and besides some minor (fixable) problems it seems to be the bees knees.

I'm still looking for a tablet with Android 2.2 and GPS though. Anybody seen one?