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Hi,
I have a 10" Android tablet (a Viewsonic Gtab), but am thinking of getting a smaller tablet, for portability. I guess that, functionality-wise, I've been somewhat spoiled by the Gtablet, but the Archos 43 seems to come close, but with a smaller form factor.
So, I've been researching it.
I know that the screen is resistive and only 1 point touch, and that it has 256MB of RAM memory, and is available with either 8GB or 16GB, but had some questions:
- The Archos site says it comes with Froyo, but starting Nov 2010. I'm assuming that the current units are shipping with Froyo, but the Archos wiki site still lists 2.1, so I was wondering: What are the current (new) units shipping with? Is it Android 2.2? Or, are they still shipping with 2.1?
- On the Archosfan site, I've seen some threads about the size of the system part of the nonvolatile memory (/system ?), but it seems like there hasn't been any success in increasing that. Is that still the current case?
- What kind of debug-type, unbricking capability does it have? For example:
o Does it support ADB via the mini-USB port?
o Is there a recovery capability (e.g., power on + vol, to flash recovery)?
- I gather that it's possible to get Android market installed, but wanted to confirm that that's the case?
- Some general questions: How are the display (both viewing and touch responsiveness) and internal speakers, and is the Archos 43 reasonably fast (I know that that last one is a relative question)?
Sorry for all of the questions!
Thanks in advance,
Jim
jimcpl said:
I know that the screen is resistive
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try it out before you buy -- you might hate it.
The Archos site says it comes with Froyo, but starting Nov 2010. I'm assuming that the current units are shipping with Froyo, but the Archos wiki site still lists 2.1, so I was wondering: What are the current (new) units shipping with? Is it Android 2.2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They ship with 2.1, but will update to a highly-hacked version of 2.2 when you connect them to the Internet. Careful -- the custom 2.2 build uses an older kernel (2.6.29), and it seems that the JIT is disabled.
o Does it support ADB via the mini-USB port?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
o Is there a recovery capability (e.g., power on + vol, to flash recovery)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
I gather that it's possible to get Android market installed, but wanted to confirm that that's the case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Some general questions: How are the display (both viewing and touch responsiveness)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For viewing, the display is pretty nice. The touchscreen is pretty horrible -- I find it's unusable with fingers, you need a so-called "stylus" (a match or the cap of a ball-point pen will do fine).
A few other caveats, which might or might not be relevant to you:
there's no GPS, which is a real shame for a device with such a nice, large screen;
the camera is pretty poor, it's really only useful as a webcam;
the MPEG-1/2 and AC3 codecs cost extra, and while it is possible to install a free software player, that won't allow you to play HD content;
there's no IPv6 support in the official kernel.
In short, I'm finding it's quite nice as a media player, but certainly not as a general-purpose Android device.
--jch
jch,
Thanks for the info.
Re. the Froyo and the older kernel: What is the impact of that? Does that mean that some (all? a lot?) of apps from market won't run on the 43?
Re. the screen. I have some older PPC/Windows Mobile PDAs (IPAQ 100, Dell Axim, etc.). How the touch sensitivity on the 43 compares to those?
I don't need IPV6 or GPS...
Thanks again,
Jim
Jim,
Have you considered a phone like the Droid X or the Evo? Screen size is nearly the same, but then you would always have it with you and you would probably be happier with it as a portable device.
BTW...once you go capacitive, resistive screens seem like ass ancient technology that you kinda hate. Its like sleeping in silk pajamas and then changing into polyester ones.
ExploreMN said:
Jim,
Have you considered a phone like the Droid X or the Evo? Screen size is nearly the same, but then you would always have it with you and you would probably be happier with it as a portable device.
BTW...once you go capacitive, resistive screens seem like ass ancient technology that you kinda hate. Its like sleeping in silk pajamas and then changing into polyester ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Explore,
I mentioned that I have a G tablet, and that has a capacitive screen. I'm just looking for something smaller, kind of to use as an Android pda, not a phone, and esp. No monthly plan.
I've actually also been thinking of getting an LG Optimus V from Virginmobile, which is also Froyo, but Flash apparently is no-go on that because it uses an ARMV6 cpu.
Jim
jimcpl said:
Hi,I know that the screen is resistive
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must try before you buy!!! I didn't know this when I bought my a43 and let me tell you, typing on this device is near impossible. In fact I find the resistive screen so bad I no longer bring my a43 to work with me and I have reverted to my iPod Touch since I can easily and quickly thumb type on it.
The a43 has been relegated to my desk at home strictly as a "learning about Android" device. I have paired it with an Apple BT keyboard and that makes it usable but not portable.
Hmmm - I kind of like my A43 IT. I find the resistive touch screen pretty good. It compares well with my now ancient Palm T|X and is almost as good as the capacitive multi-touch on my A101 IT.
After close to 20 years using a Palm, I am very used to small resistive touch screens. I am most comfortable with a stylus in my hand. I have fairly large hands and fingers, so it amazes me when I'm fingering my A43 and it gets it right most of the time. I actually have a sense that it knows what I'm thinking to get it so right. Again, 20 years of using Palm gestures with a stylus, as well as their tiny on-screen keyboard. I bought SwiftKey for both my A43 and A101. It's very intuitive (if software could be intuitive ). The few minutes I played with an iPad were no better to me.
Bye.
CrunchyDoodle said:
Hmmm - I kind of like my A43 IT. I find the resistive touch screen pretty good. It compares well with my now ancient Palm T|X and is almost as good as the capacitive multi-touch on my A101 IT.
After close to 20 years using a Palm, I am very used to small resistive touch screens. I am most comfortable with a stylus in my hand. I have fairly large hands and fingers, so it amazes me when I'm fingering my A43 and it gets it right most of the time. I actually have a sense that it knows what I'm thinking to get it so right. Again, 20 years of using Palm gestures with a stylus, as well as their tiny on-screen keyboard. I bought SwiftKey for both my A43 and A101. It's very intuitive (if software could be intuitive ). The few minutes I played with an iPad were no better to me.
Bye.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Crunchy,
I have a couple of TC1100's, so for this use, I'd not prefer having to use a stylus, I just realized though, that I also have a Fuj U820, which also has a 5" resistive touchscreen. The 43 would be a bit smaller screen, but seems like it'd be comparable, but w Froyo instead of Windows 7, so I'm kind of leaning to trying the 43.
Thanks for all the feedback, everybody!
Jim
jimcpl said:
Explore,
I mentioned that I have a G tablet, and that has a capacitive screen. I'm just looking for something smaller, kind of to use as an Android pda, not a phone, and esp. No monthly plan.
I've actually also been thinking of getting an LG Optimus V from Virginmobile, which is also Froyo, but Flash apparently is no-go on that because it uses an ARMV6 cpu.
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I decided to go ahead and order a 16GB a43 from Amazon yesterday. Should be here tomorrow, or so I hope.
I'll let you know how it is... the a32's resistive screen is VERY responsive,probably one of the best that I've used, or at least as good as the old PDAs and MUCH better than either the WPDN or Augen GT78...
Heh. Didn't notice that about the kernel... although a larger disappointment to me was only 256MB of RAM... and the uSD lack of the a32 but I knew about that ahead of time, still odd for something that is more useful as a PMP than a general purpose device. (The 3.2" screen @ 400x240 is just too tiny to really use for web browsing or reading except in a pinch. Also would've preferred a uSD slot over the crap camera(640x480) might be useful for barcode scanning, works for QR codes...)
One additional comment, I've take to using a stylus with the a32 as some programs(and keyboard) are really kind of small and the stylus makes it less painful to select various things... fingernail gets by most of the time, but I've come to prefer a stylus for pro-longed use so I'll try to keep that in mind when I get the a43... probably won't have much meaningful to say until Friday though... unless it's really awful...
[EDIT]
Seriously?! You're running stock fw on the gtab?! Has it gotten good enough to use? (Which is the main reason that I started exploring custom fws in November...)
Which reminds me of another comment about something that I already know for certain from using the Nook Color & a32: do NOT expect a cortex-a8 tablet to be as fast and smooth as a tegra 2 tablet. They just aren't.
Also forgot to mention that it seems that Archos added a swapfile w/the froyo upgrade so a little more internal storage is lost to it. Not sure if it makes any difference as I upgraded the a32 as soon as it had fully charged which took me straight to the latest fw which is what I'm using on it. (Seemed kind of pointless to bother with anything else on it since I'm only using it for music playing and occasional video... played some over uPnP from my linux box the other day(mediatomb) which went well...)
[/EDIT]
[EDIT2]
...so I decided to pull out the a32 and check some things with the Android System Info app, and found this hilarity: (this is stock 2.1.8 fw)
Android ID: dead00beef
and yep,
o.s. version: 2.6.29-omap1
[/EDIT2]
Cutterjohn,
Yep. Still on stock w Gtab... not even w the enhancement pack. Maybe I'm not as discriminating as others, but it's been fine for me, and I use it a LOT.
Besides the screen on the A43, the things I'm hesitating about are the 256Mb /system, whuch seems kind of restrictive, and what the downside if the older kernel is.
Thanks for the comments, and post when you get yours!
Jim
jimcpl said:
Cutterjohn,
Yep. Still on stock w Gtab... not even w the enhancement pack. Maybe I'm not as discriminating as others, but it's been fine for me, and I use it a LOT.
Besides the screen on the A43, the things I'm hesitating about are the 256Mb /system, whuch seems kind of restrictive, and what the downside if the older kernel is.
Thanks for the comments, and post when you get yours!
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do. UPS finally got updated and they say that it's supposed to be delivered by end of day today...
One more comment that I can make wrt a32(hoping a43 will be similar as well) WiFi: the a32 seems to have about as good range as the gtab and NC which is pretty good for such a device. I'm just mentioning this because @ archosfans I'd read threads about poor WiFi. Maybe I just got lucky.
1st a32 was DOA BTW(probably deeply discharged batt), looked like a return unit as it wasn't sealed, a32 was out of it's shipping sleeve(missing) as were the USB & headphones also missing twist ties and packaging. So I exchanged it for a clearly new one. (I'm just mentioning this since I got mine from Sears and I remember someone mentioning that their gtab from Sears appeared to be a return unit... ) Actually I'm kind of surprised that Sears is still in business as most times that I stop by to look for something, e.g. USB card reader, it's nope we don't have any of those... Seems like they have next to no stock of anything, and alot of empty space in the elctronics section of the one that I went to...
[EDIT=c. 2p EDT]
OK it arrived not too long ago, but had to let it sit and warm up close to room temp before I wanted to start charging, which it's doing now. Just did the basic setup so far and started downloading 2.1.08, it came with 2.0.71 loaded on in(A32IT came with original Android 2.1)... will try to get in some usage time this afternoon/night. (Charging should go fairly quickly since I'm using the NC charger w/Archos cable 1A charger... used it last night on the A32IT and it charged it faster than by USB port on notebook and it seems OK...)
First evaluation: touch screen seems OK, but again I haven't done much besides the setup and look in the "about device" in settings...
...and yes this one apparently unlike the A32IT, actually did have a small plastic protector over the camera lens... I could just barely make out the tab to pull it off when held at a certain angle... double checked the A32IT again and it didn't have one... Screen protector is difficult to make out as well as the pull tab was pushed down and flush w/edge of case... best to remove it as it's only for shipping protection...
[/EDIT]
cutterjohn,
So how is it working so far? How bad/good is the touch vs. the Gtab? Also have you installed market, and tried apps from there?
Jim
jimcpl said:
cutterjohn,
So how is it working so far? How bad/good is the touch vs. the Gtab? Also have you installed market, and tried apps from there?
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just going to post my preliminary impressions this morning. (I see that stock gTab got a nice update... now if they'd only go for honeycomb...)
Anyways, back to Archos:
I used the A43IT primarily as an ereader(FBReaderJ) on Wednesday afternoon along with trying the camera(haven't gotten around to xferring the files to nb yet to check), added a bunch of apps from appslib and sideload(mostly DolphinHD & AndFTP for sftp). Otherwise I've got everything still bog OOB 2.1.08 stock fw.
OK, Wed. set it to "powersave" in Power management(under About device) as my battery level by meter seemed to be dropping pretty quickly. I didn't see where this made much of a difference though, presumably it limits the max CPU clock to something less than 800MHz(probably 600MHz) which was fine for me since I was reading which isn't exactly CPU intensive. Also had the brightness set to min in Settings->Display->Brightness, WiFi & bluetooth OFF, and killed most running apps with "System Monitor". (FBReader looked good, or as good as it ever does while I was never able to set it to my liking on the A32IT.)
I had about 70% battery left Thursday morning(probably ran 2.5-3.5h Wed mostly with WiFi, etc. off reading.) Used it in the morning browsing the web for about 2h, same low backlight setting, and was at c. 50% charge -> recharged via USB to computer cable attached to nb, took about 2.5h(!). (Optimal power setting.) I had a single hard freeze in DolphinHD, as in it wasn't responding to screen presses, power button, etc. Long pressed power button to shut it down, and restarted it. (It has been fine since.) I set the font size setting from "normal" to "large" as some non-mobile sites the font still was a little small to me, if there was a bold setting I probably could have gone with normal + bold, but... Browsing is MUCH nicer on the A43IT v. A32IT but NOT as nice as gTab.
Used it again as a reader later that afternoon/evening, but left the power setting at Optimal, and started using Aldiko(render italicized text, etc. while FBReader doesn't plus the font looks better).
Compared Aldiko on A32IT v. A43IT, and I can actually get Aldiko to display decently on the A32IT, but it's still a bit small to hold(to me). I also noticed that the touch screen is MUCH better on the A32IT v. A43IT.
A43IT touchscreen so far to me is a bit better than either the Augen GT48 or Pandigital Novel(white), but obviously not as nice to use with fingers as a capacitive screen device, e.g. gTab. Working best for me by using fingernail or stylus(especially scrolling web pages). In reader apps finger presses are fine. There might be a bit of residue from the shipped screen protector as immediately after removing it, the screen felt rough to the finger/nail in some spots and still does after a few cleanings. (The A32IT initially did as well, but now after more than a week feels smooth.)
Build quality: A43IT just doesn't "feel" (or look) as sturdy to me as the A32IT. There is a small but obvious gap where the two halves of the case meet, especially on the side with the uSD & mini-HDMI port. Volume keys are loose, but they are on the A32IT as well, which doesn't really bother me. The power button is a bit small ovoid shape and IS more difficult to operate than the more exposed rectangular buttons on the A32IT & gTab, but not a big problem IMO.
Screen: hmmm... probably a bit better than the gTab as far as viewing angles go, but not as "bright". It looks a bit washed out to me v. gTab or A32IT. I still haven't played video on it yet(or even games) so I'll have to check on that later. (None are as nice as the IPS screen on the Nook Color.)
uSD slot: PITA period. Exposed finger side is UP as you look at the screen and it's a PITA to pop a card out. They left no finger depression, so unless you've got some nails you're going to need something to push the card in and then hope that it pops out enough to grab...
uUSB: I wish that they'd've got miniUSB as these uUSB ports do NOT feel very robust on the A43IT, A32IT, or Nook Color.
Sunny/bright LCD display: A32IT washes out, but it's been overcast here since I received the A43IT and I haven't been anywhere with it that's been extraordinarily bright... ?
hw Buttons: Just power & vol rocker. Home, Menu, Back, and Search are displayed as part of the screen and I'm guessing that they've modified the OS such that they ALWAYs appear at bottom portrait orientation, or right landscape which would explain the odd resolution of 480x854 v. 480x800. The 54 pixels are probably permanently reserved for those button rather than having touch screen(non-display part)/hw buttons like on the gTab or A32IT. These buttons work OK, just a matter of calibrating which I recommend using a stylus to do. (learned this from the A32 as finger calibrating led to Vol +/- hits sometimes v. home, menu, etc. (A32 has physical vol keys PLUS resitive touch +/- vol keys.)).
Games: as mentioned, dunno yet. I haven't tried any and the ones that I'd like to (emulators) would really work better with a bluetooth controller(e.g. wiimote) which I don't have. (I haven't really played any on the gTab either though...)
Physical Overall Size: Still a bit smaller than I'd like, and I'd've preferred a 4:3 screen for it, as it does look really narrow when held in portrait mode, i.e. when used as a reader. It's quite a bit thicker than the A32, and a little thinner than the gTab. (Probably and inch shorter than a paperback and maybe .75" less wide at a guess...)
Weight: MUCH lighter than the gTab, and noticeably heavier than the A32. Probably about the same weight as 2-3 paperback books.
TV Out: dunno. I haven't gottent around to buying/ordering any HDMI cables yet as I really haven't had a need for them... and/or a desire to hook anything up to the TV until now. (Emulators would probably be more fun played on the TV...) I haven't tried the A32 TV out either as I don't have the composite cable and haven't ordered one for it either, and also don't have the dock for the gTab so along with no cables, no HDMI out for it.
Android: pretty well stock Android. As to v. TapnTap dunno, but since I'll be wanting to go to TnT lite 5.0.0 soon, I'll probably be loading TapnTap 3991 today and might try using it for a bit as it's apparently a MAJOR update(2400 quadrant, 40+ fps Nenamark) so the A43IT isn't likely to get much use today unless I decide to try video later tonight.
USB hostmode: No cable for the A32 or A43 and just never bothered on the gTab since it has uSD slot. I'll eventually want a host cable though at least for the A32 since that's the ONLY means of expanding storage via host cable to flahs or other kind of drive... again probably not likely to ever update this here soon as this is yet another cable I haven't ordered/don't have.
bluetooth: actually haven't tested this on any of my tablets yet. I'll try to connect them to my nb over the next few days, but it should just work and beyond that will be do the various tablets have the necessary drivers to support whatever devices...
WiFi: range seems to be a fraction worse than either the A32, Nook Color, or gTab, but better than the Pandigital Novel(white). I'm able to get a 1-2 bar connection outside at what I guess to be about 50' from the router(DLink DIR-615 rev B2, G mode, WEP (have legacy devices that only do B and WEP that I use)) plus misc. (7-8) other neighboring routers that I can see go up and down at various times.
builtin speakers: They're there. They work. They're not as nice as the ones on the gTab or they don't sound as good to me, but thats fine since you can always use headphones(3.5mm jack or bluetooth) if you'd like better. I'd wish that they'd've squeezed in at least one speaker for the A32... (of course I'd've like uSD as well...)
Market: I haven't done that yet, not sure if I will since sleep works rather well right now on both my A32IT & A43IT w/o Google apps installed, which tends to break sleep on some of the other tablets that I have, e.g. I ALWAYS shutdown my gTab v. sleeping it, and do the same with the Pandigital Novel(white)... I have sideloaded some apps that I've downloaded on the gTab from the market to it and it worked, so mostly everything not requiring GPS/phone service should work. That said I have no idea how much of the market they can see as you know every market fix that I've seen so far, some apps show up on one, but not on others AND even then there are apps that just never show up... (tied to various carriers or something I think... not really sure how the market identifies which apps to display for which device...) The market install is supposed to be easy, so I might get around to trying it eventually, but I was really think of leaving it stock and just pulling apps from elsewhere, i.e. gTab -> Titanium backup -> dropbox(or nb, etc.) -> A32/A43
So that's where I'm at. It's decent. Not as snappy as the gTab, but I already knew that this was going to be the case though. The touchscreen is not nearly as nice as the A32IT's, but better than some others. I'm still not sure about the touchscreen and will have to use it some more before deciding on that.
My verdict at this point is not bad. Trifle small yet, and touch screen is not a responsive as I had hoped yet not completely awful. It's the only thing in the just about the right size category for tablets, so not much choice...
[EDIT]
Couple of adds:
offtopic: I see now that the gtab stock 3991 fw isn't OTAing everywhere, roebeet just discovered by checking their ftp site...
benchmarking: no quadrant on the A43IT yet, but my a32IT was getting around 1350(read others get 1300-1600 about 1400 or so average) or so, so I'd expect the A43IT with the overdrive power management option to be a bit higher, but certainly not the 2400+ that we get on the gtab. (I believe that the overdrive option keeps the CPU @ 1GHz, so it should make up for having to push more pixels around on the A43IT's larger display...)
[/EDIT]
Yep, wonder of wonders it unexpectedly got to be actually sunny yesterday afternoon, so I ran out to check the display. Lowest setting is entirely readable, whilst max brightness is barely legible as was to be expected...
Back to touch screen, when I say "difficulties" in browsing what I really meant was how with EVERY resistive touch screen Android device that I've used when attempting to scroll a web page it's either sluggish, "bounces back"(difficult to describe, like when you want to do a small or delicate move and the screen adjusts but removing your finger it jumps back to about where it had been), or wildly scrolls(these are the worst since it is more readily controllable with capacitive screens, but with resistive it seems to be a bit slower to register touches which makes stopping this more difficult).
But as I mentioned in other applications, touching for turn pages or swiping it seems to work better than many, and I've had no problems using the default keyboard. On the A32IT it was more of a matter of size than anything else, i.e. portrait mode the keyboard is nearly useless w/o a fingernail or stylus, and landscape is big enough that if your careful fingers will do but sylus still gives best performance.
Cutterjohn,
Thanks for the great info! Much more than I would've ever expected .
My situation is that I'm still "on the fence". In the past I've "collected" a few tablets, and I guess I'm a bit of a packrat... never got rid of any of them, but I'm trying be more discriminating nowadays, lest my wife starts trying to get me to dump some of them.
The A43 sounds pretty good, and you've covered a lot, which I greatly appreciate. I think I'm a little comfortable w the screen situation, but I'm concerned about the "longevity", esp. the small /system partition, which apparently hasn't been cracked.
I'll keep watching, and maybe if I can find a deal, may just try it if it's too tempting .
Thanks again!
Jim
jimcpl said:
Cutterjohn,
Thanks for the great info! Much more than I would've ever expected .
My situation is that I'm still "on the fence". In the past I've "collected" a few tablets, and I guess I'm a bit of a packrat... never got rid of any of them, but I'm trying be more discriminating nowadays, lest my wife starts trying to get me to dump some of them.
The A43 sounds pretty good, and you've covered a lot, which I greatly appreciate. I think I'm a little comfortable w the screen situation, but I'm concerned about the "longevity", esp. the small /system partition, which apparently hasn't been cracked.
I'll keep watching, and maybe if I can find a deal, may just try it if it's too tempting .
Thanks again!
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
np. I'm hoping that the screen is just a matter of getting used to using a resistive screen with a finger.
I've got an old pocketpc case which is fits into. It's perfect heightwise, but the A43 is MUCH thinner and narrower than the old pocketpcs were, but it also has a little pocket which I stick a stylus into and enough extra space to put some earbuds in with it as well and not damage the screen... so I'll always have the stylus around with it.
As a side note about the screen a user in a thread on archosfans suggested people download an app called DrawNoteK(simple drawing app), which I did and it seemed to track my finger pretty well and the stylus/fingernail better of course. I'm pretty much of the opinion that resistive screen problems are just a matter of them reading more contact area(multiple locations) when using a finger v. a fingernail/stylus which has a much smaller point of contact. After all all of the old PDAs used to come default with a stylus...
app storage: yep, still stuck at I guess where they had it originally. I think that it MIGHT be possible to manually change it but I haven't looked into it too much. I've hardly use any app storage space on any of my tablets so far. [EDIT2] Another problem with increasing storage in stock fw is that devices like my A32IT and the A28IT have no other memory expansion options, other than USB host. My A32IT IIRC w/stock fw 2.1.08 had a little over 6GB available for media, and I've already used half of that or more... Iwouldn't mind giving up another 300MB for apps, but not the 2GB that many people wanted who had 43, 70, or 101s. [/EDIT2]
longevity: well, Archos'll probably have their gen9 this fall with a cortex-a9 and maybe more memory. (So I'm kind of on the fence about keeping the A43, but I still have a few weeks to return it to Amazon... just want try it some more and see if any of my quibbles end up as deal killers with lengthier usage... I'm just still not entirely sure about the touch screen.)
[EDIT]
...and I played some video streamed from my notebook last night uPnP(mediatomb) which worked OK and looked pretty good on the A43IT's display. The kickstand seems to be kind of a useless "feature" on this though, and feels pretty flimsy(semi-rigid plastic). Likely the stand will be one of the first things to get broken accidentally, but I'll probably never use it again...
[/EDIT]
[EDIT3]
Forgot to mention this above, and I don't know if you're aware of this or not, but Archos have an additional fw available which is a version of the Angstrom linux distro... voids the warranty though, so I won't be trying it unless I decide to keep it in the end, and then I'll wait a year for the warranty to expire...
[/EDIT3]
minor update:
I've started to get some FCs with various apps, nothing horrible/continuous like I got with early versions of stock gtab fw, but worrisome.
Got one yesterday after running the camera app, and had one the day before but I didn't really pay attention to what it was as it didn't re-appear but since getting one from the camera app will be paying more attention. I suppose that it could possibly be a low memory condition sine Archos chose a subpar 256MB RAM spec... and yes I usually use system monitor to kill just about everything periodically... Limited memory is just another reason to NOT install Google apps & market as many of those seem to want to be permanently in RAM...
I suppose that I need to look into this some more, and additionally use the A32 more often to see if it starts occuring there as well, since they're basically the same hw... also need to do some research as I quite like the A43 form factor(little wider would've been nice) and there's nothing comparable ATM... (nor will there be apparently, as I have no doubt that Samsung will continue their egregious pricing practices with their player... you'd think that they had Apple, Motorola, or Sony quality & support levels with their pricing!)
gTab stock 3588 fw wasn't too bad, MUCH snappier and stable than the earlier ones... installed this on my way to TnT lite 5.0.0...
Hi,
I've been reading the stuff about the Samsung Player also. The 5" is the one I'd be interested, but I want to see how locked down it is/will be.
Jim
jimcpl said:
Hi,
I've been reading the stuff about the Samsung Player also. The 5" is the one I'd be interested, but I want to see how locked down it is/will be.
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
glad that you have excessive amounts of cash to spend on low quality korean junk... (face it, they're not worth their asking price, if they halved it maybe...)
anyways Archos is now being frog junk, incapable of connecting via ssh/scp/sftp w/o FCing likely the dimwitted decision to go with a "whopping" 256MB of RAM... an excessively moronically low amount of RAM given how relatively "cheap" it is nowadays, but go figure out frogs...
buh-bye archos junk... (sad but these POS are going out with the trash like they are...)
F--- for frog crap Archos
[EDIT]
OK, at least for the A32 a reboot -> I now can xfer stuff again momentarily, but my gods what a POS hack job on android with such monumental memory leaks that cause it to fail after running for a while... what sort of monumental midget intellects decided to try to phail hack Android?! i.e. Archos Android == memory leaking POS...
@Jim better off spending $400 on another good gTab rather than an overpriced toy regardless of form factor... hell, even the Nook Color does better for almost half the price although it's 7"... just wonder when B&N are going to get off the pot and cough up their updates sine ATM they've seemed to've managed to pissoff all their attracted devs for apps for their mythical appstore... (they missed ALL update targets for Q1 2011 so far and only a couple of weeks left to make up for it... but maybe they can now publish a book about how NOT to start an app store for everyone else...)
[/EDIT]
I didn't realize, until doing further searching, how much the Samsung Player was estimated to be priced . They haven't announced pricing yet, but it sounds like th $400 range (shock!).
More waiting ...
Jim
P.S. Sorry about you problem w A43, but thx for posting that info.
Post your user experiences here, what you liked, disliked etc.
I'll start:
Like:
The device feels really solid and well made and has a nice finish
The device is fast, and browsing the web is more comparable to a laptop than a phone (see screenshot). Games look great on it (like Cordy, Dungeon Defenders etc)
I managed to watch iPlayer videos on it via the site in flash, including the live streams - the HD ones don't play at a good framerate though.
Honeycomb is really slick and easy to use
Sound quality is excellent
The built in office suite is great
Gripes:
Absolute fingerprint magnet
Still a few bugs, a handful of FCs, Spanish text in one ASUS tool, Chinese in another!
The bevel when holding it is a bit too wide to make using keyboards like ThumbKeyboard comfortable. With a bit of tweaking it works fine, but its less than ideal.
The weather widget truncates my town name and it looks ugly (Leamington S) an option to tweak the font size would have been nice.
A couple of the default settings provided a less than optimal out-of-box experience, but nothing that can't be fixed by experimentation.
Hate:
Charging cable is ridiculously short and proprietary so you can't replace it! This is my major gripe. When I plug the device in at night to charge on my nightstand I can't use the device in bed - in fact I had to rearrange the stand just to get it long enough to actually let me put the device on top.
Thanks for this. I'm looking forward to picking this up when it launches in Canada. It looks like a really slick device. The price is great. A shame about the bezel, but it's probably something I'll get used to fairly quickly.
I love that all of your issues are either honeycomb related or just tablet related (except the cable, I suppose) everytime I read these good and bad's I recall my Xoom and how I felt the exact same way but I wouldn't consider any of them bad. I kept that screen spotless, even though it was a fingerprint magnet, the FC's and widget issues are normal because HC is new, and when I buy something I always mess around with all of the settings.
I dont think I've read a bad thing about this tablet. There has not been a single dealbreaker!
Thanks for your review As Prof said, I'm also suuuper excited for the Canadian release.
side note: didn't mean for anything I said to sound snappy, I am just overwhelmingly amped for this tablet.
Yeah, the device is great, I suppose my only major problem with this specific device is with the charger - and that will be fixed when the accessories start rolling out. With time greatness can be achieved!
It does seem like the charge/sync cable might be annoyingly short. Why not just use a USB extension though?
bedoig said:
It does seem like the charge/sync cable might be annoyingly short. Why not just use a USB extension though?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The cable has an extra pin in it which extension cables do not carry. If you try to use one it just doesn't charge...
icStatic said:
The cable has an extra pin in it which extension cables do not carry. If you try to use one it just doesn't charge...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, that is going to be quite annoying then. Thanks for the info.
icStatic said:
Post your user experiences here, what you liked, disliked etc.
I'll start:
Like:
The device feels really solid and well made and has a nice finish
The device is fast, and browsing the web is more comparable to a laptop than a phone (see screenshot). Games look great on it (like Cordy, Dungeon Defenders etc)
I managed to watch iPlayer videos on it via the site in flash, including the live streams - the HD ones don't play at a good framerate though.
Honeycomb is really slick and easy to use
Sound quality is excellent
The built in office suite is great
Gripes:
Absolute fingerprint magnet
Still a few bugs, a handful of FCs, Spanish text in one ASUS tool, Chinese in another!
The bevel when holding it is a bit too wide to make using keyboards like ThumbKeyboard comfortable. With a bit of tweaking it works fine, but its less than ideal.
The weather widget truncates my town name and it looks ugly (Leamington S) an option to tweak the font size would have been nice.
A couple of the default settings provided a less than optimal out-of-box experience, but nothing that can't be fixed by experimentation.
Hate:
Charging cable is ridiculously short and proprietary so you can't replace it! This is my major gripe. When I plug the device in at night to charge on my nightstand I can't use the device in bed - in fact I had to rearrange the stand just to get it long enough to actually let me put the device on top.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not joking about the speed, it's faster then my dell inspiron 1300 with 1.6ghz and 1gb ram.
Move to Bath, you'll still have that bathing kudos in the title
The lead is short, it won't let me use a usb extention cable either, but i can cure this by buying another extention lead so it's not really a problem.
Will do this when i get keyboard dock.
love
- just the whole Google experience, my phone, desktop PC and tablet feel totally in harmony now. I add a bookmark on my tablet/PC and it's available on the other device. I star a destination on Google maps on the tablet and it's available on my phone when I get in the car
- certain apps optimsed for Honeycomb are awesome, especially Maps, Gmail, Newsr (Google Reader app), I also love some of the widgets, such as Gmail and Pure News.
- in terms of the device itself, find it light, nice colour (copper), excellent battery life, and great that Asus have enabled the micro SD slot. Also appreciate that they have included a screenshot function on the device.
- really like the system of notification, a touch of Android together with a touch of Windows but unobtrusive at the same time.
- overall, like the control I have with this tablet. With the Ipad I was constantly running up against problems as I tried to get pictures/files either on or off the device. With Honeycomb there are so many ways to get your stuff on and off (bluetooth, USB, dropbox, file transfer). I don't mind the steeper learning curve of the OS if it means I decide what I do with my content.
Dislikes
- while I love aspects of the browser, I also find it quite laggy in places. Certain websites seem to bring it to its knees, ironically the worst culprit for me is the homepage of Xda forums! Trying to scroll down that page is an exercise in frustration.
- some of the widgets are a bit flaky (eg Gmail), often failing to refresh and update.
- the tablet Market app is really poor. We don't seem to have the same version as the US, no special section for tablet optimsed apps, no Google books section; I also find that installing new apps can be a bit hit and miss. Sometimes I press 'install and often the process doesn't complete and I have to go back and do it again.
Overall though, the plusses outweigh the minusses and I've got to hand it to Asus for getting this tablet out quickly and at such a reasonable price. I would find it difficult to go back to the Ipad after a taste of what's possible with Honeycomb. Yes, it still is a bit unfinished, a bit buggy in places but it will only get better with updates and it feels like an OS for grown-ups. I know the Ipad is touted as the tablet that young kids and grandmas can pick up and use, but I belong to neither of those groups and I'm willing to put up with some mildly confusing UI elements if it means I have complete control over my content.
Thanks for the reviews guys!, keep em coming.
I am living the experience through you guys
Is it end of april yet?
Can you try this and let me know if it works?
-Try attaching two headphones/earphones in docked mode (1 in dock and 1 in tablet), do they both work simultaneously?
-Is the Mynet application seeing your DLNA device consistently
-Are you able to stream movies (esp. 720p/1080p) off your DLNA device onto your tablet?
-connect to tv via mini HDMI while in docked mode works right?
-pinch and zooming on dock's trackpad works?
-how much memory (not storage) is available to apps? I am reading on certain websites they list 1GB/512MB RAM, is only 512MB available for apps?
Thanks in advance,
KG
kgdg said:
Thanks for the reviews guys!, keep em coming.
I am living the experience through you guys
Is it end of april yet?
Can you try this and let me know if it works?
-Try attaching two headphones/earphones in docked mode (1 in dock and 1 in tablet), do they both work simultaneously?
-Is the Mynet application seeing your DLNA device consistently
-Are you able to stream movies (esp. 720p/1080p) off your DLNA device onto your tablet?
-connect to tv via mini HDMI while in docked mode works right?
-pinch and zooming on dock's trackpad works?
-how much memory (not storage) is available to apps? I am reading on certain websites they list 1GB/512MB RAM, is only 512MB available for apps?
Thanks in advance,
KG
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately no one has the dock yet, it seems that Asus are having some supply issues and only the tablet is available to buy at the moment. So, can't really answer most of your questions, sorry.
The only one I can answer is about the apps. You can use all of the internal storage for apps, so in theory you have about 14GB free for apps..so plenty of space
dreadnought001 said:
Unfortunately no one has the dock yet, it seems that Asus are having some supply issues and only the tablet is available to buy at the moment. So, can't really answer most of your questions, sorry.
The only one I can answer is about the apps. You can use all of the internal storage for apps, so in theory you have about 14GB free for apps..so plenty of space
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, I keep forgetting the dock isn't out yet...
As for apps, I was asking about memory, not storage..
Some more questions, I read on modaco forums about these issues, did you guys run into these as well:
-It cannot handle an episode of Prison Break in 720p for example, without a lot of stutter and out of sync voice. And when I tried a lower resolution video file, it works but again its not smooth (480p). I tried RockPlayer, mVideoPlayer and QQPlayer (which was the best by far, but still not great). Im really waiting for a decent Video player app to come out, something which will take advantage of the processing power inside these new devices! Hopefully VLC will have it up and running soon smile.gif
-An app will not solve this.
Rockplayer, QQplayer uses the CPU to decode, it will _always_ be slow and jerky on HD content
-The Tegra 2 SOC is capable of playing main profile h.264 at 1080p (with caveats), high profile at 720p.
Froyo running on Tegra2 could handle 1080p in baseline profile under the older harmony drivers, It _seems_ like the Nvidia honeycomb binaries are even less capable and content that plays on my tegra2 Vega now stutters on my transformer. Hopefully this (1080p baseline) will be fixed with a firmware update (The harmony platform has been abandoned by Nvidia, the transformer is based on the newer Ventana platform)
Is the above really true? That kills the whole purpose of a tablet in my mind.
Also, another troubling issue:
-little bit worried about the HDMI out. It appears to only do 720p. Whereas the cheaper Vega did 1080p when playing video. The transformer seems to do 720p by "voiding" the bottom 80 pixels. On the screen they still make up the button bar, it just gets a little taller.
If this is true, it will be the final nail in the coffin, i will wait until Tegra3..
kgdg said:
If this is true, it will be the final nail in the coffin, i will wait until Tegra3..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apologize if this is thread-jacking but is there any word on when Tegra3 will be released? At this point the best approximation would probably be in terms of quarters, like Q4 2011. Not sure if I can wait that long.
Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but.......
If the charging cable is that short, and you want to use it while charging in bed.......
What is the problem with using a short extension cord, say a 6 ft..??
I know this isn't optimal, or preferred, for that matter, but that doesn't seem to be THAT big of a deal......a little inconvenient maybe, but not horrible......
Now, I can see where this isn't the best length for being connected to a computer to transfer files, but workable......and from what I am reading, charging from the laptop isn't great to begin with......
Am I under the wrong impression..??
JoeJags said:
What is the problem with using a short extension cord, say a 6 ft..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was wondering the same thing myself. As technology progresses, I fear that some folks forget about the simple things--like extending the reach of the AC adapter if one can't extend the reach of the charging cable itself.
Reminds me of a time when I was watching a friend eating cookies and milk. He was eating around the edges of the cookies very meticulously, and I asked him, "Why are you doing that?"
He said, "So that they fit in the glass and I can dip them in the milk."
I thought for a moment and then asked, "Why don't you just break them in half?"
Has anyone noticed that the speaker placement is a bit low on the frame and can be easily covered up with your hands? That is to say if you are gripping the tablet with both hands (tablet in landscape mode) on the bottom do your hands cover the speaker ports/grill? If this is the case, do you find it annoying or a down side?
JoeJags said:
Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but.......
If the charging cable is that short, and you want to use it while charging in bed.......
What is the problem with using a short extension cord, say a 6 ft..??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main problem is that the charging cable is barely long enough for me to put the device on top of the nightstand and have the extension cord just below out of sight. I could use the extension cord, but I would have to keep moving the extension cord so I don't trip over it etc.
At work I can't even reach the socket from my desk - all the plugs are either behind the monitors or under the desk and the charging cable will reach neither. All it needs is another 60cm or so really and both problems would be solved! What's really irritating is that it's such a simple thing...
While sorting out my keyboard dock I mentioned it to one of the ASUS reps, and my feedback on it has been fed back to the product manager.
Look at it this way, if the only thing I have to gripe about is the charging cable, consider it a good sign.
yoda715 said:
Has anyone noticed that the speaker placement is a bit low on the frame and can be easily covered up with your hands? That is to say if you are gripping the tablet with both hands (tablet in landscape mode) on the bottom do your hands cover the speaker ports/grill? If this is the case, do you find it annoying or a down side?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are right, the grilles are exactly where your hands will go, but I don't really think it's a problem. If you grip really tightly around it you lose the high frequency treble a bit, but you'll only get this when you are typing. When you are just holding it I doubt you can tell the difference. And if you do, just flip the device 180 degrees and hold it upside down! (The screen auto rotates)
icStatic said:
Yes you are right, the grilles are exactly where your hands will go, but I don't really think it's a problem. If you grip really tightly around it you lose the high frequency treble a bit, but you'll only get this when you are typing. When you are just holding it I doubt you can tell the difference. And if you do, just flip the device 180 degrees and hold it upside down! (The screen auto rotates)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, I realized that the speaker placement may be a problem when I was playing SpeedX on my Xoom, since I play in landscape mode and hold the Xoom at the bottom with both hands.
How long does it take to get it fully charged?
Hi all,
I'm looking into tablets and for now it seems that Acer Iconia A500 is "the one". Owning a HTC Desire HD with it's beautiful 4.3" screen, I really don't see the point in buying 7" tablet, so I'm left with iPad (like I'll ever buy Apple's icr.p ), Motorola XOOM (a bit too expensive), Asus EEE Tab (which isn't released in Europe yet) and Acer A500. So what's your experience with it? I've seen a thread about screen quality (seems that the only drawback is the fingerprints, which could be cured with a good screen protector and it doesn't bother me that much anyway, because people are saying the same about the DHD and I have no problems with it), but what about the other aspects of the tablet? I've read that it can be rooted, but does it come with preinstalled market? Seems that there are many tablets that have their own versions of the market and this is something I deffinately don't want. Also what about the build quality. Alluminum body sounds nice and having a device with one, I'm definitely into that! How's the sound, are the ports and buttons easily accessable (mostly the headphones jack, the charging port and the volume buttons)? How's your overall experience with the tablet? From all I've read the only drawback is the lack of a GSM module, but while on the go, I can use my phone's wifi router, so that's not such a big deal. Thanks for all your input!
tkolev said:
1. does it come with preinstalled market?
2. Also what about the build quality.
3. How's the sound
4. are the ports and buttons easily accessable (mostly the headphones jack, the charging port and the volume buttons)?
5. How's your overall experience with the tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yep, all Honeycomb tablets come with the new Google Market.
2. In my opinion, it's pretty great. It has a very solid feel to it and the brushed aluminum makes it feel classy and won't get scrapes very easily. The seams are well done and I don't foresee any parts lifting or moving from where they should be, I also don't see how dust or dirt can get into or under the screen.
3. Excellent for a mobile device. In fact, I haven't heard a portable device save for some blackberries with such deep, thorough sound. They are better than standard with the equalizer off but with it enabled it sounds really nice. There's still very little bass, of course but it's still very full sound. I have a bluetooth speaker system and sometimes I don't bother using it because the a500 sounds so good.
4. Yes. The power button is on the left which means it's at the top in portrait mode, same for the headphone jack. I don't think there's any way to accidentally press it. It's also lit which can become useful with a future update. Right now it blinks every now and again, seemingly randomly.
The volume rocker and lock switch are on the top in landscape or right side in portrait mode. The volume rocker switches automatically when you change orientation if you haven't enabled the hardware lock - so initially in landscape mode, a right press is volume up and left is down but when it goes to portrait mode right (which is now at the bottom) becomes down and left (which is now at the top) becomes up which is a very nice touch I think. But I'm assuming all tablets do this so I'm not sure if I should bother to highlight it.
The charging port is on the right top, the micro usb and usb are side by side on the bottom right. I find their placement optimum because I don't get any cables tangled from being too close.
I don't like the flap that I have to flip to get to the microSD but it's understandable since beside it is where the GSM equipped Iconia Tabs have their sim card slot. In the end I think that's a good place for them. It's protected by the flap so no liquid can sneak in. The docker is of course on the bottom in the middle, the obvious place.
5. Let me put it this way. I wanted a Transformer. Now I don't, lol. I'm still interested in testing/feeling out the Transformer but the Iconia Tablet has won me over, pretty much 98% completely. Right now I'm anchored to simply the idea of the Transformer for ONE reason only, the dock. Each day Asus decides not to release it in the U.S and I read more and more user experiences of the dock causing it to lock up, reboot etc. is a day I care less about the dock and more about just enjoying the A500.
Hope this helps in some way. Sorry if I missed any questions.
All HC Tablets have preinstalled Market.
For your other Questions:
My A500:
Build Quality: Good
Sound: Is really good for a Tablet in my Opinion, I had the Ipad1 and 2 and Archos 7.. and the Sound from the Acer is definetly better (Dolby Mobil support)
Buttons are good in Position, but the Lock Rotation Button is a Pain for the Fingers...
One thing i have to concern right now... There seems more community around the transformer and already som roms! Acer seems to have a locked bootloader from what i read.. so maybe custom roms will last some while and maybe never with newer and self comiled kernels (like the motorola milestone)
Custom Roms is a important factor to me, the tab ist fast... but not always... the community is always faster (and often better) in "fixing" such things
Because i have one Build Failure (A little Hole in the LCD Glass) i will bring it back to the shop and im thinking of getting the transformer instead, just for the open bootloader (i don't need a full size usb every time)
Thanks for the replies, guys! Well, I can't care less for the dock of the transformer, since I'm used with the on-screen keyboard for my mobile devices and I have a laptop, which I use for work anyway, so the tablet will be mostly for browsing and media and that's good enough without a keyboard. Also, I heard that you can plug an USB keyboard and use it with the A500. Docking a mobile device makes little sense IMO. One of the main usage of the tablet will be in the car, because I have two kids and driving anywhere without some sort of entertainment for them is a nerve breaking experience. I'm thinking about replacing the "baby on board!" warning sign with "I have two whining kids in the car and I'm not afraid to die!"
The news about the bootloader isn't good . I care much more about custom kernels than custom ROMs mainly because of the overclocking, but then again I seriously doubt that in the coming year or two we'll need to overclock it, so it's not that big deal anyway. I've put a custom ROM on my DHD months after they were released (and I have the DHD since October), just to see what the fuss is all about. Coming from a WM device, I think the difference is not that great between custom and stock ROMs (at least not what it is with WM). I'm running a GB custom ROM now and still have to see what it has over the Froyo. I'm sure there is something, just can't figure out why Google hid it that good.
Well two days ago I finally got the A500. So far I'm loving it. They had both the Acer and Asus at the store and I'm sure the A500 is the better choice. To anyone wondering which one to choose, here is my experience. The first thing you'll notice is that the transformer's display looks a little bit better than the iconia's. Part of this is the auto brightness setting on the iconia being too power conservative. That's a good thing for your usage of the tablet, but not great for showing off. Still hats off to Acer for valuing user experience higher than sales experience. Compared to my Desire HD (both pumped up to max brightness) the screen is great. Brighter and the white is whiter (though with a little bluish tint). Anyway if it was just the screen, I would have gone for the transformer. But it's not. The next thing you'll notice is the weight. It's noticeably heavier, but it's because of the alluminum casing and that's worth the extra weight. As I said I own a DHD and to me the plastic feels... well cheap. Next comes the rotation lock. Very important with Android which restarts the current activity every time you rotate the device (and trust me you WILL accidentally rotate it). True - difficult to switch on and off but it also makes it difficult to switch it by accident. Volume button changes behaviour as you rotate the tab and once you get used to that, you'll come to like it. If you intend to use the tablet mainly as a netbook for heavy email writing, then the transformer will be better suited for you with it's battery packed keyboard (which costs extra), if you'll use it mainly for browsing, media, e-books, gaming - the a500 is the one for you. And finally the selling point of the A500 - you get full USB port without the extra cost (and bulk) of the docking station. This means keyboard, external drives, card readers, etc.
What I don't like with it is... well just a few minor things really. The icon for the headset being strange, also the occasional turning on of the screen is annoying, wifi signal is somehow weak but that's a part of life when having devices with alluminum back (the DHD has the same issues and I already had my home wifi APs repositioned when I got it) and the market being landscape only (probably honeycomb feature).
Overall being an HTC fan, I'm surprised that I like an Acer device that much. But considering the current HTC tablet (7", gingerbread and ridiculously high price) it all makes sense. Even without Sense ;-).
Sent from my A500 using XDA Premium App
i did a little bit of my own research about Iconia and other tablets. I pretty much came down to 3: 1) iconia - excellent build quality for its price and a nice screen, 2) xoom - the best build quality, okay screen, 3) toshiba - unknown build quality but very thick, their very first tablet but the best IPS screen.
overall I am satisfied with Acer, it doesn't have as good build quality as iPad1, definitly better build quality than iPad2. i am a perfections thou. and the i am getting more and more used to the android operating system. what i like the most is that there is a lot of high quality apps that are for free. on iOS you have to pay 99c even for fart apps.
So, I currently have a Dell Streak 7. I'm considering moving my tablet business to Asus, because Dell does not seem to be doing anything good right about now. I just got hired at a new job, and hopefully by the end of the month, a Tranformer with a Keyboard will be within reach. I have a few questions.
Firstly, I know there is an Ubuntu build that can be flashed, but to dual-boot it with Android, you need an NVFlashable ROM. Is there an NVFlash of the original ROM, so I can run official Honeycomb and dual-boot with Ubuntu?
Secondly, how good is the build quality of the tablet and keyboard, and how well do they work together? Is the hardware up to spec with the software? If I am spending $600 to run Honeycomb and Ubuntu, I want to make sure that the hardware won't die on me.
Third, I am hoping the performance is good. Considering the keyboard and Ubuntu support, I am planning on using this not just as an Android tablet, but a Linux laptop. Is the performance while running Linux acceptable for daily use, and are there any bugs?
bluesy_92 said:
So, I currently have a Dell Streak 7. I'm considering moving my tablet business to Asus, because Dell does not seem to be doing anything good right about now. I just got hired at a new job, and hopefully by the end of the month, a Tranformer with a Keyboard will be within reach. I have a few questions.
Firstly, I know there is an Ubuntu build that can be flashed, but to dual-boot it with Android, you need an NVFlashable ROM. Is there an NVFlash of the original ROM, so I can run official Honeycomb and dual-boot with Ubuntu?
Secondly, how good is the build quality of the tablet and keyboard, and how well do they work together? Is the hardware up to spec with the software? If I am spending $600 to run Honeycomb and Ubuntu, I want to make sure that the hardware won't die on me.
Third, I am hoping the performance is good. Considering the keyboard and Ubuntu support, I am planning on using this not just as an Android tablet, but a Linux laptop. Is the performance while running Linux acceptable for daily use, and are there any bugs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm wondering this as well.
I was contemplating the same thing before I got mine 1.5 months ago. I planned on replacing my aging eeePC 1005HA with the TF101 + dock, but I currently don't have enough money to buy the dock.
I've used Linux for years and currently use it as my main OS on my desktop, so I love the fact that you can run Ubuntu on the TF (which I haven't tried yet). I was following the dev of it for a little while and unless they changed the process, having a flashable ROM doesn't matter as Ubuntu replaces the recovery partiton (which houses the stock recovery or Clockwork) and not the system partiton (which houses Android). From what I've seen Ubuntu isn't 100% working yet and isn't ready for everyday usage. Prime 1.4 (which is essentially a slightly tweaked honeycomb build) has a flashable blob file, they're currently up to Prime 1.7 although IDK if any blobs exist for it.
The build quality of the TF is generally good, but there are some problems. The bezel may be loose in certain areas (about a 1" section on my top left corner is squeaky), your unit may have minimal or massive lightbleed due to the way IPS screens are backlit (any device with an IPS screen has lightbleed, take a look at the iPad2) someone on here did a poll about lightbleed and 75% of users reported that they had some form of lightbleed, and some users have noticed dust trapped under their glass screen. After 5 weeks of usage I just had to RMA my TF because it didn't want to charge the battery anymore.
The hardware on the TF is great and when coupled with great software it works extremely well, the problem is that Honeycomb is still crappy in some areas. There aren't many apps that truly support tablets and some things just don't perform well (across all Honeycomb devices, not just the TF). The TF has typing lag when using both the virtual and physical keyboard, but that seems to be more of a HC problem. 3.2 fixed a lot of things but Honeycomb isn't perfect by far.
Don't let all of this deter you from getting one though, it's a great device. All of the software problems should be fixed in the coming months when Ice Cream Sandwich is released and hopefully newer batches of the TF will fix some of the quality problems. Even though I had to send it back to get it fixed when it was only 5 weeks old, I still love the damn thing and miss it already!
I love mine. I've had a couple of tablets before, and I think this is the best by far. I'm one of the lucky ones who has no lightbleed(none at all) and no squeaks in the case, but even if I wasn't that lucky, I'd still love it. It's the highest build quality of any of my tablets, and it's super stable(for me at least). The only time I ever have to reboot is to update the firmware, and it lasts in standby for an entire week, with the wifi on(not in power-saver) the entire time. Also, Honeycomb in general is verrrrry nice, compared to my froyo/gingerbread tablets, and I think Asus has made a very good build of it.
I plan to dual boot Ubuntu when they get the touchscreen figured out, but AFAIK, there is no CWM method when dual-booting yet, so NVflash is the way to go. The stock firmware is available in NVflash form, but I think dual-boot will still break the OTA updates.
Alright, now another question. How well does Ubuntu work with the hardware? Will the USB port on the keyboard and external memory on the tablet be recognized? Will the built-in cam be recognized by Ubuntu as a webcam, or made useless? Is there anything else I should know before buying?
bluesy_92 said:
Alright, now another question. How well does Ubuntu work with the hardware? Will the USB port on the keyboard and external memory on the tablet be recognized? Will the built-in cam be recognized by Ubuntu as a webcam, or made useless? Is there anything else I should know before buying?
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Hope that your unit doesnt have locked bootloader (new key) and thus cant root or anything!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1198510
I've been seriously wondering if I should buy an Asus Transformer now that it has been out for a little while.
I don't know if I am too bothered with the 3G model that is to be released soon, as I do not mind just using my mobile phone as a wireless hotspot if I needed to use the internet and I would mainly be in places using this tablet where there is WiFi anyway.
We have a few sitting in the stock room at work and it's so incredibly tempting to get one as I've become smitten with all of the videos and the threads in this forum about it but I'm wondering if I should wait for something better that might come out.
It is a lovely little device though and I am sure I'd be happy to have one. I think I could compare my same situation to choosing my HTC Desire over a HTC Desire HD, although that came down to which telephone network I was using. Vodafone in Australia weren't doing so well (and still aren't as far as I know) and the Desire HD was exclusive to their network but I was convinced to go with the better telephone network and I love my HTC Desire even though it was around a year old after it came out.
Perhaps I just answered my own questions as to whether or not I should get an Asus EEEPad Transformer but I feel as if I need some more convincing from users here and not just Youtube reviews! It seems like a wonderful unit of technology, Bluesy and I am sure that you would be very happy with it. The devs here seem to be working very hard on creating a strong support in relations to customisation for this device so it will only get better. The Ubuntu support for it already astounds me! Haha.
lathanub, I was in the same situation last week, and pondered and wondered what to do. Finally at friday I ordered one myself! There just isnt any other device in same price range to compete with TF and it has all the latest technology in it.
TF 2 will be released Q1/2012 earliest imo, and so much can go wrong on it too with new chip inside. I see no use of 2 extra cores in near future for basic tablet usage, unless you wanna run the latest and greatest 3D games on it etc (I think tablets aint good for serious gaming, casual is ok for me)...
3G is probably coming in months time, but for me constant 3G connection just eats battery for nothing when using WIFI. And I own a MiFi device, that is so small to carry around, when Im not in area with WIFI. 3G is so much slower than any WIFI anyways, so I happily use it instead.
Ofc its finally about you, if you find the tablet useful now. For me, having handy device is priceless atm:
- read email
- twitter
- IM
- surf the net for some minor things
- watch youtube when bored
- watch movies/series when on the road (or waiting in airport like usually)
- read books
etc...
I dont think I need to boot my desktop at home anymore, unless I do serious work. Having ultra fast PC on 24/7 just for email/IM is bit too much....
Guys, do yourself a favor and look for the correct version of dock. B50 docks are horrible! The battery drain on them is at 5% an hour and it defeats the purpose of the dock totally.
Look for a B70 dock and for tablet, look for a no light bleed version but one that is not B70 if you want root - it is a BIG problem with these tablets right now. Rest all are great though. Ubuntu support is good as long as you don't put it on a MicroSD card.
Regarding the hardware issues - buy it at Staples or Best Buy if you are serious about using them for a while and exchange if you get bad batches. I bought online and RMA/Returns are greatly delayed and you have to pay shipping!
kkiran said:
Guys, do yourself a favor and look for the correct version of dock. B50 docks are horrible! The battery drain on them is at 5% an hour and it defeats the purpose of the dock totally.
Look for a B70 dock and for tablet, look for a no light bleed version but one that is not B70 if you want root - it is a BIG problem with these tablets right now. Rest all are great though. Ubuntu support is good as long as you don't put it on a MicroSD card.
Regarding the hardware issues - buy it at Staples or Best Buy if you are serious about using them for a while and exchange if you get bad batches. I bought online and RMA/Returns are greatly delayed and you have to pay shipping!
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I wouldn't call it a "big problem" with the B70s just yet. I have counted about 15 people on the forum and IRC that have successfully NVflashed a B70, and only one person who hasn't, and it hasn't been confirmed that it's due to a different SBK yet. It's something to be aware of, but there's alot of fear-mongering going on too.
My only advice is that, dont compare this to a laptop becuase it's just a *bit* below laptop level. It's great for what it does and not much else. If you're content with that, then you'll definitely love the Transformer.
I can't put the transformer down. Once I found Thumb Keyboard and SwiftKeyX for tablets, it is a dream. I'm out of town for 2 weeks for business and this thing is great. Emails, office doc's, Facebook, twitter, gTalk Video chat, games, Netflix, notes, etc.
My laptop is only on for wifi adhoc connection.
Asus Transformer 3.1 pwnd
www.MiiWiiChat.com
www.SnapSiteAdmins.com
I'm picking one up on Friday. Which store you guys recommend I purchase it from?
Vandam500 said:
I'm picking one up on Friday. Which store you guys recommend I purchase it from?
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Best Buy so you can take it back easily if you want.
Hi folks over A500 forum, i'm thinking to get myself an A500, but i afraid that i'll regret buying this tablet, because i've read some quite hmmm.... negative feedback about it.
some says that the charger wouldnt charge [i can assume that he has a faulty unit], poor mic, gps, unresponsive keyboard, weak wifi. So can anyone of you kindly enough to tell me what can i expect this tablet will be weak at?
I can tolerate at the poor camera quality though.
Please tell me, thanks!~
I have not found any issues at all with my tab. It is not an A500 but may as well be. (Gateway A60 running A500 roms). I use it at work and at home.
This tablet is pretty much perfect. The camera quality is fine as far as I am concerned (Front and rear), it is easily rootable, even if you install the OTA updates and the price point is where it needs to be.
The only thing that I have been on the lookout for is ICS but so far I am OK with HC. Way better than the Froto on my gtablet.
smishra said:
I have not found any issues at all with my tab. It is not an A500 but may as well be. (Gateway A60 running A500 roms). I use it at work and at home.
This tablet is pretty much perfect. The camera quality is fine as far as I am concerned (Front and rear), it is easily rootable, even if you install the OTA updates and the price point is where it needs to be.
The only thing that I have been on the lookout for is ICS but so far I am OK with HC. Way better than the Froto on my gtablet.
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Thanks! Perfect info. Any more? =D
Go to the store and play with the Tablets... the gps is a issue.. mic is a issue (only with video chat)
you need to root to fix the gps issues the patch is in the dev section also to tether again patch here in the forum.
keyboard that is stuck sucks badly... install THUMBS KEYBOARD
SUMMERY REQUIRED TO MAKE MY ICONIA PERFECT FOR ME..
BUY AND PUT A SCREEN PROTECTOR ON IT. (Even Gorilla glass can Scratch)
ROOT. install acer recovery install .. flash recovery ... Im now using the RA Recovery
install Root Explorer file manager (there is a free verson on makert.but support the dev BUY IT)
Install Titanium Backup (again Buy it DEV is awesome on this program)but to many updates pushed to often
Install the ad-hoc fix.
install Thumbs Keyboard
Install the gps fix
Install splashtop HD.. (to access my home computer)
Install IPRINT APP for my Brother Printer.
Install Office Program.. (i have two some do certin things better then other . find the one thats right for you)
Install CO-PILOT (THIS ACTUALLY BELONGS BELOW THE GPS PATCH)
Install sync sms .(to forword text msg to and from my tablet from my phone)required drop box account
Install DROP BOX
Flash my UI FOLDERS. to change the colors of the ui to A BURGUNDY Pinkish Color.. (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS .ADVANCED USER EXPERIENCE REQUIRED)AND DEV TOOLS Needed on your Computer and I USE ADOBE CS5..
Setup my email accounts sometime in the above events
Backup my tab with T B
BACKUP MY TAB AGAIN IN RECOVERY..
After all of the above.. my tablet fits my life Perfectly..
As already said by others, weak GPS, keyboard kinda sucks, glossy screen that really shows finger prints, etc. What I haven't seen mentioned, is the inability to properly play HD mkv's, most ppl will say you don't need high quality on tablet, and they are right, but, what if you want to hook your tab to a hotel TV to watch HD, etc. There also seems to be a lot of stuff in the market that is not compatible with this tab (specifically for me, mybuick and onstar)
That being said, having a usable USB port is pretty handy, the micro SD,(missing on the Zoom) micro HDMI are all nice to have. Microphone works well for apps like Skype as long as you use headphones.
You should be using headphones for video conversations anyway, otherwise the mic picks up the sounds coming from the speaker and then you have yourself a poorstorm of feedback.
I have never had any sort of keyboard issue with my tab. This is actually the first I heard of any sort of keyboard issue.
The rear camera is 5 megapixels, so expect 5 megapixel quality. Except for the newest Tegra3 tabs, this is the best camera you can get on a tablet.
You have to expect that this tablet comes from the first generation of real Android tablets that hi the market. As a result, you have to expect that there will be some issues with it. The good thing is that devs has created fixes for common problems (like GPS, wifi etc) so if you are someone who is in to rooting, this is a great tablet.
hardslog said:
You should be using headphones for video conversations anyway, otherwise the mic picks up the sounds coming from the speaker and then you have yourself a poorstorm of feedback.
I have never had any sort of keyboard issue with my tab. This is actually the first I heard of any sort of keyboard issue.
The rear camera is 5 megapixels, so expect 5 megapixel quality. Except for the newest Tegra3 tabs, this is the best camera you can get on a tablet.
You have to expect that this tablet comes from the first generation of real Android tablets that hi the market. As a result, you have to expect that there will be some issues with it. The good thing is that devs has created fixes for common problems (like GPS, wifi etc) so if you are someone who is in to rooting, this is a great tablet.
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So true.. MY TAB WORKS Well as stated above.. But it does not come without some work... i have read forums of other tablets. we have less trouble then average..
Oh ok, thx for those feedbacks! BTW, have any of you suffer from keyboard delay? I played Transformer, G Tab10.1, and A500 at the store before, and fall in love with the port and weight of this tablet. But the thing that frustrated me is the keyboard delay it has[btw, i dont really know what happened on that tablet though]
And how was the wifi strength? I heard reports say that it drops quickly?
I love my a500 and should you learn to root and flash you'll uncover the real power and potential in the device. that being said it should be mentioned the a500 is old tech that is going to be replaced by newer more powerful models this year. as these models come out the cutting edge developers will migrate and Dec on the a500 will slow down somewhat. this does not mean the a500 isn't a good purchase option. its great hardware that with the right software is just amazing. but it is on the backside of its lifespan and that carries some downfalls that should be mentioned.
A501, same as A500 except with 3g...
I've never had wifi dropouts, either at home or at work.
The public wifi at work is pretty bad but I have never had a problem logging on and its never dropped out.
Keyboard, again no issue here...
Haven't really played with GPS properly but do use co-pilot. I do find we seem to have pretty bad satellite reception here in OZ but when I have played around it seems pretty reliable, but again only done short trips...
Love the USB, this is why I bought the Acer A501 in the 1st place, no other tab had one. Expandable memory also a BIG plus...
I like the fact I can attach a 1Tb HDD and use this on my tab too...
No real problems, aside from the locked bootloaders Acer insists on sticking on its tabs, most things are fairly good.
I love my A500, but after taking it to meetings and with me pretty much all the time, I find it a bit heavy. I use it almost exclusively professionally and end up using dropbox more than USB drives. I would probably go with a GT10.1 because of the weight and thickness.
Thanks guy! but i bought the G Tab 10.1 instead of A500, because it is really a lot lighter than A500, and my dad prefers it more ;D
Thanks anyway!
Picked up my A500 from The Source on a boxing day special price. It was a bit of an impulse, but also a bit of tech jealousy as my cousin had bought one the week before so he could learn to program apps for it and I got to play with it a bit on New Years. ANYWAYS. I loved it right away, and the prospect of rooting it was pretty awesome.
I have zero faults with this machine. It looks great, works great, was easily unlocked/rooted, and there is a ton of support on this forum. I just keep trying out new roms (4 diff. builds so far) and new kernels (on my 3rd one of those), and I'm having a lot of fun with it.
Only drawback is that I didn't buy one sooner.
picking one up today... 32GB for $220 I think its a fair deal...main reason i would even consider it is becuase its ICS upgradable
I also have a HP Touchpad with CM9 ICS... thats a great piece of equipment if your into modding as well!
mind telling where you got 32gb one for that price?? Im looking to get one myself by budgets tight so any savings is appreciated.
BTW one question about the tablet itself can someone give me an idea about the average battery life, Yes i know battery life is very subjective but i need some kind of referance as i read a review by engadget and it basically said the iconia had the worst battery life of all of the major 10 inch tablets.
220$ for a 32gb?! Who did you steal this from?? haha
I got mine from acer's official ebay store, 330$ (shipping+tax included), refurb 32gb. Works fine.
docnas said:
mind telling where you got 32gb one for that price?? Im looking to get one myself by budgets tight so any savings is appreciated.
BTW one question about the tablet itself can someone give me an idea about the average battery life, Yes i know battery life is very subjective but i need some kind of referance as i read a review by engadget and it basically said the iconia had the worst battery life of all of the major 10 inch tablets.
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I've gotten 5 days on standby with battery drain to 42% (busy week, it just sat on the bedside table for that time no usage). I figure it could have gotten to 10 days.
When I was using it as an e-reader running the Kindle app almost exclusively I was getting on average 3 days of use between charges, reading for about 3-4 hours a day (Game of Thrones books are LONG and addictive).
Right now I've been playing games on it and I can easily go a whole day (overclocked at 1504mhz) before having to charge it.
Standby had wifi turned on, but off when the screen was off. Reading I always had it in airplane mode, and playing games can be a mix between airplane and wifi. Actually it hasn't seemed to make a huge difference that I can see.