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I put Toy Story on the Nook with subtitles to see how it fares. With the NoRefresh it's watchable. I get lost in the movie and forget it's in B/W with no sound. I don't know what to watch next on it. The new NoRefresh is tricky to get the contrast setting up during the movie but I eventually get it after a hundred taps everywhere. The last version seemed to shut down after a while, this new one works continuously with no problem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8MY26rwXuc
Well, why don't you put sound on it then?
Do you know where to obtain the hardware that makes this possible at a low price?
Oh, it's all in this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1457971
You need a USB OTG adapter cable = $3 and a USB audio adapter = $3-10.
That's awesome! I like how the suggestions are all unboxing's, reviews, or comparisons, and then there's this video xD
I already have this USB audio adapter - http://www.altoedge.com/usbaudio/usb-audio-capture-imic.html
It works good on any computer I use it on, wonder if it would do the trick if I had that OTG adapter.
This one caught my eye- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-USB-M...&otn=21&pmod=150791148251&ps=54#ht_2437wt_934
Having no sound isn't a big issue. It's kind of relaxing. Using the subtitles forces to me to do what I was originally suppose to do with it- Read!
It's nice to see people bringing out the most of this thing
You might consider a right angle adapter, it's a bit more convenient.
Anything will work as long as it specifically says OTG.
that shows what the device is capable of though.
Wow
Wow, what someone should do is make a case that has these usb addons so you could have sound and a microphone and even a camera! It might make it bulky, but considering how thin the nook touch already is I think it would still be comfortable to hold.
I'll have to look into norefresh, because if this works with other apps, it could be possible to get Angry Birds or something working just as cleanly as the video shown there.
angry birds works nicely with NoRefresh
As the title says I am very interested in using this tablet as a head unit replacement. I still have plenty of researching to do, but before I get too deep into it, I think there is one problem that should be addressed.
I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, but I do like my music. So using the 3.5mm jack for audio simply will not do. I have seen a video of someone using a Turtle Beach audio adapter to get usb audio out of the N7, and then into the stereo/processing unit. This would be perfect for me, however I also need to be able to hook up an external drive for additional storage.
So my question is if it is possible to hook up the usb audio cable, and an external drive simultaneously to the N7. My idea right now is to hook up an OTG cable to the N7, then plug in a small non powered usb hub which would have both the external drive and usb audio cable hooked up to it. I am just not sure if this setup is possible, and before I purchase all the components I would like to have some confirmation that it will work like i think it will.( I will be using a rooted N7 with stickmount installed, I believe that is all I need to allow Host capabilities)
On a side note, I also plan to use the pogo pins to charge the device. I saw a video of someone using a hacked usb cable to charge the galaxy nexus with it, so i think that should work. (I just read a thread saying that the galaxy nexus can't charge through a pogo pin dock while having a OTG cable plugged...My dreams are being crushed.)
If you would like any more info about the specifics of the setup, I would be happy to share my ideas.
Sorry for the length of the post, I just want it to be clear what I am trying to do here.
Any information, or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I think my dreams are also crushed, I believe the pogo pins are a pin-out extension of the usb port, not a separate port, therefore using OTG would ****-block charging, which is disappointing.
You could however use one of these in your car http://www.slashgear.com/seagate-goflex-satellite-wi-fi-hard-drive-gets-android-app-01168797/ which would provide 500GB of storage accessible whilst your nexus 7 is charging, combine that and a pocketwifi device to act as a router and provide internet access it would be perfect
if you had an AC power inverter or appropriate power supply for DC to the unit (saves inverting then converting again), you could use this one http://www.ccpu.com.au/show_prod.php?class_id=disk-ext&prod_id=STAM1000200
would be very awesome, looking forward to updates.
Thanks for the info.
That is deeply saddening that you can not use both at the same time, although I guess it does make sense for the purposes of a dock. So it looks like now the only way I can still use a plugged in external hdd, usb audio, and be able to charge the device at the same time is if I can do all of that through the mini usb port in conjunction with a usb hub...but i think that is unlikely. does anyone know for sure?
And thank you for bringing up those wifi hard drives. I didn't want to use them, something about having it plugged into the device directly just makes me feel better...although now I will have to seriously consider them.
Also, if anyone has any info regarding tablet install you think may be useful, feel free to post the link. Even if it is not directly related to the N7, it could still be useful info, and maybe get some gears turning in our heads.
I just became a member so I am not allowed to post links yet :silly:
I will still keep my hopes up about using this device, though! It is my favorite 7 inch tablet by far.
What about usb powered hubs?
Wololo7 said:
What about usb powered hubs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can the Nexus output digital audio, charge, and read an external HDD, via powered usb hub from its one micro usb port? If it could then all my problems would be solved! Until I encounter my next problem, of course. :silly:
Sounds very interesting indeed. I look forward to seeing what can be done.
Wololo7 said:
What about usb powered hubs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope. Did not work for me.
I thought about using the Nexus 7 as my car nav system as well. I stumbled across an issue where I want to mount external USB drive AND charge the tablet at the same time. I could not get the tablet to charge with a powered USB drive. I believe the tablet is going into host mode to read the USB drive, and thus disallowing any kind of power to charge itself.
Please someone prove me wrong.. I really like this tablet. It is the perfect size for the car.
Another issue I found... Using polarized sunglasses + nexus 7 (landscape mode) = completely black screen. This may or may not convince you to continue with this project. I am certainly looking at different options..
Im thinkin about this too. But not to completly replace my headunit but only to slap it on for long drives
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2
voidshado said:
Another issue I found... Using polarized sunglasses + nexus 7 (landscape mode) = completely black screen. This may or may not convince you to continue with this project. I am certainly looking at different options..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I noticed this, too. Disappointing. My HTC EVO View works fine, though.
Very interested in this. I've actually been working on this very project. I'm near completion (sort of) actually, but I'm having a separate electrical issue currently so its been on hold for the last week or so. At this point I've run sound via the 3.5 mm jack, but if a USB solution is found, I'd be all over that. I guess I settled for the 3.5 mm jack as previously, I tended to stream Pandora and various music through the aux jack on my phone anyways. Probably more than 90% of the time actually. I may look into the Seagate GoFlex Satellite WiFi HDD for external storage since charging and USB OTG at the sime time at this point seems impossible/difficult. I have a pair of polarized oakleys that i usually wear, and havent noticed the screen blacking out yet, but I'll have to see when I get home tonight.
On charging & usb host mode at the same time..
Has anybody tried this:
1. Setup a powered USB hub plugged into the Micro OTG cable
2. hack the cable from right after the OTG cable to where it plugs into the hub, so that the voltage pins are exposed
3. solder in the voltage pins to a usb connector so you can plug in a normal charger [5V 2A]
4. check to see if you can use the USB hub and charge at the same time
I currently have a Asus transformer TF101 and the primary use is watching clips off a 500GB usb HDD. I really, really want to get a N7 and sell my TF101, but if charging & simultaneous host mode is not possible, I would be slightly hesitant to buy it, even though it is really a awesome tablet from what I hear.
so if anyone has any info on that, I would greatly appreciate it!
ahavens17 said:
At this point I've run sound via the 3.5 mm jack, but if a USB solution is found, I'd be all over that. I guess I settled for the 3.5 mm jack as previously, I tended to stream Pandora and various music through the aux jack on my phone anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know a lot of people that the 3.5 mm jack for audio. And It really does sound just fine. It is just that I am planing on investing a lot in amps/speakers, so I don't want my weakest link to be my inputs right out of the gate. Although, this tablet is making it pretty difficult to not use that jack.
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Thanks again everyone for all the info! I still have a shred of hope for using this tablet in my car!
pikachu2000 said:
I know a lot of people that the 3.5 mm jack for audio. And It really does sound just fine. It is just that I am planing on investing a lot in amps/speakers, so I don't want my weakest link to be my inputs right out of the gate. Although, this tablet is making it pretty difficult to not use that jack.
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Thanks again everyone for all the info! I still have a shred of hope for using this tablet in my car!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running 4 Polk 6" speakers that replaced the stock ones in my car (just replaced them all last year when I blew one of the stock ones), and a cadence 4 channel amp to power the speakers. Nothing top of the line, and no subwoofer or anything as of yet. Picked up the cabling from monoprice, with all of it being their "premium" selection. It all seems pretty heavy duty and solid. Only ran me around 30 bucks. I just have an 02 Mitsubishi Lancer that I'm putting this in. The dash is originally a single din so it's taken quite a bit of modification to get it to fit. More than I originally anticipated. Just a hobby project I've wanted to do for sometime and when the nexus 7 came along I jumped on it. I'll post some pics when I have a chance but at this point it looks far from professional. lol.
Also, I pulled out the Nexus 7 last night and had my polarized glasses on, no screen blackening that was mentioned previously for me. Maybe a little distortion/filter over the screen at certain angles, but still viewable.
I think this thread is great. I'd love to see/hear what other people are doing or what ideas come about from this.
Thank you, I am really glad this thread has spiked some interest, and that other people have similar ideas. I will start up my research again and come back to post any new info when I can. Gotta keep this thread going strong!
pikachu2000 said:
I would be interested to see your project whenever you finish, or if you have information up of of the process now, that would be interesting to look at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I created a thread with the few pictures I took along the way, as well as the semi-finished project. The only thing I believe I still need to do at this point is get a screen protector. (Tablet still has the plastic cover on it from when it was in the box!) Other things may come up in the future, (such as adding an OTG cable if someone figures out a way to charge simultaneously) but this is it finished for the time being.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=29824916#post29824916
Thanks for making a thread! That is very cool, I like your setup a lot. Is the tablet meant to stay in the car permanently, or do you plan on taking it out often?
Alright, I haven't had much time to find much new information. But I was just thinking if I can't have it charge from the usb port and run usb audio out at the same time, then maybe I could take off the rear cover of the N7 and cut a hole in it, where the camera was supposed to go, and route positive an negative wires directly to the battery...then I could use a hacked usb cable to charge it...? Just the thought of that is scary, but I don't plan on taking out the N7 ever, it will always stay in the car.
Just a thought, let me know what you think.
Additional info: I am going to be putting this in an 02 e46 BMW 325xi. And I will use a modified double din face plate. In my head the final setup looks beautiful, but we'll see how it turns out. As for the time frame, I have a list of parts I want to get for the car, and I want to do most everything at the same time. It will take a good 3 or 4 months before I can get everything and then installing it might take another month(assuming everything goes smoothly) I just want to get all of my preliminary research out of the way. Sorry if you guys were expecting pictures soon.
Thanks
pikachu2000 said:
Alright, I haven't had much time to find much new information. But I was just thinking if I can't have it charge from the usb port and run usb audio out at the same time, then maybe I could take off the rear cover of the N7 and cut a hole in it, where the camera was supposed to go, and route positive an negative wires directly to the battery...then I could use a hacked usb cable to charge it...? Just the thought of that is scary, but I don't plan on taking out the N7 ever, it will always stay in the car.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What about the pogo pins? Aren't they for a [future] dock? I wonder if you can charge the tablet via the pogo pins and use USB OTG simultaneously? This would indeed be good news, because I will primarily use my N7 [when it arrives] for videos on a USB HDD, so it would wear out the battery to be constantly charging and discharging the battery every day.
mvmacd said:
What about the pogo pins?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Earlier in the thread we had thought of that, turns out you can only use one at a time, and it's a hardware limitation so no way around it.
Looking at using my Note 3 as a laptop. Basically pair a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and plug in an external monitor.
The only issue is the screen resolution is massive. Is there anyway to get it to scale smaller so its looks better on a 21inch or so monitor. Tablet mode would also be good but heard that is not working.
Long term if it works ok I will grab a clambook or similar to travel with.
dusty_nz said:
Looking at using my Note 3 as a laptop. Basically pair a bluetooth mouse and keyboard and plug in an external monitor.
The only issue is the screen resolution is massive. Is there anyway to get it to scale smaller so its looks better on a 21inch or so monitor. Tablet mode would also be good but heard that is not working.
Long term if it works ok I will grab a clambook or similar to travel with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First issue is that the screen looks very average unless connected to a 1080p screen.
Found these two options.
Both pending release
http://clamcase.com/clambook-android-and-iphone-laptop-dock.html
http://www.migoaltech.com/products-detail.php?ProId=12
and this kick starter project
http://livi-design.com/
I just received my PiPO W3 tablet. Even though this tablet is a few months old I decided to go with it compared to the Teclast X10HD which didn't offer great reviews and seem to suffer from minor hardware and software issues. I liked the PiPO W3 because PiPO seem to make good solid tablets. They are in a rare class like Onda who I feel also make very good quality tablets. One of the big draws for me was the add-on keyboard case. Since PiPO actually have their own branded one, that means they have probably done some testing to see it all works out quite well, compared to the likes of Teclast who may have been offering a more generic keyboard. I really like the Microsoft Surface element of both the tablet and the keyboard. The other big draw for this tablet is of course the full size USB 3.0 port. This means we don't have to mess around with USB hubs or specialist OTG hubs in order to use this device. With the addition Micro USB OTG adapter you end up getting 2 full size USB ports. You only need a hub if you're planning to add even more devices so already this tablet beats out many other Chinese tablets.
PiPO have actually made a newer updated model called the W3F which is available in a WiFi only or WiFi & 3G model. This newer tablet is about $100 less than the older W3. The W3 and newer W3F actually look identical because PiPO are still using the same external casing. So why didn't I go with the newer W3F model? Well simply because it offers only 32GB of internal space. With Windows and Office installed, 12GB is already used up which doesn't leave much space to install anything else. I always feel that 64GB is the bare minimum these tablets should come with. Also the processor in the newer W3F is actually lower than in the W3 model. The W3F has an Intel Z3735F Quad Core (Max 1.8GHz) while the older W3 model actually has a Intel Z3775D Quad Core (Max 2.4GHz). Many sellers are also stating that the W3F has a smaller battery capacity of 4000mAh compared to the W3 which has a 8000mAh battery. There is some discrepancy about this as we don't know what the real value actually is but I personally wouldn't order and take that risk. So while the W3F may be the newer model, in specs it is certainly inferior compared to the W3. Apart from these details, both tablets are pretty much the same. All other specs remain the same.
Screen Size: 10.1“
Screen Resolution: 1920*1200 Full HD
Screen Ratio: 16:10
Touch Panel: Capacitive 10 point touch
System CPU: Intel Baytrail T, Quad-core, Z3775D
CPU speed: Clock 1.5Ghz, burst up to 2.4Ghz
Storage: 64GB (Samsung MCG8GC)
RAM: 2GB DDR3
Operation System: Windows 8.1 32 bit with Bing
Productivity Suite: Microsoft Office 365 (1 year subscription)
Camera: Front 2MP, back 5MP auto focus
I/O ports : 1x Micro SD slot
USB port: 1x micro USB, 1x Full size USB 3.0
HDMI output: 1x mini HDMI port
Earphone jack: 1x 3.5mm
DC-IN jack: 1x
Microphone: 1x
Speaker: 2x Stereo
Communication: Wifi 802.11b/g/n
GPS module: No
3G: Huawei E1220-2 3G UltraStick
Bluetooth: Yes
Power: AC adapter 9V 2.5A
Battery capacity: 29.2Wh
Weight w/o keyboard: 570grams
Dimensions: 257*172*10.3mm
Accessories: 1x AC adapter
USB cable: NO
OTG cable: 1x
Keyboard: 1x (optional)
Some photos I took:
Unboxing: Contains Tablet, Keyboard, USB OTG Cable, DC Power supply. An adapter for my home country was also included (not shown). There is no Office 365 card included with a serial number anymore. Office prompts you to auto-install it and then activates itself after the installation, without requiring a serial number.
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Keyboard:The PiPo branded keyboard that comes with the tablet. The back cover can be flipped in 2 different ways to hold up the tablet. The keyboard is good. Keys are responsive. The trackpad is also good. No issues at the moment. The magnets are very strong as they can hold the tablet upside down if you hold up the keyboard! The 3 lights in the lower right corner are CAPS, SCROLL and NUM LOCK.
Back Of The Tablet: Has a nice poly carbon/metal like effect and finish. Build quality is pretty solid. No creaks or plastic being depressed or anything.
Ports: These are all the ports the tablet has. The big plus on this device is of course the full size USB 3.0 port.
3G Module:The side panel can be opened (the none port side) and you can remove the Huawei 3G UltraStick. Handy when a 4G module becomes available, it can easily be replaced without having to buy a new tablet. You can see where the SIM card slots into on the bottom.
Comparison: The keyboard and tablet attached. I've placed my old iPhone 5 next to it so you can roughly gauge the overall size. I would have used my iPhone 6 Plus but I had to use that to take the photos!
Wrapped Up: This is what it looks like with the keyboard cover fully closed around the tablet. Pretty good fit.
I just got this tablet so i'm still exploring it. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below.
Drivers:
http://pan.baidu.com/s/1eQlDJdK (154MB - official link)
Windows system Image:
http://pan.baidu.com/s/1sjO61RJ (4.6GB - Chinese language image - for tablets built after 20th August 2014)
http://pan.baidu.com/s/1mg3bO8K (4.6GB - Chinese language image - for tablets built before 20th August 2014)
There is no English language image (or any other language image) that I know of. The best case is to restore using the Chinese image and then change the language to English. If you recently bought this tablet then it is safe to say that it was built after the 20th of August 2014. I believe that the models before that date actually had a different case where the back cover is completely flat, from images I have seen.
How to PROPERLY remove the original language (Chinese, Mandarin) and choose your own system wide language.
What's the story?
Since the PiPO W3 is considered a "cheap" tablet, it comes with Windows 8 SINGLE LANGUAGE edition. Notably, all our tablets by default have Chinese (Mandarin) set in them by default. When we purchase the tablets, the seller goes in and adds a en-US (English United States) language pack that then gives us a way to actually use the tablet.
What is the issue?
Even though a language pack can be added and therefore used, it doesn't fully convert the system to that new language. There are still parts of the old language left. The original language cannot be removed. This issue highlighted itself when i recently went to update the tablet to Windows 10. The default language was Chinese (Mandarin) and I wanted to upgrade the tablet via a USB installation of Windows 10. The copy of Windows 10 I downloaded using their creation tool was English (United States). The problem however was that when you go to upgrade Windows 8.1 to 10, you are given 3 choices - keep all your apps, settings, etc or just keep your settings or fresh install that keeps nothing. As I was pressed for time and about to go on a trip, I wanted it to keep all my apps, settings etc. The problem however was that the installer was seeing that the original language of the device was Chinese (Mandarin) and my Windows 10 upgrade was English (United States) and therefore prevented me from doing an upgrade that kept all my installed software etc. I was only given the last 2 choices - keep a few settings, or fresh install that wipes everything.
What didn't work?
Messing around with language packs and keyboards etc does not fully solve this issue. Changing any other options in settings etc didn't work either. There are a bunch of videos and instructions on the net about how to change the language from the default to one that you want, but NONE of those actually solve the issue. A method was needed that actually REMOVES the default Chinese language and then allows you to make a new system wide default language. The instructions below show you how to do this. After I completed these very steps, the Windows 10 installer then allowed me to choose the first option which meant I could keep all my installed programs, apps and settings.
1. Download the appropriate (for your version of Windows 8.1) language pack listed further down in this post.
2. Rename the cab file to lp.cab
3. Put the lp.cab in some folder on your hard drive. Let's put it in C:\lp\
4. Open command prompt in elevated mode and type:
DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\lp\lp.cab
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Windows 8.1 may recommend restarting after successfully adding the package. If returning from a reboot - go into elevated prompt again.
5. Now we need to remove the reference to the old language pack. To do that we need to find out the exact identifier of the language pack installed. For this we need to type:
DISM /Online /Get-Packages > C:\pack.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6. Because the list of installed packages is long, the command sends it to a file called "pack.txt" located in the root of the C: partition. Open the file and look for:
Package Identity : Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package........
Status: Installed
Release Type : Language Pack
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7. Make sure you find the identifier for your old language pack, so if we're getting rid of the Chinese language - the identifier will have "zh-cn" in the name. For example a Chinese language pack that comes with your system will be something like:
Package Identity : Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~zh-cn~6.1.7601.17514
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note the zh-cn in the name.
8. Now let's run a command to remove the old language pack (listed in the above example):
DISM /Online /Remove-Package /PackageName:Microsoft-Windows-Client-LanguagePack-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~zh-cn~6.1.7601.17514
TIP: Since the package name is very long and manually typing it may cause errors, you can actually highlight the name from the txt file and right click and paste it into the command line window.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
9. After the removal procedure is done, you will be prompted to reboot the computer. After the reboot you should be faced with the new language interface.
NOTE: Check the output txt file carefully. If you have already installed your desired language pack, it may be listed there alongside the Chinese one. In this case you can avoid getting the language cab file and start the above instructions from step 5.
Windows 8.1 32-bit (x86) MUI Language Packs
Arabic
Bulgarian
Chinese - Simplified
Chinese - Traditional
English - United Kingdom
English - United States
French
German
Italian
Korean
Portuguese - Brazilian
Portuguese - Portugal
Russian
Spanish
Thanks to Irina Likhter & Serge Argaman for this!
Videos: (Not mine)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QhCYTCiPdQ (Unboxing)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi2zGPiroCs (Review)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvuXxiixXBY (Game: Need For Speed Carbon - In Russian)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pck-JerYSTw (Photoshop Demo - In Russian. It's long but you get the idea!)
Kindly request.
How awesome ! Congrats for the new acquisition !
Just today I start looking whether to buy this tablet or not,so i am lucky you showed up.I really need some insights from an actual person than owns the device.
So i have some questions for you if you're kind enough to answer :
1). How's battery life ? especially on video playback..how much do you think this baby can run while playing HD ( 1080p or 720p) videos ? (with WiFi of) because i travel a lot with train (for quite long distances) and i need a tablet that can run some more hours .
2). Does it get warm? like really warm ? for eg on intensive Chrome sessions
3). Does it have a proprietary charging port and cable ? because that's what i saw on some videos.
4.) How's the speakers and headphone jack sound quality?
And if you could tell me some cons of this tablet...or things that you don't like about it ,I would very much appreciate it .
Thanks a lot,and I hope you can answer me when you get the time.
recond9 said:
How awesome ! Congrats for the new acquisition !
Just today I start looking whether to buy this tablet or not,so i am lucky you showed up.I really need some insights from an actual person than owns the device.
So i have some questions for you if you're kind enough to answer :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Since I just got this tablet, please give me a few days to try it out so that I can answer all your questions. Here are some answers, and more will follow.
1). How's battery life ? especially on video playback..how much do you think this baby can run while playing HD ( 1080p or 720p) videos ? (with WiFi of) because i travel a lot with train (for quite long distances) and i need a tablet that can run some more hours .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. So far the battery life is ok. I have only really tested it by the standby function which I can tell you lasts quite a while. I haven't tried to see how long it could last with a 720/1080p movie yet but I will do that and get back to you.
2). Does it get warm? like really warm ? for eg on intensive Chrome sessions
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. I haven't pushed the CPU/GPU to any level that would make it hot but so far from normal usage (surfing etc) there is no heat anywhere, It's actually cool to touch.
3). Does it have a proprietary charging port and cable ? because that's what i saw on some videos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3. Yes it has a proprietary charging port and charger. You will see the charger in the first photo on the right and you will see the port in the 4th picture on the left. Some people may not like this as they prefer to charge via USB but I actually like this because it means that while the device charges, you are free to still use the USB port. I have heard that it can actually be charged via the Micro USB port however that charge is very slow unless you use a powerful charger. As I don't have a Micro USB cable I wasn't able to test this.
4.) How's the speakers and headphone jack sound quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4. The speakers are loud. 2 people watching a movie can easily hear it. Also the viewing angles are good so the screen can be viewed by more than one person. I tested with some mp3s and also some TV shows and the sound through the speakers was very good. Of course these are tablet speakers and so like other tablets and even laptops - the audio range isn't great. Don't expect any bass or anything wow. At a basic level if you just want to watch something or listen to music, it will not disappoint. The headphone experience was surprisingly good. I used Windows Media Player and messed with the EQ for movies and then for mp3s I used Winamp (also adjusting the EQ) and in both cases the sound was pretty good - a good audio range and lots of bass. You definitely get a better experience through the headphones and I had a pair of Sennheiser headphones connected so I definitely enjoyed the sound much better through those than the speakers.
And if you could tell me some cons of this tablet...or things that you don't like about it ,I would very much appreciate it .
Thanks a lot,and I hope you can answer me when you get the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will get back to the first 2 questions later on and also any cons about it when I have done more testing
OMGitsShan said:
Thanks! Since I just got this tablet, please give me a few days to try it out so that I can answer all your questions. Here are some answers, and more will follow.
1. So far the battery life is ok. I have only really tested it by the standby function which I can tell you lasts quite a while. I haven't tried to see how long it could last with a 720/1080p movie yet but I will do that and get back to you.
2. I haven't pushed the CPU/GPU to any level that would make it hot but so far from normal usage (surfing etc) there is no heat anywhere, It's actually cool to touch.
3. Yes it has a proprietary charging port and charger. You will see the charger in the first photo on the right and you will see the port in the 4th picture on the left. Some people may not like this as they prefer to charge via USB but I actually like this because it means that while the device charges, you are free to still use the USB port. I have heard that it can actually be charged via the Micro USB port however that charge is very slow unless you use a powerful charger. As I don't have a Micro USB cable I wasn't able to test this.
4. The speakers are loud. 2 people watching a movie can easily hear it. Also the viewing angles are good so the screen can be viewed by more than one person. I tested with some mp3s and also some TV shows and the sound through the speakers was very good. Of course these are tablet speakers and so like other tablets and even laptops - the audio range isn't great. Don't expect any bass or anything wow. At a basic level if you just want to watch something or listen to music, it will not disappoint. The headphone experience was surprisingly good. I used Windows Media Player and messed with the EQ for movies and then for mp3s I used Winamp (also adjusting the EQ) and in both cases the sound was pretty good - a good audio range and lots of bass. You definitely get a better experience through the headphones and I had a pair of Sennheiser headphones connected so I definitely enjoyed the sound much better through those than the speakers.
I will get back to the first 2 questions later on and also any cons about it when I have done more testing
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the answers so far.
Sure,I was a little quick with so many questions at once.
The main nasty thing about the proprietary charger is the fact that it can't be replaced easily replaced like lets say a normal USB charger.It would be a pain to wait a couple of weeks for a new one to be delivered all the way from China(some 2 good weeks for an packet to get here in Europe).But I guess you'll have to be careful with it.
As I can see from your sayings,is this tablet has almost no cons ,just pros..Chinese makers sure leveled up their game.
Well,I will check here in few days for your other answers,after you test it out.
Thanks.
Hey, glad to see you got yours and thanks for the writeup. Still waiting on mine, but will report here when I get it.
There are some good videos of an apparent W3 clone (actually it's probably a W3F clone as it has the slower CPU), the Kruger&Matz Edge 1081. In this video (others are linked there) he tests charging. Apparently the microUSB ports will charge it, but does not take advantage of more powerful chargers = around 10 hours for a full charge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt1kJupVWPk
---------- Post added at 02:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:15 PM ----------
Here's an interesting questions - if you plug a powered USB3.0 hub into the 3.0 port, and then plug one of its inputs into the microUSB port, will that charge the tablet? Or will the universe collapse into itself from the bizarre USB loop?
I need to power the tablet and 2 USB3.0 devices from a 12V battery. That voltage doesn't work with the native charger port (9V) nor typical USB power (5V). But some USB3.0 hubs actually take 12V, so I could power a hub, and (assuming the tablet won't charge directly from a powered USB3.0 hub being connected to it) power the tablet from it -> microUSB. That way I'd need no voltage converters at all (if it doesn't destroy the known universe).
---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:21 PM ----------
actually re. my power question, that USB loop should work. The hub->microUSB path doesn't need to be a data connection, a power-only USB cable should work without causing complications. Now I just have to find the right 12V taking 3.0 hub ...
recond9 said:
Thanks for the answers so far.
The main nasty thing about the proprietary charger is the fact that it can't be replaced easily replaced like lets say a normal USB charger.It would be a pain to wait a couple of weeks for a new one to be delivered all the way from China(some 2 good weeks for an packet to get here in Europe).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always use a standard USB charger (with a microUSB cable) if the 9V charger ever goes down, it will just be slower. And I don't think it's proprietary in the sense that it's just a thin version of the typical 2.1mm DC jack, you can probably find an adapter for a generic 9V supply (just needs to be the correct polarity and >= the amps the tablet needs).
As I can see from your sayings,is this tablet has almost no cons ,just pros..Chinese makers sure leveled up their game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Main cons I'm aware of are no GPS, and screen is not optically bonded. It will be interesting to see how much of the sRGB colour space it covers, and what the black levels are like (I can measure that with my colorimeter when I get it). 4GB would have been nice. And even though it's a higher-end Baytrail CPU, Core M tabs will be faster (but also look like they're going to be super-expensive).
But the full-size USB 3.0 is very handy (main reason I bought mine), looking forward to getting it in my grubby paws .
Great pics and write-up.
I have also received my W2 a couple weeks ago.
Glad to know that this thing can be charged via the micro usb port so that I can put my 10000ma portable battery to good use with this tablet.
One annoying thing about this tablet (or maybe windows8.1) is that when I press the power button to put it to sleep and then close the cover, either the keyboard hit the windows touch button below the main screen or the touch screen hit the windows key on the keyboard and that would wake the tablet and turn on the screen draining battery while not being used.
Same thing happen when I plug in my charger, it will be awaken and screen turned on.
So to sort of temporary solve this problem, I created hibernation shortcuts on taskbar, desktop, start menu, and start screen. So I just hibernate it whenever I don't use it. Lucky that it just takes about 10 to 12 seconds for this thing to wake from hibernation.
Hope there is some ways to disable the keyboard, touch start button, and charger from waking the tablet up when I press the power button.
---------- Post added at 01:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:16 PM ----------
BTW, since Onda is mentioned here, I wanna let you guys know Onda have just released a 11 inch tablet with full HD screen, 2gb ram, 64gb storage, but have dual OS with both Windows 8.1 and Android4.4 installed and can be switched instantly.
It is getting a lot of praise in Hong Kong.
I am quite interested in this thing.
OMGitsShan, thank you so much for the review. I was thinking about buying this wonder, mainly because the keyboard and the case. With those pics, I almost have no doubts right now.
Just a silly question: You mentioned it comes with a 1-year subscription to Office365. What about OneDrive? Iw ould be great to have anything attached with that subscription.
Thanks again.
Hey, I've got similar tablet (it's the same just named and sold by local firm in Poland - Kruger&Matz EDGE 1081 - with current currency exchange rate it's 214$ and that's already with taxes for WiFi only 32gb). I've got an issue - sometimes Windows button (touch sensor) bugs out and act as if it was pressed all the time and it doesn't respond at all, meaning pressing power/screen lock button leads to CTRL+ALT+DEL screen and Volume UP button launches up narrator. Problem appears randomly, though very often when tablet is docked into keyboard cover.
Got mine yesterday. First impressions - overall pretty good. IPS screen is nice and sharp, black levels are decent. Not quite as saturated (colourful) and super-black as the best, but not bad. Wifi reception is good, using my iPhone with 3G as the gateway via Wifi it has no problems getting a good signal one floor up (my old Gadmei E8-3D tablet would loose the signal about 5m away already). Battery seems decent, but need more time with it (and it may improve a little after a few full charges).
CPU speed isn't bad for a tablet, I'm not sure I'd want to use the slower Baytrails though (eg. W3F) so I'm glad I paid for the 2.4GHz boost. It does seem to throttle it down though if all 4 cores are maxxed. This is most likely thermal management, when total core utilisation < 75% or so (TBC) if does get up to ~2.33 GHz (it doesn't seem to be a true 2.4, if so then kinda sneaky rounding up like that), but then it drops down as a cores get v. busy. On the plus side, tablet only gets warm, never hot, even when running 3D Mark (though I didn't try running a 3D app over a long time yet). Thermal management seems good. There might be scope to push it a little via the BIOS temp. settings, but I'm not messing with those for now.
Tablet feels nice in hand and considering the size isn't too heavy or thick imo. But it has a small ridge all around the edge - this protects the buttons and ports a little by recessing them, but also slightly digs into your hands slightly. Not loving that, it's not painful but slightly uncomfortable. They should change that on the next model.
Keyboard is pretty good actually, thin but fairly rigid, as is the touch pad and button response. Feels decent quality, surprising how much travel there is in the buttons/keys considering how thin it is. Touchpad mouse tracking is good for general use, though if you try to do pixel-accurate scrolling it does sometimes jitter a bit. But you don't notice it for normal use. For more accurate mousing it's definitely handy, the touch screen will struggle for fine control sometimes, especially with apps that aren't DPI scaling aware. The magnet that holds the tab to the keyboard is very strong, no danger of it falling off (even upside down I think). But the soft and thin cover provides zero protection from dropping, so I'll look into getting a better case when it goes out the door.
I'm still setting it up - have calibrated the screen (max brightness is around 220mcd, contrast ratio around 930:1, good for an IPS screen). USB 3.0 seems to work though I still need to test the max bandwidth. It also does not work with my Seagate portable USB 3 HD - it briefly detects it, then disconnects it. Suspect it cannot supply enough power, so a powered USB hub may be necessary (will try that later, I can measure the USB current too).
Office trial is there, haven't activated mine as I don't intend to pay for it, so won't use it anyway (lots of free alternatives available, eg. OpenOffice). You have to activate it before August 2015 though or it expires. OneDrive app is there, but I haven't looked at it yet (probably won't use it either).
3G Huawai stick is there, but seems to take a full-size SIM cards and I only have a microSim, so will buy an adapter. There's a mobile-something app that seems to do text messaging, maybe even phone calls?
Anyway, so far overall seems a pretty good package, I'd recommend getting the keyboard unless you definitely won't need it. It's a well thought-out solution and pretty compact, and no wires to worry about or wireless batteries to run out.
Oh btw, first thing I did was download 70+ Windows updates. Maybe a freak occurrance, but they took forever to discover and then wouldn't download (always stuck at 0%). One time they finally did, but on a reboot didn't seem to be applied + "TiWorker.exe" was taking massive CPU even after a reboot. Turns out the update database got corrupted somehow - fix: Control Panel -> Trouble Shooting -> Windows Update. Repairs the DB + reboot (may need to dl' the updates again to get them to stick).
@Marrond, I think I've seen what you describe. For me it very occasionally goes a little nuts, eg. it registers presses all over the tablet when I press in a spot, and think I've seen it trigger the start button once. In my case it seems to be interference with other gadgets on my desk (I'm still setting it up, copying files etc). For one I have a Wacom tablet that probably radiates stuff as part of what it does. I noticed that if I moved the tablet elsewhere on my desk, it's all fine again. I'll keep an eye on it.
One thing, be careful updating the Intel HD graphics driver. I used their auto-driver update tool, found & installed an updated HD driver. Worked fine, except every time the screen went to sleep, it would then wake up all black. Backlight still on and tablet still running fine, but nothing on screen and no way to fix it except hard reboot! Thanks to @OMGitsShan's link to the driver package I just put the old one back on and fine again. Google suggests it's a long-running problem with Intel drivers, but couldn't find the exact cause. Never seen this on my desktop (with HD4000).
---------- Post added at 11:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:03 PM ----------
Apparently most Win 8 devices (even 'with Bing') have device encryption enabled by default (so if someone steals your tab they can't then pull the files off from another OS etc). But it doesn't seem activated on the W3. This might be the reason & workaround, scary though in case it bricks it.
If anyone is brave enough to try, please report.
---------- Post added at 11:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 PM ----------
BTW @Marrond, your tab might be a clone of the W3F (it's a cut-down version of the W3 with a slower Baytrail CPU).
---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:14 PM ----------
BTW if anyone needs a driver let me know (takes FOREVER to dl from China).
OK I took a gamble on enabling the security stuff in the BIOS, and sure enough it worked (note I didn't bother to create a password). You then have to create/sign into an online MS account (I did that inadvertently by trying to download a free app from the store). This changes your login into an online login. And seems to enable Device Encryption silently & also automatically uploads your encryption key to MS as a 'backup'. You can also make or print your own copy for safe keeping. I can now see Device Encryption is enabled (with option to disable) on the PC Info screen - but this is only shown on the Metro version, not the desktop one. But yeah, seems to have worked. You can then also choose to go back to a local login (Account Settings) if you don't want to be signed into MS permanently. You can also choose to use or disable OneDrive.
The touchscreen weirdness came back quite badly, fake touch events all over the place, but recalibration seems to have fixed it (Start Menu -> Search for 'Calibration'). That should fix the Start button too as that's likely just using the touch screen.
The USB3 Seagate HD also works if I plug a USB power monitor between it and the tab, so it does have enough juice to power it, but perhaps a firmware glitch makes it disconnect, maybe a short power drop that doesn't happen when the monitor is also plugged in. But it works fine with my powered usb3 hub. And all other USB devices I've tried so far work directly on the tab.
recond9 said:
Thanks for the answers so far.
Sure,I was a little quick with so many questions at once.
The main nasty thing about the proprietary charger is the fact that it can't be replaced easily replaced like lets say a normal USB charger.It would be a pain to wait a couple of weeks for a new one to be delivered all the way from China(some 2 good weeks for an packet to get here in Europe).But I guess you'll have to be careful with it.
As I can see from your sayings,is this tablet has almost no cons ,just pros..Chinese makers sure leveled up their game.
Well,I will check here in few days for your other answers,after you test it out.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Last Friday my main PC decided to die on me. So its been an exhausting week of recovering data from the hard drive then buying a new drive, reinstalling windows and software (we all know what a pain that is!) and so I am slowly back to where I was. I did keep a text file that I noted all the problems I had with the W3 just for you but I sadly lost that when the PC died. So I will hopefully try to remember the points I wrote about and so if I remember something at a later time, I may edit this post with the additional information.
As far as HD video play back is concerned. I play a 1080p movie that was an MKV file with a bitrate of 8000kbps - the movie was 2hrs:02mins long. I managed to play the movie 2.5 times before the device went to around 3% battery.
For a 720p mkv movie that had a bitrate of 4000kbps - movie length was 2hrs:10mins. I managed to get the movie to play 3 times fully and then it played an additional 12 minutes before the battery died.
In terms of heat - it gets hot when playing games (I installed Asphalt 8, a car racing game from the App store) and when charging. Not hot where you cant hold it though. And if you place your fingers behind like holding it with the screen in front of you, only the fingers on your left hand will feel any heat.
CONS:
1. The windows button/logo on the bottom of the screen on the front bezel causes the vibration motor to go off every time you press it. I don't really understand why we need a physical and audible indicator that we have pressed it. I just want to press it and get to the Metro interface so I'm not sure why PiPO bothered to add the vibration to it. Just one of those little things that's annoying. I hope I can find a way to disable it.
2. Chrome runs ever so slow on this device. I'm not sure why Google haven't adapted it to be more streamlined on a tablet, but scrolling on it is jerky. In contrary, Internet Explorer is way smoother. I prefer using Chrome as my browser but I've had to put IE as default just to make things easier.
3. Keyboard is slightly flimsy - even on a flat surface like a table. It is not very bendy or anything but when you press down on a key the board gets depressed as well. You can still easily use it and it wont affect your typing just wish it was more solid. Therefore typing on your lap might take a bit of effort.
4. The battery seems to give 2 different values based on whether you are in the Metro interface or the regular desktop.
5. You can charge it and use it, the battery does charge reasonably fast. I know some people were worried that if they charge and use it, the charge would be slow but I never experienced that.
6. I have a small portable 2.5" USB 3.0 hard drive, for some reason that drive does not get detected when connected to the USB 3.0 port. USB pen/flash drives work fine and powered larger desktop drives such as my Seagate Expansion drives show up fine, but the smaller unpowered drive does not get detected. The weirdest thing though? My girlfriend has an unpowered USB 2.0 hub. When I connect this hub to the USB 3.0 port and then connect my portable hard drive to the hub, it shows up fine in Windows. So how does a slower hub (USB 2.0 and one that is unpowered "kick start" windows into seeing my portable drive? Confused!
7. Screen glare. The screen is very reflective. It's a little shinier than I would like.
Well that's what I can think of at the top of my head. If I get more I will add to this!
_gl said:
Hey, glad to see you got yours and thanks for the writeup.
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Thanks and you're welcome! I'm happy to see you got yours! We'll be able to bounce ideas and suggestions now and hopefully figure things out.
misbehave said:
Great pics and write-up. BTW, since Onda is mentioned here, I wanna let you guys know Onda have just released a 11 inch tablet with full HD screen, 2gb ram, 64gb storage, but have dual OS with both Windows 8.1 and Android4.4 installed and can be switched instantly. It is getting a lot of praise in Hong Kong. I am quite interested in this thing.
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Click to collapse
Thanks! I haven't experienced the problems you have but if I do i'll let you know. I actually heard about the Onda v116w a few days after I had ordered my W3, and initially I thought OMG I want that instead but looking at it now, I'm kind of glad I didn't go with it and here's why. Most people buying the 8 and 9 inch models of these Chinese tablets only want to use them to consume media. Yeah sure full Windows is a bonus of course. However with a 10 inch tablet not only is it as good for media consumption but you finally get a device that you can do work with. So in the case of the PiPO W3, the keyboard is a big draw and because PiPO include their own, it feels safer than picking some random magnetic keyboard or even using a bluetooth one. With the Onda being 11 inches - that would be a perfect companion for work (and great for media too!) however Onda have not released or even mentioned a keyboard case with the device. In my opinion, that was a huge loss to them. Without a keyboard option, the need for the tablet is limited. Also on an 11 inch screen - Onda could only offer a 1080p resolution?! What is this - 2011? Such a large screen deserves a high resolution to turn a great screen into a gorgeous one. I really don't understand Onda. Its like they never push hard enough. Every tablet of theirs always has some major limit. Previously they never offered HDMI out. So with such a low resolution for an 11 inch screen, the PPI (Pixels per inch) will be pretty low. Also they offer the same processor as the current crop of tablets. With a slightly bigger screen, it would be nice to put a more powerful CPU in to help games etc work better. So for me Onda always do something to screw up their upcoming tablets.
EQLucky said:
OMGitsShan, thank you so much for the review. Just a silly question: You mentioned it comes with a 1-year subscription to Office365. What about OneDrive? I would be great to have anything attached with that subscription. Thanks again.
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You're welcome! OneDrive is included with Office 365. You get 1TB of space online to store your documents. Your Microsoft ID would get you 15GB of OneDrive space outside of this Office 365 subscription however. Hope that answers your question.
Quick update on the external USB 3.0 HD issues we're both having. We're not alone, it's also happening on Surface.
As I wrote there, mine actually works unpowered on the (2.0) micro-USB port, so it's not a power issue. And my USB power monitor (that makes it work on the 3.0 port) drops the connection to 2.0, so that explains why that works too. So the issue is only with the true 3.0 connection. It seems very unlikely this is a hard drive firmware bug, as people are reporting the same thing with all kinds of HDs. So either the Intel USB 3.0 driver or some Windows USB 3.0 part (maybe from a bad update) must have a bug, or maybe it's a bug in Baytrail itself (but the driver could probably work around that). I've not been able to find any Intel USB 3.0 drivers for Baytrail (updated or otherwise), anyone?
Also @OMGitsShan, when you had the HD problem did you already download all the Windows updates, or was it clean? I already got the updates so I don't know if it would work clean. I guess I could uninstall them all again, but if someone has a clean install to test...
BTW I hear you having to reinstall Windows, it sucks! My (power-user) desktop system takes WEEKS to rebuild from scratch - no exaggeration! Word of advice, set it all up, and then image the OS partition. I do these days because I'm never going back to a full rebuild (just catching up the few months between the last backup takes long enough ).
---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 PM ----------
@OMGitsShan, check you System even log for "disk <x> has been surprise removed" messages. That's what I get when it briefly detects and then disconnects the drive when I plug it in (about 50% of the time, the rest it doesn't see it at all).
---------- Post added at 07:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 PM ----------
I got my micro-> full SIM adapter, and tested the 3G stick at home. I'm near a mast so get a v. good signal - the stick gave me the same as I get on my iPhone 4s. Haven't tried in a weak signal area yet, but looks promising. There's no voice call facility in the supplied Mobile Partner software, but it seems to be able to send/receive texts (that probably explains the vibrate motor - which I don't mind firing on the Start button, but there's probably a tweak to turn it off).
_gl said:
Quick update on the external USB 3.0 HD issues we're both having. We're not alone, it's also happening on Surface.
As I wrote there, mine actually works unpowered on the (2.0) micro-USB port, so it's not a power issue. And my USB power monitor (that makes it work on the 3.0 port) drops the connection to 2.0, so that explains why that works too. So the issue is only with the true 3.0 connection. It seems very unlikely this is a hard drive firmware bug, as people are reporting the same thing with all kinds of HDs. So either the Intel USB 3.0 driver or some Windows USB 3.0 part (maybe from a bad update) must have a bug, or maybe it's a bug in Baytrail itself (but the driver could probably work around that). I've not been able to find any Intel USB 3.0 drivers for Baytrail (updated or otherwise), anyone?
Also @OMGitsShan, when you had the HD problem did you already download all the Windows updates, or was it clean? I already got the updates so I don't know if it would work clean. I guess I could uninstall them all again, but if someone has a clean install to test...
BTW I hear you having to reinstall Windows, it sucks! My (power-user) desktop system takes WEEKS to rebuild from scratch - no exaggeration! Word of advice, set it all up, and then image the OS partition. I do these days because I'm never going back to a full rebuild (just catching up the few months between the last backup takes long enough ).
---------- Post added at 06:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:18 PM ----------
@OMGitsShan, check you System even log for "disk <x> has been surprise removed" messages. That's what I get when it briefly detects and then disconnects the drive when I plug it in (about 50% of the time, the rest it doesn't see it at all).
---------- Post added at 07:08 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:29 PM ----------
I got my micro-> full SIM adapter, and tested the 3G stick at home. I'm near a mast so get a v. good signal - the stick gave me the same as I get on my iPhone 4s. Haven't tried in a weak signal area yet, but looks promising. There's no voice call facility in the supplied Mobile Partner software, but it seems to be able to send/receive texts (that probably explains the vibrate motor - which I don't mind firing on the Start button, but there's probably a tweak to turn it off).
Click to expand...
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Which carrier sim card are you trying with?
misbehave said:
Which carrier sim card are you trying with?
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Click to collapse
3 (UK).
I also agree that the W3 is more of a work horse - if you're not planning to use the desktop much, it's probably overkill unless you want the faster CPU just because. But to me it's a poor man's Surface Pro (in a good way).
Gotta say I'm also really impressed with what MS has done with the mobile part of the OS. I run 8.1 on my desktop, but never use Metro at all. It's horrible to navigate with a mouse (or my Wacom graphics tablet, which doesn't react like the touchscreen even though that makes more sense). But it's great on this - I love IE in Metro mode, super slick, all the touch gestures in general finally make sense and are intuitive. I especially like swiping in from left to switch between desktop & metro screens, very slick.
And I'm very impressed with what they have achieved with the power usage. I'm a programmer and I know how much they would have had to gut the OS and rewrite massive parts of it, including the drivers, to get that to happen. It even seems to boot a little faster from cold than my (admittedly old) iPhone 4S. Sweet.
---------- Post added at 01:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 AM ----------
Anybody know how we can replace the Pipo boot logo?
---------- Post added at 01:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:13 AM ----------
... simple.
I got an RK8 box and runs great with my 4k TV. Exception being HDMI. When I turn on the RK8, it will not display on my TV. I have to unplug the HDMI from the box and plug it back in and than it will work. Is there a setting that I'm missing?
It's plugged into my HDMI port on the LG for 2.0. The TV also recognizes it as an HDMI 2.0 devices and switches the tv to 10bit colour on that port. Only issue is unplugging and plugging back in the HDMI cable to it to show.
Hi Kevin. Have had the RK8 for a couple of months now, and after the first couple of weeks using it on my Samsung UE65JU6070, I can no longer switch it on with my remote (switching off works fine), thus I have gotten used to unplug/replug the power cord. Maybe it's the same issue you're experiencing? I'll check tonight if unplugging/replugging the HDMI cable does the same trick for me as the power cord.
Can I ask, what is your experience in playing 4K youtube video's? It seems mine is very reluctant to do so (doesn't work on the youtube app, and only sporadically using a webbrowser).
Otherwise I agree with you .... it is a great box which seems to run very stable without any overheating issues etc. ..... and having upgraded KODI to 15.2 means I no longer have any stability issues there either (NB: if you do this update, you need to uninstall the pre-installed KODI 14 first .... so remember to save your settings etc.).
Just a last comment. At 70 USD this seems to me to be great value ..... I'm surprised it's so difficult to find other people on the Internet who have experience with this box ....
Best regards Mogens
mogensberg said:
Hi Kevin. Have had the RK8 for a couple of months now, and after the first couple of weeks using it on my Samsung UE65JU6070, I can no longer switch it on with my remote (switching off works fine), thus I have gotten used to unplug/replug the power cord. Maybe it's the same issue you're experiencing? I'll check tonight if unplugging/replugging the HDMI cable does the same trick for me as the power cord.
Can I ask, what is your experience in playing 4K youtube video's? It seems mine is very reluctant to do so (doesn't work on the youtube app, and only sporadically using a webbrowser).
Otherwise I agree with you .... it is a great box which seems to run very stable without any overheating issues etc. ..... and having upgraded KODI to 15.2 means I no longer have any stability issues there either (NB: if you do this update, you need to uninstall the pre-installed KODI 14 first .... so remember to save your settings etc.).
Just a last comment. At 70 USD this seems to me to be great value ..... I'm surprised it's so difficult to find other people on the Internet who have experience with this box ....
Best regards Mogens
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Click to collapse
I have no remote/power issues. Just issue with it showing on my tv. It powers up and won't display. TV see's that HDMI3 has power but does not show unless I unplug/plug the HDMI cord in the box.
I don't use youtube on this box. Just Kodi.
kevink15 said:
I have no remote/power issues. Just issue with it showing on my tv. It powers up and won't display. TV see's that HDMI3 has power but does not show unless I unplug/plug the HDMI cord in the box.
I don't use youtube on this box. Just Kodi.
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Click to collapse
Hi again Kevin. Since my last post, it has happend 3 - 4 times that I've experienced your issue of "black screen", but for me it has come out of the blue. Picture comes back when unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable just as you say. I was wondering if you have gotten any closer to find a solution?
Pls be aware that I tried to update to Kodi Jarvis (16.0) release, but went back to 15.2 due to an issue with menu text being "corrupted", which required each time starting Kodi to go and change the font. Allegedly it's an issue related to HDMI as well, so I'm wondering if there is some "glitch" in the box' HDMI implementation (HW or FW).
I'm sure you have tried already, but if not, have you tried to move the HDMI cable to another input on the TV? Do you have some configuration possibilities with the HDMI inputs on the TV ... if yes, maybe play around with those.
Small quirks ... but I have to say that for USD 60, this is still an amazing box even if I still cannot power it on with any remote (but power off works fine with all remotes).
Best regards Mogens
mogensberg said:
Hi again Kevin. Since my last post, it has happend 3 - 4 times that I've experienced your issue of "black screen", but for me it has come out of the blue. Picture comes back when unplugging and replugging the HDMI cable just as you say. I was wondering if you have gotten any closer to find a solution?
Pls be aware that I tried to update to Kodi Jarvis (16.0) release, but went back to 15.2 due to an issue with menu text being "corrupted", which required each time starting Kodi to go and change the font. Allegedly it's an issue related to HDMI as well, so I'm wondering if there is some "glitch" in the box' HDMI implementation (HW or FW).
I'm sure you have tried already, but if not, have you tried to move the HDMI cable to another input on the TV? Do you have some configuration possibilities with the HDMI inputs on the TV ... if yes, maybe play around with those.
Small quirks ... but I have to say that for USD 60, this is still an amazing box even if I still cannot power it on with any remote (but power off works fine with all remotes).
Best regards Mogens
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Click to collapse
I haven't had time to work with it to be honest. I think its a poor HDMI 2.0 design on the box. I still have the issue and just yesterday, my Kodi updated to 16 and I get the same issue as you with the block lettering which I haven't tried to fix as yet. Thanks for sharing changing of the font.
Reason I suspect its the unit and not tv, is because sometimes when it does not display on my tv. The tv gives a pop up indicating "The device connected does not support 10 bit deep colour". Then I unplug and plug and it goes away.
Hopefully I can get sometime to fiddle with it more and see how it can be resolved.
Have you tried to see if there is a software update? The update option on my box does not even work. I wonder if we both got knock offs or just duds.
kevink15 said:
I haven't had time to work with it to be honest. I think its a poor HDMI 2.0 design on the box. I still have the issue and just yesterday, my Kodi updated to 16 and I get the same issue as you with the block lettering which I haven't tried to fix as yet. Thanks for sharing changing of the font.
Reason I suspect its the unit and not tv, is because sometimes when it does not display on my tv. The tv gives a pop up indicating "The device connected does not support 10 bit deep colour". Then I unplug and plug and it goes away.
Hopefully I can get sometime to fiddle with it more and see how it can be resolved.
Have you tried to see if there is a software update? The update option on my box does not even work. I wonder if we both got knock offs or just duds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Kevin,
The box is made by Acemax, and there is no FW update since the original (believe the one it's shipped with is dated 30. sep 2015 ...but that's from memory as I'm at work). I don't think it's a knock off, but I do think it's a "standard" board which is basically put into a plastic cabinet, where the only difference to identical spec products (like the Xidoo X6 Pro) is the location of the USB ports. It seems it uses exactly the same components as that one and others similar to it ... however, Acemax do seem to have FW updates for other products they've made on their homepage, so ... who knows. If somebody is brave and skillful enough, such person may even try at install a FW from f.ex. the Xidoo box ... but I'm afraid that's not me (not due to lack of bravery, but ... skill!!). With that being said, I believe my issue with having to unplug/replug the power cord once per day is something I can live with easily (and it has worked, so it may be a question of resetting the box, which I frankly am to lazy to do!!), so .... I guess looking at such small quirks and comparing them to the overall usability of the box, then the trade-off is not too bad.
A quick view on a couple of threads for similar boxes (f.ex. the Xidoo) would seem to indicate that some of their users are having issues that makes ours "luxury problems" in comparison.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated if I stumble over something useful .... and would appreciate if you do the same.
P.S. A "clever" streaming guy has told me that the best Kodi version in terms of stability for live TV streaming still is Helix .... although I'm quite happy with Isenguard (got too tired of the font changing thing on Jarvis, so I re-installed Isenguard). I'm more or less only using mine for streaming HD channels (mostly UK Sky / BT sports) for EPL, and it works fantastic.
I found a weird solution for the unplug issue! When I turn on the box and my tv is on the hdmi port. I turn the tv off and turn it back on and the box displays. Tried this a few times and it worked.
mogensberg said:
Hi Kevin,
The box is made by Acemax, and there is no FW update since the original (believe the one it's shipped with is dated 30. sep 2015 ...but that's from memory as I'm at work). I don't think it's a knock off, but I do think it's a "standard" board which is basically put into a plastic cabinet, where the only difference to identical spec products (like the Xidoo X6 Pro) is the location of the USB ports. It seems it uses exactly the same components as that one and others similar to it ... however, Acemax do seem to have FW updates for other products they've made on their homepage, so ... who knows. If somebody is brave and skillful enough, such person may even try at install a FW from f.ex. the Xidoo box ... but I'm afraid that's not me (not due to lack of bravery, but ... skill!!). With that being said, I believe my issue with having to unplug/replug the power cord once per day is something I can live with easily (and it has worked, so it may be a question of resetting the box, which I frankly am to lazy to do!!), so .... I guess looking at such small quirks and comparing them to the overall usability of the box, then the trade-off is not too bad.
A quick view on a couple of threads for similar boxes (f.ex. the Xidoo) would seem to indicate that some of their users are having issues that makes ours "luxury problems" in comparison.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated if I stumble over something useful .... and would appreciate if you do the same.
P.S. A "clever" streaming guy has told me that the best Kodi version in terms of stability for live TV streaming still is Helix .... although I'm quite happy with Isenguard (got too tired of the font changing thing on Jarvis, so I re-installed Isenguard). I'm more or less only using mine for streaming HD channels (mostly UK Sky / BT sports) for EPL, and it works fantastic.
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Click to collapse
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.
kevink15 said:
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.
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Click to collapse
Hi Kevin,
I just now saw your other post about the power .... I tried that myself, but to no avail.
I'm not sure you're right about the Rockchip being one of the worst technically, but in terms of support (official and un-official) you're right.
However, since I use my box for watching IP TV, I can live with using Kodi 15.2. I've tried the Kodi 17 dev version, and it has the same issue with garbled text as Kodi 16.
The Kodi x86.apk cannot be installed on our box .... I tried yesterday, but I guess it is for an Intel based android solution.
In terms of HDMI 2.0 implementation, I wouldn't be surprised if it's not perfectly implemented .... not sure if HDCP 2.2 also plays a role.
Anyway, at the end of the day you get what you pay for .... and since I paid USD 65 for my box, I have to say I feel I got a lot of value for money, despite it's few quirks .... and as a friend of mine always says; what kind of life would it be without complaints
Best regards Mogens
Hi again Kevin,
The family being out for Saturday shopping, I spent a little time with my afternoon coffee on the computer.
You are right, that KODI do not support the RK3368 SoC, as the manufacturer does not comply with Android standards, which necessitates that standard KODI is "hacked" to work perfectly with this chip .... something the KODI development community naturally does not want to do.
However, it seems the manufacturer Zidoo whose Z6 box is based on the same SoC, has showed some good customer service, and actually created a ZDMC app, which is basically KODI 16 with a few modifications for RK3368.
I downloaded their firmware for the Z6 box, and extracted the ZDMC apk from there and installed it on my RK8 box ..... and albeit I've only tested it shortly, it works beautifully with no issues so far. Apart from not having garbled menu text, it also seems like it's actually able to make 4K output (the standard KODI irrespective of versions only seemed to be able to show FHD, but would in turn show a refresh rate of twice the actual .... too techincal for me!).
Long story short, if you want to test it out, I've uploaded the above apk to Mega with the download link below.
https://mega.nz/#!TR1SEByC
Encryption key needed: !kN-15aGvZljVdKEus9LT7NxCYjqnthR8bbaYD_YfhiQ
Let me know if it works for you and/or if you find anything. Also let me know if the download link doesn't work.
Enjoy your weekend!
Best regards Mogens
kevink15 said:
Not sure if you saw my last note about the power. I've also figured out more about this box. It has a rockchip which is one of the worst to use. Kodi does not support that chip fully, hence the weird text when launched. We have to stick with the preload or, I've read some place to download the "X86" apk from the kodi site. Also, I tested my box on a regular 1080p tv with hdmi 1.4. And the issues of it not displaying right away, are eliminated which lead me to believe the hdmi 2.0 in this box is poorly designed.
I'm probably going to use this box in my room and get a box with an Amlogic chip for 4k as those are the better boxes to have and more support is offered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi again Kevin,
Just a last comment this time around. I've now used the above mentioned RK3368 "modified" version of Kodi 16, and I have to say it is extremely stable and works better on the RK8 than Kodi 15.2.
If you have a chance, try it out. Given the very, very limited 4K material out there, I hope this box should be able to carry me through the next couple of years until availability of material as well as new compression methods become available.
Best regards Mogens