Inexpensive "Aigo" & "Mod" Chinese Tablets @ Pantip.

[dddave]

I have an inexpensive ARCHOS 8" tablet running Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sand.) that I purchased at STAPLES in the US for $215 and have been quite satisfied with.

My GF really took to it quickly and enjoys using it so we went to Pantip in search of one for her. Though Archos has an office in Thailand, none were on sale at either Pantip or Fortune. There was however a Chinese brand "AIGO" 8" tablet running ICS that at B6000, (tagged at B6999 but quickly dropped to B6000) seemed pretty decent. There wasn't much information available on the internet about AIGO but I played around with it for quite a while and could find no faults. When they agreed to throw in a nicely made fitted case I decided to take a chance and bought one.

At my apartment, we had a problem downloading apps so back the next day to Pantip where they re-set some firmware. Since then a week has passed with no problems at all. She's put on about 40 game, Thai news and entertainment apps along with a bunch of music and photos. Battery life runs about 7 hours running video games and the display, while no challenge to RETINA, is decent. The settings include a Thai font set; a bit difficult to find at first. The onscreen keyboard sucks big time;..small key areas with no space between so constant miss-taps. I hope to find a way to add a better keyboard. All in all, so far the Aigo has worked out pretty well, considering the price.

My GF's neice who just graduated from H.S. (1st in class) and is Uni. bound visited us while all this was going on. She went with us to Pantip and really liked a small 7" Android 4.0 tablet called "MOD", also Chinese, selling for B3000. I had wanted to give her a graduation gift so we took some time checking it out. It seemed to work pretty well so I bought it for her.

She is pretty computer savvy and soon knew more about it's capabilities than I knew about mine...she showed me a thing or two that I didn't know. The MOD had a much better built in keypad than the Aigo, operated smoothly and did all it was supposed to do. She has it upcountry now and is very happy with it. Not bad for $100

Both tablets are a bit shy in the memory dept. at 512K/4gigs but both also will take up to a 32G micro-SD outboard memory.

Time will tell if these tablets hold up to long term usage. I will report if anything significant happens with them in the future.

As I said before: so far, so good.

Edited May 15, 2012 by dddave

[lomatopo]

Can you share any details re: the exact model numbers of these units? Maybe from the box, or in Android, Settings, About phone, Model number.

The Aigopad M803 has excellent HW, and gets generally decent reviews.

[StefanBBK]

How about the aniol novo type thingies? Did you see any?

They seam to be decent and I need something for the kids to play angry birds on.... They keep on occupying my wifes ipad or my samsung far too long.

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect App

[dddave]

Can you share any details re: the exact model numbers of these units? Maybe from the box, or in Android, Settings, About phone, Model number.

The Aigopad M803 has excellent HW, and gets generally decent reviews.

The M802 is what I bought, the 803 I believe is 3D but not impressive. As I said, there was an initial firmware issue but quickly resolved. It is running Android 4.03; ICS. I forgot to mention, it has cameras front and rear. The front one is low resolution but ok for chat. The rear is 2 mp.

There are several kiosks selling the tablet: one with big Aigo signs on the main ground level sales floor. one in one of the ground level rear aisles. He also sells several other Chinese Brands including the 7" "MID" that I purchased for the neice. (I incorrectly called it "MOD" in my original post).

There is another dealer along the Mezz. railing and one behind the food court seating area. They all seem independent of one another. None would go below B6000 but I did get the case thrown in. I also saw them on display at TucCom in Pattaya.

There are several kiosks also selling 10" Chinese tablets running ICS in the B8000 range but I didn't check them out.

[dddave]

How about the aniol novo type thingies? Did you see any?

They seam to be decent and I need something for the kids to play angry birds on.... They keep on occupying my wifes ipad or my samsung far too long.

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect App

Didn't see that particular brand but there are a number of dealers selling 10" as well as 8" and 7" Chinese tablets....B2000 up to B8000

Angry Birds runs nicely on the 7" "MID".

[PattayaParent]

How are they both for surfing and doing emails, posting on TV, etc.?

[lomatopo]

Can you share any details re: the exact model numbers of these units? Maybe from the box, or in Android, Settings, About phone, Model number.

The Aigopad M803 has excellent HW, and gets generally decent reviews.

The M802 is what I bought,

OK, it is challenging to get repeatable specs on these items. The specs on the M802 are impressive (most say 8 GB, hence I was confused by your statement of 4 GB), if truthful. Perhaps the only downside is the screen, but for 150 bucks (USD) who's complaining. It looks like you can get the M802 for as little as 4,500 baht (the price being bandied about for next month's COMMART show), so perhaps some more negotiation would have been rewarded?

4,900 baht here: http://aigo.welovesh...2057764-th.html

FWIW, you can pretty much side-load any keyboard that you want: Thai, SWYPE, Android, etc.

Edited May 16, 2012 by lomatopo

[wjhall]

I can recommend the G-pad Extreme 8". I have had mine 2 months now and am very impressed with it. Runs Android 2.3 but can get all the Apps I want. Initially I bought it simply as an ebook reader but am finding I use it more and more for Internet, news etc. Also I find the gf is often playing games on it and I have a fight to get it back.

It has 8gb memory and also came with an 8gb SD card which is more than enough storage for me. It doesn't have 3G but that was not an issue for me as I only intend using it at home. However you can plug in an Aircard if you want to go mobile.

In Khon Kaen it was on offer for 5500 baht but I was able to grind them down to 5000 baht including a soft case, a screen protector and a stand.

[dddave]

How are they both for surfing and doing emails, posting on TV, etc.?

So far, both seem well suited to the internet. The built in browser app connects with no problem. You Tube videos take a while to load but play OK once buffered.

What's TV?

[dddave]

"FWIW, you can pretty much side-load any keyboard that you want: Thai, SWYPE, Android, etc."

Is there any particular Thai/English keyboard you'd recommend?

[lomatopo]

^Which keypads do you currently have installed? Settings, Language & input, Default. List the options. If more than one try another to see if it addresses your issue (..."sucks big time..")

Also under Settings, Language & input, select Language, scroll down, do you have ไทย , just above Korean?

If you look at Thai websites do you see Thai script? Do you see Thai script on Google Maps?

Do you need to be able to toggle keypad input between English and Thai?

edited to add: I assume you've reviewed the many, many keyboards in the Market?

Edited May 19, 2012 by lomatopo

[ThaiLife]

I can recommend the G-pad Extreme 8". I have had mine 2 months now and am very impressed with it. Runs Android 2.3 but can get all the Apps I want. Initially I bought it simply as an ebook reader but am finding I use it more and more for Internet, news etc. Also I find the gf is often playing games on it and I have a fight to get it back.

It has 8gb memory and also came with an 8gb SD card which is more than enough storage for me. It doesn't have 3G but that was not an issue for me as I only intend using it at home. However you can plug in an Aircard if you want to go mobile.

In Khon Kaen it was on offer for 5500 baht but I was able to grind them down to 5000 baht including a soft case, a screen protector and a stand.

The G-pad Extreme 8 does look an interesting model , I like how you can use a 3G USB aircard to connect to the interent .

The version below shows its running on Android V.4.0

[lomatopo]

I like how you can use a 3G USB aircard to connect to the interent .

I'd love to hear more about how this works.

So the USB aircards have Android drivers? The platform can support "high-power" USB devices? Careful not to snap off the USB aircard.

Not sayin' it couldn't be hacked, some aircards have Linux support, but I would be shocked if this worked with any USB aircard out of the box.

Perhaps better to create a WiFi AP with a compatible phone or MiFi device?

[ThaiLife]

I like how you can use a 3G USB aircard to connect to the interent .

I'd love to hear more about how this works.

So the USB aircards have Android drivers? The platform can support "high-power" USB devices? Careful not to snap off the USB aircard.

Not sayin' it couldn't be hacked, some aircards have Linux support, but I would be shocked if this worked with any USB aircard out of the box.

Perhaps better to create a WiFi AP with a compatible phone or MiFi device?

This is from the G-Pad web site ( Google Translation )

Ive just spotted on the G-Pad web site there seems to be 2 versions of the G-pad Extreme 8

G-Pad 8 Extreme

G-Pad 8 Extreme l

http://www.g-padtabl...12/products.php

The G-Pad branded USB Air Card

it looks like you can by a G-Pad branded USB air card

The USB aircard connection is shown at the end of this YouTube video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaKQMNSwLv8

Edited May 21, 2012 by ThaiLife

[lomatopo]

^ Interesting. Presumably this only works with that specific G Pad USB aircard? They must have created some custom drivers and a custom version of Android, which I assume you can change from Thai to English?

Also I'm not sure that is Android 4.0?

[ThaiLife]

^ Interesting. Presumably this only works with that specific G Pad USB aircard? They must have created some custom drivers and a custom version of Android, which I assume you can change from Thai to English?

Also I'm not sure that is Android 4.0?

It looks like there are ( 2 ) versions of the G-Pad 8 Extreme

with the G-Pad 8 Extreme l running Ice Cream

I wonder who Ben is

[dddave]

My ARCHOS 80G9 has a compartment in the back that opens to a USB type port that accepts a dedicated 3G adapter sold (I'm told) only by Archos.

Since my tablet was purchased in the USA, the adapter was not on offer there because of bandwidth incompatibility. It is sold on their UK website for 45 pounds. I called the Archos office at Muang Tong Thani and was told they had them in stock but he was evasive on price. He did say an aircard would not work, but he would say that; wouldn't he?

Back in the US, my nephew fiddled a bit and got a thumb drive to play on this port so it does have USB functionality.

[eeeya]

saw the aigo pad at pantip the other day. Very smooth and definitely running android 4.03 when i checked the system settings. The price was very attractive!

I run a motorolla xoom with various roms on it and it run nearly as smooth as that judging by the quick play i had but i didnt go into much detailed playing around with movies or games.

I was surprised that it was android 4.0 and this is a big plus compared to 2.0 as it doesnt look like an oversized phone display.

on the downside, the hardware is lower end and there is no support from the english speaking mod community such as on XDA forum

http://forum.xda-developers.com/index.php

so you pretty much on your own if you want to fault find or upgradethe OP system unless you know chinese

[welo]

@lomatopo

Is the USB modem support really such an issue? I looked into this a while back when I bought a router with 3G support. It had an option where you could configure unsupported modems by specifying the commands required to connect.

That made me think that the 3G modem have a rather high level interface - if this is true than a 'driver' on the OS would be rather low-tech?

Do you have any insight how 3G modem support on Android works. I mean not the technical details but how difficult it is to find/setup drivers for an unknown 3G modem.

welo

[welo]

@dddave

How is the quality of the touch screen (sensitivity, not picture quality). I had a netbook-style Android based Chinese device once in my hands and the touch screen was horrible.

welo

[lomatopo]

@lomatopo

Is the USB modem support really such an issue? I looked into this a while back when I bought a router with 3G support. It had an option where you could configure unsupported modems by specifying the commands required to connect.

That made me think that the 3G modem have a rather high level interface - if this is true than a 'driver' on the OS would be rather low-tech?

Do you have any insight how 3G modem support on Android works. I mean not the technical details but how difficult it is to find/setup drivers for an unknown 3G modem.

welo

You can look in the XDA forums where there is some serious hacking required; some have managed to get some partial functionality on a model by model basis. You also have to deal with the higher power USB interface, which is required for USB aircards, but not memory sticks.

AFAIK, this application requires a custom ROM, and a specialized USB interface and/or USB air-card. Also you'd probably have to keep the tablet on AC power?

It seems like a niche application, which could be addressed in a number of other ways?

[dddave]

@dddave

How is the quality of the touch screen (sensitivity, not picture quality). I had a netbook-style Android based Chinese device once in my hands and the touch screen was horrible.

welo

Tha AIGO touch screen is pretty decent though not faultless. It does occasionally lag but that may be more due to the processor. With an ASUS TRANSFORMER being a 10, I'd give the touchscreen on the AIGO a 7. Actually more responsive than a friends Acer A200. My GF uses it for a lot of games and has no problem with seizing or serious lag.

[xanax]

^ Interesting. Presumably this only works with that specific G Pad USB aircard? They must have created some custom drivers and a custom version of Android, which I assume you can change from Thai to English?

Also I'm not sure that is Android 4.0?

Android supports a variety of USB peripherals and Android USB accessories (hardware that implements the Android accessory protocol) through two modes: USB accessory and USB host. In USB accessory mode, the external USB hardware act as the USB hosts. Examples of accessories might include robotics controllers; docking stations; diagnostic and musical equipment; kiosks; card readers; and much more. This gives Android-powered devices that do not have host capabilities the ability to interact with USB hardware. Android USB accessories must be designed to work with Android-powered devices and must adhere to the Android accessory communication protocol. In USB host mode, the Android-powered device acts as the host. Examples of devices include digital cameras, keyboards, mice, and game controllers. USB devices that are designed for a wide range of applications and environments can still interact with Android applications that can correctly communicate with the device.

[Derifo]

saw the aigo pad at pantip the other day. Very smooth and definitely running android 4.03 when i checked the system settings. The price was very attractive!

I run a motorolla xoom with various roms on it and it run nearly as smooth as that judging by the quick play i had but i didnt go into much detailed playing around with movies or games.

I was surprised that it was android 4.0 and this is a big plus compared to 2.0 as it doesnt look like an oversized phone display.

on the downside, the hardware is lower end and there is no support from the english speaking mod community such as on XDA forum

http://forum.xda-dev...s.com/index.php

so you pretty much on your own if you want to fault find or upgradethe OP system unless you know chinese

Have you tried slatedroid?

[Derifo]

@dddave

How is the quality of the touch screen (sensitivity, not picture quality). I had a netbook-style Android based Chinese device once in my hands and the touch screen was horrible.

welo

Tha AIGO touch screen is pretty decent though not faultless. It does occasionally lag but that may be more due to the processor. With an ASUS TRANSFORMER being a 10, I'd give the touchscreen on the AIGO a 7. Actually more responsive than a friends Acer A200. My GF uses it for a lot of games and has no problem with seizing or serious lag.

Just install a new "launcher."

[ThaiLife]

My ARCHOS 80G9 has a compartment in the back that opens to a USB type port that accepts a dedicated 3G adapter sold (I'm told) only by Archos.

Since my tablet was purchased in the USA, the adapter was not on offer there because of bandwidth incompatibility. It is sold on their UK website for 45 pounds. I called the Archos office at Muang Tong Thani and was told they had them in stock but he was evasive on price. He did say an aircard would not work, but he would say that; wouldn't he?

Back in the US, my nephew fiddled a bit and got a thumb drive to play on this port so it does have USB functionality.

Just spotted this

[dddave]

ThaiLife; thanks for that. Coincidentally, I just got an email yesterday from Archos-Thailand confirming the B2000 price for the 3G adapter.

Not sure if I'll go for it or not.

[lomatopo]

ThaiLife; thanks for that. Coincidentally, I just got an email yesterday from Archos-Thailand confirming the B2000 price for the 3G adapter.

Not sure if I'll go for it or not.

It looks like that Archos G9 3G stick supports 900/2100 Mhz 3G so AIS/One-2-Call or TOT/MVNO would be your only options here.

The integrated design is impressive.

[ThaiLife]

some options

[lomatopo]

Interesting they mention Android 4.05, presumably they mean 4.0.5? I wasn't aware that it had been released yet?

Next months COMMART Next Gen 2102 (June 7 -12) show should have most of these available for sale, maybe even with some decent promotions.