Choosing A Tablet

[edwardandtubs]

Just ordered a Pipo U2 for $144 delivered. Has a great review (Pipo U1) on U tube. Has everything I want, check out the review and specs.

Did you order it from the US and get it delivered to Thailand?

[edwardandtubs]

Just ordered a Pipo U2 for $144 delivered. Has a great review (Pipo U1) on U tube. Has everything I want, check out the review and specs.

Did you order it from the US and get it delivered to Thailand?

Or direct from China via Aliexpress?

[giddyup]

Just ordered a Pipo U2 for $144 delivered. Has a great review (Pipo U1) on U tube. Has everything I want, check out the review and specs.

Did you order it from the US and get it delivered to Thailand?

Or direct from China via Aliexpress?

It was from Aliexpress, but I cancelled the order and decided to get a Nexus 7 instead.

[Pib]

Appears Onda has released/real close to releasing their Quad core, Retina display (2048 x 1536) Android tablet in the $240 ballpark...apparently called a V972. See this Link for a brief description. I was on the Onda web, www.onda.cn site a few minutes ago and also saw some indications of its release.

As you saw in earlier post I have a Onda V971 which I paid B6,590 for here in Bangkok about a month ago---or maybe I should say my wife now has the V971 as she uses it all the time to watch YouTube videos of Thai celebrities--and it has worked fine. She has turned into a YouTube addict. I also updated the V971 from it's original Icre Cream Sandwich 4.0.3 to Jelly Bean 4.1.1 using the Onda Jelly Bean release for the V971....Onda seems to do a good job in quick update releases. The only con I have on the V971 is it's a slow charger...it uses its miniUSB port for both data transfer and charging (no dedicated charging port)...and when I saw slow charging I mean 10-14 hours to charge its 6000ma battery from almost empty to 100%...and yes, I have tried various chargers...it comes with a 2A charger.

Detailed/full specs of the newly released V972 with retina display: Link

[inthepink]

That looks like a nice bit of kit if the specs are to be believed. Same display resolution as the iPad, twice as much RAM, twiice as many cores in the GPU and twice as many in the CPU, all at less than half the price. However, there seems to be some confusion as to whether the A31 chip actually does have 4 cores or they are talking about virtual cores. Be interested to find out more.

[Pib]

That looks like a nice bit of kit if the specs are to be believed. Same display resolution as the iPad, twice as much RAM, twiice as many cores in the GPU and twice as many in the CPU, all at less than half the price. However, there seems to be some confusion as to whether the A31 chip actually does have 4 cores or they are talking about virtual cores. Be interested to find out more.

Yeap, the price is quite a bit lower than the iPad but that shouldn't be surprising considering the high retail prices that Apple charges. I heard on a CNBC news report yesterday that Apple's profit margin per iPad is approx 60%.

[inthepink]

Only weakness in the specs that I can see is that the ARM Cortex-A7 processor (of which the CPU in this has 4 cores) seems to be weaker than the A6X in the iPad. The GPU appears to use the same technology as the iPad though (judging from the model numbers) so it should perform well. I'd like to try one.

EDIT: GPU cores in this are SGX544MP2 as opposed to SGX544MP4 in the iPad (I think). I have no idea what that means though!

...Actually I think the 2 and 4 at the end of those model numbers stands for the number of cores so it's a bit confusing as it says the Onda has "8 Core Power VR SGX544MP2 GPU"

Edited December 8, 2012 by inthepink

[Pib]

This link talks about at least four tablets coming out with the A31 ARM Quad CPU, to include the Onda V972. Maybe 2013 will be the year of Quad Core CPU becoming the new norm.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

How about some update, Pib, on the usability and performance of the 971... Surely your wife by now has logged a lot of Thai video hours on it...

What's become of Flash video playing capability after you upgraded the firmware to Jelly Bean?

How's the fit/finish and usability of the device? Are you having to do much Chinese language translating???

Would you still buy it again? Anything, in retrospect, you'd wish you'd considered more prior to pulling the trigger?

[Pib]

How about some update, Pib, on the usability and performance of the 971... Surely your wife by now has logged a lot of Thai video hours on it...

What's become of Flash video playing capability after you upgraded the firmware to Jelly Bean?

How's the fit/finish and usability of the device? Are you having to do much Chinese language translating???

Would you still buy it again? Anything, in retrospect, you'd wish you'd considered more prior to pulling the trigger?

It's very fast...smooth. The back of the case aluminum. Most of the Apps I had on my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 were installed/downloaded from Google Play no problem. I say most because I didn't install Apps like GrooVeIP (a VOIP type App) since I don't plan to use the tablet in that mode...and I didn't even attempt to install few others that I haven't really used on my Smartphone phone...in fact, I need to just delete those unused Apps off my Smartphone. Basically no issue in installing Apps from Google Play as long as Google Play don't have geo-location restrictions like for Google Voice, Google Earth, etc., which I couldn't even install on my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 smartphone since their geo-location coding is Thailand where Google Earth/Voice are not legally allowed to be distributed. I did side load Google Earth to the V971 (and my Samsung smartphone) no problem.

After I installed Jelly Bean the Speedtest.net App would not install from Google Play but it did install when I had ICS installed...I guess Speedtest is based on Flash and Google Play sensed I was now running Jelly Bean and wouldn't allow the install. However, I found the same Speedtest App version at another site and installed it no problem. When I originally got the V971 it came with ICS 4.0.3 (rooted) and Flash 10.3 installed. Worked fine on those web sites which had flash content. When I upgrade/installed Jelly Bean 4.1.1 (rooted) that upgrade came with Flash 11.1 (the latest version) installed and it still works fine on sites with flash content. I'm not a Flash expert but when surfing web sites, watching videos, etc., nothing is messing up like not playing video content, or some error popping up saying I need to install the latest version of Flash or I don't have Flash installed. Since Adobe is no longer updating Flash for any Android version above 4.0.X I guess it's up to the tablet/smartphone manufacturer to marry/tailor Flash version XYZ to the device....as mentioned the V971 Jelly Bean is using the lastest Flash version of 11.1.

Regarding the Chinese language thing, once you set the Android language to English, other than a few Chinese specific Apps, everything is in English....just like my Samsung smartphone. Actually I've deleted most of the Chinese lanaguage specific Apps that came with it, other than those which came integrated with the Android system...you know those programs you can not uninstall by simply pressing the Uninstall button. However, the V971 does come "rooted" so I can still remove that bloatware at some point without needing the Uninstall button or by using an App like Titanium Backup (of course Titanium Backup requires a rooted device). I like the "rooted" feature as I can install those Apps which require a rooted device and add nice capability....like installing the Avast Mobile Security...not only does Avast do the Virus protection thing but since the V971 comes rooted I can also turn on Avast's "Firewall" feature....so, I running both Virus and Firewall protection on the V971. Heck, with my rooted V971, I can get more protection from the malware on the internet than I can with my non-rooted Samsung phone.

As mentioned other, the V971 is a slow charger and it will only charge when turned off. It comes with a 2A charger..I've tried one other 2A and a 1A charger and neither have improved the charge rate. From reading up on this, as long as your charger can provide the amount of current/amps being asked for from the tablet/phone device the charger is probably not the problem...it's purely the charging circuitry/programming built into the device...heck, even within the Android kernel there is programming to determine the charge rate based on whether a fast or slow charge is needed, whether it plugged into a computer USB port or a charger. Over the coming days I'm going to buy another 2A charger, since I want another USB 5V charger/adapter for a spare to several devices I have which run off 5V, to see it that makes a difference. So, if you need a tablet that will charge fast or while using it, don't buy a V971.

The only other small con I have on the V971 is its Wifi performance....it comes with N Wifi capability but the best speed I can get from it is around 11Mb, but with my laptop or smartphone phone I can pull over 25Mb on my 14Mb True DOCSIS connection....remember, I'm able to get much more that 14Mb due to the "bursting" feature DOCSIS is now using. But even though I can pull only around 11Mb via Wifi (I haven't tried an ethernet connection) the range is as good as my Toshiba laptop or Samsung smartphone....and the wife has definitely had no problems in watching smooth flowing YouTube videos while I'm also surfing the internet on my laptop. So this is a con when comparing the speed to my laptop and phone and knowing what a N Wifi device should be able to pull, but it has not causing any problems in using the tablet as 11Mb is more than fast enough for surfing the internet, watching streaming video, etc. Yeap, the only real con is the slow charging...I'll try another charger to see if that helps.

[Thailaw]

I went to "i Plus Solution" directly across from the Samsung Customer Service on the second floor of Fortune City on Friday. They had the Onda V971 and an Ainol 9+" Tablet available. I had only seen 7" Ainol tablets before this shop. The sales woman was very helpful. The Onda was B5900, discounted to B5,600. The Ainol was B7,500, discounted to B7,300. The Onda and Ainol had very similar features, and similar operation -- nice screens and reasonably fast operation. A minor plus for the Onda is that it fits into a soft iPad case, with some trimming because the controls and camera lens are in different locations. There is no case for the 9" Ainol tablet. I opted for the Onda, and I have not spent much time with it yet, but it seems very good thus far. One problem is that the manual is in Chinese, so figuring out how to use it it not easy. Does any one have or is there available a user's manual for the Onda V971 in English? If so, can anyone provide it or its location? Thanks,

[Pib]

I went to "i Plus Solution" directly across from the Samsung Customer Service on the second floor of Fortune City on Friday. They had the Onda V971 and an Ainol 9+" Tablet available. I had only seen 7" Ainol tablets before this shop. The sales woman was very helpful. The Onda was B5900, discounted to B5,600. The Ainol was B7,500, discounted to B7,300. The Onda and Ainol had very similar features, and similar operation -- nice screens and reasonably fast operation. A minor plus for the Onda is that it fits into a soft iPad case, with some trimming because the controls and camera lens are in different locations. There is no case for the 9" Ainol tablet. I opted for the Onda, and I have not spent much time with it yet, but it seems very good thus far. One problem is that the manual is in Chinese, so figuring out how to use it it not easy. Does any one have or is there available a user's manual for the Onda V971 in English? If so, can anyone provide it or its location? Thanks,

A specific manual would be nice but once you turn on the tablet your sole interface with the tablet is the Android operating system. A person can't make any adjustments/tweaks except through the operating system interface or using Apps you download. So, learn the Android 4.X.X that comes with the tablet and you know everything you need to know. The Chinese manual that comes with the Onda is really a just foldout that folds out to about the size of two pieces of printer paper and from the pictures it pretty much just telling you where the control buttons (both of them...the Power and Home button), the inputs ports (i.e., headphones port, microSD slot, HDMI, etc), the front and back camera, etc. Probably includes some safety instructions like don't drop the tablet, etc. There is an efile version of the manual on the table also, but it don't tell you anymore than the skimpy paper version. Just google and download the instructions on the Android operating system or even a manual from another tablet maker and that's all that is really needed. When I first got my Samsung Ace 2 smartphone which came with Androiod 2.3.6 I downloaded the Samsung efile manual for the Ace 2 which gave a lot of info, but after comparing that manual to the basic Google Gingerbread manual it just boils down to Samsung tweaking the Gingerbread instructions a little. Oh yea, the Samsung manual also told me not to drop the phone.

Regarding the case for a V971, I sure couldn't fine one either...since the V971 is real, real close to the shape/size of an iPad2 you could fine plenty of iPad2 cases that came close to fitting the V971, but the fit on the back side for the camera and speakers was the problem as those holes did not line up and I didn't want to start cutting holes in a new case. I ordered one specifically for the V971 off Ebay for about $13 out of Hong Kong about two weeks ago...still waiting for it to show up.

[eMzyme]

thinking about getting a nexus 7. Haven't decided yet between the 8 or 16 gb. Would you be able to use this device in a taxi in downtown bangkok on a true wifi package? is the area saturated enough with wifi hot spots or would it keep on disconnecting?

[giddyup]

thinking about getting a nexus 7. Haven't decided yet between the 8 or 16 gb. Would you be able to use this device in a taxi in downtown bangkok on a true wifi package? is the area saturated enough with wifi hot spots or would it keep on disconnecting?

I have that on my list as well but haven't seen one in Pattaya yet. Maybe someone can tell me if they are available at Tucom.

[eMzyme]

thinking about getting a nexus 7. Haven't decided yet between the 8 or 16 gb. Would you be able to use this device in a taxi in downtown bangkok on a true wifi package? is the area saturated enough with wifi hot spots or would it keep on disconnecting?

I have that on my list as well but haven't seen one in Pattaya yet. Maybe someone can tell me if they are available at Tucom.

It City in bangkok do a 32gb for 9,900. I'm sure i saw it city in pattaya the last time I was there

[giddyup]

thinking about getting a nexus 7. Haven't decided yet between the 8 or 16 gb. Would you be able to use this device in a taxi in downtown bangkok on a true wifi package? is the area saturated enough with wifi hot spots or would it keep on disconnecting?

I have that on my list as well but haven't seen one in Pattaya yet. Maybe someone can tell me if they are available at Tucom.

It City in bangkok do a 32gb for 9,900. I'm sure i saw it city in pattaya the last time I was there

Saw Galaxy and I Pad aplenty but didn't see a Nexus. Did you see it in Powerbuy or another shop?

[Orangutan]

Today I bought a AIGO M80 tablet at Pantip for 4999 baht. I was looking for the ONDA V971, but did not see one. After spending about an hour with it I would recommend anyone interested in buying a low priced, excellent tablet take a look at the AIGO M80 tablet .. it also has Bluetooth, I don't think the ONDA V971 does?

My only problem is that I can't figure out to set up my StrongVPN, in Android 4, I can not find a Network Settings that allows it. Do I need to download an application? I am going to contact their support desk tomorrow.

Here are the specs:

Aigo M80 Tablet PC Specification:

• 
  

CPU ARM Cortex A9, 1.2GHz OS Android 4.0 Memory 1GB RAM, 8GB Flash Memory, support TF Card (up to 32GB) Display 8.0 inch, 1280*768 pixels, capacitive 5-point touch screen Language Multi languages Internet Wifi, 802.11b/g/n, 3G External Audio formats Support MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, APE, FLAC etc. formats Video formats Support AVI, RM, RMVB, MKV, FLV, MP4, 3GP, DAT, MOV, TS, TP, VOB, MPEG, ASF, M2TS etc. formats 1080P video playback Interface Mini USB, USB-OTG, 3.5mm Earphone Jack, DC, MicroSD Card Slot Camera 0.3MP Front Camera Picture Browser Support JPEG, BMP, GIF, PNG etc. formats G-sensor Yes, support Flash Support Flash 11.1 Games Yes, support 3D games E-book Reader Support TXT, LRC, Word, PDF, FB2, EPUB etc. formats Battery 4700mAh lio-polymer battery, about 4 hours battery life Dimensio 213.6*138.4*10.5 mm Weight

450g

-O

[Tywais]

My only problem is that I can't figure out to set up my StrongVPN, in Android 4, I can not find a Network Settings that allows it. Do I need to download an application? I am going to contact their support desk tomorrow.

Android 4 should be consistent across platforms for this option. There is a difference in access to the settings in 4 over previous versions. I use StrongVPN and they show how to do it for Android 4 (ICS)

http://www.strongvpn.com/setup_android_4_l2tp.shtml

[Pib]

My only problem is that I can't figure out to set up my StrongVPN, in Android 4, I can not find a Network Settings that allows it. Do I need to download an application? I am going to contact their support desk tomorrow.

Under Wireless & Networks you should see menu selection Data Usage, More....

Click the More selection and another menu should pull up which is where the VPN setup menu is.

[Tywais]

I just saw that InvadeIT.com has the 10" Ainol on their site for 7600 Baht. Looks pretty nice.

[Orangutan]

Pib and Tywais thanks for the advice .. yes I found those areas and I am still trying to connect. I'm sure it's just a matter of trial and error .. in my case mostly error!

-O

[Pib]

Pib and Tywais thanks for the advice .. yes I found those areas and I am still trying to connect. I'm sure it's just a matter of trial and error .. in my case mostly error!

-O

I hear you!!!....I'm smarter today because of all the errors I have made (and continue to make).

[fletchsmile]

I don't see what the fuss us about. So there are some apps (that you may or may not ever use/need) that you need to download in a different way. Big deal. How could that possibly be a deal breaker? Ok if you make your living on a tablet or spend a ridiculous amount of time with it, perhaps you should buy a premium unit. But if I can get the majority of features for a third the price the choice seems obvious to me. I am not stuck in a consumerist mindset where I feel shame at not having the right labels on my purchases.

For me this thing needs to do email, surf the web, play movies, and play a few kid's games. I am sure it will do this right out of the box.

Just because we live in a universe with a million apps, doesn't mean we need them,

So what did you get in the end canuckamuck? I think you're right to skip the expensive IPads.

I bought an IPad 1 for the Mrs for Xmas when it came out. She loved it. The kids did too and took to it straight away, and it was a delight to watch them learn. One wasn't enough for the Mrs and 2 kids. So next XMas I bought the Mrs an Ipad 2, and we put the Ipad1 in a box for the kids as an Xmas present.The older girl (5 at the time) realised it was mummy's old one and said we were "cheating" as the new one should be hers. She wasn't too bothered tho, and they were happy to have their own, and overall we had 2. Apart from the Ipad2 being white and having a camera they couldn't really tell the difference, so whatever all the extra features are make zero difference to a kid.

They use them for 1) playing games (older one can download apps herself) and various Apps like colouring in pictures, making cakes etc; 2) watching Youtube - mainly cartoons 3) Educational material on the web (their school uses them) 4) Looking at and taking photos with the new one. The wife uses it mainly for 1) Youtube (Thai lakorn), 2) email 3) Surfing the web and forums like LadyInter (=Thaivisa in Thai for Thai ladies) 4) Photos. I prefer my notebook or desktop PC, and only really use if outside the home.

Another thing to think of with your kid is they will drop it, and it may cause superficial damage. With Apple in Thailand that could well cause you hassles with your warranty and cost THB 10k+ for a replacement. That happened to us. Dents on the corner. Later stopped working. So then ball park 30k total for one tablet! Doesn't matter if the dents are related to why it stops working or not, they'll just say it's 10k+ for a new one!

Better to buy a cheap model when you think what you and your child will use it for. Esepcially as a first timer you don't know what you're missing anyway, as long as it does the basics. You'll also find out you need more than one, when you, the wife and kid want to use it at the same time. So better 2 cheaps ones, particularly if it stops working in Thailand.

Arnova also do a cheap "Child Pad" for about $100 based on one of their other models, so you might get one of those for the little one and a similar one for you. I believe it doesn't have "Google Play" or full functional Google whatever, but has some special Apps for kids instead.

Lastly I'd add, I've just ordered our 3rd tablet. After Ipad1, Ipad2............ I chose an Archos 80 G9. Free with airmiles from Eithad, that were about to expire. Could have gone for an Ipad3 with more miles, but for the basic stuff it gets used for in our house seemed a waste. Will be interested to see how it compares and how the kids take to it. My guess is they'll fight over the new one, regardless of all the fancy tech specs on the old ones, Then we can keep the Ipad2 off the kids just for mum (and occasionally dad)

Edited December 10, 2012 by fletchsmile

[Thailaw]

I just saw that InvadeIT.com has the 10" Ainol on their site for 7600 Baht. Looks pretty nice.

This is the same Ainol tablet that I saw at iPlus Solutions on the second floor of Fortune City where I bought my Onda tablet. It looked nice, but I could not see much difference between it and the Onda. The price of the Ainol was B7,300 (as compared to B5,600 for the Onda) and they had several in stock. Both the Onda and the Ainol looked nice and worked well. The screed size was a bit more appealing on the Onda than on the Ainol. The Ainol may be a bit better for watching movies, but I have no intention of doing that. Ainol and Onda and perhaps a few others now offer some pretty good 10" tablet options in the lower end of the price spectrum. The big change will come when these tablets have a sim slot and provide 3G connectivity, which I expect is not too far away. Until then, the Onda has fulfilled my expectations and my requirements, assuming that it holds up for 12 months or more. One item to note is that the battery is not replaceable on the Onda, except by a service technician at a cost of about B2,000. I am not sure about the Ainol battery being replaceable.

[Tywais]

Right now on my short list is the Ainol Novo10 Hero I mentioned above for my wife, she knows Android and the Asus Transformer Infinity tf700 for myself. I can get the Transformer cheaper then the iPad mini with considerably higher specs. I still hesitate pushing that buy button for the Asus as I haven't fully decided I want 10" or 7", keep flip flopping in my decision.

//edit - just saw your post, is the Onda 10"? If so will look closer at it.

[Thailaw]

Right now on my short list is the Ainol Novo10 Hero I mentioned above for my wife, she knows Android and the Asus Transformer Infinity tf700 for myself. I can get the Transformer cheaper then the iPad mini with considerably higher specs. I still hesitate pushing that buy button for the Asus as I haven't fully decided I want 10" or 7", keep flip flopping in my decision.

//edit - just saw your post, is the Onda 10"? If so will look closer at it.

They are virtually the same size, and the specs are almost identical too. There is a new V972 that may be better than both. I am not sure if it is available in Thailand yet. It is discussed in this thread, above. The Ainol is slightly longer and slightly narrower than the Onda, but if you did not see them side-by-side, I doubt that you would notice. You can see them up close and side-by-side at iPlus Solutions, second floor, Fortune City.

I was considering the Ainol 7" tablet for some time, and decided it was just too small. I think I made the right choice (10" vs. 7") for a wifi tablet. If it had a sim and was 3G, and could be used as a phone also, then I think that the 7" is the way to go. I think that is where it (and I) will ultimately end up -- a phone/tablet combination at the 7" size. We'll see.

[Chicog]

Right now on my short list is the Ainol Novo10 Hero I mentioned above for my wife, she knows Android and the Asus Transformer Infinity tf700 for myself. I can get the Transformer cheaper then the iPad mini with considerably higher specs. I still hesitate pushing that buy button for the Asus as I haven't fully decided I want 10" or 7", keep flip flopping in my decision.

//edit - just saw your post, is the Onda 10"? If so will look closer at it.

Go for the 10" TF700T. It's just a sexy piece of kit and I couldn't live without it now. Unless you want Windows 8, in which case hold out for the ASUS VivoBook. I checked in Fortune last week, they had one on display but they haven't had a price for it yet and they aren't expecting to be selling them until January.

[eeeya]

Cant decide between tf700 or nexus 10

Or just wait another 6 months.

I want the pure nexus experience but with the tf700 bells n whistles

[Tywais]

Cant decide between tf700 or nexus 10

Or just wait another 6 months.

I want the pure nexus experience but with the tf700 bells n whistles

I've been reading a lot of reviews and comparisons of the Nexus 10 and it seems to have a lot of weaknesses as I was thinking about it too. The super high resolution is actually a disadvantage on it in some ways as the processors are nearly underpowered to drive it properly. Complaints about frame jumps, line flashes etc.

As for waiting 6 months, you could do that forever expecting a better model but there comes a time when needs and decision has to be made. Pretty much the same for any capital purchase, car, desktop PC,etc.

[eeeya]

Yeah, i got a xoom running jellybean. Does the job but just itching for a new toy.

The big negative with the nexus 10 is battery life. Its the worst of the lot. 7.5hrs from memory which doesnt suit my travelling needs.

Nexus 7 looks the goods but ten inch has been serving me well..