Has anyone got or reviewed the 9.7” Quantum Singularity from TopNotchTablets ?

[MikeQuin]

Hi, I'm new to tablets, not got one yet but will do very soon.
I’ve been reading this and other Forums (Slatedroid Tabletrepublic). Looking to get a 9.7 Tablet with IPS screen, 1gb ram, 16gb storage, ICS etc.

I've been looking at and following lots of different people’s views on many of the 9.7 Tablets (that are not Apple or other more expensive labels). Some great charts/comparisons that have been very useful narrowing it down.
I'm hoping to pay around £140 - £160 (US $220 - $260ish).
So far I’ve narrowed my choices down to the Onda V140 Elite or the Teclast A10T, then spotted the Singularity that is just out from TopNotchTablets.com (I have no links to them).

UK Site = Quantum: Singularity | Top Notch Tablets with spec and video.

It seems to be a very well spec-ed 9.7 tablet, with some very good English speaking support.

Has anyone got a Singularity Tablet or brought from TopNotchTablets ?

Thanks
Mike

 

[minibeats]

Has anyone got a Singularity Tablet or brought from TopNotchTablets ?

Thanks
Mike

Yes I have it. In fact, I think I may have been the first official purchaser (via Roman, the US topnotcher). I've had it for about 3 days and this is what I have noticed so far (on mine, anyway)

Pros:
-Screen = responsive, bright, beautiful. This is my first higher res screen (my previous tabs have all been 800 x 6??) so it may not seem so amazing if you're used to it.

-No Chinese crap in it at all (but see cons below too)

-VPN works out the box (I'm a Brit but I live in China and need the VPN option to access pretty much everything)

-As it's A10 it's played pretty much everything I've thrown at it so far in terms of video (and yes, it's all in sync too, for those early Novo 7 Advanced users like me)

-Battery seems to be lasting really well. Not sure if it will be 8 hours (as it depends what you're doing with it) but I got to about 4 1/2 and I still had 30 percent of battery left.

-Skype video and audio works, but you need to update to the LATEST version on the market (not the ICS compatible Skype apk knocking around on forums). The ICS apk does work, but the latest one for me works 20 percent better than the ICS custom one. However, there is still some slight / odd time delay when talking and video is a little blocky at times, but it is a Chinese tab we're talking about at the end of the day. The conversation flowed fine, the video caught up fine, the odd echo here and there, but for the price it is, that's not much really.

- Wifi range seems good to decent (not shockingly bad like my Novo 7 advanced, but not as rock solid as my Momo 9). It connects fine, is quick when it's got a lot of bars. I was in my bedroom and it picked up the wifi from another room fine and was quick enough.

-Side speakers! My GOD it's great to FINALLY have some sensible speakers that aren't muffled by either your hand or a case. It's pretty loud (but quiet too, see cons section below) and clear. If you're after bass though, then buy a speaker. It won't have your dubstep / DNB bass lines thumping, but is good enough for regular video.

-Play Market. It's open (if not fully open, then close to it , as far as I can tell) and I can't think of any app that I can't find, or one that says it's not compatible (apart from ones not ICS compatible, obviously)

Cons- well, cons is a bit harsh. Some are minor quibbles and some I'm hoping will be addressed

-There has been (on my unit, anyway) a slight glitch on the screen (matrix style) for 3 - 4 seconds when scrolling between screens. It's only happened ONCE so far though.

-Ghost touches. ONLY ONCE, again, but has happened. It was as if I was clicking a million things. I have been told to just spin the tab from portrait to landscape (or vice versa) if this happens and it should just go. I didn't know this at the time so I just hit it into standby, then shut it down and turned it on again. Hasn't happened since.

-Volume. Loud most of the time, but is really quite quiet for Skype and the odd video, for some reason. I have volume + but it's not ICS compatible, but I'll try another app to manually 'up' this for Skype then turn it back off again when using it for any other audio. As aid though, internet radio and all other audio has been fine.

-Slight glitch in my video audio. This could easily be the file or the sd card too. I have been asked (if it does it again on my better tf card the films one) to try turning off wifi and run it again (maybe it's syncing something in the background) but it is the most minor of glitches at times, and I'm sure if it is the tab future firmware will try to deal with it.

-When I keep hold of the manual volume up button, it acts like a 'back' button for some reason. Answer = just press it, no need to long press.

-I do have other apps on there that I don't need out the box. Netflix, Elixer 2, Onlive (to name a few). Most are easy enough to get rid of, as they were manually put on (so not part of the firmware) but the others I'll need to delete using other methods (no real biggy, just a slight inconvenience)

Overall:
GREAT GREAT GREAT tab. Love it. Responsive . battery seems decent (so far). Skype seems to work fine. Wifi range is good for me. VPN works great/ Feels good. Good finish. Very impressed.

Some points about Topnotch:
I have only ever used Roman (the original US guy) and he has been very quick to respond, given great advice and has given fantastic customer care. I have NO IDEA about the UK branch, but knowing Roman, I'm sure he would not allow anyone to take his company name unless they were reputable. I am living in China for work at the mo, and the major issue is dealing with Chinese sellers, who can be difficult / impossible to deal with if things go wrong (not all, but it does have to be said though). Yes, you are paying more with Topnotch, compared to others (for other tabs anyway, not the Quantum - this is Topnotch's own), but you get a better service. Swings and roundabouts.

Living here I have people who can argue for me on my behalf

and get other tabs for cheaper

, but it' s not so easy when living on the other side of the world

.

Hope that helps.

Shan

 

[MikeQuin]

Shan, Wow thanks for the very detailed review, it's really good to find someone that’s had one in their hands, not just Roman singings its praises ( no disrespect to Roman and his positive attitude, but he want to sell his Tablet) and its good to hear from an unbiased person. I do like the honest helpful approach laid out on his website.
Great to hear that the Wifi is good, that was one of the issues that I should have mentioned above would be required, and you have answered it without me asking!
I know that you got yours sent US to China, what was the postage like (getting ahead of myself, not even ordered one yet!). Was it well packaged what came with it? (cables etc ?)
Thanks again
Regards Mike

 

[minibeats]

Although Topnotch are US / UK based, their tabs still come from China. This is the same set up as Apple even. It's all made here in China, then QC'd by someone, then sent out to them, QC'd again and then sent on to customers. The main difference is (from what I gather) Roman works with only certain suppliers that pass his benchmarks for quality control. Knowing how the Chinese tab makers / suppliers are, they must tear their hair out thinking he is a pernickety so and so, but they just don't get it why this level of customer care is vital when selling to people in the UK / Europe etc. They just sell it here in China and if you have a dud, the onus is on you to prove it (if they return your messages), as well as send it back to them in China at your cost and thats even before they may or may not cough up a refund (from my experience). So to answer the first part your question, mine just missed one extra step of quality control from the Topnotch team as it was made and sent to me in China, but QC'd from the supplier still.

As for the tab packaging itself, this is where it was a little interesting. It arrived nicely packaged, but in a box saying the tablet is an Eliyah U9 Phantom. This tablet does exist (I have seen them online in China), however, there are some subtle internal differences. One example is that the U9 claims to have a 0.3 mega pixel front camera, but the singularity one seems more than that, as my Novo 7 has 0.3 and my Momo 9 has 1.3 , and it looks way more similar, if not the same, as my Momo 9. Also, when booted up it comes up with TNT software. I'm not sure what else is different, however, if the camera is one, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some other subtle hardware differences between the U9 Phantom and the Quantum too. My guess is that they have a supplier who has the shell and changes the internals, but it's just a guess. The package come pretty much as seen on Ali express, but again, one thing not mentioned by Ali express (and other China based companies) is that there will be an import tax incurred by HM Customs as soon as it lands in the UK (unless you're lucky). The amount varies on what they list the product as etc, but there will more than likely be an extra cost there. I know a friend of mine had to pay VAT once for her 7 inch tab, but it wasn't much at the time (less than a tenner) and I think it was listed as an ereader (as this was in the early days of the kindle and early tabs so probably easy to do), however, being a 9.7 inch number I'm not sure if that will pass these days, whereas if you buy it from TNT UK then I'm assuming you won't have to pay the extra tax, as this is included in the price (you may want to check though).

Going back to what you want to know, it was pretty much the same as in the ali express link, an otg cable, a usb cable, a chinese plug (no UK adapter, as I'm in China - you may want to see what TNT UK do about that) but a slightly different carry case. I've tried it in one of those nice Ipad cases but it doesn't work as the buttons are on a different side and the ports / speakers are covered (shame). However, the camera (seems) to be different to the Phantom and the software is custom made for the Quantum.

Oh, one more thing I did forget to mention is that it takes an age to charge up when using the plug (we're talking fully overnight, it took roughly 8 hours the other night) but it can also be used when being charged. It's not a problem for me though. I just use it, then when getting some sleep leave it to charge if it needs it. There's no history of sleep tabbing in my family..

Hope this helps!

 

[MikeQuin]

Hi Again, The sleep tabbing made me laugh then made me think of Homer Simpson, using a kids spell and speak toy. If you have not seen the episode he is asleep with a finger on the toy and all you can hear is "zzzzzz" "zzzzz" "zzzzz". which is not to far away from sleep tabbing, the writers of the show must be visionaries
You just might have set a new trend...!
Back to the Tablet info, thanks for the update, i will have to check with the UK store on extra tax. As it is posted in the UK, I hope no Import tax and no other tax (VAT is 20%) and I'l ask about the plugs, but from all the good information on the sites I would expect that Roman and his people would have thought of all these.
Thanks again.

 

[minibeats]

Hi Again, The sleep tabbing made me laugh then made me think of Homer Simpson, using a kids spell and speak toy. If you have not seen the episode he is asleep with a finger on the toy and all you can hear is "zzzzzz" "zzzzz" "zzzzz". which is not to far away from sleep tabbing, the writers of the show must be visionaries
You just might have set a new trend...!
Back to the Tablet info, thanks for the update, i will have to check with the UK store on extra tax. As it is posted in the UK, I hope no Import tax and no other tax (VAT is 20%) and I'l ask about the plugs, but from all the good information on the sites I would expect that Roman and his people would have thought of all these.
Thanks again.

So a quick update on the tab. On another forum (slatedroid) there's quite the topic about the tab. Some people have had issues with the tab since (me included) but it looks like things are getting sorted.

First off, some people have had further glitches and have found the root to maybe a combination of launcher and battery. I've ditched the Apex launcher and gone to stock ICS launcher, and so far so good. Others have switched to Launcher Pro or Go Launcher and found it to be better to. Some feel the glitches do still occur (not yet for me though) when the battery drops to below 50%, but not very often. I was also having random reboots when Apex launcher had updated but this hasn't happened so far since I ditched the browser for stock ICS.

There seems to be some issue with busybox and this has caused some to lose apps, but this is being sorted. the battery meter is off, but that is being addressed in a CM9 update, due soon.

My HDMI wasn't working, but it turns out I just needed to shave off a mm of my HDMI cable to allow it to connect a little further into the HDMI plug and it works now.

1 person has had bad wifi, but seriously, mine is fine, so guess it was just bad luck his part, but he did also say that TNT have gone above and beyond in helping out. So much so, that he's adamant he'll buy from them again just because of their customer service he's received so far.

There still seems to be some confusion about the g-sensor, if it is 2 or 3. Some say 2, others say 3. I don't use it much for gaming, so this isn't a killer for me.

Overall though I still love my tab. I haven't got the same issues as others from what I can tell so I'm (along with others) still a very happy customer.

Just thought I'd tell you the latest.

 

[macthecat]

Hi
There is a spec list and video review of this tablet on this forum, http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...t-quantum-singularity-specs-video-review.html, hope it helps you to make up your mind.

Good luck

 

[minibeats]

S
Overall though I still love my tab. I haven't got the same issues as others from what I can tell so I'm (along with others) still a very happy customer.

Just thought I'd tell you the latest.

So apparently there's a cyanogen mod for the tab now, that has been used to great effect to the tab. The link is here:

TNT Quantum Singularity with the Cyanogen Mod - SlateDroid.com

It also has a video of it running on it.