Yesterdays dreams; todays reality: I am a Ziio owner now...

...is the title profound?

Haha, as it is mentioned above, I get meself a Ziio!!!

I hope you guys forgive me for the delay in announcing it to the world, but the Ziio is new and shiny and I had to explore it - nook and cranny!

Impressions?

First, it's heavier then I thought. Not in a negative way, but this is the first tablet I have owned, so I did not know what to expect... Nonetheless, it is not an issue now; I do not even consciously think about it.

When I first switched it on, the touch was a little off-kilter. After calibrating the touch and re-starting the device, it is much better! Hmmm, just last night I made a lot of typos...but then again it could be I was holding the tablet in a VERY awkward angle (I was lying face down in my bed...) so the mistake could be more to do with my perception of the positions of the letter and then any error in the touch sensitivity...

I am not sure if this is a common issue for all (but I did read about it in TechRadar review of the Ziio), but it takes about 5 second for the tablet to awaken from sleep mode when you press the power button... it is not a issue for me now, but at the beginning, I ended up pressing the power button 2-3 times because I thought the Ziio did not register the press...

I have not played around with music or video's yet so I ma reserving my impression of it till later... honestly, it is a pain to move my music files to the Ziio - mostly because it is scatter over various folder in my PC and I don't like to sync all my media files with a Media Center or something similar... I guess I am too lazy...

Apps? I got many of the free apps available on the Android Freeware website...whether I really need it or not...

K9 for Email; Facebook for Android; both Dolphin Browser and Skyfire (though I use Dolphin a whole lot more...)

I downloaded the official Youtube app from www.freewarelovers.com; and it did not play full screen. I am going to check out the file linked in one of the posts in this forum and I'll let you know how it works out...

Not in much into twittering...but there are many apps out there, so I'm sure it's well covered.

The facebook app...in the big screen is really great!!! I think I''ll be using the Ziio for all my facebooking...

I got Aldiko E-book reader...but did not use it yet. Same with Adobe pdf reader. I have it - incase

Of course I installed ADW Launcher. I think I prefer this. I have LauncherPro too...but I didn't install it yet. Some say LauncherPro is a little bit faster and does not force close as often...

ADW did for close...but that happened after I installed over 15 apps in a row. I think I'll have to re-start the Ziio at least once.

I also got the APKtor that'll allow you too add private repo's for access to files...needless to say not all files available in private repos can be legally distributed by them...

That said, I read up on alternatives to the Android Marketplace...like AppBrain - is it true that all the alternative options just link you back to Android Marketplace and if you do not have access to the Marketplace to begin with...so is useless to the Ziio?

If you guys know other way to get apps...feel free to brag here...

I'll post more views on the Ziio soon. In my defense I am not a professional reviewer...so my thought will be all over the place. Also disclaimer, the above is my personal views!!! Do not blame me if your experience and expectation do not match mine...

razar - a member of the Ziio group helped me out by giving me his views and I found them comparable to mine. So I am happy with my purhase! So thanks a lot buddy.

Be sure to share any tips and tricks to make the Ziio a better experience. Even if it seems small or obvious. Every little bit helps!

Cheers!

 

For now I mostly use the Ziio to browse the web...with Dolphin HD. Its really good. Loving the text re-flow feature. (First Android device, guys - so let me revel in it even if it is so common place...) I read articles in the web so till now I don't have any complaints yet. I have not tried going into flash heavy sites yet.

I downloaded the IMDB app to take care of my movie info needs. (Yikes! Android really has an app for all occasion...)

So...I also frequent Video Game Trailers for Wii, PSP, Xbox, PS3 & More | Upcoming Video Games - a lot...so what can I do about it in the Ziio? If any of you guys have an idea, let me know, please. I'm not sure if Skyfire is the solution...

There are some posts in other forums about enabling Flash 10.1 in Android 2.1. There has been mixed reviews about its success. Some people says it never worked for them at all, while other said that some of the flash content did not work, while having some success...

Is there any other keyboard out there that is more suitable and faster then the stock keyboard??? I am not really digging the stock keyboard - especially in landscape mode...

Anyways guys, share your thought; even if has been repeated to death before...keep sharing guys!!! Never know, it might be gold for someone out there...

 

Just a little bit

Welcome to the club.

I had one of those Chineses tablets before I got the Ziio and that was heavier so the Ziio came as a surprise for me.

Same here.I still think Creatives own take on android needs lets say a bit of "tweaking"
However in saying that I think this feature is an excellent battery saving mode.I put mine away for a couple of days but didnt switch it off by mistake so it went into sleep mode.Battery was at 70%--switched it on from sleep mode 2 days later and it was still at 65%.I think the sleep mode kills everything and that why it takes that 5 seconds to wake up.

You dont have to sync anything.Drag and drop what you want to play and it`ll work fine.Im also not a fan of synching with media centres so I just pop all my stuff on as I need it.

Same here.Some stuff is crap,some is great.

Heres a tip for playing youtube videos.Use skyfire.When it asks to download or preview click download.It saves the file to the device and lets you play it full screen in the Zii video app.

Aldiko is great and you can use books aquired elsewhere by converting them to epub files using this site here : ePub Converter. Convert pdf to epub. Free online tool to convert pdf, doc and other ebooks' formats to epub format.
Upload your kindel book or whatever to the site,convert it to epub and then download the new file,add it to the "import" folder in the ebboks folder on your ziio.Select import from aldikos menu and the books will appear on your bookshelf.Excellent book reader.

Adobe reader is a bit slow to be honest.Repligo is excellent and about 5 times as fast.I have a copy here if you need it as its hard to come by.

Adw has never once force closed on me either on my Ziio or X10i.Launcher pro gave me nothing but hassle.

The lack of a market place isnt a big issue for me to be honest.
I use freewarelovers,slideme,appbrain,getandroidstuff <<<<these are excellent.
I also use torrents to download various apps and then transfer then using usb.Frodo 2.2 will be with us soon and maybe the market might be enabled with that.

No worries mate.If you need any help pop me a message.Meanwhile Im still working on rooting this thing but havent had much luck other than a temporary root thats listed over on XDA.Imagine setcpu and titanium backup running on the Ziio <<bit of overclocking this baby and we`ll be up there with the faster tablets.

Full root access and then custom roms is going to be the way to go.I still think the Ziio is better than some tablets out there especially with that 512mb ram... if anyone manages to hack a few roms for it then we`ll be flying.

 

Im not mad about dolphin.I use the stock browser for most use but Skyfire for flash heavy stuff.See my post above about using skyfire to preview flash vids.

I`ll give that a shot later and see if skyfire handles it well.Im just on the way out here so I`ll post back results later on.

Been reading about that.Havent gotten around to trying it yet but its on the list so to speak.Ill post back if Im successful.

Another thing and one that has me annoyed is people giving out about battery life.

Ive charged mine fully once since I got it.Ive been timing it over the last week and Im up to around 8.5 hours on a full charge <<thats not bad at all.

 

Hey!
I recently got a Ziio as a gift from a friend and I love it!!
I also live in the middle east and Ipad is wayyy to high for me. So my cousin got me a Ziio from Dubai. Its my first tablet and I got it on Thursday!
So yeah I'm still trying it out. I was having a problem with the marketplace...whatever i was downloading a program,the browser just went to Problem loading page and it said you are not allowed to do that or something along those lines. Also whenever i downloaded anything from the market place sometimes instead of Problem Loading Page it would start downloading but then it would say that content not supported. (Same thing for apk. files).
So I downloaded the Adobe Reader on my PC and then using the cable I transferred it in my Ziio and then installed it in the tablet. That worked for me and now I'm trying to get all the apps I want from the PC to my Ziio.But as you know that is a very lengthy process. But if any of you have a solution to my problem please help me out!
I'd be forever grateful!!
Enjoying my Ziio is not possible as I'm studying and have exams in April, so I gotta wait for April to fully use my Ziio but now and then I go and enjoy it for an hour or two...
Thanks to both of you for letting me know about some programs (skyfire dolphing etc) I'm gonna try those out. Also Razer I know Adobe Reader is too slow and I'm gonna try some other stuff!

 

Also I wanted to ask if you can install packages in the Ziio ?
Cause I tried installing packages and I am unable to do that...
Please let me know.

 

The market is not supported on the Ziio yet so thats why youre having these problems.

I dont find downloading apps and using the cable at all slow to be honest.
Easiest way to get apps is to
1.Open the browser on the Ziio,go to Freeware Lovers: The Best Things in Life are FREE, click on android and you`ll have a list of apps on the left.Just tap the app you want to download and it will download to the Ziio and when its downloaded you tap it to install.
2.Download slideme if its not already on the device.Create an account and it works just like the google market.Some good apps on it aswell.

Hope this helps.

 

What do you mean by packages?

 

Just a quick post for Druss regarding Flash for 2.1

Flash for 2.1.apk wont install for some reason.

I just get a message saying "application not installed"

Im reckoning that the device needs to be rooted first and have access to some system files.

I`ll let you know if I get it running.

 

Thats the problem. I have no idea what that is.
It says package cannot be installed or unsable to install package...
I downloaded youtube from freeware lovers and it came in my Ziio as a package file. Thats why I asked you.
The exact thing that came when i clicked install was
PARSE ERROR
There is a problem parsing the package.

 

Where can I download slideme from ?
Sorry for asking so many questions from you but I ham finding no solutions...

 

SlideME | Android Community and Application Marketplace

 

Ah ok a package is more than likely a zipped file.

You need to unzip it first using winrar/winzip or another unzipping program on your pc and then copy it across to your Ziio.

The only files that the Ziio will install end in .apk

So as long as you use/transfer apk files to the Ziio you`ll be fine.

 

I'll try. Thanks sooooo much!!

 

enjoy your ziio!

refer to the sticky applications thread for more info if needed...