Android Tablet for Travel
- Thread starter jonas20
- Start date
joshua.lyon
Member
- Jun 11, 2010
- 91
- 3
I haven't found a device that has amazing battery life, but I would personally recommend the devices with the RockChips processor as the units with the VIA chips are pretty slow. All of the devices I have seen with the RockChips processor run Android 1.5. And while you can download the eReader or Aldiko apps on 1.5, I understand that you can only install the Kindle app on devices with 1.6+.
Unfortunately, the only devices I've seen running Android 1.6+ have the slower VIA processor... but I'm not certain if those devices would even be able to get the Kindle app since most of them don't have access to the market (although I'm sure you could find it via some other shady method).
Check out the Aldiko site... if the app looks like it will do what you are looking for, then you might want to consider the aPad / Moonse E-7001.
I heard that A81-E is a rather good device. Shanzai.com is curently doing a review on it. I found a place to buy it for 200$: A81 E,TI OMAP3 Cortex , Android 2.1 , Wince ,GPS TI OMAP3 Cortex A8 , A81 7 , Wifi, Wince ,Bluetooth , GPS [WITS-A81E-GPS] - $200.00 : JTSHOP
I did not actually try it...but looks nice.
I did not actually try it...but looks nice.
- Thread starter
- #4
This one looks strong and has the largest battery I've seen (3000mAh high capacity battery). Will running Android 1.5 severely hinder me on other apps besides Kindle?
Thanks so much for your help.
Thanks so much for your help.
joshua.lyon
Member
- Jun 11, 2010
- 91
- 3
The battery life depends heavily on what you are planning to do with the device. I have a Moonse E-7001, so I'd be happy to provide feedback. A lot of the websites list the E-7001 as having a 5 hours battery life. I've found that if I'm watching youtube videos (eg. wifi on) with the screen brightness up, I only get 2-3 hours of battery life. However, if I have don't have the screen brightness on full blast and I the wifi off, the battery lasts much longer.
The book reading apps typically have a 'night' mode which turns the background black and the text white. I hear this is better on your eyes (less strain) and is also better for the battery life (less power to the screen on black background). I haven't personally tested how long it would last in this condition, but I might be able to do some rough tests this weekend.
- Thread starter
- #6
Just a quick follow up. I did purchase the Apad with the RC processor from Merimobiles. It took them a day to ship the order. I paid for the 3-5 day DHL express at it made it to the East coast USA in about 40 hours. It worked perfectly since I was leaving less than 48 hours after that.
For the most part I was very pleased with the device. It was fast, worked as an excellent e-reader and music player. Adjusting the screen settings and turning the Wifi gave me tons of battery time. Most apps that I downloaded worked ok, though some had some display issues. I had no problem connecting the Wifi, though it did not pick up a signal as strongly as other devices (would say Poor signal when others said Fair or Good). Google services (docs, mail, picasa) worked like a charm.
As for the bad, the Chinese firmware build in is really a pain. With the help of Joshua, I am going to download an upgraded firmware to help solve some of these issues. Also the camera sucks. When I say sucks, I don't mean is poor quality, I mean its worthless. It's also annoying how it's set-up as if it were going to be a phone device, with messages like "no signal" on the home screen and in the task bar. I'm sure I can remove that somehow. Using it as Wifi, it doesn't really have the capability to determine your location to take advantage of those location-based apps, but my Blackberry did a lot of that anyway.
All in all I was pretty happy with the device, definitely worth the money in my opinion.
For the most part I was very pleased with the device. It was fast, worked as an excellent e-reader and music player. Adjusting the screen settings and turning the Wifi gave me tons of battery time. Most apps that I downloaded worked ok, though some had some display issues. I had no problem connecting the Wifi, though it did not pick up a signal as strongly as other devices (would say Poor signal when others said Fair or Good). Google services (docs, mail, picasa) worked like a charm.
As for the bad, the Chinese firmware build in is really a pain. With the help of Joshua, I am going to download an upgraded firmware to help solve some of these issues. Also the camera sucks. When I say sucks, I don't mean is poor quality, I mean its worthless. It's also annoying how it's set-up as if it were going to be a phone device, with messages like "no signal" on the home screen and in the task bar. I'm sure I can remove that somehow. Using it as Wifi, it doesn't really have the capability to determine your location to take advantage of those location-based apps, but my Blackberry did a lot of that anyway.
All in all I was pretty happy with the device, definitely worth the money in my opinion.
- Jul 9, 2010
- 3,483
- 436
Custom firmware, not upgraded firmware is the key.
They wont come out and say it, but even the guys at Hiapad.com will tell you to use a custom firmware if you ask them.
I think you should get the Archos 7 Home Tablet. That has everything you are looking for IF you don't need the Kindle or Barns & Noble apps.
They wont come out and say it, but even the guys at Hiapad.com will tell you to use a custom firmware if you ask them.
I think you should get the Archos 7 Home Tablet. That has everything you are looking for IF you don't need the Kindle or Barns & Noble apps.