Witstech A81-E or the Augen

[jdelgado]

Hi Guys,

I am trying to decided which one to purchase what do you guys think which one will be better.

Witstech A81-E or the Augen

I know the A81 is not out yet, but what have been show and said about it

Nationite MIDnite (Wits A81E) 7 Android 2.2 Tablet - A8 Cortex - $199.50 : MP4 Nation!, :: Low Priced MP4, MP3 Players and the latest scoop on the newest MP4 Player


Thanks
jdelgado

 

[marcelol]

the A81E is available through Merimobiles.com. Check it out, as there will probably be a direct link to the product on the homepage.

I happen to own an Augen, and while the first couple of days were rough, with all the efforts going on through XDA-DEVELOPERS, and some of the folks on (TheDude) that are part of Cyanogen's crew working on it, there's already a Clockwork recovery for the GenTouch, as well as Augen's own updates to address the touchscreen calibration and an AppStore update ( I think none of these tablets are really going to be able to support Android Market in the short term, until Google gets their act together in this respect ).

If I had to do it over again, I might've spent the extra $50USD to get buttons on the front of the unit, the extra ( and removable ) battery power, as well as the volume control buttons. The differential here is with the GT you're dealing with a Brick and Mortar reseller who you can walk up to if you run into an issue and get your money back if you're unsatisfied. Whereas with the importer/resellers, well, you're not.

The main attractor for me to the A81E is the Cortex processor, it runs about the same speed as the GT, but it's got the OMAP3530, which has a PowerVR GPU. That's tough to argue against, because while I've seen videos of the Mali200 ( the ARM supplied GPU in the Telechips 8902 on the GT ), I have yet to get GLBenchmark working on the GT, so I have to wonder what's going on.

Just more food for thought.

 

[NeoStar9X]

I think I've narrowed my choices down to these two. However having a more up to date OS has won me over in regard to the A81E. Watching several video reviews has cleared up some questions I had with it. Though concern if something goes wrong and not being able to really take the device back to the store is an issue. Merimobiles.com seemed like it's a decent enough store. Was able to talk with a live support person today so that was encouraging.

One major concern that has stopped me from putting in my order through right away though as been the Android Marketplace. I know the A81E doesn't come with it. Does anyone know if there is a way to download the app to add it to a device? Or at the very least is it possible to dowload the Kindle for Android app. If I get that I won't have to worry about the Android Market and just look elsewhere like Slideme and other apps that are downloadable.

 

[jdelgado]

Thanks Marcelol, NeoStart9X I want to load the B&N Nook Android application in the device, good question I wonder what options we have to load the app to the tablet

 

[xaueious]

The main concern for the A81E is the it never had a good version of Android running on it before. But with the MP4Nation rebranding, there's a chance that this will get better. The shipping firmware is very buggy at the moment, worse than the Augen Gentouch. Even with better firmware, I'm not completely sold on the device's hardware.

I'll recommend the A81E when I see some proper reviews, not just from over excited owners or from people trying to sell the device. Flash works on the beagleboard already. I don't know what's up with the A81E right now.

As of right now, I still recommend the Augen Gentouch and Apad over the Witstech for now for most people.

The TCC8902 has better video decoding than the A81E. Flash is enticing but I really don't know about the A81E.

But you don't have to buy right away. Wait till there's more news.

I personally want to get the A81E to try. I'd go with Mp4nation because they have a support net for the device.

 

[NeoStar9X]

Thanks for the advice. Will check out mp4nation as well.

 

[lewserkim]

I would recommend Witstech A81E because its cheaper with packed benefits. This benefits are things like ew android 2.2, flash 10.1, gps and bluetooth. If your going to compare this one to other Android Tablet, this tablet will be one of them to excel.

 

[cutterjohn]

It's a nice tablet, but my understanding is that the Android fw available is still currently pretty flakey, e.g. poor WiFi, poor video playback, slow flash perf, etc. however IMO it does have one(possibly two) good things going for it, GPS option and bluetooth(not really sold on this one).

Still, I ended up just getting a GT as I happened to actually find one at a kmart. Video playback is incredible, although I don't watch many videos. Web browsing is fine, as is email although entering text is dire. (Still using default Android kb ATM so this applies to ALL android devices).

Also there are continual rumors of a NEW Wits tablet coming out either this month or next, so if you REALLY just gotta have a Wits, you MIGHT want to wait a bit. (Of course short supply of A81-Es ATM means that you'd be waiting ATM anyways...)

The fw is putting me off on the A81-E ATM, so unless it gets firmed up pretty quickly I'll likely just plug along on the GT until late this year or next when more options will be available, i.e. really wanting to move to at least a Cortex-A8 w/full opengl es driver stack, GPS, and WiFi, 7"(larger than this makes them useless for my purposes, e.g. too heavy to use as a reader for long periods).