I have had a SmartQ V7 (7 inch Android tablet) for a while now and it has served me well. I have read a few books, browsed the web and played a few simplae games on it. However the one thing I found lacking was the screen was too small to read comics comfortably.
So I have bought an ePad V2 10.2in Android tablet - with 512M of memory it had double the memory of the SmartQ V7 which is an improvement. Its screen is 1024x600 compared to 800x480.
I have tested comic reading and it does fine. The extra size makes a world of difference. It doesn't fit in a (big) pocket like the SmartQ does but it is thinner and only slightly heavier so goes in my backpack comfortably.
At the same time as getting the ePad I bought my wife an iPad. Similar size screen - wider but shorter (1024x768, 4x3 aspect ratio as compared to the 16x9 of the ePad) - but a much better screen with much better responsiveness. The iPad responds to screen touches much better than the ePad and is an overall much better tablet. It did cost three times as much so you get what you pay for.
Android 2.1 is on the SmartQ and 2.2 on the ePad. Both work fine and I have rooted both tablets. I hope it is possible to root the new Honeycomb based tablets even though, in everyday use, I don't need administrative access. It is just nice to have - after all it is an open source system and is trying to be different to the strictly controlled Apple alternative.
Why do you need administrative access? In some cases it is just to change a system setting because there is no other way to change it except for editing a text file. Similar to changing registry settings on Windows because no one made a utility to do it. There are other reasons - in many cases the tablet (or phone) developer simply failed to envisage a perfectly reasonable way to use the device and didn't allow something that is not going to damage the device. Rooting is not just for removing provider lock in!
Am I happy with the ePad? It does not have great battery life - however the biggest problem is it does not go into a low power mode when not in use. It does switch off the screen but it still drains the battery. Of course the problem with these early Android tablets is they are using an operating system designed for a phone which is supposed to stay connected at all times. The SmartQ gets around this by turning off wireless and going into a low power state when the screen is turned off. Which makes it possible to take it on trips without its battery being flat when you want to use it. However you can turn the ePad off completely and it boots up in around a minute. If they fix the micro-SD card problems I will be content with it. It keeps thinking the card is blank forcing an eject and reinsert game until it condescends to see the files on it!
I may get myself an Adam or Xoom next!
So I have bought an ePad V2 10.2in Android tablet - with 512M of memory it had double the memory of the SmartQ V7 which is an improvement. Its screen is 1024x600 compared to 800x480.
I have tested comic reading and it does fine. The extra size makes a world of difference. It doesn't fit in a (big) pocket like the SmartQ does but it is thinner and only slightly heavier so goes in my backpack comfortably.
At the same time as getting the ePad I bought my wife an iPad. Similar size screen - wider but shorter (1024x768, 4x3 aspect ratio as compared to the 16x9 of the ePad) - but a much better screen with much better responsiveness. The iPad responds to screen touches much better than the ePad and is an overall much better tablet. It did cost three times as much so you get what you pay for.
Android 2.1 is on the SmartQ and 2.2 on the ePad. Both work fine and I have rooted both tablets. I hope it is possible to root the new Honeycomb based tablets even though, in everyday use, I don't need administrative access. It is just nice to have - after all it is an open source system and is trying to be different to the strictly controlled Apple alternative.
Why do you need administrative access? In some cases it is just to change a system setting because there is no other way to change it except for editing a text file. Similar to changing registry settings on Windows because no one made a utility to do it. There are other reasons - in many cases the tablet (or phone) developer simply failed to envisage a perfectly reasonable way to use the device and didn't allow something that is not going to damage the device. Rooting is not just for removing provider lock in!
Am I happy with the ePad? It does not have great battery life - however the biggest problem is it does not go into a low power mode when not in use. It does switch off the screen but it still drains the battery. Of course the problem with these early Android tablets is they are using an operating system designed for a phone which is supposed to stay connected at all times. The SmartQ gets around this by turning off wireless and going into a low power state when the screen is turned off. Which makes it possible to take it on trips without its battery being flat when you want to use it. However you can turn the ePad off completely and it boots up in around a minute. If they fix the micro-SD card problems I will be content with it. It keeps thinking the card is blank forcing an eject and reinsert game until it condescends to see the files on it!
I may get myself an Adam or Xoom next!
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