We’ve got an Aigo AigoPad N700 here that has kindly been sent over by Think4Mobile in the UK. It’s a preview model and something that may, or may not, make it to European markets. Given the rough seas right now and the specs of the N700, we’re not sure it has the right stuff to succeed. See our article below and the video at the end for more information.
Android 2.1 on ARM11 with 800×480 and no Google Market/Apps is a surprisingly low-quality combination, especially compared to the build quality and looks of the AigoPad which say so much more. Capacative touch is there and it has a nice ruberised back that I’d love to see on the Galaxy Tab. A magnetic charging port and even 3G is included [The model we have is CDMA /EVDO for the U.S. market so we’re unable to test that bit.] but even if the OS was upgraded to 2.2 with Google Market, the 800×480 screen and ARM11 processor just wouldn’t cut it in the market today unless the price was amazingly low.
Admittedly, there aren’t any 3G-enabled low-cost tablets in the European market right now but given that Viewsonic will likely reduce its Viewpad 7 price very soon to give it breathing space from the Galaxy Tab, that niche might be filled very quickly. Even so, the ARM11 niche isn’t going to last long as features and applications on Android demand ARMv7 architecture and multi-core platforms date it even further.
The N700 appears to have one thing on its side…battery life. Aigo have dropped a 4250mah battery into this thing and I havent charged it for 4 days. Admittedly it was on standby (bluetooth and Wifi on) for 3 of those days but I was extremely surprised to see it still running – with 50% battery. After another day of testing (about 3hrs) we’re only down to 36% battery. This could be the most power-efficient tabelt i’ve ever tested so if you’re looking for that as a feature, here it is!
Notes:
Mono loudspeaker is loud and good
Screen has some fading at angles
WVGA is noticeable on test having used the Galaxy Tab for 4 months!
Button hardware: solid
No Wifi-N support
Browser fixed to landscape mode
GPS, accelerometer included
Sideloading of many apps works without problem
3mm longer than a Galaxy Tab (same width)
About 1mm thicker
Brightness – good range but nothing new
No docking port, no hdmi
Platform doesn’t support 720p decoding
Only supplied charger worked despite it being a USB cable.
No search button
No camera
Overall I’m impressed with what Aigo have done in terms of engineering but the total package misses the mark for developed countries in Q1 2011. We’ll definately keep an eye on Aigo though.
Update: Think4it Solutions tell us that they will be putting the N700 on the back-burner for the time being as Aigo have just revealed a 2.2, ARMv7 version (likely Cortex A8) with european 3G support that is planned for an April launch.We’ll stay in touch in because a low-cost Cortex-based device is exactly what’s needed. Fingers crossed for 1024×600!
With 18 Meego Job positions posted in the last month it’s difficult to imagine Nokia making a move away from it and when they are also looking to build new types of Meego devices alongside the main business it hints at even longer term commitment.
$450 for a 3G-enabled (HSPA+ no less) 7 inch tablet on one of the fastest ARM-based processing platforms there is with hardened capacitive multitouch screen a 5mp auto-focus camera and Android 2.2 isn’t a bad price at all. It beats the Galaxy Tab on price and performance, that’s for sure. The only problem is that, as always, you have to look for the showstoppers. With the Dell Streak there a number to consider.
Battery life There are reports coming in from reviewers that the Dell Streak 7 isn’t making it though a day under normal (reviewer) usage. Note that the battery is only 10Wh (The Galaxy Tab has a 15Wh battery)
Android 2.2 Android 2.3 is out and the Tablet-focused 3.0 is coming up soon. In fact, Android 3.0 is the first to be optimised for a multi-core processor so there’s a mis-match here.
Screen quality 800×480 is great for gaming, videos, navigation and many other functions but when it comes to reading, the lack of resolution is noticeable. Not only that but there are reports that the screen brightness isn’t as good.
On one hand, the Galaxy Tab can get a little sluggish so it would be nice to have something with more ooomph. On the other hand, it that means having to charge twice every 24 hrs, it’s not worth the bother in my opinion, even if it saves $50-$100
Maybe a Wifi-only version with a lower-price would be more interesting to people?
The Enspert E201 is a 7 inch Android slate out of Korea that’s actually looking rather impressive with a 1GHz CPU, PowerVR SGX 450 GPU, and legitimate access to the Android Market, all on Android 2.2 (Froyo). It’s cheaper than the Galaxy Tab [tracking page] to boot!
As soon as we get our hands on it, we’ll run some benchmarks to see how it stacks up to the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The only places that it’s lacking at the moment seems to be in resolution department (the Galaxy Tab’s screen is 1024×600). Here’s some shots to tide you over until we can give it a thorough looking over, stay tuned:
Progress is inevitable and yes, I suppose ‘evolution is fate.’ In this world of manufacturers and companies pushing for 12 month device churn and with platforms improving to offer a quicker route to market we can expect the pace to quicken but if you’re one of the ones in that area between purchase and 6 months ownership when that evolution is announced, it hurts!
In this case, Samsung look to be announcing the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 at MWC under the banner ‘evolution is fate’ which, for about 1.2-1.5 million people could hurt badly. Unless of course, the Galaxy Tab 2 isn’t a 7 inch device. If it’s the 10 inch device that was previously promised then everyone will be happy. ‘Galaxy’ as a brand carries a lot of weight, the original Tab proved that it was a quality device and with Samsung themselves able to call on class-leading in-house technology and a new tablet-focused operating system, you know that this is going to be something special.
The news comes from Samsung Hub (article seems to have been pulled) via JKKMobile
It would be silly of HTC not to consider bringing an Android Tablet to the market. They’ve done a few tablet-like devices in the past but with the 7-10 inch consumer tablet sector booming, this is one that could set some seriously big sales numbers, especially given the maturity of Sense, HTCs well-respected user interface, utilities and applications suite. Looking at the rumored specs I see strong competition for the Galaxy Tab but there’s lots more to find out before it can be recommended.
Of course, price is unknown along with size, weight, battery life and all the other important things you need to know to make a decision. We’re hoping they will be revealed/leaked during MWC or CeBIT at the latest. With lots of people talking about dual-core, don’t get led into thinking it’s yesterdays CPU. Dual-core means less battery life under load, more cost and that GPU could outperform the one on the Galaxy Tab. A 3.0 upgrade should also be taken into consideration.
Gigabyte launched a new Tablet PC at CES that we haven’t reported on yet. My fellow MeetMobility podcaster Sascha of Netbooknews has just had hands-on today so it’s worth plugging his video and talking a little about the device.
Firstly, we’re talking about 10 inch capacitive touchscreen tablet at 900gm running Windows 7 on a netbook platform with the N570 (2×1.66Ghz) CPU. Usefully, there’s a built-in mouse area and left-and-right mouse buttons which is perfect for two-handed use. Unfortunately, there’s no digitiser so you’re left with a slight mismatch between the pen-focused Windows 7 and the finger-focused touchscreen. It’s something we’ve seen in a few devices recently and we don’t like the trend. HP have it right with the dual-mode 500 slate as do Lenovo and Motion Computing.
Interestingly though, the device isn’t aimed at vertical markets. The press-release from Gigabyte (Jan 6th) sates: “The S1080 is designed to be the ultimate mobile device to fit the demanding needs of consumers who need a high-performing multitasking slate that offers the full productivity of a PC, inch OK, taken from that angle, they might have it right. There’s a suite of overlay software and, i’m pleased to say, provision for a docking port that looks, based on the size of those connectors, to offer serious connectivity. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a PCI-Express slot in the docking station. Gigabyte are no stranger to the idea of PCI Express but it has far more value on a powered docking station. Later in the press release, Gigabyte allude to a more professional customer: “The large hard drive also makes it the perfect device to load custom business and enterprise applications”
We seem to have an interesting product here for either consumer or enterprise markets…until we look at battery life which brings a huge question mark to the table. N570 at 900gm means max 30Wh battery and that means 3-4hrs in my opinion. I’ve tested the 1KG N350 (Samsung, also dual-core Atom) and that didn’t get much past 4hrs. Still, with the dock in use, this could be something for hot-desking and hot couching! I’m looking over at the Fujitsu U820 that is powering this post and thinking, hmm, upgrade time? A 10 inch screen next to my desktop screen would certainly be more useful on my desk than the 5.6 inch-er I’ve got here. Let’s hope for 2GB and Windows Home Premium and the possibility to swap the HDD for an SSD.
Think4it Solutions have just sent over an Aigo N700 that they are testing with a view to distributing in the UK. The N700 already sells in China and with 3G, it sells for, I’m told, around $300. Running on an unspecified Qualcomm platform at 600mhz it isn’t the fastest device and I’ve managed to determine that it is an older ARMv6 core which means it’s similar in build to the Viewpad 7. Where the Viewpad 7 has Google approval though, the N700 doesn’t and that means no Market, no Gmail, no Google sync. An 800×480 screen also outs it at the budget level and when you consider that it has an Android 2.1 build, you wonder how this will compete on anything but price. The build quality and look of the device are good but I’m really looking for a unique selling point. With the Viewpad 7 covering the lost cost 3G / Google approved market and the Archos 70 covering the low cost, high performance non 3G market the only place the N700 would have fitted is with 3g + ARMv7 either with or without Google Market to sit between the surprisingly large space between the Archos 70 and the Galaxy Tab. With Viewsonics next 7-er looking like it might slot in there, I’m doubting the Aigo N700 will fit anywhere unless it comes in at a super bargain-basement price.
I’ll give this some time over the weekend and let you know more next week but for the time being I have to say ‘hold-off.’
