WiiPad NENO review 10.1 inch

[Deektribe]

Hey all, So I have had my WiiPad for 3 days now...I must say they are almost there with this one, but I recommend waiting a bit to see if they will be offering updates to android.

Off the top of my head here are the pluses and minuses:

Pros:
-Large screen
-Design (I am sure you know what it looks like)
-Touch screen. Tho it is a resistive screen, it is very usable once you catch on the the fact that you actually have to press a bit on the screen.
-Screen is excellent for reading, easy on the eyes.
-Respectable sound for something not capable of producing bass.
-Responsive to input
-Fairly quick to open large ebooks and such
-CHEAP! It's basically a nice tablet micro PC $239!
-Imitation leather envelope style case included.
-Seems fairly sturdy for a sensitive piece of electronic equipment...probably wouldn't withstand a drop.

Cons:
-NO ANDROID MARKET! It uses SlideMe which doesn't have nearly the app base...For example you can't use the Kindle app or the Nook app the buy ebooks because they are only in the Market.
-Wireless connection comes and goes...seems to randomly disconnect often and for some reason it doesn't try to reconnect when you access a online app or something. (Bug?)
-Full charge seems to be about 96% (more of just an annoyance).
-Screen colors are washed out slightly, and brightness doesn't really help.
-Stand by mode while plugged in or not leaves the screen ON with maybe 10% back light so you can barely see the LCD...a cool look, but I want mine to turn off to conserve battery.
-BATTERY LIFE IS GROSSLY OVER STATED! They say it will last 7 hours w/ wifi off and 5 hours with it on.....NOPE! Maybe if you just let it sit there in 10% screen mode the whole time...In my experience so far, even mild use kills the battery quickly (Just like a phone). I estimate 2 hours battery life with a 30-40% duty cycle and maybe 20% of that using the wifi. Maybe 1 hour or less if you are playing a game or something cpu intensive.
-POOR INSTRUCTIONS! There are only 3 buttons and a power button, but it would have been nice if they told you the main button is back, Vol+ is menu and Vol- is just Vol- (i think).
-Has had occasional issues returning from low power mode (bug?)
-"no [cell] service" is always in the status pull down page...come on...really!
-And and have to reiterate...NO GOOGLE MARKET!


Thats about all for now, I will continue to post as new thing pop up...Most of the cons they can fix in the software...but will they? Are will they sell and run.

Deek

 

[icurafu]

Nice that you get a leather case. The ePads don't come with that.

Try updating the firmware. The last two firmwares have not had the phone related information.

Once you run it a few times the battery life increases a bit. But it still remains pitiful compared to what they state.

 

[mindwave]

Deek I really appreciate that, can I ask a few more questions, that MAY be answered on their site, but since site info has been wrong in the past:

What processor does it use?
What version of android?
how LONG did it take to arrive?
Does it have a camera?
Does it have regular sized USB ports?

Thanks, I would like to order a 10" next week but am VERY undecided

 

[Deektribe]

Hey,

Sure questions are no problem!

-1ghz processor, tho I am not sure what type
-Android 2.1
-I took a week to arrive (~5 business days)
-No Camera
-It has one regular size USB and one micro USB
-I forgot to mention that it also came with the Ethernet adapter dongle
-It has two mics
-Micro SD slot

icurafu - How do you update the firmware...direct from Android.com or does it have to be a manufacture image?

 

[Deektribe]

I should mention there is no "firmware update" in the menu like my phone??

 

[mindwave]

Deek,

Android Tablets, unlike phones, require a little more 'know how' too update, niice to know about theUSB AND the dongle, I had seen those but boy I could have used one for the AUgen I'm setting up for my wife THIS week!

Any further thoughts you have as you go please keep us up to date.

BTW when you said 1GHZ but you werent sure of the CPU type, where did the 1GHZ figure come from?

j

 

[Deektribe]

Deek,

Android Tablets, unlike phones, require a little more 'know how' too update, niice to know about theUSB AND the dongle, I had seen those but boy I could have used one for the AUgen I'm setting up for my wife THIS week!

Any further thoughts you have as you go please keep us up to date.

BTW when you said 1GHZ but you werent sure of the CPU type, where did the 1GHZ figure come from?

j

Here, I found the specs on their website....Looks like its 1 GigaMegahertz ;-0 Evidentially the fastest CPU in the world since 1giga megahertz would be a billion million hertz!

Wiipad NeNohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_symbol​

 

[Deektribe]

Here, I found the specs on their website....Looks like its 1 GigaMegahertz ;-0 Evidentially the fastest CPU in the world since 1giga megahertz would be a billion million hertz!

Wiipad NeNohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_symbol​

 

[Deektribe]

Hey, can anyone provide instructions on updating the Neno firmware? What comes with the firmware file is in chinglesh....

 

[rushmore]

Arm 11 means probably no 2.2 update.

 

[Deektribe]

Arm 11 means probably no 2.2 update.

Why do you think that? 2.2 uses a different compiler that speeds android up? I would think it would be great with 2.2??

 

[jtbnet]

Why do you think that? 2.2 uses a different compiler that speeds android up? I would think it would be great with 2.2??

There are already ARM11 devices running 2.2... the enhanced JIT libdvm is a considerable improvement so should be just a matter of time before more devices are running 2.2...

 

[Deektribe]

So I finally got some good update instructions that I felt comfortable performing (mostly in english), I updated to 0827.

Still no market, but the device does seem to be working much better. They adjusted the touch sensitivity so the screen works better and the battery life indicator is now more accurate. They also seemed to have fixed some annoying boot errors and fixed some of the "hang" issues when returning from sleep mode.

The big news though is that the wireless seems to have failed...it thinks everything is fine but it can't see any wifi networks...Surprisingly, wiipad support is working with me to try and fix it...this is a pleasant surprise from a Chinese Co!

They haven't said they would fix it or replace it yet, I will keep you all posted on that....more soon.

Deek

Wiipad - if you are watching....this my be a pivotal moment for you....

 

[rushmore]

Good price for features and function.

I ordered the Archos 101 yesterday from J&R for $333 delivered.

1. 10" capacitive 1024X600 display
2. 3640 chipset (arm 8)
3. 16gb built in
4. Mircosd slot
5. USB with full USB host function
6. Froyo with Flash 10.1
7. Archos Android devices are easy to add/mod for full app market.
8. Ships mid October

added:

Like the WiiPad, it is "low" price, so not as bad feeling when something better comes along a few months later. Now, paying almost $1,000 for the Samsung Tab WOULD hurt.

 

[Deektribe]

So the WiFi part of my Neno died...Wiipad.us blew me off, delayed, and delayed again...I believe they were trying to get past the 90 credit card dispute window....they failed, I opened a dispute with my credit card....We will see if that gets their attn.

If you choose to buy this, make SURE your funding source is a credit card (even through paypal)....If I had just used my paypal account I would have been SOL....Paypal only gives you 45 days to open a dispute. That is actually good advice for buying anything on the internet.

I was told by "Rocky" with wiipad.us that they were going to take care of the problem, but I haven't heard back once I told them I had to open a dispute before the 90day window....I will let you know how it turns out....

 

[mindwave]

deek, hope you get some resolution. BTW as you probably already know the Wepad that you have is the ZT180, which is one of the only 10" android units out NOW.

I bought mine from Flatpad computing. I cant say much for their communication (its terrible), BUT the device arrived in excellent shape $216 shipped in 3 days.

I was going to pre order the archos 101 but those release dates kept getting put off and off.

 

[Deektribe]

I got the WiFi working by replacing the internal WiFi module inside with one from a totally dead neno I bought off ebay for $20 from a guy that bricked his...I added a little antenna and thermal glued a strip of copper to the WiFi chip...so all is well!

I must say I am disappointed with the wiipad.us....it is VERY evident they didn't put the time into setting up and optimizing android for the device and there STILL isn't a Froyo update for it! They have a decent device, but evidentially lack the development team to get android working nicely?

You can post questions to their forum, but no one will ever see them because every post must be approved and they don't approve anything that shows them in a negative light.

Anyone know of a good image for a ZT-180?