My original list of expectations...
Surf the web from anywhere.
Manage my day-to-day email work.
Play movies and all my media.
Swap files with my office and home PCs.
Read my e- books and magazines as well as PDFs.
Print documents on my office printer.(wifi print share)
Chat on-line with my friends.
Watch Youtube videos.
Attach devices like mice, keyboards, cameras, mp3 players.
Use with my existing bluetooth devices(camera and phone)
Well I have had the machine for a week and a half now and have had some time to get familiar with it so here is an account of my progress
Surf the web from anywhere.
I can work the machine pretty well when I am within range of the wifi router. I re-flashed the machine to build 0818 and I thinkit doesn't drop the link so much.
Manage my day-to-day email work.
No problms here as I use a separate gmail account for my mobile work. I use the original email client app as well as my normal web gmail account.
Play movies and all my media.
Will play most well encoded divx avi movies. If there is a bad spot in the movie it may sometimes hang the machine. MP3s play well bur it will not recognise .flac files(lossless encoding) for some reason.
Swap files with my office and home PCs.
Only through a USB stick or FTP at the moment. I am still hoping to get connected to my home workgroup, but I don't know how.
Read my e- books and magazines as well as PDFs.
Works like a charm with the laputa ebook reader. This is the best app I have and I cannot fault it.
Print documents on my office printer.(wifi print share)
No. Still waiting to connect to other machines through wifi. If my Ubuntu PC can do it, so should this one.
Chat on-line with my friends.
Not yet, The facebook app seems tobe missing chat and the Hi MSN app won't connect. I expect to get some app working on chat soon.
Watch Youtube videos.
Yes. No problem with the youtube app installed. Real smooth on 1080p as well as lower resolutions.
Attach devices like mice, keyboards, cameras, mp3 players.
Mouse, keyboard, memory stick, cheap card reader, mp3 player and camera all recognised. The card reader (2euro store) is handy as I can move stuff between microSD cards.
Use with my existing bluetooth devices(camera and phone).
No sucess yet. I have a cheap generic bluetooth dongle that xp recognises but it is not recognised as anything but an empty udisk.
Other points I have noticed:
The wifi gets an extra bar when headphones are connected. There is a mod published on
ZT-180 A105 where someone had changed the internal antenna for one from an old laptop and claims a big improvement. I may try this myself when I learn how to open the unit without damaging it.
Using a resistive screen takes practice. For the first few days I was using the pads of my fingers to type. Later I found that light contact with a fingernail is quicker and far more accurate.
Keep a dry tissue in the bag and polish the screen often. This stops grease buildup and keeps the screen shiney. I have seen replacement resistive screens on ebay if yours is damaged
I was playing with an iPad in PC World yesterday and yes the iPd looks and feels better, mainly due to its flat smooth glass screen and metailc edge. My fingernail typing style on the ZT-180 is just as fast as fingerpad typing on the Ipad's capacitive screen.
It is not a good idea to lay the machine down flat on a bed as the back can get quite warm. The warmest place is at the rear of the machine near the microphone hole.
I am glad I bought my epad and I hope to work my way completely through the list before I am finished.
Oh and some games are very good. I only use free ones as I only know if they work by trying them first. Access to the official market is not that big a deal when you learn to find, download and install apps yourself.
So I guess I am a fairly happy bunny with
