Just Bought the CRAIG Android 7" Tablet from CVS - Page 30

bhartman36 · 01-06-2012, 06:21 PM

Thanks, nicabod.

I think you're right. One of the things you give up when you buy any ultra-cheap electronics seems to be good, well-written firmware. I never had the kind of issues with USB connections some people here are reporting, but the fact that the messages are in that state is disappointing.

agold · 01-12-2012, 09:24 PM

try this for a modem: http://junefabrics.com/android/download.php
I have been using it for a long for my laptop.....anywhere

nicabod · 01-13-2012, 04:35 PM

Just a bit of follow-up on my 738b: Had a horrid, frustrating time trying to make a wireless connection. Not sure, but it seems that the tablet and my router shouldn't both be set up to automatically choose a channel for the connection. When I told both the router and the tablet to use a designated channel, that seems to have been what finally made it work. Along the way, it put up misleadingly-worded messages (see a recent post about this). In particular, "Out of range" was absurd.

I rooted it (wrote to the SD card from my desktop machine, and the tablet, while booting, undoubtedly "looked at" the SD card to see if there was anything interesting; there was. Intriguing to watch the yellow messages. (It took many minutes!) IIrc, I used Flushs firmware; that got me far enough (semi-root, sort of) to download a true root-access file manager. Again, intriguing; I'm quite familiar with Linux file structure, and this was recognizable, but different in many ways.

I also added a market app., and downloaded too many interesting apps, but didn't install most (ran out of energy; I'm 75, and don't lead a sensible life (too dull!)). (My T-shirt should read "I destroy operating systems", with a mandatory footnote "only my own".)

Considering that the local Rite Aid might still have some Craig netbooks, I dug for a review, and found it interesting:
<http://www.5gadgets.com/2011/11/99-android-netbook/#comment-12> I heartily agree that what we paid for Craig tablets and netbooks is a good price for the hardware, but, Good Lord -- the software (especially drivers and the like) is an horror show! Otoh, the Android kernel and a lot of its "core" software is probably quite the equal of a good Linux distro*; I'm confident that there are lots of capable, responsible developers "out there". *I like Mint; am soon going to try the Cinnamon desktop. What's gone terribly wrong (and in a very competitive market, at that) is that Android is sometimes customized for a given product by adequately-capable developers who seem not to be able to test anywhere near adequately. Did Craig choose a good group of developers? Methinks, hardly likely. Unfortunately, I lost track of a fascinating post by a Chinese gentleman who is intimately familiar with what's going on over in Shenzhen, including the Google Android software package constrained by license terms.

I booted up earlies this afternoon looking for any posts by (preferably non-malicious) hackers who have done Good Things with the netbook. Tentatively, concluded that the $100 and my chances of having a netbook that would do what I hope (hopes are not high) just don't match; that money would be far better spent on an Arduino (although it wouldn't do what I want.)

Last call! PHOTOS, if anyone wants, of the innards of a 738b, incl. well-focused* hi-res shots of the electronics -- JPEGs of maybe 3 MB. If interested, holler; I'm set up for e-mail notification if anyone posts a reply here.

*Focus failures: I think it's quite likely that most digital cameras have "double-touch" (I think that's a term from pipe organ tech.) "shutter" pushbuttons. Gentle pressure closes one set of contacts; a harder squeeze trips the shutter. Autofocus and auto-exposure both happen (typically) when you squeeze gently. I suspect that oodles of people don't know this, and don't give autofocus time to settle; it takes at least
tens and often 100s of milliseconds for it to settle. A good, hard, quick squeeze gives shutter priority, in focus, or not. "Better to get that shot /now/ than wait for autofocus to settle" seems to be the thinking. (I'm not totally off-topic; I suspect that the photos at the link I gave above are rather-badly defocused because the author didn't know this. (He's not dumb...)

Last thought: What are the rates of returns on Craig Androids? How many who bought them are quite disappointed, but haven't returned them? I don't know. Now, off to take a peek at Brian's Web site.

[P.S. I proofread this, and when I tried to post, I was told to log in. I had already done so, I'm certain! Fortunately, I'd saved this text. Spending 3/4 of an hour on a long message, only to see it hopelessly vanish, is psychological torture-by-software that simply must not happen, but does. It seems standard, in fact. /end rant]

Best,
[nb]

nicabod · 01-13-2012, 04:36 PM

"Bit" of follow-up? Not really; no. (No need to keep this message.)

Best,

[nb]

bhartman36 · 01-15-2012, 08:57 AM

Just wanted to thank you for having a peek at my website, Nicabod.

kizzle · 01-24-2012, 06:41 PM

This is all new to me. But i got the craig 2.2. I have no home computer yet but there has got to be a way i can get android apps on tablet... Is it possible to download app on my phone and save it to sd card then put it on tablet or anything like that?????? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Cheeky1 · 01-24-2012, 10:05 PM

You need to root the tablet in order to install the Android Market. Do you have any tech savvy friends with a computer who could help you out?

agold · 01-27-2012, 07:47 AM

Have to be careful when rooting.....most instructions are for rooting the Craig CMP738-A and not the CMP738-B. So check your model number before you try to root using the instructions in this forum.

bhartman36 · 01-27-2012, 05:14 PM

agold: Is the CMP738-B different? I don't have the newer one, but I thought the process was the same.

agold · 02-03-2012, 10:04 AM

The CMP738-B runs on the Android 2.2 and the ROM used in this forum (CMP-738a-update-2011-01-26-rls4.7z ) is for use with the CMP738-A which uses Android 2.1 operating system.
What I have done is used my google account to access android apps from amazon and google because there is no update as yet for the CMP738-B. Hopefully Craig will put an update out there at some point.

ZevMudkip · 02-19-2012, 05:22 PM

For anyone with the B-version: How did you get the root?

I went to this from the first page but it did not work when I tried.

Help?

I can connect to the internet. I just don't have Android Market. I do have the Amazon app store, and that file converter...I think I'm going to fix it up, give it to a friend for what I paid (maybe a little more), and go out, and buy the Lenovo A1 which will have ICS by June they claim.

Skye · 03-12-2012, 02:13 PM

I just got mine yesterday, and have just found this site. Can any of you give a gal help finding the sites and such to find my way around this machine? Only my 14 yr old knows how to work it-my sister said she would not do without hers!
thanks so much!
Skye

kimmymarie.25 · 08-19-2012, 10:28 PM

I bought the tablet and it says that is rooted. I had a Samsung Droid Charge and am a little familiar with rooted android os. It will not allow me on market to download facebook, mail, etc. it says the apps are not compatible with the device. Firmware under setting says 2.2. Can someone please help me and make it simple?? Thanks!

cosgrove · 11-22-2012, 02:15 PM

CVS has this device on sale for $78.88 at here - if the embedded link wont work for you, the URL is:

http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/Craig-7-Touch-Screen-Tablet?skuId=887169

You can cut that down by $19.72 with the coupon code:

BLACKFRIDAY

They'll add $2.96 in tax - but if you're an ExtraCare member (CVS's loyalty card program) you get free shipping. Total cost $62.12!

Just thot I'd broadcast this - I just entered my order. Who wouldn't go for a reasonably-decent tablet for 60 bucks?!

vanhenry71 · 12-01-2012, 10:11 PM

Newbie here:

Bhartman36;

I have a Craig 7"tablet model CMP741e
I think you posted a way to make this thing work smoothly, you altered yours. Could you please again tell me how you did that. I am peeved i cant get the android store on mine and do what I need to make this functional. Thank you much.

08-19-2012, 10:28 PM	#448
kimmymarie.25 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2012 Device: Craig	Bought a rooted CRAIG tablet from Ebay I bought the tablet and it says that is rooted. I had a Samsung Droid Charge and am a little familiar with rooted android os. It will not allow me on market to download facebook, mail, etc. it says the apps are not compatible with the device. Firmware under setting says 2.2. Can someone please help me and make it simple?? Thanks!

11-22-2012, 02:15 PM	#449
cosgrove Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: CMP738A	Get the CMP738A for $62.12 CVS has this device on sale for $78.88 at here - if the embedded link wont work for you, the URL is: http://www.cvs.com/shop/product-detail/Craig-7-Touch-Screen-Tablet?skuId=887169 You can cut that down by $19.72 with the coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY They'll add $2.96 in tax - but if you're an ExtraCare member (CVS's loyalty card program) you get free shipping. Total cost $62.12! Just thot I'd broadcast this - I just entered my order. Who wouldn't go for a reasonably-decent tablet for 60 bucks?! Last edited by cosgrove; 11-22-2012 at 02:42 PM.

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01-06-2012, 06:21 PM	#436
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,316 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet	Thanks, nicabod. I think you're right. One of the things you give up when you buy any ultra-cheap electronics seems to be good, well-written firmware. I never had the kind of issues with USB connections some people here are reporting, but the fact that the messages are in that state is disappointing.

01-12-2012, 09:24 PM	#437
agold Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Craig	try this for a modem: http://junefabrics.com/android/download.php I have been using it for a long for my laptop.....anywhere

01-13-2012, 04:35 PM	#438
nicabod Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: B&N Nook, refurbed	Just a bit of follow-up on my 738b: Had a horrid, frustrating time trying to make a wireless connection. Not sure, but it seems that the tablet and my router shouldn't both be set up to automatically choose a channel for the connection. When I told both the router and the tablet to use a designated channel, that seems to have been what finally made it work. Along the way, it put up misleadingly-worded messages (see a recent post about this). In particular, "Out of range" was absurd. I rooted it (wrote to the SD card from my desktop machine, and the tablet, while booting, undoubtedly "looked at" the SD card to see if there was anything interesting; there was. Intriguing to watch the yellow messages. (It took many minutes!) IIrc, I used Flushs firmware; that got me far enough (semi-root, sort of) to download a true root-access file manager. Again, intriguing; I'm quite familiar with Linux file structure, and this was recognizable, but different in many ways. I also added a market app., and downloaded too many interesting apps, but didn't install most (ran out of energy; I'm 75, and don't lead a sensible life (too dull!)). (My T-shirt should read "I destroy operating systems", with a mandatory footnote "only my own".) Considering that the local Rite Aid might still have some Craig netbooks, I dug for a review, and found it interesting: <http://www.5gadgets.com/2011/11/99-android-netbook/#comment-12> I heartily agree that what we paid for Craig tablets and netbooks is a good price for the hardware, but, Good Lord -- the software (especially drivers and the like) is an horror show! Otoh, the Android kernel and a lot of its "core" software is probably quite the equal of a good Linux distro; I'm confident that there are lots of capable, responsible developers "out there". I like Mint; am soon going to try the Cinnamon desktop. What's gone terribly wrong (and in a very competitive market, at that) is that Android is sometimes customized for a given product by adequately-capable developers who seem not to be able to test anywhere near adequately. Did Craig choose a good group of developers? Methinks, hardly likely. Unfortunately, I lost track of a fascinating post by a Chinese gentleman who is intimately familiar with what's going on over in Shenzhen, including the Google Android software package constrained by license terms. I booted up earlies this afternoon looking for any posts by (preferably non-malicious) hackers who have done Good Things with the netbook. Tentatively, concluded that the $100 and my chances of having a netbook that would do what I hope (hopes are not high) just don't match; that money would be far better spent on an Arduino (although it wouldn't do what I want.) Last call! PHOTOS, if anyone wants, of the innards of a 738b, incl. well-focused* hi-res shots of the electronics -- JPEGs of maybe 3 MB. If interested, holler; I'm set up for e-mail notification if anyone posts a reply here. *Focus failures: I think it's quite likely that most digital cameras have "double-touch" (I think that's a term from pipe organ tech.) "shutter" pushbuttons. Gentle pressure closes one set of contacts; a harder squeeze trips the shutter. Autofocus and auto-exposure both happen (typically) when you squeeze gently. I suspect that oodles of people don't know this, and don't give autofocus time to settle; it takes at least tens and often 100s of milliseconds for it to settle. A good, hard, quick squeeze gives shutter priority, in focus, or not. "Better to get that shot /now/ than wait for autofocus to settle" seems to be the thinking. (I'm not totally off-topic; I suspect that the photos at the link I gave above are rather-badly defocused because the author didn't know this. (He's not dumb...) Last thought: What are the rates of returns on Craig Androids? How many who bought them are quite disappointed, but haven't returned them? I don't know. Now, off to take a peek at Brian's Web site. [P.S. I proofread this, and when I tried to post, I was told to log in. I had already done so, I'm certain! Fortunately, I'd saved this text. Spending 3/4 of an hour on a long message, only to see it hopelessly vanish, is psychological torture-by-software that simply must not happen, but does. It seems standard, in fact. /end rant] Best, [nb]

01-13-2012, 04:36 PM	#439
nicabod Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: B&N Nook, refurbed	"Bit" of follow-up? Not really; no. (No need to keep this message.) Best, [nb]

01-15-2012, 08:57 AM	#440
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,316 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet	Just wanted to thank you for having a peek at my website, Nicabod.

01-24-2012, 06:41 PM	#441
kizzle Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: craig 2.2	This is all new to me. But i got the craig 2.2. I have no home computer yet but there has got to be a way i can get android apps on tablet... Is it possible to download app on my phone and save it to sd card then put it on tablet or anything like that?????? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

01-24-2012, 10:05 PM	#442
Cheeky1 A Happy Pelican Posts: 45 Karma: 472472 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pelican Island Device: iPad 1, iPad 3, iPad Air, iPhone 5s, Kindle Fire HD, Google Nexus 7	You need to root the tablet in order to install the Android Market. Do you have any tech savvy friends with a computer who could help you out?

01-27-2012, 07:47 AM	#443
agold Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Craig	Have to be careful when rooting.....most instructions are for rooting the Craig CMP738-A and not the CMP738-B. So check your model number before you try to root using the instructions in this forum.

01-27-2012, 05:14 PM	#444
bhartman36 Wizard Posts: 1,316 Karma: 1515835 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 3 Wi-Fi, Craig CMP738a Android Tablet	agold: Is the CMP738-B different? I don't have the newer one, but I thought the process was the same.

02-03-2012, 10:04 AM	#445
agold Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Craig	The CMP738-B runs on the Android 2.2 and the ROM used in this forum (CMP-738a-update-2011-01-26-rls4.7z ) is for use with the CMP738-A which uses Android 2.1 operating system. What I have done is used my google account to access android apps from amazon and google because there is no update as yet for the CMP738-B. Hopefully Craig will put an update out there at some point.

02-19-2012, 05:22 PM	#446
ZevMudkip Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Craig CMP7738b	For anyone with the B-version: How did you get the root? I went to this from the first page but it did not work when I tried. Help? I can connect to the internet. I just don't have Android Market. I do have the Amazon app store, and that file converter...I think I'm going to fix it up, give it to a friend for what I paid (maybe a little more), and go out, and buy the Lenovo A1 which will have ICS by June they claim.

03-12-2012, 02:13 PM	#447
Skye Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: Craig 7" tablet	I just got mine yesterday, and have just found this site. Can any of you give a gal help finding the sites and such to find my way around this machine? Only my 14 yr old knows how to work it-my sister said she would not do without hers! thanks so much! Skye

12-01-2012, 10:11 PM	#450
vanhenry71 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Craig 7 Inch Touch Tablet	Newbie here: Bhartman36; I have a Craig 7"tablet model CMP741e I think you posted a way to make this thing work smoothly, you altered yours. Could you please again tell me how you did that. I am peeved i cant get the android store on mine and do what I need to make this functional. Thank you much.