Lenovo A1 Tablet/Reader

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by emilikins

Sweetpea, how you like your Flyer?

Love it! It feels and looks sturdy and is with me at all times (unless I wasn't awake in the morning and forgot to put it from the kitchen table into my bag...)

I use the pen a lot (which brings me to the only drawback) and would really love the HC update (there are betas flying around, but I'm not daring enough to use that ...) as that will allow me to use the pen on every application instead of only the pen-abled ones. But that minor snag doesn't stop me from using this tablet a lot. From grocery shopping lists, to book reading, to checking out recipes on the internet.

Battery life varies between 4 and 6 days, depending on the part of the week (middle of the week, I must work and thus can't use it a lot, and it'll only see some (internet) action in the morning, some (internet) action, and, depending on my state-of-mind, some to a lot of reading action in the evening. It'll last a whole week on a charge then.

During the weekends, I'll play some games and use internet a lot more and the battery will drain (logically) faster then.

Originally Posted by frahse

On the Lenovo site for the A1, they say it has the Android market.

They can say a lot, but right now, unless some independent source confirms it, I don't believe it.

And that's a bit of the problem I have with Lenovo right now. Too many conflicting stories...

I still like the (original) stats of the A1, but I'm really wondering what will finally arrive... (and for what price, naturally!)

[SCION]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

...

They can say a lot, but right now, unless some independent source confirms it, I don't believe it.

And that's a bit of the problem I have with Lenovo right now. Too many conflicting stories...

I still like the (original) stats of the A1, but I'm really wondering what will finally arrive... (and for what price, naturally!)

Someone who received an A1 in the Kindle Fire sub-forum confirmed the Android Market is there. I asked if there is access to Books and Video.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=370

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by SCION

Someone who received an A1 in the Kindle Fire sub-forum confirmed the Android Market is there. I asked if there is access to Books and Video.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=370

No idea what this "Books and Video" is... Probably somebody not from the US doesn't have anyway

But this does sound good! (and also shows why I hate the amount of sub-forums this forum has now... Too much fragmentation = data lost)


But I'm still happy with my Flyer

[emilikins]

Glad the A1 seems to be working out! Interesting that Market seems to be working, even though Google still says no? Of course, Netflix was one of the supported apps, according to Lenovo.

I got my Flyer yesterday for $259 and am quite pleased with it so far! :-) Has more RAM and a faster processor than the A1, so I'm happy! I don't have the pen. May grab it if it goes on cheap sale over the holidays or if someone develops an aftermarket. That is the annoying part about it - an expensive, custom stylus. Why not just let it do a generic stylus, hmm? I'm going to test my old stylus on Skitch and some other apps, but I knew the pen issue going in and I've never really done a pen on tablets before, other than on a resistive screen, so it's not an adjustment.

The fiance wants my Flyer now, even though he has a snazzy smartphone (I have a phone that texts and makes calls). :-p

[=X=]

The flyer is a good choice especially at that price, I wasn't going for one when they had a $499 price tag.


Btw many folks believe dual core is better than a single core. Here are some benchmark that prove otherwise.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4463/t...flyer-review/8



=x=

[emilikins]

=X= - Pretty interesting, although I don't exactly grasp what all the benchmarks mean The Flyer didn't display any lag in my runs last night, though I was mostly downloading the apps I wanted immediately, playing with skins, testing some video, etc. It takes a couple seconds to load a video, but so does my work Galaxy 10.1. Heck, Netflix and the xBox take longer to load than the tablet! I think the 1GB RAM as opposed to 512MB in comparable tablets makes some of the speed difference.

The Flyer doesn't have an IPS screen, but to me it seems to have less glare and gloss (and wide viewing angles!). I liked it better than the Iconia on display beside it, but of course I can't compare it to the A1 to see if there's any major difference between the screens. It seems to wipe up fingerprints better than the Galaxy, which has IPS (though the G has higher resolution).

[=X=]

Have you heard the new ride it's called the Lenovo-coster. It appears the A1 is back on sale.

You could get the 2GB version for $230 or the 16GB for $200 (after coupon).

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...14BD79634CB472

I'm pretty sure Nook Tablet had a lot to do with this price drop.

The A1 is very nice because no tinkering is needed to get an open Android with 2.3.

However the nook is very hackable and for the same price you get much more.

=X=

[Sweetpea]

Looks like it's not even available here anyway...

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by =X=

Have you heard the new ride it's called the Lenovo-coster. It appears the A1 is back on sale.

You could get the 2GB version for $230 or the 16GB for $200 (after coupon).

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...14BD79634CB472

I'm pretty sure Nook Tablet had a lot to do with this price drop.

The A1 is very nice because no tinkering is needed to get an open Android with 2.3.

However the nook is very hackable and for the same price you get much more.

=X=

I've been eyeing it. Does say when the sale expires? Does Lenovo charge sales tax? does anyone know?

[SeaKing]

Last I looked, Amazon had it for $199, 16GB in black.
Said they would ship when they got it which means ???

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Last I looked, Amazon had it for $199, 16GB in black.
Said they would ship when they got it which means ???

Yeah I check that page a few times a day. Right now I am between a Kindle Fire and A1 tablet. It would be ideal if Amazon sold both.

Just checked again at Amazon.
It's no longer available for pre-order and the price has been removed!

[emilikins]

It's no longer available for pre-order and the price has been removed!

Not even Amazon is immune to the peeks and valleys of the Lenovo-coster. Yes, they do charge sales tax. I can't remember the percentage, but my $229 pre-order came to $245.16. Amazon seems to be the only place that escapes a sales tax. Shipping was free, however, but I don't know if that's normal or a "special offer." If Lenovo is smart, they won't charge for shipping ever, unless it's overnight.

I would still pick the A1 over the Fire, but that's a personal preference. I'd pick a rooted Nook tablet over the Fire, but that's a root, which I didn't want to mess with. Of course, you might not even get to make the choice of A1 over Fire Yes, the price drop is likely based off of the NCT announcement, and honestly, they should've kept it stable at that price to begin with. Bang for buck, the A1 might edge out my Flyer, but the agony erodes that, imho. But I really hope it does well, for end users' sakes and also to put a quality "budget" tablet (with Market?) in the mix.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by emilikins

Not even Amazon is immune to the peeks and valleys of the Lenovo-coster. Yes, they do charge sales tax. I can't remember the percentage, but my $229 pre-order came to $245.16. Amazon seems to be the only place that escapes a sales tax. Shipping was free, however, but I don't know if that's normal or a "special offer." If Lenovo is smart, they won't charge for shipping ever, unless it's overnight.

I would still pick the A1 over the Fire, but that's a personal preference. I'd pick a rooted Nook tablet over the Fire, but that's a root, which I didn't want to mess with. Of course, you might not even get to make the choice of A1 over Fire Yes, the price drop is likely based off of the NCT announcement, and honestly, they should've kept it stable at that price to begin with. Bang for buck, the A1 might edge out my Flyer, but the agony erodes that, imho. But I really hope it does well, for end users' sakes and also to put a quality "budget" tablet (with Market?) in the mix.

It's hard to know the percentage here. We have so many different sales taxes that can be charged. It could be anywhere from 9.68% to 9.8% It's crazy! the Nook would be $273.28 that doesn't include shipping but that the price I was quoted with TN tax.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I've been eyeing it. Does say when the sale expires? Does Lenovo charge sales tax? does anyone know?

No it doesn't say when it will end, but you no longer have to wait and see what is coming out. All the players have shown their hand if you want to get one now is the time and enjoy it.

Amazon Fire $200
Kobo Vox $200
B&N $200, $250
Lenovo $200
Samsung $500
Xoom (7" in the works but I don't think it will make Christmas) ?? but expensive
HTC $300


While I was big on the A1, the B&N and Vox have caught my eye. I'm still 100% satisfied with my nook Color. When the Nook tablet has been rooted and CM7 ROMed I might pick one up. Considering it's near identical to the Nook Color it should happen rather quickly.

=X=

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by =X=

No it doesn't say when it will end, but you no longer have to wait and see what is coming out. All the players have shown their hand if you want to get one now is the time and enjoy it.

Amazon Fire $200
Kobo Vox $200
B&N $200, $250
Lenovo $200
Samsung $500
Xoom (7" in the works but I don't think it will make Christmas) ?? but expensive
HTC $300


While I was big on the A1, the B&N and Vox have caught my eye. I'm still 100% satisfied with my nook Color. When the Nook tablet has been rooted and CM7 ROMed I might pick one up. Considering it's near identical to the Nook Color it should happen rather quickly.

=X=

The Vox has the Wake from Sleep Freeze issue but Kobo is working on it with no time period announced. No one is seems is getting their shipped but having to pick them up locally according to Dear Author's Jane.

Right now the best bet for me is the KF if I can sideload apps. The A1 would be ideal but now it's no longer on Amazon it's not a option at the moment.