[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Student549

So I guess that you trust the Kingo Root app to be free from malware...
But I don't have the code for "su", so I guess I'm stuck using it.

It's a widely used tool, and doesn't deploy malware.

It is more annoying than it used to be. The current version roots the device, and pushes a Superuser app to device. The Superuser app serves as a root request broker. When an app requests root access, it pops up a dialog box stating it, and asks permission to grant it. If you say yes, the permission is granted and the app will get it again in the future. The Superuser app maintains the list, and you can go in at any time and remove root permissions for an app. (And if you have something like Jack Palevich's Terminal Emulator installed, you can enter su at a command line and get a # prompt. )

I actually prefer Chainfire's SuperSu app for this, and installed it, but the one Kingo provides works.

Unfortunately, Kingo also pushes a Smart Battery app I didn't want, and an Alibaba shopping app. Fortunately, both can be uninstalled with the standard Add/Remove routines, but getting them was an unpleasant surprise.

There are other one-click-root solutions. I used Kingo because it was known to work, and had successfully rooted other Azpen models. (They have an app version that attempts to root on the device. A friend was able to use it to root one of the bigger Azpen models. Using the Kingo app from Windows wasn't an option because he's all Linux, and the rooting solutions done via USB connection assume a Windows host.)

Well, I wasn't intending to develop; I didn't have much to go on when looking for a USB driver.... I just wanted to get a Win7 driver that actually talks to the device. And yes, I also had to enable USB debugging on the Azpen side. The composite driver did NOT work. I didn't try the bootloader driver.

What you chose seems to have done what you needed.

"Safe Hex". That's cute....hadn't heard that one.

It's ancient as such terms go. I've been in computers on the IT side for over 30 years, and it dates back that far. It was coined before the Internet Ate the World, and the normal form of communication with the outside was a dial up modem calling a BBS.

As I said, I also enabled "USB debugging" on the tablet side.

Whether you need to depends on what you are doing, but as mentioned, you can generally do it without it getting in the way when you connect via USB for other reasons.

I downloaded the Azpen "upgrade tool for allwinner" and found the app was written in Chinese. I translated the table of contents from the .rar'd .pdf file:

No surprise.

I believe Azpen is technically a Korean outfit, but they OEM their hardware from Yet Another Chinese Consumer Electronics Manufacturer you've never heard of.

So it looks like you have to have the firmware image; the tool doesn't help you with that..... I won't bother to install it.

I wrote to the Azpen support email and got a quick reply.

Here is what they said:

No surprise again.

And they're right about RAM.

The original A727 I bought had 512MB RAM and 4GB flash. It was bought to be an eBook viewer and a cheap way to learn about Android. Anything it could do beyond view eBooks was a fringe benefit. As it happened, there was a fair bit it could do, especially after rooting, and I didn't find the 512MB RAM a serious limitation.

The A746 has 1GB RAM and 8GB flash, which was a step up, but retained the low res 800x480 screen. That was not a show stopper for my use case.

But Azpen is very much "design to cost", and things like no Bluetooth (which I didn't care about) were examples. The chips to provide it add to cost, and the intended uses don't require them, so...

You got the HD model, which has higher res display equivalent to my HP Slate, but I note it has 512MB RAM. Costs, again, and they halved the RAM to up the screen resolution without boosting costs.

It likely works well enough, but probably would struggle to run newer Android releases.

Sounds like your HP Slate is another worthy toy. I see you have another thread started for that.

Yep.

It's out of stock currently, but was in stock for a bit at $40. I'm keeping an eye out. If it appears again at that price, I want a spare, and one as an alternative to my SO's B&N Nook tablet.
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Dennis