MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Review: W1060 7-inch MID by WireLession

nonanon · 01-30-2010, 02:43 AM

@/.ryd I'll tell you my experience with the A81/W1060. As an ereader it's good, better than my iPod Touch but not quite as good as my Sony Reader, other than it having a backlit screen for reading indoors. As for comics it's far better than either device, the colors are very good and the high-res display is excellent if you have it positioned just right. I've read that this problem is common with current gen Chinese LCD screens, if you look at it from an angle the screen is quite dark but from straight-on it's excellent. Rotating the display can be done within most reader apps or you can use the one on the default desktop.

It's not a multi-touch screen like the iPhone/iTouch so no pinching or swiping. In most apps you just touch the right side of the screen to page forward, left to page backward. For ebooks I like ALReader a lot: you can customize font, font color and font size as well as background color very easily to find just the right setting. There are built-in backgrounds as well for day or night reading. The comic reader I like is MMCE but most of the comics I've tried are just jpg images but it works on CBR files as well. Controls work the same, right to advance and left to go back. Both apps are in the download Phuongt provided on page 10. I highly recommend that download if you get an A81/W1060.

For video I have yet to get my A81 to recognize my network to stream anything but it connects to the internet without a problem. It plays a wider variety of video formats than anything else I've seen in the handheld category and it looks great on the 800 x 480 screen. TCPMP and the Core Player are the best players and they're both in Phuongt's download. It's convenient to get them this way but if you like them you'll want to get a paid version. I can attach an external hard drive as long as it has it's own power source but it won't read my thumb drives. I've read that you need an OTG cable but that may only be for some devices, it works fine for me with a standard mini-USB plug as long as the device is self-powered.

Internet Explorer is faster than before but I'd like to get Firefox or something similar instead. The latest firmware has fixed a lot of my initial problems and it boots up faster, too, though nowhere near as fast as an iPod, about 20 seconds or so to reach the desktop.

I didn't get a GPS unit and I doubt it will work easily until Android is added. Mine came with the GPS software anyway but since it's in Chinese with maps of China it wasn't useful to me. I can't imagine having a 7" device on my windshield to guide me since even my smaller Tom Tom can impede the view but the battery life would probably make it good for some GPS tasks.

I mostly use it for reading indoors but on vacation it's ideal for watching movies or tv shows or listening to audiobooks/music.

I've added a wrist strap to mine since the A81 tends to be a bit slippery and I don't want to drop it, I just put the loop around the kickstand and then closed it and it works fine. As I noted above, the screen protector that comes with the unit isn't a perfect fit. It's slightly too short in height and the gap is a bit bigger on the width, no more than 1/16th of an inch or so but on a touchscreen with a stylus that is enough to bother me. All in all I'm glad I bought this and I'll be much happier when the release Android.

01-30-2010, 02:43 AM	#234
nonanon Enthusiast Posts: 45 Karma: 21900 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Utah Device: iPad, Nook Simple Touch	@/.ryd I'll tell you my experience with the A81/W1060. As an ereader it's good, better than my iPod Touch but not quite as good as my Sony Reader, other than it having a backlit screen for reading indoors. As for comics it's far better than either device, the colors are very good and the high-res display is excellent if you have it positioned just right. I've read that this problem is common with current gen Chinese LCD screens, if you look at it from an angle the screen is quite dark but from straight-on it's excellent. Rotating the display can be done within most reader apps or you can use the one on the default desktop. It's not a multi-touch screen like the iPhone/iTouch so no pinching or swiping. In most apps you just touch the right side of the screen to page forward, left to page backward. For ebooks I like ALReader a lot: you can customize font, font color and font size as well as background color very easily to find just the right setting. There are built-in backgrounds as well for day or night reading. The comic reader I like is MMCE but most of the comics I've tried are just jpg images but it works on CBR files as well. Controls work the same, right to advance and left to go back. Both apps are in the download Phuongt provided on page 10. I highly recommend that download if you get an A81/W1060. For video I have yet to get my A81 to recognize my network to stream anything but it connects to the internet without a problem. It plays a wider variety of video formats than anything else I've seen in the handheld category and it looks great on the 800 x 480 screen. TCPMP and the Core Player are the best players and they're both in Phuongt's download. It's convenient to get them this way but if you like them you'll want to get a paid version. I can attach an external hard drive as long as it has it's own power source but it won't read my thumb drives. I've read that you need an OTG cable but that may only be for some devices, it works fine for me with a standard mini-USB plug as long as the device is self-powered. Internet Explorer is faster than before but I'd like to get Firefox or something similar instead. The latest firmware has fixed a lot of my initial problems and it boots up faster, too, though nowhere near as fast as an iPod, about 20 seconds or so to reach the desktop. I didn't get a GPS unit and I doubt it will work easily until Android is added. Mine came with the GPS software anyway but since it's in Chinese with maps of China it wasn't useful to me. I can't imagine having a 7" device on my windshield to guide me since even my smaller Tom Tom can impede the view but the battery life would probably make it good for some GPS tasks. I mostly use it for reading indoors but on vacation it's ideal for watching movies or tv shows or listening to audiobooks/music. I've added a wrist strap to mine since the A81 tends to be a bit slippery and I don't want to drop it, I just put the loop around the kickstand and then closed it and it works fine. As I noted above, the screen protector that comes with the unit isn't a perfect fit. It's slightly too short in height and the gap is a bit bigger on the width, no more than 1/16th of an inch or so but on a touchscreen with a stylus that is enough to bother me. All in all I'm glad I bought this and I'll be much happier when the release Android.