By downloading the various bits from the Witstech site I was able to get Android installed on my A81. I still can't figure out how to _use_ it properly
but at least it's installed.
NOTE: THIS WILL FLASH YOUR A81 TO ANDROID - IT IS NOT A DUAL BOOT. If you want to keep on using Windows CE, this is not firmware you're looking for...move along...
Here are the steps:
1. Go to the witstech bbs at
http://bbs.witstech.com.cn/index.asp?boardid=10&page= - it's in Chinese, but look at the (currently 2nd-listed) entry that reads (with part in English) "A81 Android 1.6". Click that entry;
2. You should find 4 downloads; they're marked (with part in English) "HBUSBFW.RAR", "ANDROID_IMG.RAR", "ANDROID_USB_WINDOWS.RAR", and "APKINSTALLER.RAR". Download and unzip/unpack those 4 files;
3. Run hbusbfw to format your SD card (choose FAT32 format);
4. Copy the MLO file from the android_img to the SD card
first;
5. Then copy all the other files from the android_img to the SD card;
6. Load the SD card into the A81, and - while pressing something into the "flash" hole (a little hole over where the USB cable goes in) - turn on the power. You should see the 4 color squares. You can then release the power button and stop pressing the "flash" hole;
7. The A81 screen will fade to white, and just sit there, for several minutes, until it is flashed, and then you will see the Android boot-up
And now on to the issues:
1. The APKInstaller is designed to let you download and install android applications (.apk) onto your SD card - but its user interface is entirely in Chinese. I think you'd be best off looking on your favorite search engine for "apkinstaller english" (unless, of course, you read Chinese);
2. The A81 is no longer recognized as a USB drive when you hook it up to your system. The files in the "Android_USB_Windows" RAR file are supposed to fix that, but on my system at least (Vista) they weren't acceptable
To try it for yourself, after your A81 is turned on in Android mode, plug in the USB cable and when Windows asks for the drivers, point it to where you have the Android_usb_windows files unpacked;
3. While I am in Android, I can't figure out how to get anything that goes "full screen" (for example, like the "Settings" menu) off the screen, and I have to reboot;
4. Powering off seems to be hit-or-miss; it usually takes about 10 seconds of pressing the power key until it shuts down
That's all I've got so far...