Review: W1060 7-inch MID by WireLession

[FriendOfEntropy]

I've been talking to Kathy at Witstech over the past week about a sample with some questions...she said I could get one with GPS or without GPS, and choose either Windows CE or Android.

I'm sorry I don't have the e-mail here with me at work to quote exactly which version of Android it was. I honestly didn't pay much attention to that anyway...I was more interested in making sure I could choose Windows CE instead of Android and not have to fiddle with some dual boot setup.

Originally Posted by Icewyng

Also, no mention about Android... There seems to be some conflicting reports about this. Was it released?

[Icewyng]

Originally Posted by FriendOfEntropy

I'm sorry I don't have the e-mail here with me at work to quote exactly which version of Android it was. I honestly didn't pay much attention to that anyway...I was more interested in making sure I could choose Windows CE instead of Android and not have to fiddle with some dual boot setup.

From the Witstech site, the version on the Beta would be 1.6. for the W1060, the Wirelession site seems to say it has Android 2.0 ...

Just curious... how is WinCE compared to Android?

[Dalkor]

how is WinCE compared to Android?

Kinda outdated and not finger-friendly.

[ColdSun]

Originally Posted by Icewyng

From the Witstech site, the version on the Beta would be 1.6. for the W1060, the Wirelession site seems to say it has Android 2.0 ...

Just curious... how is WinCE compared to Android?

It sure is pretty, but it seems to be a lot less dependable. I like it, and am getting used to it, but I think we haven't seen the last of Windows Embedded.

[pphilipp]

A person at HPCFactor has been kind enough to give me a few pointers on how to get some non-working apps to run on Windows CE 6. In the last couple of days I've been able to get several previously non-working apps to run on the Wirelession. Because the programs have paid licenses, I won't be sharing them on here, but as soon as I get some freeware programs booted, I will post links.

I have noticed that not all apps can be tweeked to work on WinCe 6, but some (usually older ppc/hpc/211ce apps) can be ported quite easily.

[FriendOfEntropy]

I was curious (maybe I'll configure up an emulator for 800 x 480 , but then again, maybe be lazy and just wait till I get an A81 in hand), but those old apps running on the small screens...PocketPC 2003 and older..that you take over and install on this device.

Do they usually have any capability to maximize to the larger screen and take advantage of the extra real-estate? I know it's an app by app situation.

I could fully imagine compact framework 1 apps for original Pocket PCs being hardwired to the 320 x 240 or whatever (I think of many games I have on my old Toshiba).

Some apps that appear more windowed, however, might not have been strictly tied to the screen size. Things like Resco file explorer appear to be flexible an resizeable windows. There's no guarantee of course, they could still be capped at a maximum pre-VGA window size.

Originally Posted by pphilipp

A person at HPCFactor has been kind enough to give me a few pointers on how to get some non-working apps to run on Windows CE 6. In the last couple of days I've been able to get several previously non-working apps to run on the Wirelession. Because the programs have paid licenses, I won't be sharing them on here, but as soon as I get to some freeware programs booted, I will post links here.

I have noticed that not all apps can be tweeked to work on WinCe 6, but some (usually older ppc/hpc/211ce apps) can be ported quite easily.

[Icewyng]

Originally Posted by ColdSun

It sure is pretty, but it seems to be a lot less dependable. I like it, and am getting used to it, but I think we haven't seen the last of Windows Embedded.

Since they are working on WinCE 7.0 (now Windows Embedded Compact 7, which is slated to be released in Q2 2010), It would be fun to see it end up on the W1060/A81. There is a nice youtube video featuring it on an ASUS Eee Pad and it looks great.

Anyone got the chance to try Android on the A81/W1060. If so, how is it performing? Also, Any reason to buy one Tablet over the other or are there n o difference at all between the two?

[pphilipp]

Originally Posted by FriendOfEntropy

Do they usually have any capability to maximize to the larger screen and take advantage of the extra real-estate? I know it's an app by app situation.

You are certainly correct in that it's an app by app situation. Some appear archaic, almost like something from an early palm device. Other's fit the whole screen and are quite usable.

But this doesn't seem to be limited to old ppc apps, I also had the same problem with new 2010 apps written for Android... that was part of my decision to sell my Android device. I downloaded 30 or 40 apps for it and none of them seemed appropriate for a 7" screen. I've had far better results with this Wince device... out of the same number of apps, at least 50% have justified the larger screen size.

[Icewyng]

Originally Posted by pphilipp

But this doesn't seem to be limited to old ppc apps, I also had the same problem with new 2010 apps written for Android... that was part of my decision to sell my Android device. I downloaded 30 or 40 apps for it and none of them seemed appropriate for a 7" screen. I've had far better results with this Wince device... out of the same number of apps, at least 50% have justified the larger screen size.

A nice point in favor of WinCE I would say. Guess I will have to pull the trigger on this MID sooner than later!

[FriendOfEntropy]

Well, I just pushed the button on PayPal and sent Kathy at Witstech my shipping info (non-GPS, Windows CE version).

We'll see if this one makes it to me in TN on the slow boat from China before Kohls shipping and fulfillment gets the Pandigital Novel in my hands, LOL.

I plan on keeping both no matter what, but the delivery race should be interesting.

[FriendOfEntropy]

Oh yeah, forgot to add...if both these devices turn out to be unuseable doorstops, I'm holding ColdSun personally responsible since I bought both of them based on his advice.

In that terrible event, I shall expect a full refund of all the money I paid for that advice

No really, many thanks to him and everyone like him here for taking the bleeding edge risks on devices and letting the rest of us know what we are getting into.

[mervsduh]

Haha!

I managed to install Android 1.6 on A81 last Friday and installed Facebook app, File Manager app, Manga Reader app and Opera Mini 5 app.

Now my A81 is perfect. Browsing the net using the A81 is a joy using Opera Mini 5 as it is very intuitive and very friendly. The pages are properly rendered. The IE browser on the WinCE side of A81 is full on CRAP. It doesnt render properly (can't read the fonts at all) and it keeps on resetting itself and is so damn slow. Now with Opera Mini on Android, the pages loads way quicker with intuitive tabs for multiple pages. It's absolutely awesome.

And the Manga app is alright.

I use my A81 specifically for Manga reading and internet browsing. And having Android made it way better to use compared to the original WinCE.

Be warned though --- the touch screen is a pain to use in Android version. I believe it is a software issue than a hardware one. The coded sensitivity of the input driver is not really up there yet.

But all in all I'm happy.

Still searching for killer apps on my Android A81. Awesome!

[ColdSun]

Originally Posted by FriendOfEntropy

Oh yeah, forgot to add...if both these devices turn out to be unuseable doorstops, I'm holding ColdSun personally responsible since I bought both of them based on his advice.

In that terrible event, I shall expect a full refund of all the money I paid for that advice

No really, many thanks to him and everyone like him here for taking the bleeding edge risks on devices and letting the rest of us know what we are getting into.

Out of all the chinese MIDs I reviewed, I would have to say the A81 had the highest quality. Of course that is just my opinion.

Now, those of you getting one, take a good look at that METAL stand on the back. I snapped my SmartQ7 stand by just barely leaning on it once (its plastic), but I would venture to say the stand on the A81 would take a LOT more punishment. One of my favorite features on the thing.

[zapikoe]

@mervsduh
Hi there..
How do you manage to run Wifi on Android and installing other applications?

I managed to install Android through Wits' BBS.
Though haven't been able to install Wifi and other apps.

Does Marketplace worked?

[nonanon]

I haven't gotten Android to work on my A81 at all and after trying it out on my son's Archos 7 (not the HT) I was unimpressed. The apps I tried are not made for a 7" screen and hearing that the touchscreen doesn't work as well with Android on the A81 decided me. I also find the Silverlight overlay that Wits has available to be an exercise in frustration as the keyboard only seems to pop up when I don't want it to, when using the browser it only appears some of the time which makes surfing impossible. And I'm too technically illiterate to modify ColdSun's interface which only left one option. Wince.

I ended up downloading the latest update and omitted the home.cab that has the overlay. Wince isn't as slick and pretty but it is fully functional, very reliable and not a pain in the neck. As I mostly use my A81 for reading, comics and videos this is workable for me. The games I've tried are hit or miss so all I usually play is bejeweled but at least the keyboard is there when I want to try surfing with it. It's too bad it won't stream from my network, which I think was promised at one point. With a new model in the offing I don't know if we'll ever see a reliable Android or Linux port for the model I have but I can live with Wince for the life of my device.

Sidenote: lately when I've used my A81 in public I've gotten a lot more comments and questions than before. I'm not sure why but it may be that people realize a device with a 10" screen is just too big to be as convenient and the A81 does look a bit like a smaller iPad or a bigger Touch. I can read or watch a video while standing in line which would be more awkward with an iPad I think.