Maylong M-150 Tablet at Walgreens

[TallMomof2]

You can install the Kindle Android app on 1.6 and higher so for $110 (tax and shipping) I'll try this out.

Of course without access to the Android Market it might take a little extra work.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Of course without access to the Android Market it might take a little extra work.

According to your profile you have a Droid, so just install it on that and make a backup of it with something like the Astro file manager. Then just copy the backup APK to the M-150 and install it there.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

According to your profile you have a Droid, so just install it on that and make a backup of it with something like the Astro file manager. Then just copy the backup APK to the M-150 and install it there.

That's what I mean by a little extra work.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

That's what I mean by a little extra work.

OK, gottcha. It really is very little extra work though.

[RainmanP]

Here are some first thoughts after having explored the Maylong M-150 for a couple of hours. I have tried to focus on less obvious things that puzzled me for a while even though I have been using Android on my Archos 5 Internet Tablet for a few months now. Users new to Android might be completely lost. The manual leaves a LOT to be desired. I hope some of you find this information useful.

Charging LED went off at about an hour, and I was able to use the device for close to two hours.

I have not been able to get online yet. The only wifi hotspot near my office constantly has router or modem issues, and I did not ask them to reboot. Others have reported that wifi works fine. I plan to try it out tomorrow.

Camera and Camcorder icons do not appear on the home screen initially. Press the Menu button then Add>Shortcuts>Applications. Scroll down to each icon and tap to add.

You might also want to add a shortcut for PK Manager with is an app manager.

Most other pre-loaded app icons already appear on screens.

Camera picture quality not that great. Have not tried video. Tried changing image storage location to SD card but photos don't seem to save. With storage location set to Local disk, images save under DCIM>Camera as expected.

Pressing the eye icon at the top of the screen captures a screen shot of whatever screen you are on at the time. It does not take a picture with the camera.

Devices tried with the USB dongle both directly and through a powered USB hub:
1. USB Keyboard works. I only tried typing a few characters. Here is something kind of cool. Under Settings>Applications>Quick Launch are keyboard shortcuts to open some apps using F1-F12 keys! So to open the browser you can just press F1. When you are in this settings area you can tap an app associated with one F key then select a different app to activate with that key.

2. USB Mouse works, but orientation is reversed. In other words, moving mouse vertically ("up" and "down") moves pointer horizontally (left/right). I haven't figured out whether this can be changed.

3. USB flash drive worked fine. All pre-existing files accessible.

4. Have not tried a portable hard drive, but I suspect the device may not have enough power for this.

Screen changes, auto-rotate, page turns on ebooks are a bit sluggish, but not too bad for a $99 device. My Archos 5 Internet Tablet is much faster but I paid 2.5 times as much for it.

The screen seems very responsive considering I have not taken any of the plastic protectors off. I am used to the resistive screen since that is what the A5IT has. If you have an iPhone don't expect for a resistive screen to be nearly as responsive.

I tried an mp4 video that plays fine on my A5IT. I don't remember the exact video properties, but they are probably low to medium. One hour video about just over 350mb. Resolution probably 320x240. I probably used a default iPod selection for transcoading. Video plays VERY slowly and lags way behind audio which plays fine for a while then starts to stutter.

In case you are not familiar with it the Aldiko ebook reader is really good one. I actually prefer it to Kindle. I have both on my A5IT. I wind up using Kindle because my wife and daughters all have either actual Kindles or the iPhone app so we can all share books.

The devise startled me initially with a vibration as it turned on. Turns out you can set key press confirmations to either a sound or vibration if you like. I have mine off. You always have the color change confirmation.

Device "geography" (device held horizontally with the big button to the right):
Left edge - Power button
Top edge left - Menu Button, Volume rocker
Right edge, top to bottom - Speaker, micro SD slot, USB/Ethernet dongle jack, headphone jack, power jack, another speaker.

I have had no problem with display calibration at all.

Things I either have not tried or have not figured out yet:
1. USB mouse orientation issue
2. Where is Sound Recorder? May have to get an app for that. Came loaded on my A5IT. It thought it was standard part of Android.
3. Powered USB hard drive and USB powered hard drive through powered USB hub. Hope to try tomorrow.
4. Having Camera images save to SD card. Can select this, but does not seem to save image.

Question - What is a good backup app that will allow me to copy the apks for free apps I already have?

I will post new observations as I get more time to play with it.

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by RainmanP

Question - What is a good backup app that will allow me to copy the apks for free apps I already have?

The Astro file manager will do what you describe. Here is one place to find it.
http://www.freewarelovers.com/androi...o-file-manager

[RainmanP]

Originally Posted by Dave_S

The Astro file manager will do what you describe. Here is one place to find it.
http://www.freewarelovers.com/androi...o-file-manager

Thanks! I will give it a try.

[how0425]

Originally Posted by RainmanP

Thanks! I will give it a try.

thanks for sharing, RainmanP. Is the memory slot a SD or Micro SD?

[RainmanP]

Originally Posted by how0425

thanks for sharing, RainmanP. Is the memory slot a SD or Micro SD?

Micro SD. I am using an 8GB card.

[RainmanP]

Here's a second installment on my experiences with my Maylong M-150.

Today I tried a portable hard drive attached directly to the USB dongle and through a powered USB hub. In both cases the M-150 recognized, light on drive lit up, and set up as u-disk, but navigating to the drive showed Empty Folder in the File Browser. Drive formatted NTFS. I don't know if a drive formatted ext2 would work or not.

Same results trying a multi-card reader which did not surprise me since it is one of the kind that shows up as 3 or 4 different drive letters.

Installed Astro app manager and Kindle for Android using apks copied to the device.

Wifi worked, and YouTube videos played fine. The only thing I noticed is that the wifi on the M-150 is a little weak. Sitting in my den about 15 feet and two walls from my router where I have no problem with my netbook I was getting one, sometimes two little "bars" on the wifi indicator, and I could only get to a few websites then would lose them. I was able to access my Kindle Archives and add a couple of books to the device. Sometimes I could get to YouTube and find a video, but got a connection error every time I tried to play a video. In my office/grandkid's playroom, sitting just a few feet from the router I could access any website and play YouTube Videos. I was able to connect to the wifi hotspot in the cafe near my office, but could not access any websites. That connection can be a little flaky anyway, but someone with a laptop was connected OK. After my experience later at home I know suspect the problem was just the weak wife on the M-150.

To get to the screen with all the app icons you tap the little arrow at the right side of the screen and drag it to the left. I knew this from my A5IT, but guess I did not do it just right yesterday.

Still have open items I have not pursued yet:
1. USB mouse orientation issue
2. Haven't found Sound Recorder. May have to get an app for that. Came loaded on my A5IT. I thought it was standard part of Android.
3. Having Camera images save to SD card. Can select this, but does not seem to save image.

[Kelvin]

RainmanP: the weak wifi issue you describe sounds familiar. Are you holding it right? You are probably touching parts that you shouldn't. Lets email Steve Job

Thanks for the comprehensive review. Someone said it can't read PDF, can you confirm? My primary usage for this type of device is as an eReader. It wouldn't be good if it can't read PDF. My unit just got shipped today.

[Avarwen]

If I can use this as a cheap universal ereader I might pick it up. Can you use all the android ebooks apps on this? If so I'll more than likely pick this up.

[richardf]

I added a power app to my home screen but would like to remove it. Cannot figure it out. Eyeball captures a pic of the screen? Where to and what for? What is airplane setting?

[richardf]

I had no problem with a Microsoft wireless mouse. I can't imagine what would make it different from your other computers.

[Cobb]

Hello, thanks for having me as a member. I missed out on the one sold at kmart for 99 bucks and saw this one in a flyer and bought it. I purchased it last Friday at Walgreens and was told I should get it by Nov 12 . I decided to have it shipped to the store and got it for less than 99 bucks with discounts.

I spend a lot of time in waiting rooms at various medical offices and have free wifi at those places. I previously bought a used 1st gen ipod touch to use to kill time for next to nothing and installed a new battery. It works ok, but it suffer the dreaded signal drop from time to time. I hope this replaces it for you tube and netflix on demand.

Does this play you tube and netflix ok? I have an external battery for the ipod, will it work on this? How useful is it out the box and what other apps can you get?

A friend of mines said I could copy his Droid OS, but he said since it is an HTC, it may not work. Is that right? Is there a thread for mods, cheats, cracks, updates that can be done?

Thanks.

PS, I live in the Richmond, VA area is anyone is "local". I know enough about computers to be dangerous