Chinese tablet

[William "Bill" Kisse]

Entering bootloader mode is common on most Android devices:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/how-to-access-android-bootloader-or-system-recovery-mode/


Regarding the antenna, from my experience the external antenna connectors you are referring to are very fragile and not really designed for frequent connect/disconnects.

I've been to China many times and the quality of all their electronics (and everything else) varies greatly.  So buyer beware

In China, functional to good 7-inch tablets are abundant at less than $50.00 - even $35.00 if you find a trusted reseller.  Even with economy of scale it still fascinates me that they are so inexpensive - and work!

It may be best to stick with a U.S. reseller or perhaps an Ebay seller with good feedback and reasonable return policy if you are looking for a no-name inexpensive device.


Devices with 512K memory don't run well on newer versions of  Android (version 4) - that's why many of the really cheap ones still run Android 2.3, so I recommend 1GB minimum.

Android "KitKat" version 4.4 has been optimized to run on 512K devices, but it's currently not widely available.

I've had reasonable luck (occasionally with some functions such as camera inoperative) with Cyanogen Mod http://www.cyanogenmod.org/ over the "stock" Android.

If possible, I recommend rooting a tablet or cellphone (caveat emptor here and know enough to return to default Android) to permit removal of bloatware that often just takes up space and CPU cycles.

In any case, the power and functionality of these truly inexpensive computers continues to amaze.


73,

Bill
WA3GJD
 

William "Bill" Kisse

301-908-8279
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist  


 




>________________________________
> From: Alex Fraser <beatnic at comcast.net>
>To: tacos at amrad.org 
>Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 10:47 PM
>Subject: Re: Chinese tablet
> 
>
>
>With further Googling I figured out that this Chinese tablet is provided with built in drivers for USB  cell and Ethernet dongles.  I'm searching and bidding on a 3g dongle on eBay already.  I guess an ethernet dongle might com in handy in a wiring closet if you had a nice app for it.   I still don't l know why the camera don't work  
>
>As I researched the above I came across a site pointing out that some phones have external wcdma antenna hookups.  I goggled for my Samsung Galaxy s3 and sure enough they are hidden under little plastic covers in the back next to the battery .  One is marked "W1" and the other "W2".  Some of the antenna pigtails I saw for sale on the web connected to both and then combined them to one RF connector (for the antenna) .  I'll have to research this more and see if they are T and R or it's some sort of dual antenna like on a WiFi router.  They not only sell tri band vertical gain antennas, but one store had a cell phone log periodic antenna.  There is also for sale a mobile mounting bracket with power in and a built in RF   pigtail.  I will have a nice rig like that for my next mobile Field Day set up.  Knowing there are antenna hookups on my phone makes it seem more like a radio, it's very comforting...
>
>On 3/12/2014 2:27 PM, Alex Fraser wrote:  
>I bought a used 7" Chinese tablet.  It works somewhat.  I get an error when I try to use the camera.  It has configuration options like it is a cell phone, but I don't think it has that capability.  I did a little poking around on the web and found some sites supplying the OS for Chinese tablets.  There are lots and lots of version available.  I think the tablet I have was flashed with the wrong system.  There are people complaining on some of the US sites about the bewildering array of  Android devices and the large number of different images for them.
>
>Some folks here have bought Chinese Tablets at Microcenter and I
      wonder if you have played with the OS at all?  How do you enter
      bootloader mode on these gizmos?
>
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