Ainol Novo 10 Hero 10″ Google Android Tablet Jelly Bean 4.1 Review Bluetooth WiFi Dual Camera Custom ROM CyanogenMod 10

So we just got our shipment of Heros in from Ainol and I have to say that these things are a tank.  Fairly large for a 10″ tablet(Dimension wise).  There has to be a massive battery in this thing because the weight is fairly substantial at roughly 1.5lbs.  The bigger the battery though, the more battery time, so the tradeoff is worth it I think.  The bigger the battery the longer you will get out of CPU intensive apps like 3D games.  The IPS screen though straight pops.  I hate to get all urban on you.  But there’s no way else of explaining it.  The screen is crisp, clean, has great viewing angles and great color.  I always said that 4:3 was going out of style, but with this tablet I think the trend is being set.

I can tell you that coming from the factory the market is not only missing a ton of popular apps, but apps like Twitter, and Iheartradio show up as not compatible(Very popular in the US which means that there are a lot more apps more than likely have the same problem I haven’t discovered yet).  You ask how we combat this?  Christian Troy already had CyanogenMod built for the tablet before we even got it.

CT has made this possible almost before the Hero hit retail sales across the world to be honest since he has been modding Amlogic tablets for about 4 months now.  If you like his mods and want him to continue to keep them updated for the Hero.  Please donate to him!!  Even $3-5 is reasonable and if enough people donate it will go a long way to make sure he keeps pounding out updates even when the tablet is obsolete(3-4 months these days). I have donated the initial money and hardware to start the mods and it’s up to the community to keep it going past its lifespan.

Here are some important links:

Product: http://www.flsuperstore.com/tablets/capacitive-touch/10/hero-10.html

ROM/Gapps/OP(Original Post) Link: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/37990-rom-cyanogenmod-10-for-elf-ii-aurora-ii-crystal-flame-fire-w22pro-2012-11-17/
Hero Comp ZIP & CWM Files: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/41437-compatibility-zip-for-cm10-aokp/

CT Donation link(Use IT!!): http://bit.ly/N6kIsD

Zenithink C97 Video Review F&L Superstore

I’ve said this before.  A picture is worth 1000 words.  So a video must be worth a million. Or someting like that.  This is a great tablet.  I use a C97 as my personal tablet these days.

Link to the item: http://www.flsuperstore.com/tablets/capacitive-touch/9-7-capacitive-tablet/dual-core/9-7-zenithink-c97-dual-core-google-android-tablet-ics.html

ACT ATM7029 vs Amlogic AML8726-MX

I get a lot of e-mails asking me if I’m going to be carrying the new Hero II or Flame II or whatever II that Ainol is releasing this week, next week, or next year depending on what website you believe that is pre-selling something that a prototype hasn’t been built for yet.  And my immediate answer is, why the heck am I/you supposed to be thinking about the 2nd version of a tablet when they are still selling mass quantities of the first version?

So since I’m well versed in what is going on in the tablet world I will try and school people quickly on the immediate future.

First off let me say that from this point on I will be an Amlogic shill.  Some of you might think I’m an idiot without even asking why.  So if you do, you have the right to just stop reading.  It’s your choice, unless of course you don’t live in a free society and someone has a gun to your head making you read this.  If that is the fact, well I guess I might as well tell you why.

1. Amlogic has been the most cooperative non-big brand (not Nvidia, Quallcom, Samsung) chip manufacturer to comply with GPL.  They might not release their sources right away when people are complaing/cryin/sobbing for them.  But they do release them.  I’m sure this small delay has to do with them wanting to perfect some of the code before releasing it to the wolves for their modifications and critisizm.  I don’t know.  I’ve never asked.  But maybe one day I will.
2. Amlogic is the only non-big brand chip MFG that has a decent idea on how to manage public relations.  In one of my desk jobs before I started F&L Superstore I was a microchip/semi-conductor buyer, and we were taught to go to the top.  If we had to find a chip and we couldn’t get a salesperson to sell it to us.  Find the CEO’s number and call him/her.  I know this sounds so simple in theory but nobody applies this in real life, I think people are scared to talk to people in power.  Call it starstruck.  Well I never had to go to the top of Amlogic to get someone to talk to me.  I’ve sent messages and e-mails to Boxchip & Rockchip only to get “no joy”(Military term for unsuccessful).  In the short time we have talked to them they have helped us work through bugs that if went unchecked could ruin the tablet experience for the consumer.  What does this mean???? It means they care about their chips working properly for any MFG who makes tablets with their SOCs.  This is a +10 in my book.
3. The delivery system for update is Micro SD.  I can’t tell you how much of a pain in the butt it is to tell people how to install drivers on their computers to update Rockchip and Boxchip tablets. I couldn’t even get the Rockchip drivers to install on 1/2 of my computers in my office.  I think that Micro SD is simple, accessible, and the files could be downloaded from the tablet if need be.  So Amlogic has considered simplicity whereas the competitors have added numerous steps and drivers that sometimes have compatibility problems.  Also some tablet users might not have access to a computer 24/7.  That’s food for thought right there.
4. They continute to use Mali GPUs.  I think that Samsung has oficially staked the claim that the Mali GPU is here to stay.  I’ve had it on my last two Samsung phones and it seems to be a staple in the future of mobile GPUs such as Nvidia, Power VR, Adreno are.

So you are probably saying by now.  What the heck does this have to do with ACT vs Amlogic.  Well I’ll explain with the words of someone who understands 0100011100110 who is a lot smarter than I.

“From those official technical specifications from ARM, below are the summary:

–        A9 versus A7 Frequency is 15% better, (950MHz v.s. 810MHz)
–        A9 versus A7 DMIPS/MHz is almost 30% better (2.5 v.s. 1.85).
–        From calculation, A9 is getting 2375 DMIPS/CPU, A7 is getting 1498.5 DMIPS/CPU. A9 as single core is 58.5% faster than A7.
–        Numbers listed are all based on single core, dual core is not going to get double the performance, probably 1.5. When adding 3^rd and 4^th core, you probably getting most double the performance with quad-core.

The conclusion is quad-core A7 performance is worse than dual core A9 in the same technology. Not only on the higher end of processor, Amlogic solution based tablets have been certified by Google GMS.”

Not only are you armed with the information in the quotes.  But let me throw in something else.  The ACT chip is using an unsupported, slow GPU.

So if you want to buy an ACT chip.  Good luck.  But ask my partner Liz, I love to say I told you so.

Frank

Zenithink C97 & C93 Custom ROM – Christian Troy CyanogenMod AOKP Jelly Bean 4.1

I’ve never personally had a problem with Zenithink stock ROMs.  Even though Liao, their english speaking developer, has left the company the two developers left there seem to have a keen sense of what needs to work in the western market.

Although we feel the firmware is adequate.  We always feel there’s room for improvement. Especially in the gaming area, which CM10 and AOKP open up the market and compatibility for a lot of games.

Christian has these ROMS running at the full 1.5Ghz capability of the chip.  Please understand that not all chips will run this fast and not be glitchy.  There is always a chance that the chip you have just won’t run at 1.5Ghz.  That’s just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.  But for the most part I’ve noticed that 95% of the tablets we have tested can run at full capacity with no issues other than heat. If you get frequent lockups the only option will be to change the following line in your build.prop to ro.sys.max_cpu_on=1320000

This post explains how to govern your CPU to your liking: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/39516-rom-cyanogenmod-10-update-1117/page__view__findpost__p__461635

Modifying the build.prop is one of the easiest ways to tweak your machine.  It is very simple and you can change this file without worrying about “bricking” your device.  In fact it’s nearly impossible to brick a C93 or C97, so flash away.  If you don’t like the custom ROMs you can always go back to stock from Zenithink.com’s website.  There are howtos all over the net on how to change your build.prop.

C97 & C93 CyanogenMod 10 ROM link:  http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/39516-rom-cyanogenmod-10-update-1117/
C97 & C93 AOKP ROM link: http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/39533-rom-aokp-update-1117/

Frank

Custom ROM for Ainol Novo 7 Elf II Aurora II Crystal Flame Fire QM TM Ramos W22Pro – CyanogenMod AOKP Google Android Jelly Bean 4.1

Christian Troy over at Slatedroid has whipped up some popular Android ROMS for Ainol Novo 7 Elf II Aurora II Crystal Flame Fire TM & QM Ramos W22Pro.

Here are the links to the OPs.

CM10 – http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/37990-rom-cyanogenmod-10-for-elf-ii-aurora-ii-crystal-flame-fire-w22pro-2012-11-17/
AOKP – http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/39149-rom-aokp-for-elf-ii-aurora-ii-crystal-flame-fire-w22pro-2012-11-17/
TWRP [RECOVERY] – http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/41030-recovery-twrp-v2323/

We of course pre-load these ROMS on our tablets sold at www.flsuperstore.com

Hello world!

Hello Tablet World!

I’m pretty excited to start this blog.  I always have a lot to say about nothing and maybe the world might find some of the things I talk about interesting.

Just to give you a basic idea of who I am.  My name is Frank.  I’m the president and CEO of F&L Superstore.  Not only do we sell Android tablets and accessories but we are infactuated with the technology.  I feel it is my duty to bridge the gap between the technical side of Android and the common user.

We support modding of all the devices we carry and have formed a great relationship with Christian Troy from the Slatedroid forums.  CT has successfully compiled CM9, CM10 & CM10.1 to many different android devices.  Devices we carry in our store always come with a custom ROM option.  We feel that custom ROMs give the user more choice and options compared to stock official builds.

At this time our company features Zenithink and Ainol products.  But from time to time we will get in orders from Onda, Ramos, and Eken.

Buying a China tablet can be a tough decision.  So we always recommend that people do as much research as possible on the tablets they are considering buying and never be afraid to ask questions.  If the person you are buying a tablet from doesn’t respond within 24hrs on a work day (M-F).  Then they aren’t worth buying from.

Check back often as I always have a lot of opinions.  We will be joining the CES convention again in 2013 and hope that this blog can be an outlet for updates.