Zenithink Google Android C71A & C71L Custom ROMs Jelly Bean 4.2.2 CM10.1 CyanogenMod AOKP Paranoid Android PA3+

Christian Troy, aka the Italian stallion and I just pulled a 60 hour (just one nap) shift sorting out the bloody, gory details to snap together CM10.1 ROMS for both the Zenithink C71A & C71L.  Let me tell you that nobody in the world can even sniff their own custom repack for this tablet as of now.  And the way the new Bootloaders work I doubt they will ever.  Most people who got some of the test run Zenithink Google Android C71A and C71L tablets don’t even have the stock firmware.

Anyone who buys from F&L Superstore is of course going to get the 1yr service and support that our tablets/ROMs come with.  But we are considering to charge a monthly fee for private forum access for people who do not buy direct from F&L Superstore. Nothing expensive, maybe like $2.50-$5 a mo., but it’s a thought we were kicking around to thwart idiots like Buyizonelectronics from plagiarizing our ads, software, and ideas word for word and reaping the benefits without doing any of the work. And there’s more people than him in the world that does it, but he is the first person that came to mind.

It’s not set in stone but like I said there is a thought process of trying to promote our brand, which is our customer service and custom firmware, and protect it somehow so we can at least reap some small rewards for our hard work.  There’s no such thing as a free lunch and right now people are eating off of our plate.

Anyways.  Feel free to discuss it below.  I’m extremely candid and I appreciate it when people can be so back with me.

Update:  Although we have CM10.1 working on both tablets, on the C71A (GPS) the GPS doesn’t work.  Our fix for this is installing CM10 (4.1.2).  If you don’t have the need for the GPS just roll with CM10.1 because it has all the bells & whistles.  Send a message before ordering (Once we get them back in stock we sold out)

How to update Ainol Spark Quad-Core Boxchip Allwinner A31 Power VR Wi-Fi Fix – Custom ROM – Stock ROM install

If you read too much of the Internets and don’t take your time you would probably believe that the Google Android Jelly Bean Ainol Spark has a “hardware” Wi-Fi issue. This is far from the truth.

So far with this new firmware there aren’t any issues with the Wi-Fi. Now I haven’t sold a ton of these things. Maybe a couple hundred, but this solves any Wi-Fi problems so far and I’ve had no complaints or returns on these tablets yet. So the Spark is turning out to be a well built machine.

Now here’s how to update it. Which can be a tedious task so I felt compelled to explain it in a video.

Link to the product to purchase: http://www.flsuperstore.com/tablets/ainol-novo-9-spark-16gb-android-4-1-jelly-bean-tablet-retina-quad-core-2gb-ram.html

The video also explains how to install a custom ROM for the Ainol Spark Google Android Jelly Bean Tablet.

Zenithink C71A C71L GPS In Stock Now

We got our hands on an initial trial batch of the new Zenithink C71A and the C71L.  Both tablets have 8GB storage and 1GB Ram.  The only difference between the two is the A version has GPS internally.  Right now we will have the tablets for $106.99 and $96.99 respectively with the C71A GPS being the slightly more expensive version.

I think we will carry both Google Android Jelly Bean 4.1 tablet versions for now until the GPS version drops under $100 retail price.  Which might be in about 20 days when we can get more since they are not in mass production.  This will be the type of budget tablet that can change the face of tablets in the US.  Last year tablets under $100 always come with some kind of quirks.  Mostly because they use the Boxchip Allwinner A13 or A10 chips which in all reality just suck.  They were never completely un-buggy and the software was never finished.  The only company that got the A10 right was Ainol and that’s what turned me on to them initially to become a reseller.  Eken had a decent A10 run with their A90s & T01 (T70, A70) but their T10s were very buggy in the beginning.

This will not happen with the C71A C71L because the AML8726-MX is solid.  And because it uses the Amlogic AML8726-MX, Christian will be able to compile Cyanogenmod, AOKP, & PA for the two tablets increasing your options for Android.  So as soon as we get access to the source codes or stock kernels we will roll out Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 for these Google tablets.

(Turns out the C71L’s they sent me only have 4GB storage and 512MB ram.  You cannot tell the difference in RAM these tablets are fast.  Our major purchases of the mass productions of these tablets will be 8GB/1GB for future reference.)
Links:
http://www.flsuperstore.com/tablets/7-zenithink-c71a-gps-google-android-4-1-jelly-bean-tablet-bluetooth-cortex-a9.html
http://www.flsuperstore.com/tablets/7-zenithink-c71l-google-android-4-1-jelly-bean-tablet-cortex-a9.html

Budget Google Android Jelly Bean tablets from Best Buy, K-mart, Wal-Mart, Big Lots, Wallgreens, CVS, etc.

About once a day I get an e-mail from a customer who tries to compare the costs of our tablets to something at one of the stores mentioned in the title.  Or if they have a problem with something as simple as a much needed update or something more mechanical like the charger, they take it to Wal-Mart or K-Mart to the electronics shop and have someone who is completely unqualified try and diagnose their tablet instead of just asking me or checking the forums where we offer support.  When they compare the tablet cost to that of those sold in said stores I always say “There’s no comparison” to.  And here’s why.

Budget tablets from Best Buy, Kmart, Wal-Mart, Big Lots and stores of the such are just not worth it.  Trust me when I tell you this.  If you buy a Google Android Tablet from one of these stores you are almost guaranteed that the market won’t work right and the tablet will not play or see 1/2 the games and apps on the market.  These companies have no clue what they are doing when it comes to electronics.  Especially Android tablets.  You only have yourself to blame when there is nobody to turn to when you need to ask them questions about your tablet.  So consider this when you are buying your Android tablets.  These companies are the guys who are buying the “cheap” China crap from unnamed manufacturers with no history(Trust me when I say this because at the CES there are 10 new tablet manufacturers every year looking for suckers to buy their products).  Companies with no reputation who are out there just to sell 1000 tablets to unsuspecting vendors(Insert American powerhouse here) and leave them in the dark when it’s time for the tablet to get an update.  Something that will never happen when you buy from us.  We roll out updates almost every other week. And when we can’t because the mfg hasn’t supplied us with source codes and various things we need to do it ourselves, we push the manufacturers to do it.  Every day.  We are relentless, just ask Amlogic(To their defense Amlogic was never at fault.  The manufacturers of their products were not applying their upstream sources and source codes.  Which after we found out we felt bad blaming them).

I always say “think about that” when I’m trying to prove a point, but this should be a no brainer.  K-Mart isn’t going out of business for a reason.  They are going out of business because the company sucks.  They are the king of selling cheap crap next to that other big store that is tearing up the nation.  If you turn to the electronics guy at the counter making $7.25 an hour and ask him if the tablet they are selling has the correct .xml and .jar files in the system directory so the market sees every app available.  He is going to look at you like you need to relay that question to a rocket scientist at Nasa.  If you asked me that question, I would probably tell you in depth the technical things we do to make sure that the tablet works out of the box the way you want it.

So when you buy a Google Android Tablet.  Buy it from someone who knows what they are selling.  Always consider first buying from small business because that was what this great country was founded on.  Small businesses can offer you better service and support because they specialize in the products they sell.

I think with the ease of internet commerce we can bring about a small business revolution again.  This country needs it.

AML8726-M8

Well it’s official.  It’s a little later than I expected (Or later than I was told).  But Amlogic will be releasing their new chip here in about two months.  I was told it would have a better Mali GPU but I wasn’t told which one, and it looks like it will have an 8GPU Mali-450.  There were some things they did not tell me.  And I don’t blame them for it since they want to try and keep some things a secret to create a buzz when they are ready.  Another one of those secrets being the 28nm process which should allow the chip to run at higher clock speeds.  Looks like this chip should blow away Rockchip. 

My big news a few weeks ago was I finally got in touch with Pipo to buy some M9s.  That project is now getting thrown out the window.  Amlogic works with us when it comes to debugging apps that we need to work on the US market and we won’t take the chance that Rockchip will never answer my e-mails if we have a problem with their chip/software. And I know Zenithink & Ainol will make tablets with their chips because we have sold a lot of those two company’s tablets when they have featured Amlogic SOCs.

I know I’m a few weeks behind here on the news.  But as the summer approaches and we have more time on our hands because retail sales are slow, we have been focusing on creating more direct wholesale sales.  That in turn has taken my focus off the Slatedroid forums and web browsing technology news.

Look to our company first for Amlogic’s new devices.  I was told that I could get a test tablet with their new chip as soon as it came out.  I’ll try and not be lazy and get a video up before everyone else.

I’m looking for someone who does sales in the Tampa Bay area.  If you love tablets and/or technology this would be a great opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor.  We’ve already done business with government & education over the past 6 months and we want to expand those horizons and take this company to a new level.  E-mail me if you are interested.  I’d rather have a nerd like me who loves this stuff than to have to hire someone who will probably owns an iDevice and don’t know the difference between unlocked or jailbroken phone.

Last batch of Hero Dual Core and Flame coming in stock

We will get one last batch of Ainol Hero Dual-Core and Ainol Flame in stock in about a week or so.  The Flame completely destroys the competition (Kindle Fire) so if you are looking for a cheaper alternative with the real Android market (Not some dumbed down version Amazon gives you) this is your best option.  We could have sold a lot of these tablets around Christmas if Ainol could have supplied them but we didn’t.  We ended up having to cancel over 200 pre-orders because Ainol couldn’t find the LCDs to make the tablet.  Any-who.  If you don’t know about the tablet is has the same processor used in all of the CyanogenMod ROMS we support (AML8726-MX), built in Bluetooth and super high-res LCD (1280×800).

We are also getting in more black sparks which seem to outsell the White ones 10 to 1. So…it’s safe to say we will not be carrying White Sparks anymore unless it’s the only color available.  I think that Android users like to differ themselves from the sheep that buy iPad products which pretty much are synonymous with White tablets even if they do make them in Black (Now).

Almost Top Seller….Again

So even through all my rants and raves yesterday about what seems to be one customer out of every 100 people that just likes to give us a hard time for no real reason, we are almost top seller again.

If anyone knows anything about selling on E-Bay. It is very hard to get top seller. Either you need to sell al lot of simple items that nobody can complain about e.g. pencils, soap, tape, paper, pens. Or you have to kiss butt and give great service to your customers.

We’ve been doing a lot of butt kissing and great service giving. But that’s what we do. If you have ever been to the Slatedroid forums you know that we have a large presence there helping people figure out their tablets and also giving them software options. And when it comes to that 1 out of every 100 persons we just try to kill them with kindness. It doesn’t always work though because if it did we would have been top seller for the last two years.

Whether you purchase your tablet from E-Bay, or our online store, you will always get the same service and the same quick response time to answer your questions.

Always remember that it is cheaper to buy from our store using the “SLATE” discount code at checkout for a flat 5%. So if you are looking for a “Price Match” with any of my competitors I invite you to do this. Go to the site you are thinking of buying from and put the contents in a cart. Add shipping that takes 5 days and get the total(Even compare it to their free options which takes 3 weeks). Then go to my site and add to cart the free shipping (Usually takes 3 days but on average 4) and compare the two prices.  I bet you will see in the end our company is not only on par in price but you get the benefit of buying within the country if something goes wrong.

Unmerited Negatives on E-bay False Untrue

As you can see in this first pic the customer was asking about charging.  It’s a pretty simple question and explanation from me.  Anyone who knows anything about USB power knows that a regular USB port charges at .5 amps. This could take literally days to charge up a tablet depending on if the LCD is on or any programs are running.  This is actually a common issue, but something I have to answer and not Liz.  Please note that the reply is on the 26th of April.  The very first e-mail that was sent to me and also the day before the weekend.  At least in America.

This next picture is Liz telling the customer that I will get back with him/her.  I have no clue what they are talking about with the screen.  The C93 has a TN screen and you have to look at it dead on to see it good.  Anyone who knows anything about tablets/phone screens know that IPS & Super Amoled are the best screens.  We carry not only IPS but Retina IPS screens for people who want full viewing angles.  Brightness can be adjusted of course but I figure people are smart enough to figure it out since there is a button in the drop down menu on the home screen.

As you can see here I’m trying to offer up more diagnosis and I also say and I quote “….send it back and I’ll take a look at it”.  Something you would never get from China.  They will delay you for weeks.  Even months to not return an item and or extend it out so far that your credit company/Paypal will deny a claim.  Something we have never done ever.  I still fix T01’s, C91’s, A90’s and all the popular tablets from last year to this day.  We are the most reputable China tablet dealer in the world.  And I would like someone to prove otherwise.  You can’t though so don’t waste your time.

Here is the kicker and the final straw in patience for negatives on E-Bay that I can’t defend properly.  As you can see this person sent the message at 5:40 PDT, which is 8:40EST (Where I live), after I have already replied to him at least 4 times they claim it has been almost a week and they’re signing on to give me a bad report.  What constitutes almost a week?  4 days?  Of which 2 were a weekend?  Please can someone comment on this? During the week we answer questions almost on a 24 hour basis. Are we allowed to get some rest and relaxation?

Liz had replied to this knowing we already had the negative posted on E-bay and asked the person what they wanted to do.  Please can anyone tell me what Liz said wrong here?  Because I can’t find anything other than her trying to help this person and figure out what they want to do with their tablet.  How has anyone been rude to this person?  I am now by putting them on front street, but aren’t I allowed to defend my honor?  My company?

Please note that all the sudden this person is also a CyanogenMod expert and he is telling me that we put a cellphone ROM on a tablet.  This is what ticks me off till no end.  Ignorance.  I’ll rest my case because the evidence is extremely clear.

Hopefully someone reading this can see that a lot of these negatives just aren’t true, or the people wouldn’t let us help them understand their product better.  If we sell something, we know it inside and out.  It is what we based our business on is knowing our products.  Something nobody does anymore.  Which is why you see these big companies constantly going out of business.  So consider that before you hit the buy button.