[clug] DreamBook?

[Angus Gratton]

On Thu, 2010-12-02 at 17:20 +1100, Robert Edwards wrote:
> Anyone on the list seen or have any opinions of the DreamBook Android
> tablet currently being sold in Big-W for $188? 7" touchscreen, 256MB
> RAM, 2GB SSD etc. etc.
> 
> Worth buying?

Not really.

It appears to be the same WonderMedia WM8505 chipset as the Eken M001
$99 tablet and a few of the others, just with more RAM.

If that's the case, I've spent a lot of time messing with these things
(I got Froyo to mostly run on mine last week) and they're not a
particularly good device at $99, let alone $188.

In fact, Ars Technica reviewed a similar (possibly same) model sold in
the US @ $99US as the "worst gadget ever"
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/reviews/2010/11/worst-gadget-ever-ars-reviews-a-99-android-tablet.ars


Funnily enough, many of the problems are software related (missing
kernel support in particular.) I actually wrote an open letter
encouraging Wondermedia to release their docs/code so the current
community efforts can be more successful, and the products can suck
less:
http://projectgus.com/2010/11/open-letter-to-wondermedia-technologies/

I'm told the letter has apparently been forwarded on to them by someone
with contacts at the company, but I'm not exactly holding high hopes.


Someone mentioned the Tegra-based tablets, and I think these will be
really interesting - looking forward to seeing reviews when they come
out. The Viewsonic Viewpad 7 that was announced for Australia yesterday
also sounds good, if only because it has a capacitive touch screen
instead of resistive.

Regards,

Angus

PS If anyone is interested in messing with these things for general
hacking's sake, I was going to bring mine (I have two tablets and a
netbook, related chipsets) to the MHV meeting next Tuesday at Dickson
College, and show what I've been doing to mess around with them. Plug
plug. ;)