Have not have a chanc to test the unit myself yet.

If have to go to Lowyat..too far for me. I'm in Damansara..

I think Sunway Pyramid have an outlet of CSL.


Anybody knows whether the MI700 is available in Pyramid ??


Then I can try to go there and check out the unit myself..

"from the outer look, the unit looked a bit thick".....guess have to try out myself first...

cheers !
vince

I have tested it and confirmed can't play facebook games or support any flash webbrowsing as it does not support Flash 10.1.

Furthermore the Flash can't be installed due to chipset limitation.

too bad no used for it cant support flash 10.1 i need to cancel my order wait for samsung will come out on next month

Wow...then its a BIG letdown..


Any other limitation you found after tinkering with the unit ?


Tks for the info..

Vince

---

Added on September 30, 2010, 7:08 pmSGT is a good unit...only price is not too good...i think will be over 2k.

Not sure you have to subscribe to any data plan or not or have to buy from Maxis or Digi with "package"..as the unit comes with 3G.



This post has been edited by vckc4ever: Sep 30 2010, 07:08 PM

pdate 2: Just saw FreshGear’s write up on the Mi700. Nothing extensive, but they gave better photos of the device. Go check it out here at: http://freshgear.wordpress.com/2010/09/23/...powered-tablet/. Again, I am a bit skeptical with what they write since they are a gadget shop dealer. So, go there for the pics only (I am so bad )

Update: Steve Paine (Chippy of UMPC Portal and Carrypad) explained via e-mail that “I recognise it as the Camangi FM600 / Viewpad 7 and I think there’s an Indian version too.” No wonder it looked familiar. CSL rebranded the same device made else where. Anyway, the specs for the Camangi and Viewpad can be retrieved here: http://www.umpcportal.com/products/Camangi/FM600/ and http://www.umpcportal.com/products/Viewsonic/Viewpad%207/.

Check the actual product page from here.

CSL is a local Malaysian company who has in recent days garnered some headlines when it supported Fusion Garage’s controversy-laden JooJoo tablet early this year and later with its entry into cheap Android devices. Early this month, it announced its entry into the Android tablet, with its own version, called DroidPad. No, it has nothing to do with Motorola (and it shows). I took the opportunity this evening to visit one of the sales outlet which had a fully functioning demo unit of the product that is being sold for RM1,599 (no discount, at least from their retail outlet). That would be approximately USD500.

Just for your information, this is not a detailed review, since I only managed to spend 30 minutes in the outlet before feeling a bit uneasy, not giving the sales person a definite yes or no, in purchasing it. Nevertheless, thanks go to the outlet for giving me free rein on the DroidPad, to test everything that came to mind (I missed a few critical ones, as I will point out below).

Hardware:

This is a compact tablet at 7 inch (same as the Samsung Tab). It can definitely be held with one hand, although do not expect that hand to hold it for too long since it weighs half a kg. The size of the device makes it seem less bulky than it really is. The build itself feels solid, since it is lined with metal (aluminium? or a knock off material? I couldn’t tell). It feels sturdy enough that I am confident it won’t break after a fall. However, this is not a beauty to behold. It really does look ‘fat’, at half an inch (see picture compared to a 20cent coin). The unit was still wrapped in a thin plastic wrap (cheap way to prevent scratches I guess). I did not take note of the speakers, although I believe they are located at the sides.

Display:

The resolution is only at 800 by 480 (WVGA). The colours seem washed and not as vibrant as it should have been. This is one of the downsides of the DroidPad since they needed to cut cost from somewhere. However, the viewing angles were not that bad. You could still make out the images even at 30-45 degrees. Nevertheless, the display is of the capacitive variant (yay!) and I have to admit that it feels quite sensitive to the touch. Typing was a breeze and with ample room, I was typing away fairly quickly.

Interface and Feel:

The DroidPad uses stock Froyo, Android 2.2. The good news is: you can customize your own homescreen to your hearts content! The bad news is: CSL has put their horrible looking widgets at the side of the screen [update: this seems to be the same horrible widgets on Viewpad 7 and Camangi FM600]. The unit I was using had both the stock Launcher and Launcher Pro on it. I also found that the accelerometer did not kick into action when I rotated the screen to potrait (it seemed stuck on landscape) even though I toggled to auto-rotate in the settings. I find this is just poor implementation on CSL’s part; just slap some of their own icons to make it ‘theirs’. I am confident most users would just ditch the whole custom interface provided and run their own (ADWLauncher or Launcher Pro).

The transitions were smooth and there were no lag (not surprising since the DroidPad uses Qualcomm’s improved MSM7227 600Mhz CPU to power the device). Things just zip open. The only problem that I could detect was in some crazy input detections while using Google Maps (the pinch-to-zoom was doing the opposite of what we wanted). The screen also froze once (before it had to be ‘forced close’). I’ve seen this sort of behaviour only in the ROM flashing scene, when using an un-optimised ROM that has been freshly released. I suspect this is the problem for the DroidPad… poor development quality control. The importance is that this is merely software-related and not hardware; it can be fixed!

Applications:

According to the sales person, there is no Flash available for the unit. I tried downloading from the Market (yes, they have the Market available) but it did not show on it. Which brings me to the Market; it is available from the apps menu (but sorry, no paid apps).

I installed Linpack Benchmark to test out its score, and found that it performed relatively well for its CPU, at 7.258Mflops.

Games worked well too.

I tested out Aldiko on the device, and found it very usable as an e-reader (see the picture). Would I use this to read Kindle? Why not? The screen is as big as a paperback anyway, and from my normal reading angle and distance, the words and text seem clear enough to me. I also tested the GPS and found it very speedy (again using the wifi connection only); managed to get a lock on my location in Google Maps in a few seconds.

What about browsing? It is acceptable. It won’t beat the iPhone 4 and the latest Android devices (of course), but it is not slow either. The best thing is the screen size allows a full site to be viewed without zooming into its part (see Engadget’s homepage that fit nicely in landscape mode). Even at that size, the text on the website can be easily read off the screen (see screen for yourself). The sales person told me that the DroidPad comes bundled with MapKing and a free one year license (good for Malaysians!). I think this device can easily replace any Garmin standalone devices for the car.

Camera:

It is a paltry 3.0MP camera in the back and a VGA (I believe) in the front (top right hand, see picture above for the smaller front facing camera). It takes adequate pictures (which reminded me of the camera on my old HTC Dream). Don’t expect much from it. For simple photo taking, it is quite fast. Video was basic and low quality. Unfortunately, I should have downloaded Fring/Skype or Qik to test out the front facing camera also. But I forgot all about that.

Review Regrets:

Besides not testing the front facing camera, I did not test the phone functionalities also. What I was told is that calls can be made via a handset that will be supplied along with the tablet. You can also pair it up with a Bluetooth headset if you want. Oh, please do not trust what the website says about their battery usage… CSL products are known for their poor battery quality. [Update: 3240mah battery made from an unidentified ODM, Original Design Manufacturer, is really hard to validate, without formal testing] Really sad but true. I think it should last at least 6 hours of heavy usage. It should, but again this is mere speculation until I get my hands on an actual unit (if ever).

Conclusion:

Is the DroidPad worth the money, given that the screen is only adequate and has low resolution? Does the USD500 justify the 2 cameras, the GPS and phone functionalities? I think on the matter of hardware, it seems a good price to pay for those abilities that were non-existent on the iPad. But if you are looking for high-quality builds that you can show off to your friends, well, let me suggest that you just walk away from this one. DroidPad at the end of the day, may not be an iPad alternative, but it sure is a Tab alternative.

I suspect that the DroidPad would be popular among the developers and Android hardcore developers and users who would like to rebuild the ROM and fix all the software flaws that was inherent in CSL’s work. I am sure that there is just so many things that you can do on this device that were not possible in smaller phone screen sizes. On that hope, I think the Android fanboy would be more than willing to spend that money on something that is a much cheaper version of the Samsung Tab.

Or you can just wait a month or two for the price to go down another RM100-RM200 before buying it. At RM1,300, this device is a MUST buy, given that it really delivers the basic Android experience that we have come to love.

The device is already available locally in Malaysian stores. No word about international sales though.

FB games cannot be played as CSL cannot support flash at the moment. Flash on android is still in beta phase, hopefully they will sort out the technical details.
I dont know about RS, but I have dl from MU and FS using this device.

Bravo ! mydear.

Good job on giving us the info and the no-hold-bar info and test results.

Actually it's true when it comes to CSL. At first I tot it is the 1st made in Msia type of Tablet ( besides EFren )...but it turned out to be an OEM sort of agreement with the actual manufacturer and CSL just rebrand and sell these unit...

CSL also have to pay the royalty etc..etc for these units I think..


Alternative 2.2 Froyo is coming soon.. I will keep you all updated in this thread. It is not available yet, only in October.

Once it is avail, I will put up a small detail here and I will open a new thread for this Tablet.

Cheers !!
Vince

Just came back from Low Yat, There will be a roadshow on the Droidpad, ground floor main lobby starting on the 4th Oct for a week. Don't know this info from the sales rep in one of their outlet, is reliable or not.

thank you your information

no flash. hurm. but looking forward to the roadshow.

today marks a week for me using this device as my primary handphone. i can safely say, my fears about the battery life is somewhat innacurate. i've been able to go thru an entire day without recharging.

need for speed runs great on the device for those skeptical about it's gpu. i wish i know how to youtube it.

my take;
1) its going to take some strong personal preference to carry this thing around, but the convenience of a larger screen to check emails and calendar is awesome.

2) it also doubles as in car gps, entertainment for the kids (rockplayer pretty much takes any format video) and gaming device. angry birds beta is the current fav, but need for speed shift is the best gaming app showcase.

3) android market is available but limited to free apps (like every other android device in M'sia), that's the main reason this device needs to get rooted a.s.a.p. there are alternatives like SlideMe tho)

4) call quality via bluetooth is great, but the built-in speakers are not so good.

No Flash support is a big letdown BUT I'm sure someone out there can find other alternative exploit hack to get around it since the device already running on Froyo 2.2

The problem is this device is not owned or sold on a wide scale basis and thus will have limited developer user working on those hacks

yes right no way can get hack software from other source no rooted tablet is useless can't be install like font and others flash support.

Anyone can root tablet please inform us we will do it >>>

This post has been edited by mydear: Oct 2 2010, 04:35 PM

They should release the SDK as well..

omg i missed the roadshow ytd even thou i passed by the boots lol

the form factor is kinda similar to galaxy tab
infact today modern devices all taking the similar approach including iphone4:
more rectangle shape, more symmetric all way, less curve, less oval shape, solid steel (or look alike) border frame

but RM1600 is not cheap and 600MHz Processor is a big let down

This post has been edited by aerobowl: Oct 4 2010, 08:49 AM

I have a short 10 mins test of it at LowYat on Friday . The price of RM 1599 includes several freebies especially attractive is the casing. I like the casing for its protection and versatility

Scrolling and response is good even though is on 600 MHz. When testing I compare it with my iPAD and I'd say its performance is good. Did not test the phone functions

Only thing I do not like is its construction and appearance - is cheap looking and crude. Remind me of stuffs made 10 years ago. It is also quite thick

A better price range will be around RM1.2k.

This post has been edited by benny888: Oct 4 2010, 08:59 AM

Thanks for update.

On the weight, since it looked like a brick..is it very noticeable and felt when you lift up the unit. ?

The unit you tested is without any screen protector on it. I wonder once you put a layer of the protector film, will the capacitive screen still work as good as without the film ? Have you tried that ?

Cheers !
Vince

Just got it last Saturday and so far I have really impressed with it.
I would say it's still a good buy for an Android 2.2 device and really user friendly.

Run Need For Speed Shift on from SD card and smooth, no lagging at all.
In fact, the speed is very well acceptable for such 600mhz device, smooth scrolling, apps opens up quickly and web browsing is great.

More exciting things will happens once US & Europe user got hands on this Foxconn OEM tablet and beginning rooting and developing it.

Pros
===
Good battery life
Acceptable CPU speed
7" display just nice and the size can be hold in your palm.
Very stable...I already installed and uninstall lots of apps
Not enough internal storage space for apps but with Froyo, now we move some of the apps to SD.
And biggest Pros of all...It can make calls !!

Cons
===
No Flash !! (High chances it could be hacked and run flash although the Qualcomm chipset might have limitation to run Flash SMOOTHLY..lets wait & see)
Screen color wash out (maybe designed to conserve battery)
Auto rotation screen not so responsive (Can be solved by setting to landscape mode)
Design may not be slim or sleek..but the build quality is really good & solid !!


For 1.5k, it's a good buy although the sweet spot pricing maybe should be around 1.2 - 1.3k. But with a good Bluetooth headset, good protective casing and 2 matte screen protecter throw in by CSL, we can call it equal.

Last but not least, we definitely can't compare Droidpad Spice it to Galaxy Tab which will cost not less than 2.5k once launched over here.

Thumbs up for CSL Malaysia for bringing in this device for us

This post has been edited by raoul: Oct 4 2010, 11:04 AM

It is light and very portable. Compared to my iPAD it is " feather" light !!
Don't think screen protector will affect as I had been using such protectors on capacitative screen gadgets - my ipad, HD2, Nexus and recent Dell Streak etc

Thanks for your feedback.



Cheers !
Vince