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Eken's 7'' Android Tablet Starts @ $100

by - source: Tom's Hardware US

This 7-inch tablet looks like an oversized Android smartphone.

Shanzai.com has managed to get its hands on a Eken M001 tablet, the iPad rival that will supposedly have a starting pricepoint of a meager $100 USD. According to the site, the device sports a WonderMedia PRIZM MW8505 processor clocked at 600 MHz, 2 GB of internal NAND flash storage, 128 MB of DDR2 RAM, an audio port, an SD card reader (of up to 32 GB), and a 7-inch, 800 x 380 TFT screen. The device also operated by Android v1.6.

However the product page reports a little differently, saying that--in addition to the Android OS--users will have the option of choosing basic Win CE 6.0 (for an extra $2.20 USD) or Win CE 6.0 with a browser ($11 USD). Internet and network connectivity is achieved through the device's docking station (Ethernet 10/100 and 802.11b/g). The device also features a built-in 1.3MP camera, and will also support an external hard drive of up to 16 GB in capacity.

Unfortunately, Shanzai wasn't thrilled about the battery. "If they can improve the battery life on the next revision of this, the M001 is going to be a very attractive device at this price point," the site said. There seems to be some hope that Android-based tablets will give the iPad "a real run for its money" in the performance arena by the end of the year.

To see a video demonstration, check out Shanzai's video below.

EKEN M001

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mavanhel 04/27/2010 1:16 AM
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7 inches is an awkward size. It's too big to be a phone, but it's to small to be a valuable tablet...

house70 04/27/2010 1:20 AM
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NO, no, no. Give us android 2.1 or even 2.2 Froyo, then will consider.

simple_inhibition 04/27/2010 1:22 AM
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if they can get a community based app store behind this device, this could definitely give apple something to worry about. i mean you could buy 4 or 5 of these for the price of 1 ipad. i hope that this device works out with a good support infrastructure. competition is always good for the consumer!

qwoz 04/27/2010 1:38 AM
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industrial_zman 04/27/2010 1:54 AM
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-2+

Finally a device that blurs the line between PDA and Tablet... back in 2000 that concept was called "Jupiter Class PDA". I have no real gripes with this machine since it is a first generation. HOWEVER, I did notice that the WiFi is not onboard but on a dock? That's useless. For $100, I may pick one up for fun and play with it for a bit.

Kelavarus 04/27/2010 2:28 AM
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mavanhel :
7 inches is an awkward size. It's too big to be a phone, but it's to small to be a valuable tablet...



This. Also, it doesn't go online without its dock? That's very weird. I imagine people would pay ~20 to 50 USD more to have an onboard wireless solution, though, that would take a hit to the apparently already meager battery life.

nforce4max 04/27/2010 2:32 AM
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o.O

Small screen -
Short battery life -
Doesn't cost a weeks to two weeks pay ++
Slow -

Looks interesting so please make a bigger ons with better specks like 512mb ram, larger screen, and better cpu then the iPad will have a hard time competing.

spoofedpacket 04/27/2010 2:31 AM
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qwoz :
I'll stick to my Ipod touch and laptop, thanks.



You are welcome?

Proxy711 04/27/2010 2:35 AM
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IDK where this no internet without a dock keeps coming from. in the video he says he doesn't have a docking unit yet he is browsing the net and says "...mixture of the unit and slow wireless in the room". Sounds like he has wifi without a dock to me.

nukemaster 04/27/2010 2:41 AM
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It looks kind of cool.

ricin 04/27/2010 4:15 AM
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Android 1.6? Get real, folks. That's like deploying a new PC with Windows XP on it.

crinky 04/27/2010 6:13 AM
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i think it looks better then an ipad personally and i like to play around on android. Plus it makes a a cool clock :D !!!

jecastej 04/27/2010 7:29 AM
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Welcome to the NetPad category and not even there yet!!! Ok it does a lot for a $100, impressive.

But, make it more powerful, with more memory, faster, with better battery, better builded, with an app store full of clever applications, the most recent OS and so on... The idea to compete with the iPad is not to create a super cheap tablet but to create a true contender feature by feature at a lower price. A $100 is to much "if" you are wasting your money. This is a toy to play with for a few hours or a very entry level tablet. That is also positive because not everyone needs the same device or is willing to pay more, etc. But you need to consider if this is going to be a smart investment because with a $100 you could buy maybe a better phone.

archange 04/27/2010 8:13 AM
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They may be on to something with this. I like it. Plus, the price is right.
Sure, add higher resolution, more RAM (DDR3 takes up less voltage, btw), faster processing, newer OS, GPS and better battery, then you may end up at $ 500+ :(

Personally, I think that you can't really surf the net with less than 1024 horizontal resolution anymore. But hey, you have to draw the line at some point, I guess.

beayn 04/27/2010 9:06 AM
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I would pay $100 for this. It's a reasonable price while $500 for an ipad is ridiculous.

Anonymous 04/27/2010 10:18 AM
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this website is asking for $149, what do you guys think?
http://www.shenit.com/moonse-e-700 [...] tbook.html

gwolfman 04/27/2010 4:42 PM
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house70 :
NO, no, no. Give us android 2.1 or even 2.2 Froyo, then will consider.



Well put. :) I like the price though!

crinky 04/28/2010 5:58 AM
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Quote :
I think that you can't really surf the net with less than 1024 horizontal resolution anymore. But hey, you have to draw the line at some point, I guess
Quote :
My PS3 sucks for going on the internet, it's like half normal pages half mobile pages and can't load half of the stuff.

Anonymous 05/05/2010 10:12 AM
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where can I buy this stuff?

Anonymous 05/07/2010 3:55 PM
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I don't understund you guys... it's ONLY 130 bucks on ebay. yes,the battery life is funny,yes,it's not that fast ,yes,it has Android 1.6. When i'll get one (aleady paid for) ,i'll dissaseble it, because the voltage of the unit shows that it definitely will be possible to use more capable battery.Speed of working?-who cares? i just need to a)read books and pdf's, b)sometime check an email and c)some casual card-based games. And the last-android 1.6. Someone told earkier than that it is like pc with windowsxp. it looks like this guy doesn't understand anything in computer sience at all. Can you please find a DISADVANTAGES of using 1.6 on this particullar device? свистоперделки?
And again-in fact , it's goddamned cheap, so if I'll broke it in some way after two weeks of using it-i'll just throw it to garbage.You want an ipad for 100-200 usd? -it is not possible.

Anonymous 05/12/2010 2:44 AM
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Terrible, terrible product. I thought I was getting a deal for $215 including shipping to the USA. Instead, I got a crippled Android 1.6 OS device that had no access to the Android Apps Market, the battery life is less than a single hour, the charger adapters isn't the standard micro USB, the screen is non-responsive, it comes with almost no apps, the document is completely lacking, ... and did I mention it only lasts for less than a single hour?!? To make matters worse, the distributor wanted to charge me a 30% restocking fee after I had to pay for shipping to return it to him! Avoid the this M001/Eken/Shanzhai tablet! IT IS A TOTAL DISASTER!!!

Anonymous 06/08/2010 9:09 AM
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Keep in mind, this is a CHINESE knock off... The real deal is still in the works and MAY be out later this year.. And it looks like it will be the Google Chrome OS as apposed to Android.. This product is a glorified ebook reader..

BTW, if you really want the android apps, there are other sites you can download them from, not just the Android Market...

For what it is.. $100 is not bad.. It has many more features than other ebook devises that are 3 times the price...

Anonymous 06/24/2010 6:24 PM
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Anyone know what type of files the ireader reads? My son bought this for reading books and I can't get anything to show on the ireader.

Anonymous 06/25/2010 8:21 PM
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I ordered one from Hong Kong via eBay for $105.57 (Canadian Dollars), shipping included.

PROS:

- The price, clearly.

- I REALLY like the size. It's big enough that I can do work on it without squinting, but it's small enough to fit in a interior suit pocket. That's very convenient. I think Apple should learn a lesson from this device where size is concerned.

- The proprietary port on the bottom is simply an iPod connection, so you CAN connect it directly to your computer if you have an iPod sync cable.

CONS:

- The AC adapter that came with it was incredibly cheap, and it burned out after less than a minute of use. I had to get a replacement from Radio Shack for about $30 (Canadian).

- The battery only lasts about 2 hours, if that.

- The accelerometer doesn't work on mine, so I have to click an icon to rotate the screen.

- There is no access to the Android Market, so any apps I want have to be available online as apk files. There was an "App Store", but it was in Chinese. I did install the SlideME app, but the selection is pretty limited. Looks like the best place to find apps is through BitTorrent.

- The processor is quite underpowered, and feels very slow. Apps crash from time to time.

- I get horrible, horrible framerates when playing video.

- It came with a Skype client installed, but the device is WiFi only and the Skype client requires phone network connectivity.

- No camera.

- No GPS.

- WiFi only.

- The buttons on the bottom sometimes don't work unless you press really hard. I will not be surprised if they stop working entirely.

BOTTOM LINE:

- This is clearly a 1.0 sort of product. I will continue to use mine, because it actually is pretty useful if you can put up with the inconvenient flaws. I removed the pre-installed ereader and replaced it with Aldiko, which works well. The browser, email, and IM client all work fine. I installed an SSH client and a VNC client to control my desktop PCs, and an SFTP client to access files on my network.

So it's not completely useless, but even at $105 (Canadian) I wouldn't really recommend it. I definitely get much more use out of my OLPC XO netbook running Debian than I will likely get from this device.

lashton 08/05/2010 2:23 AM
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people are stupid, there is a firmware updates that doubl;es the battery life, get youtube working and the market works also, this is a great device its perfect in size and speed

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