Introducing the Onda V96. A 3G tablet for around £60.

Hardware

It's a pretty solid set of specs. The 9.6 inch IPS Screen runs at 1280*800. Colours are clear from all angles, skin tones are well reproduced. The screen is bright - if anything a little too bright on its dimmest setting.

There's 5 point multi-touch - so you can use all your fingers (or your noses if you'd like).

The device is powered by MediaTek's MTK6582 - a Quad Core 1.3GHz chip which can be found in loads of devices. There's only 1GB of RAM, but it seems plenty for most tasks.

Of the 16GB storage, around 12GB is free. There are a couple of demo songs, videos, and pictures which can be safely removed. A MicroSD slot provides for up to 128GB of extra storage. Interestingly, the internal storage is divided in two.

A 2GB partition for apps and a 12GB partition for media. Most apps will happily install the larger partition - and an extra SD card can be inserted if needed.

The tablet has GPS, but no compass - so you can't play AR games like Pokémon Go.

The only other thing missing is 5GHz WiFi. I was able to pull down around 35Mbps using the fast.com speed test - perfectly fine for video and web browsing.

Of particular interest are the dual 3G SIM slots.

Nestled under a slide off panel is space for two full-sized SIMs. Dual SIM devices haven't really taken off in the UK - which is a great shame. It means you can have both a work and personal number on same device. You can keep your home SIM in while using a roaming SIM abroad. Or just get seamless coverage when you move into an area not covered by one of your network providers.

Build Quality

The tablet is a bit of a mixed bag. It certainly feels sturdy enough - and the "gold" finish both looks good and feels pleasant.

The physical buttons are a disappointment. It doesn't feel like there's a spring behind them, so it is rather hard to tell if you've pressed them properly. Because they are located on the right side of the tablet, it's easy to accidentally press them. Easier still if you're holding the device vertically.

Having the micro-USB port on the top is useful - much less likely for the cable to get in the way when it is up there.

The SIM cover is tightly fixed, so shouldn't drop off without a good tug.

Software

The tablet is running Android 4.4.2.

Given that Android 6 has been out since October 2015, that's unfortunate. Onda don't seem to be in the habit of releasing software updates. The only one I can find involves downloading a .RAR from Baidu and flashing the tablet using Windows.

One good thing is that the software seems pretty close to "stock" - there are no annoying skins or significant manufacturer customisations. The launcher is fairly close to standard and, of course, can be replaced.

The stock launcher is included if you'd prefer that.

One thing you'll notice very quickly is that there are Chinese apps installed by default. You get the standard Google Gmail, Play, Maps, etc - but also a lot of Chinese apps.

我的中文不很好 (My Chinese is not very good!) which presented me with a problem - what are all these apps? What do they do?

Playing around in them is very confusing - especially when presented with screens like this.

The notification area quickly fills up with Chinese alerts.

All these apps can be removed - although they'll come back if you do a factory reset. I would strongly recommend that you disable or uninstall them before adding any personal information to the tablet. Take a look at the permissions list for the default apps.

It is well worth switching on "ask for app permissions" as soon as possible. There are several apps which will try to send premium rate text messages when you use them.

You should also switch on Google's "Verify Apps" - which should provide for some basic malware detection.

One nice tweak that I found was the ability to schedule when the device switches on and off. Handy if you want to save battery power over night.

I completely understand the desire of tablet manufacturers to include as many "value added" services as possible. At £60 per unit - including shipping to the UK - there can't be much profit margin. Each app and advert adds up brings in extra revenue.

But abusing users like this never ends well - customers find the adverts annoying at best, or a security risk at worse. Not a great way to build brand loyalty.

That said, a scan with both Lookout and AVG didn't reveal anything dangerous pre-installed on the tablet. I'd still recommend disabling any apps you aren't intending to use.

Performance

I was slightly worried about how well this would cope with intensive apps. Turns out, just fine.

The latest version of Angry Birds Transformers 3D played without any issues.

Gameplay was smooth and the sound was crackle-free.

YouTube happily played 720p video flawlessly. Lipsync was accurate

Things do start to stutter a bit if you're rapidly switching between high-powered apps. Similarly, large web pages can take a few seconds to render.

The popular "Gears" OpenGL Benchmarks manages 48fps. At £60, that's an acceptable performance level - you're not going to be playing GTA V on this thing.

The Geekbench3 test scores show reasonable performance. The battery is good for the price - it managed 8 hours of simulated light use with the screen on dim. That'll decrease if you're using the 3G network, obviously. I got just under an hour of gameplay from Transformers 3D.

Audio

Sound is provided by two speakers on the back - they're not super loud, but they'll do.

A standard 3.5mm jack is just above the power button - although the tablet doesn't come with a headset.

As a bonus, there's an FM radio app which uses your headphones as an antenna.

Cameras

The rear camera is 2MP with a flash, the front facing camera is 0.3MP.

In bright sunshine the camera is - again - adequate but unexciting.

The front camera is decent enough for a bit of video calling, but doesn't excel.

Bonus Linux Compatibility!

For people running Ubuntu, the device identifies on lsusb as

0bb4:0c02 HTC (High Tech Computer Corp.) Dream / ADP1 / G1 / Magic / Tattoo (Debug)

That's a bit cheeky - reusing HTC's USB ID - but it won't cause any serious problems. The device responds to ADB and fastboot. I couldn't find any 3rd party ROMs for the device, which is a shame.

Over USB, the device mounted via MTP and was fully accessible. Developer tools were enabled by default. The rooting tools I could find worked in Windows, but wouldn't run under WINE. I used KingRoot successfully.

Bluetooth file transfer and teathering worked well.

Bugs

• Rebooting the device resets your launcher preferences. It defaults to the Onda launcher rather than whichever one you've set.
• The headphone socket reacts to the "hang up" button, but not volume controls. But, to be fair, it seems every phone handles this differently.
• I occasionally noticed the tablet spontaneously vibrate - without showing an alert.
• Despite setting the language to English, a few obscure settings (like voice control) remain in 中文.
• Factory resetting defaults to 中文 - and doesn't take you through the standard Android "getting started" process.

Overall

This tablet is under £65. And you pretty much get exactly what you pay for. It's a good looking tablet with an adequate screen, adequate sound, and adequate software.

If you want, you can buy the iPad Air 2 for £340 - it's a best in class tablet which costs over five times as much as the Onda V96. Even then, you won't get dual 3G SIM slots or expandable storage.

There are a glut of Android tablets at around the £60 price point. You can pick and choose exactly which features you prioritise - screen size, resolution, SIM cards, software level, etc.

For browsing, music, movies, and a bit of gaming - this is just fine.

Aside from the physical buttons which I found a little unresponsive, the only real let down is the masses of irrelevant software which is shovelled onto the device. Once you've removed all of the random Chinese apps, you're left with a perfectly decent device running a stock, albeit older, Android.

It won't set the world alight - but it won't break the bank either.

You can buy the Onda V96 3G for £60 including shipping from Gearbest.

This was a sponsored post.

Hmmm... Perhaps I don't need a laptop. I could use a tablet and my new Bluetooth keyboard...

Enter BQ's Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition.

It promises the Ubuntu experience in a convenient tablet package.

I wanted to love this tablet. But it is so unbelievably bad that I'm returning it for a refund.

Unboxing

It all starts pretty well.

OK, a few usability issues. These could easily have been caught in new-user testing. But, it appears, no such testing has been undertaken.

This review is based on the latest OTA update (10.1).

Why it is crap

Let's get one thing clear - this is not Ubuntu! It is some form of bastardised, cut down, limited access version called "Ubuntu Touch."

I completely understand why a tablet needs a different, finger-optimised UI. But that's not what Canonical have done here. Ubuntu Touch doesn't run Ubuntu programs!

Like an iPhone, you can only install blessed apps from the app store. And there's pretty slim pickings in there. No Chrome, Audacity, Python... Basically nothing useful.

Oh, about that finger-optimised UI. Yeah, not so much. Several of the apps are unoptimsed for touch. The device comes with LibreOffice built in - but it doesn't support the onscreen keyboard! There's nothing on screen to tell you that - you just have to keep hitting the screen impotently until you give up.

If you do manage to open a dialogue box, you'll find it nearly impossible to use with your fingers.

It works well enough with a USB mouse - but that's not the point. I want to be able to use this tablet as a tablet occasionally.

There's a "desktop mode" which lets you move windows around (no wobbly windows, boo!) and a rudimentary split screen mode, but nothing which is useful for actual work.

Task switching is another area where the tablet falls down. Take a look at this screenshot - notice anything funny? Yup - some of the screenshots are rotated. If you use the tablet in portrait and then switch to landscape, expect a mish-mash of confusion. Basic mistakes which could have easily been avoided.

But, suppose you're OK with that. Take a look at this screenshot. I've started Alt-Tabbing - can you tell which window is now ready to open?

I thought it would be the one on the extreme right. Perhaps the one in the centre?

It appears to always be the 2nd one from the left!

Except when I've tabbed to the end - then it is the last one. Until I tab round everything - then it's the 1st from the left.

I'm confused - and this makes me feel stupid. In every other version of Ubuntu I've used, the centre/foremost window is the one which will be opened. On this tablet, I feel like I'll never know which will open.

I guess that's the crux of why I hate this tablet. I love Ubuntu - but this tablet makes me feel like an idiot. I can't even run sudo apt-get install ... to get it to do what I want.

Incidentally, Firefox comes with the tablet. It's not touch compatible - you have to use a keyboard and mouse. But if you alt-tab out of Firefox and then back, you can't use the keyboard to type any more. Not without rebooting.

To give you a general idea of some of the slap-dash attitude to the rest of the software - take a look at the icons on gEdit, the text editor in the Ubuntu store. Oh, that's right - there are no icons. They're broken.

Finally, I tried checking the spelling of a document I'd typed in LibreOffice. I couldn't. There's no language packs installed. I don't mean there's no en_GB and I have to use American spelling - I mean there's no spell-chequer available. It's also impossible to install one.

The Good

It paired easily with my Bluetooth keyboard.

(Even that's a bit of a lie. Some apps, like Firefox, didn't respect my keyboards language settings - meaning that @ and " were swapped.)

It charged quickly and managed about 6 hours of fairly hefty use before it needed plugging in again.

The screen was clear and bright - although the graphics juddered a lot in scrolling.

One of the default apps given pride of place on the default launcher was XChat. Yes, that's right, you can log in to IRC like it's the early 1990s. Well, you could if the app worked with the on screen keyboard.

There are two map apps! One of which doesn't support pinch-to-zoom...

The built in Twitter app launches the mobile web version of Twitter - so you get a tiny column in the middle of the screen. It does, however, do push notifications! You can't click on the notifications though - they just wobble maddeningly when you do so.

I comes with a phone dialler app. There's no SIM card slot in the device - it's just a vestigial leftover.

A whole host of snags which should have been caught before the device shipped - let alone received its first update.

In fairness, the top-tier apps look great and respond well to the touch interface. There are some clever touches - like swiping from the sides to bring up options, change apps, etc.

Conclusion

For €300 I expected a lot more. I could have got a decent Android tablet for less money - it would have been more functional, better supported, and have higher performance. I wasn't expecting to be able to run full-stack development on this, but I did expect to be able to run basic Python, Ruby, PHP, etc.

Instead, I got a flakey tablet with a dumbed-down UI which hasn't been properly localised.

The bugs I've reported have gone unanswered. I dropped a note to some people at Canonical, and while they were helpful, they didn't have any public roadmap for fixes.

Honestly, the tablet feels like it hasn't been given to a normal user for five minutes. There's a host of issues which should have been picked up in early user testing. Some of these are easily fixable but others are more are fundamental to the hardware and software choices they've made.

I don't normally mind being a beta tester - but not at this price.

The quest for the perfect Linux laptop continues! If anyone knows of a large screen tablet which can run full Ubuntu - please let me know!

What I Want In My Perfect Ubuntu Tablet

• Larger than 10 inch screen. Ideally 13-15 inches. I need that size to be able to work effectively without eye-strain.
• Ubuntu. Not "Ubuntu Lite" or "Ubuntu Touch" or "Ubuntu 2K" - I want a full Linux machine which can run everything I throw at it. Sure, have a simplified interface for touch-mode, but once I plug in a keyboard I want a desktop OS.
• More ports. I bought a £3 USB OTG hub which lets me charge and use USB simultaneously - but it's a bit of a faff.
• Charging via micro-USB (or, I guess USB-C) is a must. I don't want yet another proprietary charger.
• User testing. I don't want to buy something with basic snags and flaws. Concentrate on fixing things before adding more decorations.
• Smooth 2D graphics. I'm not planning on playing hyper-realistic VR games - I just expect web pages to scroll smoothly.
• Supported hardware. I don't want to upgrade my distro only to find out that the hardware manufacturer has stopped supplying drivers.
• I'm not particularly price sensitive - although I guess under £500 would be nice.

Onwards!

I recently acquired a cheap Android tablet to act as a remote control for my entertainment equipment. The tablet sits in my lounge where it can be accessed by all and sundry - my wife, guests, the plumber, etc.

Occasionally, I want to buy apps for the tablet - some of the fancy remote-control apps cost money - so now I have a problem...

• Create a brand new Google account for the tablet, and have to buy the app multiple times (once for my phone, once for the tablet).
  Or...
• Associate my Google account with the tablet and give everyone access to my email and calendar.

There are some workarounds which don't quite meet my needs...

Terence Eden is on Mastodon

@edent

Android people - is there any way to stop my tablet from receiving email, but *still* have access to my Google Play account?

---

Ryan Cullen

@artesea

Replying to @edent@edent Settings->Accounts->Google->Email Address->Untick Sync Gmail (and others)

---

I can just disable the accounts - but that doesn't stop my mates from re-enabling them. If a thief swipes the tablet, they have access to everything.

I can even disable Gmail - and the other associated services - but nothing can stop someone from just re-enabling them.

@edent Assuming you won't need to install apps that often you could always just transfer and install the APK manually? Archived Source

I'm not adverse to a little hacking around - but I'm not sure how I can transfer paid APKs around. There are extensions which work fine for downloading free APKs from the app store, but I specifically want some paid apps.

There doesn't seem to be a permanent way to disable the services that I don't want. The tablet must not receive GTalk messages, I never want it on Google+, no one should be able to see my calendar on it.

Is this really too much to ask for? I want to use this as a companion device - not as my daily driver.

All I want is that this tablet can only have access to Play - and be forbidden from accessing all of Google's other services. I've scoured Google's dashboards extensively and I can't find anything like this.

Or am I being paranoid? Should I just accept that this is the Google way and hope that no one malicious gets their hands on my tablet?

The guys are (naturally) cagey about their product launch, but here's what I was able to glean.

• It will be multi-touch compatible.
• The tablet appeared to be Android - that's just the demo unit though.
• Developer tools will be available.
• Consumer launch in the first half of 2013. So I guess that makes it unlikely for the iPhone 5.
• It may have a brand name associated with it - but they wouldn't say what. I'd guess something like "RealFeel" or similar.
• They may be offering a retro-fit product.
• Senseg have a truly amazing product, unlike anything I've ever tried before.

Having played with it, I have mixed feelings. There's no doubt that the tech works. You feel the vibration directly under your finger. Running your digits over the various surfaces gives the distinct impression of subtly different textures. I'm reminded of Immersion's "Motiv" haptic API - developers need help to craft "realistic" vibration based feedback. Senseg need to make sure that their SDK can be used by developers to create interesting sensations.

There is a risk that app developers will over-use this technology and make every single screen element vibrate, which would be highly annoying. There is also a risk that the vibrations aren't differentiated enough - and everything reacts in a similar way.

But, overall, I love the tech. It adds an extra dimension to the existing touchscreen technology. I'm looking forward to playing with it further.

I think I'm turning into a Luddite. I see all these shiny tablets and... I just don't want one!

Don't get me wrong, I drove myself crazy trying to get an HP TouchPad because a) Massive discount and b) under a hundred quid.

You see, everyone I know with a tablet has one of two accessories.

1. A bluetooth keyboard. Because it's really hard to do any sustained typing on a touch-screen.
2. A dock. Because it's really hard to do any sustained typing on a touch-screen.

You see, I like to use my computer. Tablets are perfect for a consumer who wants to see pretty lights and occasionally prod at a large target with their fat, sweaty thumb. But that's not me. I want to type, to blog, to code, to comment, to design. I want a laptop. And, indeed, that's what I have.

If I want to do something passive, I'll watch TV. Or my laptop screen. Or my phone. If I want to read, I'll use an e-ink screen. My Kindle is lighter and has better readability than any tablet.

Why do I need another expensive device? Especially one I can't create on?

Oh, and don't tell me about the camera on these devices - does this look anything other than ridiculous?

So, Samsung have released the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - see Samsung's YouTube Channel to see it in action - and once again I have gadget lust. It's big, shiny, runs Android (and will run even better when Cyanogen is ported to it).

But once more, I shall have to turn it down. It's lovely, I'm sure, but just not for me.

To help me justify my descision to forgoe this beautiful fondleslab, here are the top three worst things about the Galaxy Tab.

1. Non-standard charger. It uses some awful "media port" rather than micro-USB. (Note: it's not even PDMI
2. No USB OTG - so I can't use a keyboard, mouse, or external drive with it. Well, I can, but I have to shell out for a dongle that I'll invariably lose.
3. No external storage - so if I want to take a bunch of movies and music with me on a trip, I'm limited to internal storage.

You can gaze at Samsung's FaceBook page but it won't improve things.

Am I crazy? Is there any reason to own a tab if I've already got a (great) Samsung Android phone and an (awesome) ThinkPad running Ubuntu?

What on Earth do you people do with a tablet that I'm missing out on?

This is a sponsored post from ebuzzing

I love my little Dell Laptop - it's served me well over the years. And it has become a magnet for stickers - some for companies who have long since gone bust! Recently, I've upgraded the hard disk to a pure solid state drive. The speed increase is incredible. Coupled with adding an extra GB of RAM, the machine is now faster than ever. It's just a pity that Dell limited the machine to 2GB of RAM.

But, there's no denying it's getting a little long in the tooth. Video playback is only possible at fairly low resolutions, editing is a nightmare, there's no built in camera, and I think the headphone port is on the way out.

I Hate Tablets

Tablets are great if all you want to do is watch a movie or do some idle scrolling. That's no good for me - I need to work on my machine. I hate using touchscreen keybaords - either my fingers are too fat, or the screens are innaccurate. Even the best oleophobic screen gathers fingerprints and scratches if used for a sustained period of time. That said, I do like tablet's portability. I like the ease of use if I am just surfing. But unless I can plug in a keyboard and mouse - or any USB peripheral - a tablet is functionally useless to me.

Enter The Duo

Is the Duo the best of both worlds?

Dell's Inspiron Duo laptop is an intuitive machine, hailed as “the new convertible” thanks to its innovative flip-hinge design. Switching effortlessly from tablet to laptop, it’s perfect for both work and play.

I wouldn't call it intuitive - but it is innovative. It's only £450 for the base model - which is cheaper than an iPad 2. The tech-specs are fairly good - but not dramatically so. For a device which is going to be moved around a lot, I would have expected an SSD as standard. As it is, it's not even one of the customisable options. Some enterprising people have cracked the case open and added their own SSD. But it's not for the faint-hearted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMOiHRGpsLE

There is, however, a rather odd "AudioStation". Essentailly, it's a dock for the Duo. Quite why it needs it when you can stand it up using the keyboard, I don't know. At £99 for a charging station with built in speakers, it's not high up my list of must-haves. There are only two USB slots available on the regular chassis and - bizarrely - no HDMI or VGA output for connecting to an external screen. In keeping with the "seamless" ideals, there's not ethernet port - this is a WiFi only device. There's no 3G support - so you'll need a USB dongle or to tether to your phone. The battery - which doesn't look to be easily upgradeable is good for 4 hours. Again, it's ok, but it's not astounding. The Duo also comes with Windows 7. I suggest you reject the Windows EULA and ask Dell for a refund of the Windows License.

Ubuntu Support

Despite Dell's much vaunted support for Linux, it appears that support for the Duo is incomplete. The touchscreen mostly works - but there's no multi-touch yet. Similarly accelerometers don't detect that the screen orientation has changed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6HLXtIprUg

There's a long running thread on Ubuntu Forums which should step you through the rather easy set up of Ubuntu. There are a few manual files to edit - but the basic hardware is well supported. Other Linux distros should work just as well.

The Competition

Want to win one of two Dell Duos? Of course you do!

Eligible contributors (18+ and UK resident) will be in with a chance of winning 1 of 2 Inspiron Duos, and 10 runner-up prizes of We7 premium memberships (3 month), just for letting sharing with us your favourite work and play tracks through the work, play, love application. The closing date for the competition is 21st April 2011.

Dell have set up a Facebook page which has their new Work and Play application. To enter, simply select your 10 favourite tracks for Work and Play. So, think of the tracks you use to inspire you in work and play - tell Dell - win a laptop. Nifty!

Conclusion

I'm certainly leaning towards the Duo as my next laptop. If Dell were to include a working version of Ubuntu - and perhaps an SSD as an upgrade option - it would be a no brainer. As it is, I'll see how Ubuntu develops as the community hacks away at it. I've already proved to myself that I can easily upgrade a laptop's hardware - but I'm not that keen to go poking in the guts of another machine. The Duo certainly represents value for money - especially if you're a Windows user - but I'd be prepared to pay a little more if they offered some more flexible options. As will all my sponsored posts, your feedback is important to me. Vote in the poll or let me know in the comments what you think.