Eken's $100 Android MID reviewed: you get what you pay for
When we first spotted the Eken M001 MID, we immediately liked its honest nature. The M001 didn't claim to be an iPad killer, or boast ridiculous specs and decades of battery life; it was simply cheap, and proud of it. Now, Shanzai.com has discovered the tablet is exactly what we expected. Running Android 1.6 with a VIA WM8505 processor, the device is pokey with terrible battery life, and the 7-inch, 800 x 480 resistive screen has noticeable lag. Still, the M001's moderately capable; think of it as a digital photo frame with tablet functionality -- like the HP Dreamscreen, but affordable and battery powered -- rather than the other way round. Were it readily available stateside, we could see a few souls actually picking it up for $680 RMB (about $100)... but definitely not the $200 Haleron asked for in February. Video after the break.
























That make me sad. It's a cute form factor.
Good Price, but people prefer to pay U$ 500 on ony thing that does nothing and have a fruit simbol on it!
@Billy Gun Poorly diguised troll here, nothing to see people. Move along now.
@Billy Gun
You mean: Nobody wants to buy a Fugly looking device for $100.
@Billy Gun
I was not trooling, I just give my point of view, this thing culd look and be cheap, but it does many things for it's price. On the oher hand you have one expensive product that does nothing, that is my opinion. People like stutus gadgets.
@Billy Gun But this this does everything it does slowly, poorly and with terrible battery life. The ipad does what it does elegantly and well, regardless of whether or not you appreciate it.
@SuperModified apparently he knows enough not to want it... But I would much rather prefer they put a price of $300 on this and put a better processor and more ram on this thing and a better touch screen would do the job...
@SuperModified Thank you for your opinion.
@LightShow I agree with you partialy, but what I think is that they don't do nothing, but at least you pay much less, I would'nt pay even U$ 1 on any of them.
@max1c
true, it sure has a pretty nice look and feel to it, maybe just a few upgrades and it could be a nice cheap tablet for the masses?
not everyone can afford the high end expensive tablets (or even the low end expensive tablets) but something like this has a tonne of usability at a great price :)
either way, love it o r hate it, its bringing tech to the masses and hopefully gets others to lower their prices a bit :D
^^^^^^^
Troll Alert
If a Dev like cyanogen will make a custom ROM for these devices, It will be blazin'
Am I the only one that thought about pokemon upon reading the title of this post?
@rhcpsfan
Yes...
@ryankage
^^^^
what he said
@rhcpsfan It does look like a Pokedex.
Proof of concept
Someday 100 bucks will get you a great android device, just not today
I mean the Archos 7 is only 200 bucks....give it 6 months and take off 2-3 inches and you'll have the ultimate budget MID
@yulebellow Yeah, it always takes a few revisions for the small guys to get these new device classes down, but soon we'll be flush with quality affordable devices.
Like... OMG. It's just a giant MyTouch 3G! What's the point? etc, etc.
nz or aussie accent?
@should be working
Definitly NZ, listen to the way he says 'inch' (I'm Aussie)
@Bratyr yeah. i thought nz. its nice and mild though (i'm orig from auckland). thought that he could also be from perth. speaking the queens and all as they tend to do over there
That is the cheapest device I've ever seen.
I was not trooling, I just give my point of view, this thing culd look and be cheap, but it does many things for it's price. On the oher hand you have one expensive product that does nothing, that is my opinion. People like stutus gadgets.
Wow, that is one bezelly son of a bitch.
This is the same article I would of written about my Eris before a battery upgrade and the 2.1 update. How long before this device gets hacked up to 2.1?
I'd buy that thing in an instant if it had better battery life, and of course if it were available in the US.
He mentions DocumentsToGo. Does that come for free? Because I had to pay for my copy (Archos 5IT).
I really kinda like this thing. I think it has promise. For something.......
I don't care if it's sorta cheaply made, running 1.6 or has a weak processor. I just want an android tablet with an ACCURATE, CAPACITIVE touch screen for as cheap as it can be.
Please.
buttons too big and not necessary, could use microSD instead of SD to make room for battery
@htd
Because we all know the .001sq centimeter difference between SD and micro SD could allow for a much bigger battery!
SD devices support micro SD, not the other way around, so if your device is big enough, by all means use SD!
displays "it" quite nicely for sure
What a crappy device I have to say...
I feel like Android shouldn't even be mentioned in the headline for products like this. these aren't really Android products so much as they are crappy devices that senselessly abuse Android's openness. do they really think these abominations can be profitable? what's the thought-process here, really?
Amazingly they build a $100 7 inch Android tablet that's better than Archos' 7 inch Home Tablet. If Eken could find the time and money to put a G-sensor in this little device, why didn't Archos?
For $100 I'd buy one if they were stateside.
The device isn't horrible, I wished it was a bit more powerful, and ran the latest Android.
@AppleDrank
It's not "This is sooo sweat"...
It's "This is sooo swheat."
...dumb ass ;)
http://androidtablet.co.cc/?p=10 - this one has an almost identical form factor but it's 200mhz faster - how's that for a little more powerful? I hope it will be upgradable to 2.1 soon enough.
@koppit just bought one thanks for pointing it out :)
@lars1110 Really..? Email me through that website please - I was just about to get one myself.
If anyone's really interested, you can buy one on eBay now:
NEW Slim Tablet Slate Handheld Android PC Laptop eBook
$97.62 +$36.78 shipping 23d 15h 25m
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_nkw=Android+tablet&_sc=1&_sop=15&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m489
@yrag Nice, but they should save their money and get the faster one for the same price :)
Another piece of trash trying to surf the iPad wave with the haters desperately trying to sell it to any fool willing to read their ignorant nonsense.
@ninja98 You realize these products have been in development for many months - long before the iPad was released. They would have been released regardless of the iPad.
Resistive again?
@hated one
no, because Android has nothing to do with hardware
also as a fun little experiment what words do you think of when you see the name "hated one"?
Any chance of getting a review done on the Ramos W7, enGad'?
A 4.8" capacitive Android tablet/MID device for less than $200 sounds really good.
What's up with the low resolution with these screens. My phone is running 800*480 on a 2.8" screen, a 7" screen should have at least an 1024*x resolution. Especially since most web pages is optimized for that horizontal resolution.
What the heck is the battery life on this thing?
I watched the video, and on their website where you can buy it for $150 now, does not mention battery life.
Also, I would have gotten one, if it would have supported more video codecs (only avi format so far). Kinda sad...
Does anyone know of a device like this (android tablet) that has a camera built into it? I want to do some development work with android and have been considering buying an old G1 for testing but a tablet like this is what the users want.