Michael Smith get hisCamangi WebStationtablet yesterday , and spent all nighttime turn out a review . If you were at all believe buying one , you ’ll decidedly need to see what he has to say .
https://gizmodo.com/camangi-webstation-7-inches-of-android-tablet-for-400-5409444
We call in one of our own , and it ’s quite potential our effect will disagree . But until then …
While the human race waits for Apple to release prescribed news about their new tablet computer , a few smaller ( and lesser known ) companies are releasing their own touch screen tablets . Archos has a few manakin out , there ’s the viliv , and then there ’s the whole CrunchPad affair which is now called the JooJoo . And I ’ve never played with any of them . I have however been ( for some reason ) slaver for an iSlate for the preceding class or so . And in my restlessness I untimely regularise a Camangi WebStation and am ready to report the bad tidings .
First permit me do the whole reviewer disclaimer thing . On what can only be described as a moment of weak ignorance , I ordered a Camangi WebStation . That was December 4th and I pay full price . ordinarily I would n’t plonk down almost $ 400 for a product that no one has seen or test yet , one that in the other telecasting looked quite confutable , and one from a company that I ’ve never heard of before . But I did . Against all common sense I hop that it would be a comely solution to use until Apple gets theirs out .
At the same sentence I also contact Camangi in an effort to get an early “ review unit . ” We did correspond back and forth a second but ultimately they make up one’s mind to not supply me with a “ free ” unit but rather promised to just transport my purchased building block to me via a faster method than everyone else ’s – so that I could review it ( hopefully ) before they start get to the 1000′s of hoi polloi who set up them . Therefore the social unit I reviewed here is the one I paid full price for , and my buyer ’s remorse is certainly adding to the con game here a bit . But then again most things I hash out on this site are item that I ’ve buy . So take that bias in to account if you feel it ’s relevant .
My Couch Computing Concept
Our old current sofa computer is the hacintoshed Dell Mini 9 . It work well , is fairly truehearted ( for an Atom processor run OS X ) , it ’s fully a Mac , and cost about $ 300-$400 retail . And it ’s small . We mostly utilize it for flying IMDB look - ups while observe TV and picture show , and my daughter plays flash games on it . So in my perfect world , the ultimate lounge computer would be a smallish tablet , no keyboard to get in the way , easy to stow between couch cushion , but would be as fast and responsive as the Dell or as an iPhone . It ask to have full web capabilities , support flashbulb video ( unlike the iPhone ) , Hulu , YouTube , and all that . It should also work as a PMP so that my daughter can catch video on it in the machine or wherever . It needs to be multi - useful .
So I ’ve been agitate about get this unit in – and I spend all Christmas learn the DHL tracking account to see when it would arrive . But on the other hand I did n’t have high-pitched expectations for it . It has very little read/write memory and a tiny processor . In my correspondence with Camangi I asked over and over about its capableness , specifically with regards to take on telecasting – but they would not answer those doubt . This made me begin to call up that the reasonableness they were obviate my motion ( and did n’t require to send me a follow-up unit ) was because they did n’t like the rightful answers .
What’s in the Box
The package arrived via DHL in a little brown paper box , inside which was the retail box . The loge contains the WebStation , a carry arm / pouch , a pair of cheap earphones that appear to have a microphone bind , a cloth to wipe the screen , a quick starting line templet , another pamphlet containing legal disclaimers , the power supply , and the stand to habituate it as a picture frame , which is basically a suction cupful on a stick .
My first impressions were that the WebStation hardware seemed sturdy enough . It has three physical buttons on the front : family , quick computer menu , and take back . On the right side there are ports for headphones , mini USB , a reset button , a normal sized USB , and DC in . On the odd side are strong-arm volume buttons , on the top is a power clitoris , and on the top back is a micro SD identity card slot preloaded with an 8 GB stick .
( same side from the back … )
On major thing lack in the corner is a real user manual . The quickstart guide does tell you how to unlock the gimmick , something you ’d in all probability never figure out on your own . But it ’s very svelte on inside information and instructions . For instance , I still have no approximation how to load euphony on the gadget . I acquire that I require to add a “ Music ” pamphlet to the computer storage stick , but that is a complete supposition . Another good example is that I was surprised to discover that it would charge off the USB line when it ’s plugged in to my Mac . But also baffled by the meaning of the “ beep - beep - bleep ” when the screen go to sopor while plug in to my Mac .
Powering It On
When you first weightlift the great power button at the top , it takes about 7 seconds before you see the word “ ANDROID . ” full boot prison term is 54 second . You are then show with a lock screen that show the time / date . unlock it take you to the Launcher , which is a card of app image .
Speed and Responsiveness
You have to admit that we ’re all used to the manner the iPhone works and in a way it is the standard upon which all other tactile sensation based gadgets are measured . Since the loss of my 3GS iPhone I ’ve been back to using my old original Edge phone and have been struggling with the comparitive retardation of that old affair . But the old Edge sound screams in comparison to the WebStation . activity like tint and dragging to scroll windows are taken for granted on the iPhone , and the WebStation does do that touch scrolling thing , but seems to skip along the action . One direction to draw it is if the iPhone operates at 30 systema skeletale per moment , the WebStation believably runs at about 5 to 10 . I also found myself incidentally triggering button when trying to scroll . Something that does happen on the iPhone occasionally , but was happening a good deal on the WebStation . And with the overall slowness of the unit , getting into the wrong menu is a bother because then you have to slow sail out of it as well .
Here are some amphetamine / usance comparison examples between the WebStation and my old first - gen iPhone :
Photos – First off , it ’s not a multitouch display , it is a resistant single touch silver screen . So zooming in and out is done via on - sieve zoom icons , not multitouch exigency action . The sightly equivalence here is the responsiveness of touch - drag scroll around on a photo . When you first refer and start to drag it take up several secondment before the unit seems to get laid that you ’re dragging . Then it catch up and does it ’s best to keep up with your finger , update the screen about 5 to 10 times per second . This sluggishness is generally felt everywhere in the UI .
Typing – When you select a field where schoolbook can be entered , a virtual touch keyboard appears on the bottom of the filmdom . Typing is best done one letter at a metre , making certain that the UI has get down your letter of the alphabet before moving on to the next . If you type too fast sometimes the keyboard will just go away . It seems to not be capable to keep track of touches quicker than about 5 per secondly either . Of course this toss off my couch computer conception as it ’s sort of thwarting to even enter text .
I ’ll cover web browsing and video playback in their own section .
But first I have to say that I was frantic about the WebStation being Google Android - based . I do n’t even mind it NOT being multitouch . I intend the overall interface is good , but the processor just ca n’t keep up with a real drug user . If this was power with the Atom processor from my Dell Mini 9 it would be a altogether different narration . But the mode it is now the languor is just too much of a factor .
Web Browsing
I think the biggest trial should be basic web browsing . After all , the product is called the WEB station , and therefore should be optimized at surfing the web . The first test was to at the same time launched both the WebStation and my old first gen iPhone to the home pageboy of this website ( tomorrowland.com ) . Both equipment were on my home Wi - Fi net . The iPhone loaded the page about 20 seconds quicker than the WebStation . Then trying to test scroll on the WebStation I touched and drop behind the screen and instead of it scroll it launched a link . so as to ensure that you ’re going to scroll you have to touch and hold until you see that it ’s scrolling , then drag your finger . Something that I would find hard to do when going back and forth between using my iPhone and this thing .
The next mental testing is what sites work and what does n’t . Well , just like the iPhone , flash does not function . This pass over out Hulu and YouTube and even my own tomorrowland.com/podcast Thomas Nelson Page , and unlike the iPhone there is no YouTube lotion . This also wipe out all heartbeat games , which was one of my desired US for the WebStation .
I ’ve already complained about the typing and the scrolling . But one other thing I noticed is that most apps are web apps . The ebook lector , and the app marketplace both utilize the entanglement web browser to do their thing . So if one is slow they all are .
Video
All my hopes and dreams are crushed when it comes to picture playback . It ’s no curiosity the people at Camangi completely skirted all of my doubtfulness about video recording playback . My enceinte interrogation to them was can it play full CRT screen video at 30fps . The answer is a big fat no way ! Not even close . With the want of a user manual to detail the spec for the most compatible TV formats I guessed and load a duo of sample distribution . The social unit did come preloaded with the promo video from this page , but looks atrocious when playing back . It seems a shame to not make usage of that 800 x 480 pixel CRT screen with movie watching .
The first picture I try was a 3 minute of arc , 22 MiB H.264 picture fly the coop at about 1 Mbps . chassis sizing was 480 x 324 at 30fps . I presuppose it was encoded to sour on an iPod . The audio recording played fine but the picture lag very far behind , causing it to be grossly out of sync . The video skeleton that played did so at about 5 or 10 Federal Protective Service . cut to the middle of the video did catch it up , but it ’s unmortgaged the gimmick is not powerful enough to play television .
The second video I tried was a movie that was encode to play on a PSP . It also played very dim visually while the sound recording played usually . It was also very much out of sync right from the beginning . Very unsatisfying .
Harsh Conclusion
My suspiciousness is that the unit is basically a digital depiction physical body load with a cellphone speech sound version Google Android with a touch screenland . It came with a phone headset complete with a mic and reply button . All through the menus there are acknowledgment of things like “ baseband ” and “ ringtones ” but it ’s not a phone . And the uncanny thing is that I do n’t conceive the mainframe in it is even powerful enough to run a phone . Had they market it as a touch screenland digital photo frame with a web web internet browser and sold it for about $ 100 it would be somewhat reasonable . And before you think about complaining about how firmly I ’m being on it , consider this : The WebStation is $ 390 . For $ 199 you may get an iPod Touch . If mac made a 7 inch iPod mite it would drift this affair out of the weewee . Completely . Or for about the same toll you could get a Dell Mini 9 , or an Archos 7 – which are completely different products , but still something to moot . Or you could keep your money and wait for Apple to release the iSlate and I suspect that will be the CE product of 2010 .
Of naturally there is more to the WebStation that I did n’t have time to cover , but to be dependable the repose really does n’t matter . The weather condition app is overnice and works well . So far I have n’t enter out how to load music on it and so have n’t been capable to try out it ’s ‘ cover flowing ’ mode . But fundamentally it ’s about as powerful as a digital picture frame , and that ’s very sad . essentially my programme at this point is to call American Express and find out what I can do to return and refund . In my belief the Camangi WebStation is a total fail and I ca n’t recommend it to anyone at any toll .
Reprinted with permission fromTomorrowland.com .
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