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HP Delivers a Big-Name, 7-inch Android Tablet For $100: Comes With Compromises
Ars Technica reports that HP is back in the $100 tablet market, and this time with a tablet that's intended to be priced there instead of just a fire sale. The new offering lacks Bluetooth and GPS, among other features you might wish for in a tablet, and the screen is surrounded by a hefty bezel, but manages a pretty good list of features. Ars summarizes: "For $100, you can't expect much of the spec sheet. The HP 7 Plus has a 7-inch 1024x600 IPS display, a 1GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor (made by a company called "Allwinner"), 1GB of RAM, 8GB of storage, 802.11 b/g/n, a microSD slot, and a 2800 mAh battery. The biggest downside HP could have fixed at this price point is the software: it's only running Android 4.2.2. Android versions are free, HP." Having an avaialble microSD slot beats some more expensive options, too.
Why would they include it? I've never seen someone use a BlueTooth device with a tablet, and I'm an iPad developer.
I regularly use bluetooth headphones with both my iPhone and my iPad.
#DeleteChrome
it's not clear if it has bluetooth or not, or gps. the article says that the article writer doesn't know if it has those or not.
(they wouldn't add significantly to the cost and if it lacks gps that's a bummer)
however whoever submitted the article doesn't seem to be up to speed about the fact that Allwinner provides the design for a shitload of soc's for all the cheapo devices(they are the biggest provider, but they don't fab them themselves. but since they're the biggest somehow referring to them as a company called "Allwinner" as if it were an unknown is not right).
Asia is full of sub 100$ tablets. can pick one up for under fifty too(iirc I saw a quad core for 200 baht) - and almost all of them Allwinners.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Who the hell would buy that thing? For just 50 bucks more you could get this
Intel dual-core Atom Z2560 @1.6GHz
2GB RAM
7" 1280x800 IPS capacitive touchscreen
16GB storage with microSD expansion slot
Bluetooth 4.0
GPS with A-GPS support
3MP rear camera, VGA front camera
That's a long post by an AC, for sure.
It is a UK company that licensed the Chinese to manufacture unlimited copies. This is how all ARM chips are manufactured, under license. ARM Holdings does not have any manufacturing capacity outside of basic R&D.
The chips are so cheap because they're produced en masse, there's nothing shady going on here, besides the fact that the country put up the capital to kick start the project. Which isn't illegal anywhere. Mexico's petroleum industry was nationalized in the 1970's and it's worked out quite well.
moox. for a new generation.
The same reason they put FM radios in Android phones.
There are cheap WiFi chips with everything in it. Wifi, Bluetooth and FM radio.
It would cost a few cents to add another chip antenna to the board though...
I wouldn't be surprised if the '3 in 1' chips were cheaper anyway though, since they're much more popular.
Why would I buy a weak HP tablet for $100 when I can have a better tablet for $90?
http://www.pandawill.com/cube-...
Cube (well-known Chinese manufacturer) tablet with same features as HP plus: built-in BlueTooth, GPS and 3G. Only $90, shipping included.
Maybe do some fact checking first...
http://linux-sunxi.org/Main_Pa...
All of the Allwinner CPUs will boot from an appropriately formatted SD card and ignore the OS in flash. Don't know what wifi is in there but 75% of Allwinner A31 based tables out of China have Broadcom Wifi in them and the drivers are in the mainline kernel. I believe Kitkat is already available for the A31 and given how standardized these tablets are I don't foresee major problems upgrading.
Allwinner devices are far more hackable than Nvidia based ones. Most features of the Allwinner CPUs are documented except for the usual suspects -- graphics. A31 uses an Imagination PowerVR GPU. And it is not Allwinner that is keeping that GPU secret, it is Imagination.
$85 (with Slickdeals coupon) with free ship is an excellent price for this set of features. Anyway it is already sold out until they can get more from their OEM.
BTW - I do think there is a CPU security feature that can encrypt the boot, but I've never seen an Allwinner device that has turned it on.
Part of the reason for the "blacklist" is because FCC certification is only valid for individual WiFi card + antenna combinations and the list prevents accidental use of non-certified combinations.
Allwinner is making gazillions of cheap tablets. For this particular one, I guess they slapped the HP logo on one of their existing models. I strongly doubt anyone at HP worked on that tablet :)
As for the complainers about an old Android version, I do work on Android ports. Even though Android doesn't change much externally, the internal differences are big enough that no one's going to pay for porting a newer Android version for a cheap device (or even an expensive one, I'm looking at you Samsung); they'll go for whatever version their SoC vendor provided.
I apologize for the lack of a signature.
I have a huge problem with the fact that Android Tablets and by extension Chrome Books, require the use of Google Services.
I have a huge problem with your spreading FUD and ignorance. First, chrome books are not an extension of Android, they do not run Android. So that basically invalidates your entire comment right there, as the reader has discovered that you have no fucking idea what you're talking about. Second, you do not have to use Google services (Not Google Services, it is not a proper name, you are confused) with your Android device. Right out of the box you can add third-party sources, enable debugging, and sideload another market.
You have no idea what you are talking about and no one should pay attention to what you are saying.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"