Hi Siarhei, On Wed, Dec 31, 2014 at 11:39 AM, Siarhei Siamashka <siarhei.siamas...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Mon, 3 Nov 2014 09:52:03 +1100 > Julian Calaby <julian.cal...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hi All, >> >> On Mon, Sep 29, 2014 at 3:23 PM, Siarhei Siamashka >> <siarhei.siamas...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > On Thu, 18 Sep 2014 09:36:55 +1000 >> > Julian Calaby <julian.cal...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> >> Hi, >> >> >> >> Earlier this year, HP released the following three tablets: >> >> (Australian store links due to the specifications listing the SoC's >> >> name) >> >> >> >> HP 7 Plus: >> >> http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/Product.aspx?pdetail=P333853 >> >> HP 8: >> >> http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/Product.aspx?pdetail=P327832 >> >> HP 10 Plus: >> >> http://h20386.www2.hp.com/AustraliaStore/Product.aspx?pdetail=P339093 >> >> >> >> All of which appear to be based around the A31s SoC. >> >> >> >> As they're pretty cheap for a "big name" brand's tablets, I'm planning >> >> to obtain one. >> >> >> >> Has anyone else laid hands on any A31s devices yet? And if so, has any >> >> work started on supporting them? >> >> I bought a 7 Plus over the weekend, and apart from dismal battery life >> it's a significant improvement on my crappy A10 tablet (iNet 3FBT in a >> Kogan Agora) The Android install on it feels just like my partner's >> Asus TF300. > > The battery life is not great in my A31s based MSI Primo81 tablet, but > not bad either. It can stay idle for many days on a single battery > charge, and lasts enough hours (have not measured it, but maybe more > than 6?) when it is actively used. > > Watch for WLAN power consumption, maybe try to disable it altogether to > see if the battery life improves significantly. The excessive waste of > power may be a purely software issue.
I believe the poor battery life is due to it being an ex-demonstrator (which is part of why I bought it, _very_ cheap for retail.) Given that it's only connectivity option is WiFi and 90% of what I do on my tablet requires internet, disabling WiFi isn't really an option. >> It appears to be a disguised version of Allwinner's 4.2.2 (Jellybean) >> Android version as there's a couple of little details that remind me >> of my A10 tablet: The most obvious is the notifications for plugging, >> mounting and removing USB devices or microSD cards are very basic. >> More subtle is that if you hold either of them diagonally by one of >> their top corners, angled 45 degrees away from you, they do something >> weird: the Agora can't figure out it's orientation, the 7 Plus emits a >> long string of key presses that confuse Google Play Store. > > Well, discussing the usability of the stock Android firmware is not > the primary topic of interest in this mailing list ;-) But thanks for > sharing your experience. I made these points more to describe the quirks of the stock Android as it shares a lot of them with Android on my other tablet which is definitely Allwinner's version. Another little quirk is that the WiFi is inconsistently called WLAN or WiFi. >> Processor: QuadCore-A7 >> Model Number: HP 7 Plus >> Android Version: 4.2.2 >> Kernel Version: 3.3.0 zhangaiguo@SzExdroid10 #44 Tue Mar 25 14:15:51 CST 2014 >> Build Number: 1.1.5_WW-ILEX-13 >> >> Shockingly, it can mount thumb drives connected through an OTG cable >> to the micro-USB port. > > This is pretty normal and expected from any hardware. In my limited experience, this is the first Android device I've come across that has OTG support out of the box. My A10 tablet has a dedicated "host" port, my phone has hardware OTG support, but it's disabled in all but the latest custom ROMs and my partner's tablet lacks a micro-USB port. >> Frustratingly, it can't decide if the volume down button is a back >> button or not. >> >> It's also not pre-rooted. > > My MSI Primo81 was also not pre-rooted. And it took a bit of effort to > search various Android community forums for a working method to root it. If you'd be so kind as to share which method you used and where you got it, I'd be most grateful. Every method I've tried has failed to the point where I'm thinking about whether it's possible to make a tool that roots devices using FEL / FES mode. >> > I also have started considering to get an Allwinner based tablet >> > since a couple of weeks ago. So far all my devices are just various >> > development boards and one Mele TV box, which is not very different >> > from a development board in terms of features. >> > >> > The first attempt was a failure. I tried to buy a relatively cheap 10" >> > no-name tablet (but with HDMI and 1GB of RAM), which was advertised >> > as Allwinner A20 by the seller. But it turned out to be in fact using >> > an Actions ATM7029B SoC with a quad-core Cortex-A5 CPU (disguised >> > as "Leopard Gen.I CPU core"). Big disappointment! And a total loss >> > of trust in this method of obtaining hardware. Though even if the >> > SoC was the right one, the build quality leaves a lot to be desired >> > and the screen is just horrible (colors and viewing angles). Maybe >> > other people had better experience, but I'm not going this route >> > again. >> > >> > So now I'm also trying the "big name" brand buying strategy for a >> > change :-) The HP tablets look nice, but they don't have a HDMI >> > connector, which is a deal breaker for me. Another alternative are >> > some nice tablets from MSI. More specifically, these ones: >> > http://www.msi.com/product/windpad/Primo_73.html#hero-specification >> > http://www.msi.com/product/windpad/Primo_81.html#hero-specification >> > On a negative side, just like HP tablets, they have no bluetooth and >> > no dedicated charger connector. Primo 73 has a TN display (potentially >> > worse quality) and the Allwiner A20 SoC (worse performance than A31s, >> > but better support in linux-sunxi and no PowerVR). > > BTW, if anyone cares, both of these MSI tablets have their own pages in > the linux-sunxi wiki: > http://linux-sunxi.org/MSI_Primo73 (Allwinner A20) > http://linux-sunxi.org/MSI_Primo81 (Allwinner A31s) > > And patches exist to run the mainline u-boot with the mainline kernel on > them :-) I need to do the same. >> > HP provides nice service manuals for their tablets, for example >> > one can google for "HP 7 Plus Tablet and HP 7.1 Tablet Maintenance >> > and Service Guide". Which provides detailed instructions about how >> > to take them apart and replace components. It is interesting that >> > this HP 7 Plus tablet is supposed to be equipped with 1.0-GB >> > LP-DDR2 (!) memory. If anyone has this hardware and can extract >> > the FEX file, it would be extremely interesting. >> >> Sadly the instructions in that document aren't sufficient (or I'm not >> skilled / intelligent enough) to actually open the device. I followed >> the instructions but couldn't complete step 2 (prying up the display >> assembly) as it simply wouldn't lift and I am unwilling to bend the >> glass any more than I already have. I'll try to obtain a proper >> plastic opening tool and try again. > > Don't worry too much about opening your tablet. IMHO it is not the most > important part of NDH. It's important to me: this is the only piece of hardware I own that I haven't opened or hacked in any way. This little detail is getting rather frustrating. =) >> The versions of that manual (one of which you can download from HP's >> own website) imply that this tablet is known by the following names: >> - HP 7 Plus 1301 >> - Compaq 7 Plus 1301 >> - HP 7.1 1201 >> - Compaq 7.1 1201 >> >> The 7.1 has a different back case and a TN LCD panel instead of an IPS one. >> >> > Regarding vendor firmware. MSI offers PhoenixSuite images for download >> > and also kernel sources from their website. This is very nice and >> > reassures the availability of FEL support for unbricking. >> > HP only provides updates as "update.zip" files to be copied on >> > the device and taken into use from the "android recovery" menu. >> > Not sure if this a bad sign and whether the FEL mode could be >> > locked out or not. Again, if anyone has an HP tablet, a >> > clarification about accessing FEL would be very much welcome. >> >> I'll be running through the NDH shortly and will report my findings on >> FEL mode here. > > Have you made any progress with this? Do you maybe need some help? No, and I don't need help yet. My progress has stalled mostly because it's a great little tablet and it hasn't annoyed me, so I'm not yet motivated to do all of this yet. >> > Now one more thing about MSI tablets. Google searches for >> > "Primo 73 discontinued" and "Primo 81 discontinued" find a lot >> > of web shops, which are out of stock with the "discontinued >> > by manufacturer" explanation :-( On a somewhat positive side, >> > the remaining web shops still having these tablets in stock, seem >> > to be offering significant discounts at the moment (probably they >> > want to get rid of the inventory ASAP). For example >> > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152486 >> > seems to offer MSI Primo 73 for $54.99. For the people from >> > Europe, some relatively interesting offers seem show up and >> > disappear on ebay.com rather quickly. > > Regarding this old link. Right now MSI Primo 73 seems to be all sold > out everywhere and only some used or refurbished offers remain on ebay. > > I think that MSI Primo81 is also about to disappear very soon. So if > anyone is interested in getting an A31s tablet, this may be the last > chance to buy one. MSI Primo81 seems to be sold for 79 EUR (in Europe): > https://www.notebook.de/msi-primo81-g-3058?atyp=tb > > And also MSI Primo81 still can be found on amazon.de and ebay. It is > unlikely to get any cheaper. I believe that it will just disappear > altogether, as soon as the remaining shops run out of stock. > > PS. I don't have any connections with this particular shop. Just thought > that some people might be interested in a reasonably good A31s tablet. > And the time is running out. > >> > I myself have already ordered both Primo 73 and Primo 81 tablets (yeah, >> > this was a little bit hard on my budget and probably will prevent me >> > from buying new fun gadgets for a while). The tablets are expected to >> > arrive later this week. And then I'm going to post more information >> > about them to the mailing list. > > Hmm, looks like I totally forgot to provide this status report in the > mailing list. And only kept the linux-sunxi wiki pages updated. > >> > Compared to plain development boards, tablets need properly working USB >> > OTG, touchscreens, WLAN and also power management features. This looks >> > like a lot of new fun :-) >> > >> > Also the "big name" brand's tablets typically don't have a separate >> > power connector. They are using MicroUSB for both charging and >> > plugging USB peripherals. But there are things called "accessory >> > charging adapters (ACA)", and "By using an accessory charging >> > adapter, a device providing a single USB port can be attached to >> > both a charger, and another USB device at the same time": >> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#ACA >> > I don't know if >> > >> > http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-Port-Micro-USB-Power-Charging-OTG-Hub-Adapter-Cable-for-HTC-LG-S4-Galaxy-Tab-3-/371135899746 >> > is a proper compliant implementation of ACA or just has a switch >> > to enable the mode where 5V is provided on VBUS by the hub >> > (instead of feeding from VBUS). Either way, I'll try to see >> > if it can be used to provide power the tablet and allow using >> > USB peripherals connected to the hub at the same time. >> >> I'll try to build one of those cables and report what I find. > > I have created a page in the linux-sunxi wiki about this: > http://linux-sunxi.org/USB_OTG_Charging_Hub > > I'm not sure if it is strictly compliant with the USB standards, but > still can be used to do the job. I still need to hack together something that is compliant and try it out. (It's not hard, just three cables hacked together and a specific resistance on the "ID" pin.) >> > Overall, these Allwinner A20/A31s tablets do not look very competitive >> > nowadays in terms of CPU performance and screen resolution, but might >> > be still an interesting choice for linux-sunxi enthusiasts. >> >> My feeling, after playing with this tablet, is that they're being used >> as budget / entry level options. HP has two different 7" options on >> their Australian store: the 7 Plus and the Slate 7: the latter is 2x >> the price of the former and has a Tegra 4 SoC. > > My biggest complaint about these A31s tablets is insufficient screen > resolution, even though the IPS display has great colors and viewing > angles. The 1024x768 screen resolution is just not good enough by > today's standards. But the price seems to be reasonably low. > > For a somewhat higher price, one may probably consider the Jolla Tablet > with 2048x1536 screen resolution. Or some similar hardware. > > By the way, it looks like the HP A31s tablets used to be available in > the local brick and mortar store here. But now have disappeared. So > I'm afraid that the HP tablets may also had been discontinued just > like MSI Primo81. It's the same here, which is part of the reason why I got one. The "HP 7 Plus" and "HP 8" used to be fairly widely available, however I got my "7" because they'd discontinued them and I can't find any "8"s anymore. Only the "HP 10 Plus" seems to be available in stores, however all are available on HP's website. >> If anyone has any experiments they'd like me to run that won't disturb >> the NAND storage or require an external display, please let me know. >> >> Other than that, my next steps are: >> 1. Enjoy it for a bit >> 2. Convince it to get into FEL mode (I'll try buttons then the SD card) >> 3. Root the stock Android distro >> 4. Open it >> 5. Complete the NDH > > You can start by just creating a page for your tablet at the > linux-sunxi wiki and populate it with some pictures. > > And we need a FEX file from your tablet. If we had it in the > sunxi-boards repository, then we could for example see whether > its LCD display is likely to be easily supported by the latest > u-boot LCD patches: > http://linux-sunxi.org/LCD Right now even getting the FEX is difficult as I'm yet to find a method to root the tablet. Thanks, -- Julian Calaby Email: julian.cal...@gmail.com Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/julian.calaby/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "linux-sunxi" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to linux-sunxi+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
