Saturday, August 14, 2010

New Digital Fashion - ACHO C901 WIFI + Blue Trackball

It is said that, ACHO, as a new digital fashion company in Chinese, is going to release a new MID with 7-inch (800*480) TFT LCD touchscreen, 16 million colors and WiFi connectivity, named “ACHO C901 Android MID/tablet”.





ACHO C901 has WIFI wireless module built-in, can access network anywhere has the hotspot or WIFI wireless network.

ACHO C901 WIFI + Blue Trackball

ACHO C901 has gravity sensor module built-in, can adjust the screen display according to direction of you hold the machine. ACHO C901 use the Android operating system, to increase the scalability of the machine, you can install all your favorite applications.

ACHO C901 WIFI + Blue Trackball


ACHO C901 has a blue trackball for easy navigation and is equipped with accelerometer for auto portrait/landscape transition.
 
ACHO C901: 7.0-inch, HD widescreen TFT LCD (800*480), 24-bit color, 16 million colors, Supports TF expansion cards 16GB the maximum.


ACHO C901: USB2.0, Slave Mode/HOST OTG (supports U disk not more than 32GB, not support the external hard drive)
External USB-DONGLE, supports 3G, CMMB and other DONGLE, but there must be related to driving built-in and supporting applications.


               

ACHO C901 is positioned as a internet-connected portable media player. ACHO C901 supports most media formats, including MKV, H.264, AVI, RM/RMVB, FLV, WMV9, MP4 video; MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC, OGG, AC3, WMA audio; and JPEG, BMP, GIF and PNG images. ACHO C901 has a USB 2.0 Host port for connecting external storage, USB 3G modem and USB CMMB dongle.


Click here to know more about ACHO C901

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My New Love -- iRiver E200 4G MP3 Player

my new love

Almost all modern MP3 players feel sturdy, but i was particularly impressed by  iRiver's E200 felt.
metal case

The hefty, rigid metal case looks classy and feels well engineered. This means it's a little heavier than the competition at 92g, but it's still compact and light enough to carry around all day.



I wasn't disappointed by the E200's audio quality when paired with a good aftermarket pair of earphones. Music sounded clear, rich and detailed. Bass wasn't quite as thumping as i'd like, especially compared with other iRiver players, but it still sounded pleasing. The included earphones aren't worth bothering with, as they make music sound flat and muffled with very weak bass.


Battery life was disappointing. It lasted just over 17 hours for audio, which is a little short compared with similarly priced players.


The E200's touch-sensitive buttons feel odd, especially if they're set to vibrate when pressed. Although these controls feel fiddly and less precise than a physical set of buttons, the haptic feedback is genuinely useful rather than just a gimmick - with vibration turned off we were more prone to choosing the wrong songs or overshooting our intended target in a long list. The interface's white text on dark backgrounds looks clear and sharp, even in overly bright or dim lighting conditions.


Videos looked great on the bright 2.8in display. The screen has plenty of contrast and videos were always displayed in the correct aspect ratio. H.264 video files aren't supported, but WMV and DivX videos played without any problems. The battery lasted five hours and 20 minutes when playing video, which should see you through a couple of films.


I was impressed with iRiver's E200 8GB. It feels well made and sounds great, while videos looked stunning on its 2.8in screen.Although its battery life is a little shorter than that of similarly priced players, the E200 is a classy portable audio and video player.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Open a new web application times! First experience of Ramos W7

Ramos W7, as a MID products which equipped with the Google android, it is familiar with anyone who likes digital products.

It is more than six months for Ramos W7, from the released to the public. Using of this time, Ramos made the Android system more rational interface and new from the bottom.

Exquisite design Experience as a thin blade


In appearance, the design of Ramos W7 is very exquisite, all metal body, with its super-slim design, the design process is superior.

The thinnest edge of the whole is only 2mm, while the thickest is only 10mm. Backplane using the arc for the entire mirror design, the grip was excellent, and very portability.

Button is used slender design, used in conjunction with its blade-like body as the edge. And there are obvious signs for buttons.

Thin USB interface

Ramos probide a USB interface and universal headphone adapter

4.8-inch screen displays superior


Ramos W7 uses capacitors as its screen, and the screen size is a very rare 4.8 inches, 800 × 480 resolution, 16.7 million color LED backlight display.

Let us take the PMP with the conventional display of a contrast effect.

Shooting up and down

Positive film

Shooting left and right

First experience of Android system – desktop



W7 at boot time, we can see Google robot across the screen, after it we can see the sign of Ramos W7. It just takes 20 seconds, and very smooth.
The default desktop


After entering the machine, we see the native desktop of W7, the notice bar on the top sets home keys, wireless network, power display, time, setting and return key, the middle screen is commonly used options and the central clock, the right screen is the software list to select the menu and screen selection menu.

Click the software list on the right, we can see a lot of software installed for us. We also can adjust and update them according to our own need.

Click the screen options under, you can switch to the 4-screen display directly, they are entertainment window, internet window, office window and application window, you can click switch simply.

Click the arrow on the other side, drag to see music, video, photos and e-book. These functions are classic functions of the traditional PMP.


click here to know more about Ramos W7

Monday, August 9, 2010

Ramos W7 Performance review

Ramos W7 Performance review

The Ramos W7 that we unboxed for you last week is a slick little device. Emphasis on the little. The 4.8”sized screen is the single most defining feature of the product. Based on its size you’re either going to hate or love this device.


Pros
-Small size means its easily the most portable tablet we’ve reviewed
-Rokchip video performance is solid enough at 480p  (but not 720p)
-Better than expected YouTube experience (in terms of video playback, although the UI is not too polished)
-8GB of included onboard memory
-Shiny cigarette case-like design differentiates it from the crowd of Apple-like devices.

Cons
-Small size means the entire experience is smaller… video, web pages, everything.
-Android 1.5 implementation is solid but starting to seem out-of-date
-Competes for your pocket space if you already own a smartphone

Key Specs
CPU -600MHz, Rockchip RK2808
OS -Android 1.5
Memory -8GB can add up to 16GB micro SD card extension
Screen -Resolution: 800*480 Capacitive Touchscreen
Size: -4.8 inches
Battery -1500mAh (we think)


Price
USD 174 at goods-of-china.com Click here.


Conclusions

Tablets or MIDs or PMPs if you will, in the smaller 5” screen size range like the Ramos W7 inevitably find themselves being compared to featurephones and smartphones which are now often of similar size… and price… and they make phone calls… and often support 3G. Its not that the Ramos W7 does anything badly it just doesn’t stand out as having one area that its really well suited to. The lone exception being portability. If you’re keen on 5” sized devices you’ll probably be fine with a Ramos W7.

Ramos W7 Android MID Review

The Ramos W7 was announced somewhere late in 2009 and after countless delays, it’s finally released. It’s probably one of the most anticipated devices from China. The specs look good on paper: a 4.8″ capacitive touchscreen, Android and 8 or 16GB internal memory all for a relative low price. Read on to find out if it can live up to the expectations.

Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)



Introduction



I ordered the Ramos W7 8GB from HouseOfDAP for $209 with free shipping. The device was shipped the next day, and I received it about a week later. It’s also available at Allpmp for $198.99 without shipping.


Design


It’s quite obvious that Ramos took a look at Apple’s PMP offerings: the Ramos W7 looks a lot like the second generation iPod Touch. The curved chrome backside, black front and a large screen all look quite familiar. However, the screen is bigger and it has more buttons. Besides the power button, there are three Android buttons on the side and two volume buttons on top of the device. These are very useful, but feel cheap compared to the rest of the device. Besides the three buttons on the right side, there’s also a micro-SD card slot. On the left side, there is a non standard port. For some strange reason, Ramos decided to drop all ports and using a LG 12 PIN port for charging, USB connection and connecting the headphones. There is no 3.5mm audio output, which is quite disappointing. 

Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)


Touchscreen



The Ramos W7 has hands down the best screen found on a device from a Chinese brand. Screen quality of the 4.8″ 800×480 display is great and it’s the first MID from China that’s using a capacitive touchscreen. Personally, I think this is a must-have feature on a Android device and it works very well on the W7. On the 3.7″ screen of my Android phone I struggle a lot when using the onscreen keyboard, but on the bigger screen of the W7 I barely make any typos.


CPU



The Ramos W7 is powered by the Rockchip RK2808 ARM processor. According to the specifications, the device should be clocked at 600MHz, but according to some system info apps, the Ramos W7 is only running at 299MHz. The CaffeineMark benchmark tool confirms this. The Ramos W7 received an overall score of 554, while my Motorola Milestone (running at 550MHz) got a score of 1000. It’s unclear why Ramos decided to underclock the device. The RK2808 is capable of running at higher speeds, so hopefully Ramos will unleash it’s full power in a firmware update.

you can click here to know more about Ramos W7


Wifi



Besides Wifi, connectivity is limited to a non standard port on the side of the device. It’s used for charging, USB connection and connecting the headset. No Bluetooth, USB OTG, HDMI or GPS on the Ramos W7.
Battery life

You’ll get about 3 hours worth of battery life out of the Ramos W7 under heavy use with Wifi turned on and about 15 hours of stand by time with Wifi turned off.
Accelerometer

The Ramos W7 has an accelerometer which works as expected. It’s sensitive enough to play some tilt based games and automatic screen rotation works fine.
Specifications


Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)

Screen: 4.8″ 800×600 capacitive touchscreen, 16 million colors
CPU: ARM 600MHz (currently clocked at 299MHz)
Memory: 128MB RAM
Connectivity: 802.11b/g WiFi
Storage: 8/16 GB Flash, micro-SD (max 32GB)
Battery: 1500mAH NiMH
Dimensions: 120×81x11mm
Weight: About 200g

With Android 2.2 Froyo slowly rolling out, it’s a bit disappointing to see Android 1.5 on the Ramos W7. Nevertheless, besides the lack of multitouch and Flash, there are only few things you’ll miss on the W7. Flash videos still work fine, there are tons of (free) apps available and Ramos added some nice touches. Unlike some other Android devices, the Ramos W7 comes with the application market, so you don’t need to jump through hoops to get some apps. With Android, you can easily change the language although there are a few Chinese apps pre-installed. The keyboard also has some Chinese characters, but you can easily download another keyboard from the app market.

Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)

you can click here to know more about Ramos W7


Software



E-book reader



There are several reader apps available for Android, but my favorite is Aldiko and it works very well on the Ramos W7. It looks slick, has some nice animations and a lot of options.

Internet



The default internet browser works very well. Most sites are rendered perfectly and zooming and scrolling is quite smooth. If you want a browser with more capabilities, you can download Skyfire, which adds features like Flash video playback. Opera Mini is also available. It renders the sites less good, but it’s very fast compared to the other browsers.
Besides web browsing, there are tons of apps available for Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging. I didn’t encounter any problems with those.


Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)


Audio and video playback



Ramos has created some apps for Android that mimick the looks of the Ramos media players, but with an added cover flow effect. Audio playback is flawless, but video isn’t as smooth as on the dedicated portable media players from Ramos. The Ramos W7 supports high definition videos up to 720p, but while most of them were still watchable there was some jerkiness to be found here and there.


Gaming



There are tons of free games available for Android. Unfortunately, most games currently don’t run very well on the Ramos W7, because of a screen rotation problem, which switches up landscape and portrait screen modes. So games that are designed to run in landscape mode are stretched to portrait, often with elements positioned incorrectly on the screen. Most 3D games also run really slow, possibly because of the low clocked processor. Luckily not everything is bad. Emulators for NES, GBA etc ran suprisingly smooth. The absence of multitouch makes it hard to control most games, but for games that don’t require multiple keypresses at the same time, it works very well. Especially turn based games like Advance Wars work very well and it’s always fun to catch all those Pokémans.


Google Android OS RAMOS W7 MP4 8G WIFI E-book Reader Tablet PC MID
Shop price:$174.60 (Free shipping)

you can click here to know more about Ramos W7


Pros



* Great capacitive touchscreen
* Slick design and good build quality
* Great wifi reception
* Loads of free apps to install


Cons



* No 3.5mm headphone jack
* No Android 2.1+
* No multitouch
* Screen orientation problem in apps
* CPU clocked at 299MHz


Comparison with the SmartQ V5

 



The closest competitor of the Ramos W7 is probably the SmartQ V5 (full review). In comparison, the SmartQ V5 is cheaper, has more connectivity options (USB OTG, Bluetooth, HDMI output, 3.5mm audio output), three operating systems but lacks the larger capacitive touchscreen and 8/16GB internal Flash memory of the W7.
Overall, the Ramos W7 is a slicker and more user friendly device than the SmartQ V5. Android is arguably the best mobile operating system and it works much better on the W7. If you want to read ebooks, easily download apps, browse the web and play some media files and games, the Ramos W7 is the best pick. Everything just works a bit smoother. On the other hand, if you love Linux and like doing more technical stuff, the SmartQ V5 might be the most interesting device with it’s almost endless capabilities. I managed to connect USB drives, control my desktop computer, use decent torrent/FTP applications and even control my camera using the SmartQ V5. The SmartQ V5 basically feels like a somewhat flawed, but very small desktop computer, while the Ramos W7 offers less functionality and is a more polished portable device.



Final conclusion



The Ramos W7 is the first Android MID with a capacitive touchscreen and that feature alone puts it ahead of the competition. The build and screen quality are also very good. Unfortunately, there are a few annoying issues. The most annoying feature is the weird port on the device that’s used for charging, USB and headphone connection. Other downsides are the screen orientation bug, the low clocked CPU and the fact that it runs the older Android 1.5, which lacks multitouch. Nevertheless, when using the device those issues hardly ever ruined the experience. Most tasks were performed smoothly and for browsing, ebook reading and media playback it’s currently the best MID you can buy for this price.


I compared the device to the Motorola Milestone/Droid and while the W7 was a bit slower, it definitely managed hold it’s own. The bigger screen even makes the W7 sometimes more comfortable to use. And that’s a big compliment for a device that’s costs less than half a Milestone.

You can grab the Ramos W7 at Goods of China for $174 with free shipping.

If you still have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!