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My first tablet

R

rigcru

Newbie
Hello all,

I live in Manchester ( UK ) and have just purchased my first Tablet this Christmas after reading a letter sent to a PC Mag' in which the writer was asking for advise on what new Tablet they should buy directly from China and how to avoid cheap Chinese knock offs but buy a model/brand with some decent reviews/specs'.

Other advise given was how to minimise any extra duties/tax and best delivery services.

The advise given/read opened a whole new world to me of buying directly from China. I have purchased from China before indirectly via auction sites or Amazon, small stuff of no significance and any loss would not be great but this would be my first big expensive venture and direct.

After much reading and cross referencing I settled on a rooted Cube U30GT-2, 32GB, `10.1 ( Jellybean 4.2.2 ) Quad Core, 1.8 GHz, 2GB DDR3 Tablet with some extra OTG cables, a car charger, a UK mains charger, ( with a ridiculous short lead), with an adapter, a screen protector, leather case with key board and a couple of other accessories via Etotalk.

All of that for just over $300 or £185 delivered to the UK, the nearest I could get spec' wise was a UK Samsung (2014) 10.1 tablet, for around £400.

So I ordered and paid for the Cube on the 7/12/2013, sat back and waited, hoping I might have it before Christmas Day.

The first I knew of a problem was when I was contacted by Etotalk on the 19th informing me my Cube had been returned to them via customs and they would be sending it via another carrier, ( not one recommended in the PC mag' I had originaly read ).

Finally after several E-mails to and fro between myself and Etotalk my Tablet was delivered on the 29/12/2013 with no extra duties or tax to pay.

First thing I did was turn it on and all is working fine for the moment. It's thicker and heaver then say a Sony or Samsung tablet of the same size.

When ordering I had the tablet rooted, not being confident to do it myself, this stripped out most of the Chinese apps and other related Chinese stuff.

What I hadn't realised was how Windows desktop PC accustomed I had become, everything being, download/upload/plug & play/copy & paste and mouse driven.

For the money it appears a great tablet, if I have a gripe it's the camera, it's terrible but then a 10.1 tablet is not really to be used as a camera.

Anyway that's my 1st venture directly in the Chinese market, all in all a good experience, now I have questions to ask about my Cube Tablet in the other forums.
 
IMO Cube are one of the better known of the off-brands/Shenzhen-cheapies. Although their website always seems to be broken. "403 Forbidden nginx/1.0.15" Be interesting to see if you're still happy with it and it's still working in say six months time. Good luck! :thumbup:

BTW it's almost New Year now, so if you do need to contact them in the next 3-4 weeks, you might not get an immediate response.
 
Thanks Breadnaty for your reply and the link.

I took a plunge in to the tablet world and buying direct.

I was aware there may be lack of support for my device from the seller.

But I also figured there are a lot of people, ( like yourself ), who have gone before me on forums who share their experience so I don't feel quite so my own.

My problem is trying to understand and implement any advise given in the various Android forums because you can so easily end up with a brick.

Before buying, a good bit of advice I read was if buying Tablets and Mobiles from China and other places, avoid names and brands which had been Westernised and go for a decent Chinese named brand but do your research.
 
Thanks mikedt and thanks for your reply.

I don't think Chinese New Year make a blind bit of difference.

Even when the Chinese are manning the phones or reading their emails I found it an uphill struggle to get a simple request across.

To be fair to Etotalk, while it did take a repeat of 7 emails to get a simple instruction across, we got there in the end and they did keep me informed with multiple emails.

I don't hold much out for their tech' support however and I think I'm better asking for or reading advise on forums such as these.

Perhaps I'm being to judgemental here, being completely new to tablets and rooting but the whole process does come across as being a bit archaic.

I know rooting is to give more control, more choice but I do think, ( Android ), needs more a 1 click and relax approach when it comes to things like rooting.

Maybe that's to simple a wish and takes the learning out of things.

Anyway for
 
Chinese New Year makes a lot of difference and is very important in China. ;) One thing most business phones and emails don't get answered for three or four weeks. Most businesses, offices and factories close down and everyone goes home. Christmas in the UK is nothing compared to New Year in China,:D ...and I've been here five years now. I also know a few people in the Shenzhen tech industry, so I know some of the things that go on there. The Cube should be OK, as it's one of the better known brands, and apparently they do manufacturer their own devices. Onda and Ampe are also a more welknown Shenzhen makes, but some of their tablets can be truly crap.
 
Yes I know, I was being a little tongue in cheek, the Chinese work very hard and they deserve their 3-4 weeks.

Who manufactures the Cube Tablet?
 
That's who manufactured your tablet....
Shenzhen Alldo Cube Technology And Science Co., Ltd
The fact they're on Global Sources should indicate that the company is on the level. Global Sources are a reputable B2B listing site, and have been around for years.

Cube are not just some fly-by-night "trading company" run by a student or something in a hotel room or apartment block, pretending to be a manufacturer. And there's a lot of that going on. I've even seen peeps assembling Android phones and tablets in the backrooms of a shopping mall....LOL. They get the boards and modules from companies listed in a trade newspaper. That are only contactable by email, QQ IM or cellphone, and things are delivered by handcart or tricycle.

Cube are the sort of company Asda/Walmart might go to, to source their tablets that they sell in the supermarkets. Presumably they'll set a miminum standard of QC for a large client like Walmart, but I don't know what it'll be like for selling directly in China. I know Ampe makes their own devices, but they can be really crap. Some Onda tablets have had some odd and sinister stuff going on with them. We had couple of posts about them, purchased in Shanghai but couldn't get Facebook, Youtube, etc, when used in the UK. They had a blacklist of websites censored by the Chinese communist government built into them, was in the hosts file and could only be fixed by rooting.
 
Thanks for the information, so much appreciated.

Your reply made me smile but I have to admire the entrepreneurship of the Chinese people---except if you are on the receiving end of the crap you mention.

In an odd way if drones are good enough for Amazon then here in the UK handcarts and tricycle might get things delivered on time.
 
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