Zenithink ZT-180 1GHz 10" tablet

[icurafu]

so I received my ZT-180 today. Performance is acceptable for now. One MAJOR problem I have is the touchscreen. It is so inaccurate that it is impossible to do some things such as text entry and click on the the zoom buttons. In fact this problem is not uniform throughout the screen. Some parts seem to be working better than others. I'm wondering if I just got a dud unit or is this the expected quality of the touchscreen. BTW, I know this is a resistive touchscreen, so I am already using a stylus.

Mine is perfect.

 

[trekkie0927]

Mine is perfect.

Ok, I will see if I can get mine replaced then. Cuz right now, the screen would basically rock back and forth when I hold my stylus at the edges of the touch screen. Clicking on keyboard keys close to the corners would give me all kinds of different letters.

 

[senee]

Hello all.
I've just confirmed with the seller that mine is ZT-180 (not Telechips as they once changed). Now, as i checked online, the item has arrived my country so it should reach me tomorrow. Will leave some reviews after i tested mine.

 

[myboxoftricks]

Hi,

I've just bought one of these and my opinion's aren't amazing, but are reasonable for the price paid.

My main issues at the moment are the seemingly inability to turn the screen off once it is locked (it stays locked with screen active, so just eating battery) and the lack of market and other google sync features.

Are there any dev's working on tablet roms for upgrade where I can find out info and potentially get my hands dirty? I'm happy to help get this on the road, either through development or pennies.

Cheers all.

 

[vfastbear]

Hello there, Have a look in the settings, mine turns the screen off in around 15 seconds if its not being used. I also have found a widget from somewhere that can change the screen brightness in 3 steps. Have a look around the internet for "AndAppStore" apk which installs fine on the ZT180 and gives you heaps more programs which run. Of the loose, non store apk`s that I have found and installed around 70% work just fine. JUst load the apk files into your memory or microSD card and just run them , ( many of the programs just wont run without a microSD memory card !!. )
Tony

 

[myboxoftricks]

Hello there, Have a look in the settings, mine turns the screen off in around 15 seconds if its not being used.

I have found this setting and set it accordingly, but instead of turning the screen off it just locks it :-/

Have a look around the internet for "AndAppStore" apk which installs fine on the ZT180 and gives you heaps more programs which run.

Thanks, looking for something like this - will try to find it now (no local wifi though so not sure how I will get it onto the device until hometime :-(

Cheers Tony.

 

[bgirlfepo]

I can not mount mine to my computer using the mini usb port. any help??

 

[Laharl]

I got this email today w00h00 I can't wait to get my tablet!

Hi we are geting the Zenithink with the new software today
will test them out make sure its stable and we will proceed to shipping
we will notify you by email if there is anything
thanks

Philip
www.merimobiles.com

also

I can not mount mine to my computer using the mini usb port. any help??

So far we do not have the drivers for it at this time but you can connect over wifi through the dos prompt check out XDA's forums and slatedroid forums for tutorials on how to do this.

ZT-180

Zenithink ZT-180 ipad device ROM development - xda-developers

 

[senee]

I got mine this morning...
The item came with zero charge battery, couldn't turn on out of the box
So i'll have to charge it fully before use.
By the way, i turned it on once just to confirm that it is Zenithink ZT-180.
Will post my thinking about this thing later.

 

[jtbnet]

I got this email today w00h00 I can't wait to get my tablet!...

I don't suspect you want today's firmware from Zenitech... the 0809 firmware has cleaned up apps that were useless... cleaned up some presentation related to phone versus tablet.... but fell back on things like touch accuracy, and playing video...

I'm using the 08/04 firmware plus the Samsung developed ARM11 Optimized libdvm (JAVA JIT compiler)...

It's easy enough to deal with Phone vs. Tablet messages... you can simply delete the useless apps once rooted... but basic coded in functionality like screen accuracy and basic performance we still rely on the original builder for now...

So I hope you get your Tablet ASAP... and can join the rest of us with working the available built code till we go to the next step and are building from scratch which is just tougher now due to an unpublished base...

 

[icurafu]

I thought it was already JIT optimised. I don't think you'll find much of an improvement. That's why the benchmark scores were fooled into thinking it was an A8.

My firmware 0809 has been a little better. I don't seem to have the same touch accuracy problem and video improved for me. But that's only on the video files I had issues with. That were 180MB tv series at a low bitrate. I only use real player because I have audio sync problems with the built in one. I recommend updating still. Still a few massive bugs not yet resolved in any firmware.

 

[Deleted User]

I thought it was already JIT optimised. I don't think you'll find much of an improvement. That's why the benchmark scores were fooled into thinking it was an A8.

My firmware 0809 has been a little better. I don't seem to have the same touch accuracy problem and video improved for me. But that's only on the video files I had issues with. That were 180MB tv series at a low bitrate. I only use real player because I have audio sync problems with the built in one. I recommend updating still. Still a few massive bugs not yet resolved in any firmware.

I agree. This little thing is turning into quite a project. I'm still looking for good instructions on gaining root. I've managed to sideload some apps. Would love to have a calendar.

 

[senee]

OK, i've tested mine for few hours... and here is my brief review;

Built quality: Feel like a toy. Material is not so good, though not very bad. Rear cover is slippery after used for a while (better grab of its side).

Size and weight: Perfect. 10" at 1024x600 and merely 600 grams. Feel comfortable holding it for hours.

Display: Brightness and clarity are good, but viewing angle is bad. Just around 15 degrees to any direction make it difficult to see.

Touchscreen: Quite responsive. Can scroll pages smoothly. Especially while reading PDF. This will be a very good ebook(PDF) reader. Accuracy is not a problem, i didn't calibrate the touchscreen and didn't have any accuracy problem.

Speakers: Don't expect much from its 2 tiny speakers. Sound quality is not good, turn to max volume and they sound like crack.

Screen rotation: Good and response fast. I can turn it at any direction and the screen did rotate accordingly. (mostly, depends on the software)

Wifi: i didn't have any disconnect problem (after used for few hours).

USB: I tested with 2 of my wireless (2.5Ghz) Keyboard+mouse, all worked very fine. Haven't test with USB drive and external harddrive.

Video playing: I played 720p and 1080p movies and music videos just fine, providing that the video codec = XVID/DIVX and audio codec = MP3. Tried AVC and AAC, both didn't do it well. I will try more video and audio codecs and let you know later.

Market: The seller said there is no market yet. But i got SlideMe market pre-installed. Downloaded and installed Opera mini just fine.

Overall: I'm quite satisfied with this tablet. It can do what i expected. Worth the money.

That's all i feel for it upto now.

Oh, the one that i got has following firmware:
Model: p7901a
Firmware: 2.1-update1
Kernel: 2.6.32.9 root@zenithink#1603
Built Number: p7901a-eng2.1update1 ERE27 eng.root.20100708.111326 test-keys

 

[icurafu]

Nice review. I agree with all the points completely. I thought the same about the plastic, but the smooth screen at the front makes up for it. The flat glass is nice. ^^

I also find the speakers are awful. Sound is still fine from the headphone, but not amazing.

I'm glad you had such good results from the video. It's been a bit hit and miss for me, but many formats seem to be supported, but strangely not the extensions, so ti pays to rename.

 

[veeshy]

intresting review and puts me at ease a little...

 

[huff_diggler]

hi, i'm new to this forum, so please bare with me lol...
i purchased a zenithink zt-180 epad on the 6th of aug, on ebay item number 270616921836 having done some research(apparently not much by the look of the *fake* chipset shinanigans)and watching the excellent first and second look vids on youtube.

any how i then developed a cold sweat across the back of me neck and panic set in, so i contacted my seller with a couple of questions:-

Dear greenfactory6688,

hi, i need to know whether or not this unit is a zenithink, or a re-branded zenithink tablet, due to allegations of fake zt-180 chip/cpu, these tablets are highly unstable in android 2.1, also the tablet should contain an A8 cortex, the 'fake' tablets contain an ARM11 chip instead.
can you please inform me of the brand of pad i'm to recieve. i look forward to your quick response.
very best regards andy.


- huff_diggler


and this was the reply, now i thought it was good as he/they reply'd very quickly:

Dear huff_diggler,

Hello there,

You are right about the unstable Android 2.1 of this model if the CPU is ARM11; actually on August 4th, the model has been recalled by manufacturer because of that. You item was purchased on the 6th, so it's the new model; the Android market is stable and it's made by Zenithink, not fake one. You are in a good hand when purchase from us.

Regards,

- greenfactory6688


....so what do we recon, i can't find any news about a zenithink recall on the 4th....

also, what would the *new* model contain?

 

[jtbnet]

I thought it was already JIT optimised. I don't think you'll find much of an improvement. That's why the benchmark scores were fooled into thinking it was an A8.

My firmware 0809 has been a little better. I don't seem to have the same touch accuracy problem and video improved for me. But that's only on the video files I had issues with. That were 180MB tv series at a low bitrate. I only use real player because I have audio sync problems with the built in one. I recommend updating still. Still a few massive bugs not yet resolved in any firmware.

The samsung ARM11 Optimized DVM did improve benchmark scores 22-30% depending on the test tried... so worth it in itself... but the biggest win with the Samsung DVM is better error catching/handling, and likely cleaner code... as things that hang with the original DVM may still error but no longer hang the tablet... big improvement as I've had the tablet stay stable and not hang for over 24 hrs. which was unheard of before I upgraded the DVM

 

[Catfish]

Dear huff_diggler,

Hello there,

You are right about the unstable Android 2.1 of this model if the CPU is ARM11; actually on August 4th, the model has been recalled by manufacturer because of that. You item was purchased on the 6th, so it's the new model; the Android market is stable and it's made by Zenithink, not fake one. You are in a good hand when purchase from us.

Regards,

- greenfactory6688


....so what do we recon, i can't find any news about a zenithink recall on the 4th....

also, what would the *new* model contain?

I wouldn't believe there's any "new" model. I think the guy is just tickling your ears to make it sound like he's acting to correct the ARM11 problem. I doubt he would get a new model on the 6th of Aug when the CPU exposure was on the 2nd. It took them weeks to release the initial model AFAIK and no one here has posted news of a recall from ZeniThink. First I've read of it.

 

[icurafu]

yeah,there was no recall. I'd avoid this seller if you can. Not because I think the product is fake, but because the seller has no integrity.

 

[senee]

Addition #1 to my previous brief review... about wifi range.

I just noticed that wifi usage is not good. Last time i was on only one location so i didn't have weak wifi signal. If the signal is too weak (eg.1 signal bar out of 3 in wifi setting), it just won't connect at all even i turned off then on the wifi. I tested by walking around my house and found that it lost connection if i walked approximately 8-9 metres away from the router...

As i expected to use this gadget to browse files in my network drive (via wifi) around my house, this wifi problem make it not possible. That's bad. But, anyway, i tried to find possible solutions for the problem and tried various methods which worked for me. So, i'd like to share with you (esp. if you face with the same problem). Sorry if this is not directly related to this forum topic.

Solutions...

1. Re-locate wifi router. I moved the router out of the house corner and place it to more open place (to avoid solid walls that block the signal). I tried to put it at the center of the house, on 2nd floor (it's 3 stories house).

2. Adjust router antennas. I use an wireless-N router with 3 antennas and point all antennas upward from the first installation. I tested turning the antenna direction around 10-15 degrees and checked the difference. Found that the best antenna direction for me is not to point them upward, but 2x45 and 1x90 degrees. Try antenna direction that work best for your tablet.
You may consider to change the antenna to higher gain one or to a single directional antenna. I didn't change mine, i don't want to invest money on the antenna.

3.Changed my router wifi channel. I used router default channel which is 11. Found that some APs near my house also use the same channel. Default channel for router is often be channel 6 or 11. I set and checked each channel starting from the lowest.. 1, 2, 3, etc. Found out that channel 2 is the best for my place. (you may have to use software that can measure signal strength to tell the difference between each channel). If you think to try to change, try on the lowest channel first.

4. Good that the firmware of my router is the latested one. Check yours. It may help on signal strength if you're using old firmware and flash to the latest one.

If you still have wireless coverage after tried all above ways, you may consider wireless signal repeater (I didn't invest because the only device that i got wifi signal problem is this tablet).

In conclusion, now i get better signal on my tablet and can use it on more locations around my house. It also helps signal strength for other wifi devices (smartphone, notebook, etc). Try yours, i hope it will help.

 

[JamesDroid]

Hello All,

I would just like to introduce myself. My name is Mr. Ravat and I have landed the rights to become the official Zenithink United States distributor. Our warehouses are located in Houston and New York and we will ship out and process returns/repairs/replacements directly from the US so customers do not have to send their products back to China. We are currently in the process of setting up the website at www.Zenithink.us and will distributing the ZT-180 under the Zenithink brand, with the manufacturers full consent and permission.

Our primary goal is to provide transparency and customer service while promoting and holding up the reputation of the Zenithink.

We realize that there are a number of rebranded Zenithink apads being sold in the US under different names such as Orphan, Flatpad, etc. These distributors, either through their own ignorance or malfored intent, have misrepresented the ZT-180 to contain an A8 Cortex. However, this is not the position of Zenithink and the manufacturer has made it clear that this false rumor surfaced on un-official Chinese forum discussions about the ZT-180.

We are in direct communication with the manufacturer and would like to make it abundantly clear that the ZT-180 is running on an ARM 11 and not an A8 Cortex. However, despite this fact, the ZT-180 is still an amazing machine and worth every cent.

Our website should be up soon to take your order. Also, you may contact us if you have any further questions.

Best Regards,
The team at Zenithink.us
Division of Ravat Trading LLC

Why does it have the CPU listed in the Windows CE 6.0 sys info saying Cortex A8 then if ZT didn't create the ROM image that way?

 

[eyal.shem]

i purchase the epad (ZT180) yesterday,
and i canot find the android market,
did any one have the same problem or know how to fix it?

 

[jtbnet]

i purchase the epad (ZT180) yesterday,
and i canot find the android market,
did any one have the same problem or know how to fix it?

I tried to install the Google Apps package last nite and did get GMAIL, GCalendar working... Market connects to my Acct and displays list of Apps... Can show ones I've downloaded via my Moto Droid Cell... but choose to Download a new one and it tries and fails logging;

Market Failure;
=====================================================================
I/ActivityManager( 1985): Starting activity: Intent { act=android.intent.action.VIEW cmp=com.android.vending/.AssetPermissionsSubActivity (has extras)
I/ActivityManager( 1985): Displayed activity com.android.vending/.AssetPermissionsSubActivity: 530 ms (total 530 ms)
I/NotificationService( 1985): enqueueToast pkg=com.android.vending callback=android.app.ITransientNotification$Stub$Proxy@440730f0 duration=1
I/vending ( 7956): com.android.vending.api.RequestDispatcher$RequestContext.<init>(): Some requests use secure token but dont require SSL. Forcing SSL.
...
I/vending ( 7956): com.android.vending.api.RequestDispatcher$RequestContext.<init>(): Some requests use secure token but dont require SSL. Forcing SSL.
E/vending ( 7956): com.android.vending.AsynchRequestRunner$1.runRequestRetryingFailure(): Got ApiException from async request: Sent a bad request.
D/vending ( 7956): com.android.vending.api.LocalAssetDatabase.notifyListener(): 6983634427310772536 / DOWNLOAD_FAILED
D/vending ( 7956): com.android.vending.VendingNotificationManager.showNotification(): Showing notification: [AssetID=6983634427310772536, NotificationID=-98541736, Title=Onion News Network, Message=Download was unsuccessful, please try again.]

 

[rabidgod]

BEWARE!!!!!! I POSTED ABOUT HOW MY ZT-180 WAS JANKY AS HELL IN TWO DIFFERENT THREADS, AND THEY WERE BOTH DELETED. SOMEONE DOESN'T WANT U TO KNOW THESE TABLETS ARE GARBAGE. MY EVO MAKES THE ZT LOOK LIKE A PIECE OF CARDBOARD.

 

[jtbnet]

BEWARE!!!!!! I POSTED ABOUT HOW MY ZT-180 WAS JANKY AS HELL IN TWO DIFFERENT THREADS, AND THEY WERE BOTH DELETED. SOMEONE DOESN'T WANT U TO KNOW THESE TABLETS ARE GARBAGE. MY EVO MAKES THE ZT LOOK LIKE A PIECE OF CARDBOARD.

That just seems strange to me as I got reprimanded early on for getting excited about my delivery of the ZT-180/M16... so there surely didn't seem a strong postive influence FOR Zenithink on this site...

Plus, Last post in this thread you said you ordered a Telechip model? Of course we understand what you get vs. what your ordered isn't always the same thing... So... What vendor did you order from? What Processor/model did you receive? IF ZT-180 then which Firmware did it arrive with, as I have 4 different versions, all with differing issues, but some much better than others, so we could help you with getting to one of the better if that's all it takes...

Also just to put this in perspective... Your EVO, List Price without Subsidy would be ~3X the price we can buy these low price ZT-180 Tablets for... I know as I spent $600x2 for my Moto Droid Dev Phones too... So sure the 10" screen is what makes this tablet stand out... my Moto droid over-clocked and stable as a rock beats this hands down but was 3x the price and 1/8th the screen size overall... So some say you get what you pay for which is sometimes true But sometimes you over-weight the benefit of a particular feature like Nice Realy Large Screen and I was really surprised at the performance watching a DIVX Movie while sitting at my Daughter's Karate lesson for an hour... I didn't want the lesson to end... but granted I used ~50% of my battery watching the movie for that hour...