waterhead--i hope you get this worked out. You might try sending an email to the folks over at shanzai.com. Their editor "Tai-Pan" (aka Timothy James Brown) did 2 hands-on reviews with the tablet. Hell, they might be interested in your customs story for their site and/or maybe they can steer you towards a manufacturer over in China that can produce what you need.
-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
Zenithink ZT-180 1GHz 10" tablet
- Thread starter Laharl
- Start date
-
- Tags
- zenithink zt-180
W
waterhead
Guest
Thanks zerozed, I'll look them up.
If that doesn't work, you can post the question over on facebook:
Apad (Tablet PC) Store | Facebook
Apad (Tablet PC) Store | Facebook
...
My biggest concern is the ZT-180 chip/A8 issue... For a casual user of a tablet, is that going to make a noticeable difference in performance? I'm looking for an e-reader, web surfer, email , etc.. Basic stuff... Mostly to look cool on the subway
The A8 when optimized correctly Would have been faster... BUT the ARM11/GC600 at 1GHz performs all basic tasks like you require Very Well... considerably smoother than last years prior generation of tablets...
Thanks for that.. That said, what WON'T the tablet do? I am thinking of getting the one from flatcomputing. I have read that there is no flash support? The problem they are having right now is that they cannot provide an updated ROM, claiming that Zenithink will not give them the code or tools or some such... If this has a custom ROM in it already, can it be upgraded with a different ROM, and is that a relatively easy task for a noob like me? I really want to get the most out of the tablet, and being impatient, want it now rather than wait a month or two for newer versions. Hell, these things are still in their infancy, and are changing almost daily..
andrew
you of course may do as you wish, but I do have to satisfy my curiosity. Why would you invest $ in a product that the seller has already stated theywill no longer be supporting?
Im just curious, I mean if you are a hacker extroidinnarre, then its a great "local" deal on a 10" tablet. But if you want to DO things with it, well that could be another story all together.
just asking
j
Good question mindwave. I am not a hacker of ANY measure, trust me
FC says they will indeed support the tablet ~IF~ they can get the tools necessary from Zenithink to do so. I have been in extensive contact with Todd Bryant at FC, asking all sorts of questions before I pull the trigger. The only reason I HAVEN'T made the purchase yet is because I have my reservations, thus my inquiries here - to the people who generally know WAY more about these tablets than I do (I did the same thing before I got a Pug puppy for my wife). On the other hand, there are so many custom ROM's out there, if I learned how to do it (or had someone do it for me), I could do the upgrade on my own.
Here's the email's back & forth with Todd Bryant at FC (starts at the bottom, ending at the top...):
[FONT="]We plan on providing links and updates on this product via our website. The only downside would be if Zenithink does not finally release their code and doesn’t update anymore.
Todd
On 8/17/10 3:29 PM, "Andrew " <andrewkl@omittedon purpose.net> wrote:[/FONT]
[FONT="]I appreciate your candor and honesty. That said, what is the downside with this tablet vs. one I might purchase on Ebay, or through an Asian distributor? Assuming you get the code from Zenithink, or acquire the appropriate tools, would you be in contact with current owners, offering some sort of a link or disk for the appropriate upgrades? Would Zenithink provide their upgrades to the consumer directly?
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]From:[/FONT][FONT="] Todd Bryant [mailto:todd@flatcomputing.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 4:17 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: Re: Sales Tax problem
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]Andrew:
The ZT-180 from Zenithink currently only allows updates from Zenithink. We have tried to contact them several times and try to get the source code and tools to build our custom ROM but they have refused. They might open up later on and we are monitoring several developers trying to crack their ROM writing tool, etc. and hope this will be resolved soon but currently we can not put our ROM on it so it can not support Marketplace currently but does have Slide Market on it and they are gaining ground.
As to Android v2.2, we are waiting on seeing what Zenithink will do. So I have no idea about v2.2.
In the interim we are selling these tablets as-is and they are in stock. Over 150 units.
We are also working with two other manufacturers on our own designed tablets and hope to have them released in September.
Thanks,
Todd
On 8/17/10 3:06 PM, "Andrew" <[/FONT][FONT="][URL="http://androidforums.com/andrewkl@optonline.net"]andrewkl@omittedon purpose.net[/FONT][/URL][FONT="]> wrote:
Thanks Todd. After contacting you, I have read quite a bit about the “alleged” Zenithink chip in this tablet being a fraud (from the manufacturer, not you). Has this issue been corrected in the stock on hand? Specifically, will this tablet accept a bump to Android 2.2, and will it accept the app market?
Thanks[/FONT]
[FONT="]We plan on providing links and updates on this product via our website. The only downside would be if Zenithink does not finally release their code and doesn’t update anymore.
Todd
On 8/17/10 3:29 PM, "Andrew " <andrewkl@omittedon purpose.net> wrote:[/FONT]
[FONT="]I appreciate your candor and honesty. That said, what is the downside with this tablet vs. one I might purchase on Ebay, or through an Asian distributor? Assuming you get the code from Zenithink, or acquire the appropriate tools, would you be in contact with current owners, offering some sort of a link or disk for the appropriate upgrades? Would Zenithink provide their upgrades to the consumer directly?
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]From:[/FONT][FONT="] Todd Bryant [mailto:todd@flatcomputing.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 4:17 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: Re: Sales Tax problem
[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]Andrew:
The ZT-180 from Zenithink currently only allows updates from Zenithink. We have tried to contact them several times and try to get the source code and tools to build our custom ROM but they have refused. They might open up later on and we are monitoring several developers trying to crack their ROM writing tool, etc. and hope this will be resolved soon but currently we can not put our ROM on it so it can not support Marketplace currently but does have Slide Market on it and they are gaining ground.
As to Android v2.2, we are waiting on seeing what Zenithink will do. So I have no idea about v2.2.
In the interim we are selling these tablets as-is and they are in stock. Over 150 units.
We are also working with two other manufacturers on our own designed tablets and hope to have them released in September.
Thanks,
Todd
On 8/17/10 3:06 PM, "Andrew" <[/FONT][FONT="][URL="http://androidforums.com/andrewkl@optonline.net"]andrewkl@omittedon purpose.net[/FONT][/URL][FONT="]> wrote:
Thanks Todd. After contacting you, I have read quite a bit about the “alleged” Zenithink chip in this tablet being a fraud (from the manufacturer, not you). Has this issue been corrected in the stock on hand? Specifically, will this tablet accept a bump to Android 2.2, and will it accept the app market?
Thanks[/FONT]
The latest from Todd Bryant at FlatComputing (I should note that these will be available from the US vs. China!):
" [FONT="]Andrew:
We are building the new units based on Freescale’s iMX51 CPU module which has the ARM A8 cortex chip along with a multimedia accelerator chip, etc. We will have resistive and capacitance screens with wifi, gps, accelerometer, Android 2.2, etc. We are also working on 3G modules for these units and trying to get Verizon or Sprint for the monthly service stuff.
Full specs will be posted soon. We are NOT going to post until we have finished testing our spec units which we will have next week. We already got chewed out for this damn Zenithink crap so we will not go down that road again.
Todd"[/FONT]
" [FONT="]Andrew:
We are building the new units based on Freescale’s iMX51 CPU module which has the ARM A8 cortex chip along with a multimedia accelerator chip, etc. We will have resistive and capacitance screens with wifi, gps, accelerometer, Android 2.2, etc. We are also working on 3G modules for these units and trying to get Verizon or Sprint for the monthly service stuff.
Full specs will be posted soon. We are NOT going to post until we have finished testing our spec units which we will have next week. We already got chewed out for this damn Zenithink crap so we will not go down that road again.
Todd"[/FONT]
Yes, Unfortunately Jason and Todd picked a tough time to start a company in this business and got burned on their first try at a decent performing low cost alternative... The Tablet is good for the money but the software support from China has been lacking and the A8 fiasco buried them for a while... They should do well with a reputable and responsive supplier as I think they've learned from this mess... just a really tough way to start as they had to have lost a ton of initial startup investment...
jtbnet: if I were to buy their $220 pad, is there a way to re-flash it so that it can accept upgrades, etc, or is that all proprietary?
I like the candor they have shown thus far in dealing with the situation and would like to do business with them.. Todd said he doesn't know the price point for the new pad when released, and this one is in my budget.. I just don't want to be stuck.
I have an A10 I received this week... I paid full price (~$320 delivered) though I was offered a discount as I did not want anything owed to a supplier till I actually used/reviewed their product and I felt these guys were being straight and getting hosed by circumstances outside their control...
That said... It's identical to my Orphan M16 (I paid same price for a month ago) except for the sticker on the back and the box it was shipped in... Today I just flashed the latest Zenithink 0818 firmware on it and it is an improvement (has basic ADB via usb support... cleaner faster boot... etc...) but still has a good ways to go... I think Zenithink has made some progress and will hopefully continue but at this point I think we can start seeing some things coming from folks around here that will make it even better...
Just my Opionion... It's still Not Fully cooked out of the box but there's plenty of help around with some cleanup at this point... so I'd say for $220-250 it's a great buy...
...
I just purchased one of these. I'll review once I get it.
Epad ZT180 Special Designed Case With Keyboard Epad ZT180 Special Designed Case With Keyboard [Epad-Case] - $45.00 : JTSHOP
Looks nice. Hopefully I can reuse it with a future updated Zenithink pad.
Epad ZT180 Special Designed Case With Keyboard Epad ZT180 Special Designed Case With Keyboard [Epad-Case] - $45.00 : JTSHOP
Looks nice. Hopefully I can reuse it with a future updated Zenithink pad.
I would get a refund and buy from somewhere else that delivers straight away. That is just awful. It makes you wonder if they ever had the units. Seems to me like they are stalling until they can get a cheaper bulk price from the factory and pretending delays to keep the orders. Lots of resellers do this.
JamesDroid
Newbie
I'm so glad I never had to put up with stuff like this and got my tablets straight away. I won't say where I bought from as then people will say I'm a spammer. But really I'd never shop at Merimobiles or any aliexpress sellers, they've been proven time and time again they are time wasters who mess people around.
Laharl: that sucks! I don't know anything about merimobile, but if they're based in the USA then it is illegal for them to charge your credit card before they ship the product. You might consider canceling the order and (if you're in the US) ordering from Flat Computing. Disclaimer: I haven't ordered from them, but they seem to at least have them in country and in stock. If you go this route, get them to drop the tax (unless you live in TX).
Good question mindwave. I am not a hacker of ANY measure, trust me
FC says they will indeed support the tablet ~IF~ they can get the tools necessary from Zenithink to do so. I have been in extensive contact with Todd Bryant at FC, asking all sorts of questions before I pull the trigger. The only reason I HAVEN'T made the purchase yet is because I have my reservations, thus my inquiries here - to the people who generally know WAY more about these tablets than I do (I did the same thing before I got a Pug puppy for my wife). On the other hand, there are so many custom ROM's out there, if I learned how to do it (or had someone do it for me), I could do the upgrade on my own.
Andrew,
PLease keep us in the loop here. I for one am interested in buying a 10" tablet in the next few weeks and like you I'd rather not import if I dont have to, but what I have read FROM FC is not real encouraging.
But I am always open to changing my mind!
j
I don't think you really have to rely on Flat Computing to support the tablet--at least as it pertains to firmware. Not sure if that's what you're wanting though. Zenithink is updating firmware for the device, and it is probably only a matter of time before the XDA community develops a ROM for the device. They already have one for the Rockchip version.
merimobiles-philip
Lurker
Hi just to set the record straight, first we do have them in stock and the product has been shipped and tracking number has been provided for the transaction. When you first placed an order the tablet was on preorder, as we will never take this long to ship out a product. Once the Zenithink was officially out we all know what happened with the 1Ghz CPU lie from Zenithink. As this point we took the time to test all the Zenithink tablets we had and the product was unstable and crashing. We sent an email out to all our Zenithink customers and offered 1. A discount, 2. a free 16GB memory card for those who agreed to wait until Zenithink figured out the issues and upgraded the firmwares on the devices. We also offered a FULL REFUND to those who did not want to wait. And those that did not want to wait we sent them a FULL REFUND. Then Zenithink projected a second date and inform us that they would fix the issues. Issues were still not fixed so we sent another email to our Zenithink customers and informed them that it would be delayed again. If they did not which to wait we would provide a FULL REFUND, and you chose to wait. At the time we did not feel comfortable to send you a product that is not stable as we believe if its not good enough for us its not good for our dear customers. The products we always had them in stock. To us customer satisfaction is more important than making a quick buck. We love the android community and we want to help it continue to grow in the right way. I understand your frustration but I acted in a way to protect you as a customer and not sent you a product that was to unstable and cause you frustrations. We apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you. All in all product has been shipped and we provided you with the tracking number. We have alot of customers and I can proudly say that most of them are satisfied with the products and the level of service we provide. We do have a good reputation and I will take this experience as a positive and I can tell you it will help us provide better service in the future as we will react better next time in hope to meet your expectations. Thank you for choosing us and i hope this clears things out. By the way nice forum keep up the good work guys.
Philip
Merimobiles
Philip
Merimobiles
So its been almost an entire month and I still do not have this freaking tablet!!!!!!!
I'm starting to think going with Merimobiles was a bad idea.
This is the correspondence that I had through emails with them.
tosupport@merimobiles.com
dateTue, Aug 10, 2010 at 4:04 AM
I logged into merimobiles to check the status of my order (I was told it was to be shipped on the 10th) and it still says it is Processing, could you confirm for me that it was actually shipped out or will be shipped today?
I placed the order on the 25th of July when it said it was going to ship on August the 1st and then was told it was pushed back to the 10th I don't mind the wait as long as its for improvements on the tablet.
This was the reply I got
dateTue, Aug 10, 2010 at 12:42 PM
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
So I sent this back to them
So mine didn't ship out on the 10th?
do you have an estamated ship date?
only to get this response
Hi we were about to send you an email, we have the tablet still some issues on the firmware, we are waiting on a new custom firmware, what do you wish to do, they inform us this new firmware should be ready around thursday next week, let us know, you might be interested in the wits a81e, which is a far better product, we wait for your answer
thank you
Philip
www.merimobiles.com
then I said
Could you go ahead and ship the tablet now and provide me with a link to upgrade the firmware myself in 2 weeks when it is out?
I have been using Android for a while on my Phone so updating is not a problem for me and I would really love to get this tablet.
I know the system is not perfect software wise but as long as my 1 year warranty is still valid I would be happy with it.
Thanks
they they said
ok perfect it will go out tomorrow and we will email you the track#
so I waited for 3 days and send this to them
Just checking up on my order for that tracking number
and got a response from Phillip
Hi didn't you get our email we sent, we got the zenithink products but they are still very buggy, next week should be another update on the device which will make it better, and more stable, do you wish to wait, get another device like witstech a81e android 2.2 which is a good replacement, or refund
i wait your reply
thanks
Philip
www.merimobiles.com
so I was angry now but I sent a calm email to them
This is what I sent back on August 12th and the reply I got from
support, so was my Tablet not sent out like I was told it would be?
I await your response thanks
Aug 12 (3 days ago)
Could you go ahead and ship the tablet now and provide me with a link
to upgrade the firmware myself in 2 weeks when it is out?
I have been using Android for a while on my Phone so updating is not
a problem for me and I would really love to get this tablet.
I know the system is not perfect software wise but as long as my 1
year warranty is still valid I would be happy with it.
Thanks again
support@merimobiles.com
show details Aug 12 (3 days ago)
ok perfect it will go out tomorrow and we will email you the track#
which is the copy of the emails I already sent before and they said
support@merimobiles.com
yes i put it on our shipping list you are next once shipped i will email you the track# thanks
then I waited for a day and asked iftablet shipped out August 16th? and they said they would email me the tracking number on the 17th but I never got one.
so on the 18th I sent this
Never received a tracking # yesterday does that mean it didn't get shipped out?
Will you will go ahead and flash it with the firmware update that you
told me was due out today (08-19-10) before you send it out?
It's been almost an entire month since I ordered this tablet and I'm a
little concerned at this point, an explanation of what is going on
with the tablet or what is happening for this tablet to be delayed
almost 20 days from when I was told it would originally ship would be
greatly appreciated.
There have been people who I know that ordered from a website that was
not well heard of that got the same tablet for around $220 and also
got a free case or memory card and have had the tablet since the first
of the month but I went with Merimobiles because it was advertised on
Shanzai.com and on a forum for Android users and I had heard good
reviews for the website stating that it was reliable and one of the
best places to order from so thats why I picked Merimobiles, and yet
everyone else already has there tablet and I still have to wait.
I don't want to sound rude or anything and I understand that there was
a problem at first with the processor getting falsely advertised but
that doesn't explain why its taking so long to ship out or why I get
two different people when I email for support one person named Phillip
and another who doesn't leave a name on the email that is sent out.
I await your response.
and today I got this
I understand your concern, we could have shipped all the devices from the day it was release but we know they all had major issues and this is why we choose to hold on as we prefer not to ship something we consider if its not good enough for ourselves than its not good enough for the customers, I did put your package in our shipping queue, soon as our shipping department gives me the tracking number i will forward it to you.
thanks
Philip
www.merimobiles.com
thats nice of them and all but I asked for it to be shipped anyway not placed in queue I Want my freaking tablet that I PAID FOR but I can't get anywhere with these guys.
Anyone got any suggestions for me?
Thanks for the clarity.
A lot of the geeks who buy these toys are happy enough to upgrade the firmware themselves and Laharl even asked for this specifically. (ofcourse a few are not, and complain a lot). You should expect a large percentage of customers just want the device and to be informed when firmwares are released.
A lot of the geeks who buy these toys are happy enough to upgrade the firmware themselves and Laharl even asked for this specifically. (ofcourse a few are not, and complain a lot). You should expect a large percentage of customers just want the device and to be informed when firmwares are released.
Are you talking about me???
Seriously... Philip is doing right by their customers, though I can understand Laharl's frustration as I went through it with 2 other vendors also trying to do right by me... Communication is the key here... And I understand there are many customers, of differing viewpoints, to deal with here... but a timely response, with the honest facts, to Laharl I believe would have gone a long way... and then if a customer says 'Ship it As-Is'... save the email and Ship It...
I wasn't trying to be a mean person and I am happy with the way phillip emailed me but as this was my first online order besides ebay for comic books and I knew everyone here had the tablets and had ordered online so I was asking for advice.
The tablet has been shipped and Im waiting on DHL to update so I can track it with my tracking number.
I wasnt bad mouthing I just posted what was in the emails and I was just asking for advice here.
Philip has been awesome and I knew he was doing what he could but the other person that replied with no name said what I wanted to hear but didnt inform Phillip of what he had told me and when Phillip asked if I had got his email about what I wanted to do when it was delayed again I knew I had been talking to 2 people and was just frustrated .
See the email where phillip asked if I had got the email he sent but I had already comunicated with someone else on the reply so no it wasnt phillips fault I think he is pretty cool but yes all it all it was a big mixup but Im just happy that I should have my tablet on Wednesday or Friday.
The tablet has been shipped and Im waiting on DHL to update so I can track it with my tracking number.
I wasnt bad mouthing I just posted what was in the emails and I was just asking for advice here.
Philip has been awesome and I knew he was doing what he could but the other person that replied with no name said what I wanted to hear but didnt inform Phillip of what he had told me and when Phillip asked if I had got his email about what I wanted to do when it was delayed again I knew I had been talking to 2 people and was just frustrated .
See the email where phillip asked if I had got the email he sent but I had already comunicated with someone else on the reply so no it wasnt phillips fault I think he is pretty cool but yes all it all it was a big mixup but Im just happy that I should have my tablet on Wednesday or Friday.
I checked their site today to see if there was any update on the "new" pads they were going to market, and saw that they have posted a ROM update on their support page. I believe they have custom ROM's, and the one posted is 0804... Don't know what that update will do for the pad..
To answer someone elses statement, I think it ~IS~ FC's responsibility to update the pad, since they wrote a custom ROM for it.... Unless there is someway to start from scratch on their pad?
That is Not an FC Custom Rom but the Zenithink '(zenithink (0804 release )' manufacturer provided one that you can find from numerous resellers of this tablet... I would reccommend using the 0818 version as it's much cleaner and reliable... and you can grab it from 'JT's World'
Android Firmware 0818 Download : Android
Where these tend to show up first... I've been running this for over 2 days and the one of tablets that I'm Not constanstly changing hasn't hung or crashed in all that time... Wifi still drops occasionally but less than with the earlier versions...