Latest 1080P 2GB X5A 7" Android 2.1 Tablet PC with Telechip 8902 processor and HDMI out

I thought I would give some thoughts on this X5A.

I have used it to replace my old iRobot, which was fun for a while but got a little frustrating, particularly the inability to upgrade it to Android 2, so I replaced it with an X5A. Here are a few thoughts.

I was lucky enough to get one of the latest batch which is both good and bad. Good because it has a working G sensor, changing the screen from landscape to portrait as you tilt it, which the old version didn't (I bought mine 23rd September). I can imagine not having a working G sensor would be frustrating and I understand the factory only introduced this very recently. Bad because instead of 4gb internal memory it only has 2gb. This doesn't really bother me as I have a 16gb memory card for use with it anyway.

Initially I was a little dissapointed with the speed of it, I expected it to be loads quicker than my iRobot but it wasn't. I was confused because I know the telechips processor in this is a lot more powerful than the Rockchip one in the iRobot. However when I downloaded the free baketball game from Android market it played it totally smooth, whereas the iRobot could not handle it at all. This led me to have a look online regarding this and found new firmware available on slatedroid. I'm sure any of you Android enthusiasts out there will know slatedroid already -- it is the best source on the internet for Android tablet based info and firmwares. I flashed it with the new firmware and found it to be much more responsive through menus etc and was really happy with it, it turned it into the device I thought it should be. According to the guys in the know on there all of them should be shipping with the new quicker firmware from China now.

Once this was resolved I was really happy with it, I am studying at the moment and use it for reading ebooks, referencing on google and doing calculations. I found it multi tasked between the different apps much better than my old tablet and some issue I had with freezing and non responsiveness when having too many apps open on my iRobot were all gone.

The one gripe I have was that the touch screen could have been a little more responsive but I found when using the stylus that cam with it (don't be a fool like me and try to use the metal side, unscrew the tip for a plastic point)it was much more responsive and accurate.

The 1080p HDMI out is an excellent addition and I now use it as my main media player hooked up to the TV (make sure you set up output options in settings), really easy to transfer stuff from my PC via memory card and watch HD movies in comfort on the TV, I used to sit and watch loads of films on my laptop and this is much better.

There is a point that some people will like and some not, it is quite a solid heavy unit, made from metal -- a little like a giant candybar style phone and it comes screwed into a leather case. Personally I like this, feels solid and quality but I know some people will not like it.

All in all I am really really happy with it, for under £200 I have got a study aid, ebook reader, browser, HD media player, email and will play games when I'm bored of being productive.

Definitely a step up from the old Chinese 1.x Android tablets like the iRobot. Would like to see an upgrade to 2.2 becomse available so I can use the iPlayer without having to use the 3rd party browser for flash.

I have had the device for 24 hours now, here are my early thoughts on the device.

Firstly, don't let me put you off, I think the device is a lot better than other Android tablets out there, but if you are looking for a polished iPad experience, buy an iPad.

Screen
The touch screen is not that great. It requires a decent touch to register input, you are not going to enjoy typing emails on it. Scrolling is a real pain as it requires so much pressure that the device often mistakes the input for a button press and loads whatever program you happen to 'not' have selected. It comes with a stylus which is retractable, the problem is tapping the screen requires so much force that the stylus retracts. I own an iPhone and there is no comparison in quality of the screen.

Speed
While researching the device prior to buying I found a lot of other users saying that this is the fastest device available. I haven't used any Android devices before and would have to say that its pretty slow. Clicking an icon results in a 1 second period where you are wondering if the device is doing something or if you didn't use enough pressure. I can only wonder what other `slower' devices are like.

Youtube
Youtube works ok, video plays full screen and look great on the device. The speaker is enough so you can hear the audio at a good level. It's really annoying that you can't change the volume level once you start playing a video, you have to close the video first, change the volume then restart

There is also something strange about the Youtube search. To test I tried searching for the IT Crowd which is a UK comedy. The device returns Youtube content for 1 and 2 minute clips as well as various parodies, not the full length videos I am after. There is a setting to affect the timescale of the search but it doesn't seem to do anything, always showing the newest videos first. To find what you are after you need to be really specific with your search. Otherwise trying to scroll though the list to find what you are after will result in you inadvertently starting several videos in your futile attempts to scroll the list

While on the subject of Youtube, connecting the HDMI cable up to your big screen plasma TV enables you to watch videos. You'll need to switch to the relevant 1080p output and remember to change it back after you're finished or you'll get no Youtube picture on your device. I only tested this briefly and found that the sound seemed to alternate between the TV and the device. That could be a result of my internet which has been playing up recently so I'll need to try this again when I have more time.

Android Market
Obviously a big selling point, surprisingly a lot of Android tablets have problems connecting to the Android Market and to begin with I had problems with an error message complaining about being `unable to establish a reliable connection' to the Google server. I solved the problem by doing a factory reset. If you are going to do this then unless you read fluent Chinese, write down the menu options to switch the device back into English because as soon as you do the factory reset the device boots back to Chinese.

Flash support
Flash support is something I wanted as I like the games on gamesforwork.com. The X5A doesn't support flash, but you can install the Skyfire browser that does, the X5A is also upgradeable to Android OS 2.2 which has flash support. In reality though, the device doesn't have the processing power required to load flash games and flash games at gamesforwork.com don't load.

Verdict
I paid £150 for the Android X5A to satisfy my iPad craving. I knew that there would be no comparison between the two and ultimately wanted something I could use to surf the web and do a little email without having to boot a laptop.

I got something that is pretty good for surfing the web, once you learn to live with the level of pressure required to tap the screen, but will never be used to do any real email. It's not as polished a device as the iPad, some things will annoy the hell out of you, like the fact that some things are landscape, others are portrait and auto rotation doesn't really work. I don't regret buying it, but I am glad I didn't buy one for the wife as well. She would not see it as an iPad replacement.

The X5A is not going to replace my laptop but will probably become that device I travel with in the future to stay in touch.

Bought this for my daughter after we had had a few plays with units like the IPAD and the PSP. We had low expctations after several bad reviews, but thought it worth a gamble, particularly as my daughter was keen on a 7" unit.
We have been pleasantly supprised at Android software and the X5A unit. We have not made any firmware changes yet.

We have downloaded book readers, games, productivity tools, just about all work well. Youtube, music and movie players work particularly well.

The speed of the processor and the quirky nature of the resistive touch screen take some getting use to. If you get frustrated quickly, and prefer to use finger rather than stylus this may not be the unit for you. But, we have found making short notes, and moving round the internet, it is fine.

The biggest difference between this unit and things like the ipad and psp is the quality of the screen. It is just duller, particularly the colours. Again, we have got past this, and it 7" display still makes it preferable to the PSP for movies.

If you are thinking of buying this as a decent-sized step-up from a smart phone then you should be pleased, if you are expecting it to replace a netbook or compete with the IPad you're better-off waiting a few months for higher spec units to reach the market. Remember this unit has no sensors - no GPS, no Compass, no auto-orientation.