TOUCHPAD II (4GB with Wi-Fi)

Overview
I've been using my touchpad for 2 weeks now and i think it's great. It does not have the same level of speed and responsiveness as the ipad but it is a quarter of the price. I brought the tablet to get a feel for what the android market can offer and it has thousands of apps, a large chuck of those free to download. If you want a cheap tablet with all the benefits of the android OS then this is for you

Firmware upgrade
so initially without the firmware upgrade the tablet does not have many apps on it. A word of advice, perform the firmware update using the update from the CNM website. This is what's recommended by other people who have upgraded their tablet. Without the update you do not have access to the android market. With the update, you get full access as to the android market and all of the apps CNM claims are preinstalled, loaded onto the tablet

Android App Store
so as mentioned earlier, you cannot access the android market without performing the firmware update. There are sites which allow you to download apps directly onto the tablet but it's much easier using the market. I've downloaded a number of apps, games etc and the only ones which do not work as those specifically designed for mobiles. Angry Birds takes a while to load but runs great when it's loaded

Performance
It takes around 100 seconds to load the device from start. I tend to keep my continually charged so that i have instant access to the device. Most apps load within about 5-10 seconds, exception Angry birds which takes around a minute. The screen is very responsive, obviously not as good as the ipad but still great.

Battery Life
Intensive use: about 4 hours. Non intensive use around 8 hours. This can be extended significantly by downloading the juice defender app. It takes around 8 hours to charge

UPDATE - 30 October 2011.
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The CnM is a budget, entry level tablet. Times have moved on in the past eight months - technology seems to move faster and faster. Android 4 - Ice Cream Sandwich will be released in November & the CnM is going to lag behind with android 2.1 For a budget tablet I would currently recommend the latest Arnova (by Archos) 7 G2 tablet. It has a 1ghz processor, capacative screen, runs android 2.3 gingerbread & is well supported by the manufacturer and forums. If you are looking for android honeycomb then the G9 Archos tablets are worth a look. If you read the comments, you will see that the CnM did its job of introducing me to the tablet format. I have now upgraded to an Asus Transformer (from Amazon) The CnM is still proving an excellent entry tablet, now being used by my wife.

------------------Original review below---------------------

No doubt you are wondering how reviews can be this different! To be honest, so am I. However, after 8 days of using the CNM I wonder if the 1 star reviews were from people who had never used Android before? I have written such a long review because the negative comments nearly prevented me from buying this device! Hopefully this detailed look will help you make an informed decision.

One of the issues that some seem to have is with attempting to "update" the CNM using the supplied cd. This "update" only needs to be done if you are updating the firmware - UPDATE March 24th 2011 an updated firmware is available from the cnmlifestyle website which apparantly allows access to the official android market. I cannot confirm this as I have no need to update the CNM with this facility.

Anyway, here are my views on the CNM

WIFI - connected seamlessly & first time

TOUCHSCREEN - very reponsive & accurate. It is fast & smooth, by far superior to the Storage Options SCROLL model I went into Maplins to buy. While the CNM comes with a stylus built into the case, I haven't used it yet. Interestingly, my wife has a useful perspective on how easy the screen is to use. She has always found touch screen phones hard to use - but she just picked up this tablet, used it & promptly described it as "brilliant & so easy to use" We have had an HTC Touch Diamond with a resistive screen, and now a Samsung Galaxy S with a capacative screen. If the HTC was 6/10 on a useability score, the Samsung would be 9.5/10. I would place the CNM as 8.25/10 - for a resistive screen at this price point, that is phenomenal!

E-BOOK READER - the Kindle app is already on the CNM - a tap on the apk file & it installed itself. I logged in to amazon & synched my books & downloaded another flawlessly. Aldiko reader is also available and is very good to use.

YOU TUBE - The Android app is already installed & connected & initially played full screen video with decent sound for a small speaker, however, on day 4 of ownership the You Tube app stopped playing videos - it would list them & then refuse to play them! This behaviour was maintained after a full factory reset & was duplicated on two replacement units tried by Maplin management staff. So it would appear that the provided & pre-installed Youtube app is no longer compatible? Perhaps due to a recent change by YouTube? Certainly the bundled app is an oldish one, & YouTube viewing on non flash enabled tablets would appear to have been historically challenging! Further to a couple of fruitless days of research & experimentation, the only solution tried that actually works is to install either FREEdi Youtube Downloader or TubeMate (both available from the Android Market or by the bundled APKshare app or via SlideMe). These apps allow YouTube to be browsed & searched & your videos downloaded to the CnM for viewing via the provided video player. UPDATE: March 30th 2011. On a whim I attempted to use the Youtube player only to find that it offered an updated version. It downloaded & installed & now works perfectly!

VIDEO PLAYER - I am so impressed with this function. Just connect the tablet with a mini hdmi to hdmi cable to your flatscreen tv, play a video, select HDMI from the options and it appears on the screen at 720p - absolutely fantastic!

FLASH? - As the CNM uses android 2.1 (eclair) it cannot play flash. It's as simple as that! So if flash playing is essential to your needs then any android 2.1 tablet is not for you. This means no BBC iplayer.

WOPAD? From some searching it looks to me as if the CNM is identical to the Wopad TB7001 - at least in one of its versions. Just my guess but interesting if true. They certainly look identical - both physically and also from the specification point of view. The CNM is "an RK2818 rockchip tablet with glowing blue trackball" - according to the android tablets website - one of a number of different brands but the same tablet.

BATTERY: There are different published specs for the size of the battery varying from 3200ma/h in the manual, to 3800ma/h on the box & 4000ma/h on the CNM website! Your guess is as good as mine as to the actual size, however, what really matters is how long the battery lasts! From a full first charge - lasting 6-12 hours (overnight), we got 4-5 hours of intensive use and over 24 hours of standby time. That is pretty good. The battery indicator on these tablets may not be very accurate. This will make charging something to be learned about by experience with the use of the tablet - perhaps put it on charge overnight each night? This should not damage the battery as the charger &/or the tablet switch off when finally charged and the battery is li-on.

ANDROID APPS: The apps bundled with the tablet are very good indeed. One of them is APK Installer (for those new to android an *.apk file is how an android application is presented) which allows for the straightforward installation and management of apps on the tablet. Also included is an app for download/installation of free apps, however, it is unfortunately not able to access the official Google Android Market. (See the update at the start of the review - the CNM can apparantly be updated to access the official market) If you have an android phone, of course, you can get apps from the market that way and then share them with your tablet! (Any licensing conditions permitting, of course.)

In conclusion, after having spent perhaps 6 months considering tablets in the sub £150 price point - and having realised that the majority of android tablets in this price area just are not worth buying - I had settled on the Storage Options Scroll. As luck would have it, Maplins had both the Scroll & the only recently available CNM accessible in store for the same price & I was able to try both of them out in actual use before I purchased. The Scroll, in my opinion, has a resistive screen that is slow and awkward in use requiring very heavy pressing to get the touch registered - it really needs a stylus to be of any use. The CNM, on the other hand, functions in such a way as to be almost as accurate & responsive as a capacative screen would be. It is faster than the Scroll (even though its processor is supposed to be slower) and the acid test - it just works. It functions as you would expect it to. If you buy it, you should not be disappointed.

After reading the mixed reviews on Amazon, I was wary about purchasing the touchpad II, especially being new to the `android' operating system and knowing that it wasn't the same as my iphone. However after seeing the device demonstrated in my local maplin store I thought it was well worth the purchase price, especially with the device being light to hold and it being easily transportable. The Touchpad II was up and running within seconds, all I needed to do was press the power button and charge it up. The manual was a nice size and easy to understand for a simpleton like myself.

The CD which comes with it is for a system restore and has a factory image on it. After speaking to the nice people at the CnM support centre they pointed me in the right direction for the new firmware which is downloadable from their website: - cnmlifestyle, after performing the firmware upgrade the device is amazing, I didn't think it could get any better!!! but now it has the android market place on it and all the apps are pre installed ready to go!!=) The battery is ideal and lasts a long time compared to other devices, It is ideal for me when I am away from my desk and need to get online or bring up my documents on the move. I am so glad that I purchased the touchpad II; I wish I could give it more stars!!! =) Thank you CnM =)