PoV Mobii Tegra (= Advent Vega) vs. aPad 9.7" A8 (China iPad Clone)

[Guest Double-A]

Hello there!

I am new to the forum (1st post!) but have followed and bookmarked a few threads and topics which have been very helpful - thanks so far!

I am planning on buying an Android tablet and I am stuck making a decision between these two here:

PoV Mobii Tegra 10.2" (official website)

and

aPad 9.7" Cortex A8 (eBay)

The price of both devices (approx. 300 EUR) is nearly identical - so no help on the budget side. Let me list my personal pros and cons:

PoV Mobii Tegra

+ DualCore Cortex A9 processor at 1.0 GHz

+ HDMI port

+ USB port

+ possible to install custom ROM (as to be read here MoDaCo Custom ROM for Advent Vega)

+ (hopefully) future Android 2.3 support (maybe even 3.0, since dual-core architecture meets Honeycomb requirements, right?)

+ Europe-based manufacturer - therefore (hopefully) decent support

- only 512 MB of NAND memory

- higher weight (730 gr)

- 16:9 form factor (resolution 1024 x 600)

- only Wifi b/g support

- no Bluetooth

- no out-of-the-box Android Market support

? manufacturing quality / quality of used materials (plastic casing? plastic or glass touchscreen?)

aPad 9.7" Cortex A8

+ 4:3 form factor and 1024 x 768 screen resultion (similar to iPad)

+ 8GB of NAND memory

+ quality materials (magnesium alloy casing, tempered glass panel)

+ lighter weight (680 gr)

+ Wifi b/g/n support

+ Bluetooth

+ out-of-the-box Android Market support

- slower single-core Cortex A8 CPU

- no HDMI port

- no USB port

- manufacturer / retailer in China - decent support is doubtful

- firmware-upgrades also doubtful

I am quite lost here ;) ... so what is your opinion - especially on these points:

- Is 4:3 really more handy when it comes to Android-based tablets? I guess 16:9 is better for movies, but using the tablet for surfing, e-mails or e-books, 4:3 should do the job more decent - or am I wrong on that?

- As I read in other posts, flashing the PoV (same as Vega) with Paul's custom ROM brings proper Android Market support. Does it have any negative effects on the tablet (despite the USB port acting as slave-only instead of master/slave)?

- What material is the PoV made of (should be the same as Vega) - especially the panel and the back of the casing?

- Do you know if there is or will be any accessories for the PoV - such as cases or docking-stations - available soon? The PoV website lists some accessories, but they do not seem to be available in any online-shop in Germany by now (PoV website).

Well - finally - what would be your decision?

Thanks a LOT to all of you!

Edited January 16, 2011 by Double-A

[Guest mattlokes]

Hello there!

I am new to the forum (1st post!) but have followed and bookmarked a few threads and topics which have been very helpful - thanks so far!

I am planning on buying an Android tablet and I am stuck making a decision between these two here:

PoV Mobii Tegra 10.2" (official website)

and

aPad 9.7" Cortex A8 (eBay)

The price of both devices (approx. 300 EUR) is nearly identical - so no help on the budget side. Let me list my personal pros and cons:

PoV Mobii Tegra

+ DualCore Cortex A9 processor at 1.0 GHz

+ HDMI port

+ USB port

+ possible to install custom ROM (as to be read here MoDaCo Custom ROM for Advent Vega)

+ (hopefully) future Android 2.3 support (maybe even 3.0, since dual-core architecture meets Honeycomb requirements, right?)

+ Europe-based manufacturer - therefore (hopefully) decent support

- only 512 MB of NAND memory

- higher weight (730 gr)

- 16:9 form factor (resolution 1024 x 600)

- only Wifi b/g support

- no Bluetooth

- no out-of-the-box Android Market support

? manufacturing quality / quality of used materials (plastic casing? plastic or glass touchscreen?)

aPad 9.7" Cortex A8

+ 4:3 form factor and 1024 x 768 screen resultion (similar to iPad)

+ 8GB of NAND memory

+ quality materials (magnesium alloy casing, tempered glass panel)

+ lighter weight (680 gr)

+ Wifi b/g/n support

+ Bluetooth

+ out-of-the-box Android Market support

- slower single-core Cortex A8 CPU

- no HDMI port

- no USB port

- manufacturer / retailer in China - decent support is doubtful

- firmware-upgrades also doubtful

I am quite lost here ;) ... so what is your opinion - especially on these points:

- Is 4:3 really more handy when it comes to Android-based tablets? I guess 16:9 is better for movies, but using the tablet for surfing, e-mails or e-books, 4:3 should do the job more decent - or am I wrong on that?

- As I read in other posts, flashing the PoV (same as Vega) with Paul's custom ROM brings proper Android Market support. Does it have any negative effects on the tablet (despite the USB port acting as slave-only instead of master/slave)?

- What material is the PoV made of (should be the same as Vega) - especially the panel and the back of the casing?

- Do you know if there is or will be any accessories for the PoV - such as cases or docking-stations - available soon? The PoV website lists some accessories, but they do not seem to be available in any online-shop in Germany by now (PoV website).

Well - finally - what would be your decision?

Thanks a LOT to all of you!

The Vega (POV) Definitely does have Bluetooth, there is also an application on the Modaca update here that allows you to switch between USB Host and USB Slave.

The power of the dual core is far greater than the single core. There is a high chance of updates for the POV as advent for the vega are releasing source soon which will allow many modifications . On the accessories there is already a dedicated case and a dock which is coming out any time soon which will allow for more USB ports and an HDMI out as well. Obviously everything I have written is from my experience with the Vega not the POV but AFAIK they are identical it seems a no brainer to me :) Hope this helps!

Matt

[Guest XN04113]

Your Bluetooth information for the POV ist wrong and der is ONE rule -> SPEED

I had a archos 101 before and the difference is like black and white.

Edited January 16, 2011 by XN04113

[Guest damuffinman]

aPad 9.7" Cortex A8

+ 4:3 form factor and 1024 x 768 screen resultion (similar to iPad)

+ 8GB of NAND memory

+ quality materials (magnesium alloy casing, tempered glass panel)

+ lighter weight (680 gr)

+ Wifi b/g/n support

+ Bluetooth

+ out-of-the-box Android Market support

- slower single-core Cortex A8 CPU

- no HDMI port

- no USB port

- manufacturer / retailer in China - decent support is doubtful

- firmware-upgrades also doubtful

Are you sure that's a real A8 in there? I remember doing a bit of research over summer (as I had a 7in iPad clone for about £100 then) and I read loads of forum posts about buyers being scammed...

[Guest warriorscot]

Tegra 2 is significantly more power than anything else going into tablets at the moment. The cheaper tablets have much less power even the more expensive samsung tablet is slower than the P10AN01 based tablets.

The thing about the PoV or Advent tablets is that they have update potential they are at the point where the hardware is ahead of the software so we will see improvements as the software catches up. You aren't going to get that on a slower tablet like the aPad what you get when you buy it is what you are going to have when you eventually bin it.

[Guest emergant]

Agreed other than atom which wont be as good on the battery, tegra is the most powerful tablet chip with the best chance of keeping up with changes. The price is also right.

If you are happy to wait a bit the Adam looks promising too. It is also tegra based.

Ofcourse tablets are young and nothing is really future proof

[Guest Double-A]

Ok, thanks for your quick answers!

I seem to have missed the Bluetooth support - so, another point FOR the PoV.

What is your opinion on "4:3 vs. 16:9"? I did some research and found out that Samsung's Galaxy Tab has the same resolution (1024 x 600) and therefore same form factor. Since a lot of people out there are more than satisfied with their Samsung tablet, 16:9 should do well for surfing the web, e-mails and e-books. What is your experience on that with the Vega?

What about the materials and manufacturing quality of your Vega? Are you satisfied with it? Don't get me wrong on that - I am not expecting superior materials and quality on a 300 EUR device, but still curious about it.

[Guest thedicemaster]

Agreed other than atom which wont be as good on the battery, tegra is the most powerful tablet chip with the best chance of keeping up with changes. The price is also right.

If you are happy to wait a bit the Adam looks promising too. It is also tegra based.

Ofcourse tablets are young and nothing is really future proof

i've heard someone say the tegra2 is actually faster than some atoms.

wouldn't be too surprised if that's actually true, the atom isn't quite built for efficiency and more for low-power x86

EDIT: i think the 16:9 resolution will be better supported in the future, and it's good enough for browsing.

i doubt many manufacturers will be using 4:3 on high-res devices.

Edited January 16, 2011 by thedicemaster

[Guest emergant]

Build quality is fine. Some have various issues with the screen

16:9 works fine for me for browsing and its obviously right for videos. Some prefer 4:3 for tradings

[Guest wimsloboy]

Just thought I would submit my 2 bob's worth... the advent has a capacitive screen... the POV I think also has a capacitive screen byut I am sure the apad only has a resistive screen ;)

[Guest Double-A]

Well, in fact I already had an aPad (8" Cortex A8 with 800 MHz). That one had a resistive screen - really annoying! But the 9.7" aPad I linked in my first post above has a capacitive screen. The screen that is used in the aPad is an LG screen - actually the same that is used in Apple's iPad! Regarding various reviews in forums the aPad's screen seems to be brilliant when it comes to brightness, contrast, colours and also its multi-touch abilities. What seems to be the major issue with the aPad is the - well, let's say - not so fully developed software/firmware.

With the 8" aPad I already had some software issues (no standby, no lock-screen, Android thinks that aPad is a smartphone and therefore is in cell standby all the time which sucks your battery dry ...). Since the 9.7" version is from the same manufacturer, I suppose it also has the same software/firmware and therefore issus.

But back to the PoV/Vega. When you say

Some have various issues with the screen [...]

what kind of issues do you mean? Brightness? Colour? Contrast? View angle? Multi-touch? Edited January 16, 2011 by Double-A

[Guest emergant]

Some have problems with touch especially when on mains. Some complain about viewing angles particularly portrait. I'm pretty happy with mine. But I like the sound of the Adam too

[Guest warriorscot]

The screen isn't great on a monitor it would be totally unusable but it works on a tablet. I have heard it's actually a poorly orientated polariser to blame so later models might be better in that respect but not sure if I buy that its just a cheap screen.

The main difference is probably that all the money in an aPad is probably going on the screen whereas in a PoV or Advent the money all goes on the Tegra chipset. At the end of the day the Tegra makes up for the poor screen and the screen itself is actually ok its just not up to an ipads which has great viewing angles but a screen that is maybe a third of the cost of the device in it that is expected.