WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Sell, buy, trade! Want to know what equipment you should buy? Got something to sell? Want to post a review? It all goes here! (note: pirates will be banned)
Post Reply
DeusExMachina
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:57 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by DeusExMachina »

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.39169
Android 1.6 based touch tablet.

$99 with free shipping! Cheapest price for the M001 by Eken I have found. Considering getting a few to use with kJams server for digital song books.
If I do, I'll report back.

DJLunacy
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:41 pm

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by DJLunacy »

Sounds like an interesting idea.

Would be neat until somebody spills beer all over it.

Please let us know if you end up taking the plunge.

DeusExMachina
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:57 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by DeusExMachina »

Well, I currently use 5 iBooks I rebuilt from parts, three Fujitsu P1120 touch screens, and one EeePC901 (I had a 701, but I just sold it) all set up for kJams. Been using them now, and have been essentially bookless and slipless, for going on four months. So far, only a few spills, nothing serious, and no stolen or broken machines, either. And this is a pretty rowdy crowd.
The biggest problem I have had to deal with is going through and locking all the machines down with parental controls, because some idiot was going around putting full screen anal porn on them all every time I turned my back. Other than that, every one LOVES it. I just finished my Sunday shift a few hours ago. Had over 40 people in my rotation.
I get around the theft issue somewhat using iChat. I have all the machines hooked up to Bon Jour chat (pidgin on Windows 7/XP) and I use Adium on my main machine. With iChat widget, I have the contacts list floating above the Safari window, so they can chat with me (or each other) if they want. But the other advantage is, if one of the machines logs off the network, an alert comes up in Adium, and I know to start searching for that machine. It works as an alarm/lojack for my computers.

But yeah, I do worry about those things, though not as much as I did a few months ago. If I got tablets, I'd invest a little in protective cases for them. I am also pretty sure I could rig them up as kiosks in such a way as to make them kinda impervious to typical damage. (Maybe I should just get a few Surfaces? :lol: )

But for me, and the size of my library, printing books would almost run as much.
Last edited by DeusExMachina on Wed Jun 09, 2010 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

aantix
Posts: 41
Joined: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:49 pm

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by aantix »

DeusExMachina wrote:But the other advantage is, if one of the machines logs of the network, an alert comes up in Adium, and I know to start searching for that machine. It works as an alarm/lojack for my computers.
Thanks for sharing this story. I had considered painting each machine a different bright neon color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). That way I could quickly eyeball where they were at at any given point.

But I like the Adium solution as well.

DeusExMachina
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:57 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by DeusExMachina »

A few more thoughts from experience:
1) I considered using Kensington locks. I personally decided not to because with the configuration available to me, the cables were just begging to be swept across the table, knocking over everything in their paths. Theft issue: minimal. Physical damage issue: critical.
Your architectural configuration might make this a more workable solution. They can be had on eBay with around $2 each.
2) another consideration is to use bluetooth. Use a central antenna, and write a small app that tells me when one of them goes out of range. Bluetooth is better than WiFi, since its range is so much shorter.
3) I have also toyed with the idea of finding a store that is going out of business, and "acquiring" their anti-theft radio tagging system. That would be the ultimate system to use.

One thing I do is have each machine assigned a different name (I use famous figures in science.) I can then label each machine with its name. That way, when Marie Curie or Darwin disappear, I know where to look, and when I get an IM from Einstein, I know where to look up and see whom it is from.

I use Bon Jour for IM, which saves me from having to set up a new AIM account for each one, and has the side benefit of naming each machine by their account name. Wish they had webcams, so then I could video chat with them as well (though I'd still have to type b/c of the noise.)

You can get silicon keyboard covers for pretty cheap that will help protect against spills. It helps peace of mind as well!

Another idea is to mount each machine on a small platform, like a mini-podium, maybe 6" high. This stops the machine from sitting directly on tables, in spills, etc., and makes it harder to walk off with them.

I have partially rewritten my server pages in kJams such that they will push pictures from a server-side folder, that can then act as a rotating slide show behind playlists and search results on the laptops. I plan to eventually use it to push small ads and drink specials as well.

olsonea
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:03 pm

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by olsonea »

I jukebox-style podium on the far end of a table might be a nice touch!

Oh, and nice find with the Android tablets, though the do look _very_ cheap as well. You get what you pay for, indeed.

odcafe11
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 8:11 pm

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by odcafe11 »

Check this great cheap android tablet is sells undr 200USD http://www.tablet4android.com There are few manufacturers for it generally it called epad

DeusExMachina
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:57 am
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Contact:

Re: WOW, VERY cheap android tablets!

Post by DeusExMachina »

Olsonea:
I jukebox-style podium on the far end of a table might be a nice touch!
Check this out here:
https://karaoke.kjams.com/forum/viewtop ... f=1&t=1367

odcafe11:

I can get those for about $125 USD. Less for smaller screens. Might do a bulk purchase if anyone is interested.

Post Reply