What to do with a Chinese iPad ?

If you buy a Chinese iPad 135$, for sure you will not have the same quality as a 500$ iPad.

The battery, the touch interface, the screen size , the speed are not as good as an iPad.

However here are the things I found working very well:

• Reading eBooks : with the Amazon Kindle or Aldico apps, reading ePub is very nice. I have succesfully imported the ePub version of Zelf eBooks Uitgeven van Wiebe De Jager.
  
• Dedicated Android News Apps like FoxNews, Europort, Weather.com, Lesoir (developped by AppSolution)
  
• Social apps like Twitter, Facebook
  
• Email and Calendar (Gmail on Android)
  

On my Chinese iPad, (Eken M003) the following are  OK - look promissing - but could be better (mainly due to the pushy touch interface):

• Google Maps
• Videos : Youtube works only in Low res on my setup
• Viewing Photos is a bit slow when the image is not at the right resolution
• Taking notes : if you get used to the touch screen it becomes possible, but it's not as smooth as on a real iPad

Conclusion : your satisfaction with an Chinese iPad will heavilly depend on the applications you use.

A proper configuration and guidelines on what to do/ not to do will make you happy.


And if you want more on Android, wait a bit to buy a better tablet like the Dune. But this is more expensive, more like an iPad...

eReading Reference Architecture : Reviewers Wanted

That's it. I have finalized a first draft version of my eBook : the eReading Reference Architecture.

I'm now looking for reviewers !!

To download the draft eBook, visit http://www.appepaper.com/ebook

Chinese iPad (Eken M003) : New Firmware and Android Market Problem Resolution

If you have bought a "Chinese iPad" (Eken M003) like me you might be disappointed when using it for the first time : Google is in Chinese, Android Market is not installed...

The good news is that you can change thisbu following this procedure:

1. Get the AndoidID from your device or from an emulator (requires to install and use the Android SDK). A procedure is described here:
http://www.slatedroid.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fix_Market_For_Slates#Make_a_new_androidID_with_the_Emulator

and/or here

http://www.slatedroid.com/eken-m002-android-tablet-discussion/3644-finally-my-market-works-download-apps.html


2. Install the Firmware
(See http://www.slatedroid.com/eken-m003-firmware-development/)

3. Put the AndroidID from step 1 back to your droid. (This is necessary otherwise all devices using the firmware have the same AndroidID, making it impossible to use the Android Market).

(Same link as point number 1)

Many THANKS to Slatedroid.com

If want me to do the procedure for you on your Eken, contact me :http://www.jfdeclercq.com/contact/
I will also install some cool stuff for you so we have the same configuration.

France24 : first documentary on the iPad

The iPad promisses to allow the press to sell content again. news flashes don't belong to this gategory, rather in-depth articles or dossiers would have more value on the iPad.

Today France24 advertise to be the first to publish a iPad documentary.

See France 24 launches world's first iPad documentary 

Google tackles App Creation with App Inventor, much easier than iPad development ?

Recently I have spent some time programming for the iPod/iPad/IPhone.  I found iPhone Development rather technical: You need to be used to Objective C notations and learn the iPhone SDK objects libraries. Finally I have been looking at faster and easier ways to create iPad applications like Appcelerator's Titanium.

Google is now trying to tackle this problem with App Inventor (read the news on cnn.com here). I find this an excellent strategy. There is no reason why building applications for Mobile Phones should be a difficult task.

Improvement imperatives for iRex - some ideas

iRex is currently facing financial problems. I'm the owner of an iRex Digital Reader (DR1000) and I really hope iRex is going to survive those difficulties.

The DR1000S isn't as flashy as the iPad of course, but it is an excellent (but not perfect) reading device. You can't  completely compare ePaper with flat screen technology, it wouldn't be fair.

Irex claims they missed a sales window in the US, nevertheless I believe iRex has some deeper issues to look at. If they continue I believe the following topics should be addressed:

• Pricing. ePaper is quiet expensive on the iRex. Facing the iPad at around 500€, iRex can't keep its prices so high. The cost structure of their eReaders needs to be carefully analyzed because some costs have to be cut down. It's a matter of survival on the market. It could mean for iRex to diversify the product portfolio to find some volume cash cows, why not with a good tablet....
  
  
• Solution Thinking : Rather than just selling a just product, iRex should rather push complete solutions where the eReader is a piece of the value chain. Business Solutions need to be further developed. Those Business Solutions should be independant of the eReader and allow to push eReading on other devices like the iPad.
  
  
• End User support : If you walk around the iRex Forum, you'll read many people have questions and remarks. They are not always addressed in a good way. Customers have paid a high price for their eReaders and they feel abandoned.
  
  
• Firmware : iRex has to face it, their Linux based firmware is rich in functionality but is too slow.  One would need to take the risk to start it again from scratch or in collaboration with some other vendor (HP Palm OS, Android...). My usage of Xournal or FBReader on my iRex shows me some applications can behave reasonably fast. The challenge is to separate the processing of information from the display. It's not easy but it needs to be tackled.

I wish iRex the best and I hope they can face those difficult times.

Links of the Weekend - June 7th 2010

• One of the applications of eReaders : cooking. It is now also possible on the iPad : Petit Larousse pâtissier sur iPad  

• Another example of Knowledge on the iPad : encyclopedia about Babies : Hachette accouche du Larousse du nouveau-né  

• appSolution  is a Belgian company who writes applications for the iPhone and the iPad.

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