Bluepanther Thunder 7" Marvell Tablet with GPS, Android 2.2

[lgstoian]

7 inch Marvell PXA166 Android tablet pc gps 3g wifi - AHK Technology (China)

So folks any of you have one of these puppyes? I should be getting mine any day now and will try to post a full review.
It comes with android 2.2.1 and runs on the 2.6.35 kernel.
I'm curious of other peoples impressions on tablets using this cpu.
And also I seem to find them listed as PXA166 ( which isn't mentioned on the Maxwell website or any other data base) or as Armada 166 (which does exist on their site), so which one is it actually running?
Any info on them would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lgstoian]

Well silly me it seems both cpu names mean the same thing.
Marvell: ARMADA 166E
http://www.marvell.com/products/processors/applications/armada_100/armada_166e/armada_166e_pb.pdf
It sais its ARMv5 compatible but I found many places where it said ARMv6.
If it is ARMv5 then it should have roughly 34% the power of an apple ipad.

 

[xaueious]

Ya I heard it is up to Android 2.2 now. Main weakness is in video playback.

No first hand experience with it though. It certainly is not very popular.

It is ARMV5

 

[lgstoian]

Got to play with one in a shop. Seemed quite snappy and had all google apps on it. Also I use gps quite alot so it's a must have. Plus it comes from a local big retailer under some local brand with lifetime warranty.
The choice was between one of these and a Rockchip 2818 ( cheaper but lacked gps and no gapps).

 

[xaueious]

How much exactly was it? Looks like a good alternative with GPS.

Android update was recent on it, so did not have a good look at that before. It used to be Android 1.6 for a while.

I actually did not notice that it came with GPS functionality.

 

[lgstoian]

Nice bit was also the 2.6.35 kernel. Would make porting 2.3 easyer but in the same time don't wanna loose warranty.
Was 220 usd without stupid customs tax.
Also for the gps use it came with car holder and car charger. Shove Igo on it and it's ready to go.

Edit. I knew they performed not so good with 1.6 but the 2.2.1 version didn't seem bad at all.

 

[xaueious]

220USD is a little steep for that thing in my opinion. I would have thought it would be cheaper than the Flytouch II with GPS at least (around 175USD local), which is ARM11 and does 1080p (at least on paper). Android 2.2 does not mean as much for devices like this. Android 2.3 though would be a significant upgrade.

 

[lgstoian]

Tablets seem to be abit stip in general here on local market ( Europe, Romania). The rockchip 2818 one was 170 usd.

 

[lgstoian]

Stumbled over a video preview of the tablet.

 

[xaueious]

There are multiple names for this tablet. There is noticeable input lag as expected.

I actually first saw it listed in Chinese markets as the Leader G10 (Home Page). I have seen it with various other brands as well.

Does this thing ship with Google apps? Are apps like Angry Birds working?

The Android 2.2 implementation looks good. Looks like a solid contender.

 

[lgstoian]

I haven't recieve mine yet but when I do I'll give it a proper review.
Yah it does come with all google apps.
As soon as I root this thing and get some way of flashing it working I'll start porting android 2.3.

Astonishing that it took them months and have really gotten very little traction with this nifty device.

 

[xaueious]

That would be nice (Android 2.3)

When I first saw this back on shanzhaiben in August this year, I was not aware of the GPS functionality. The article actually calls it an HTC phone clone. They tested 720p playback, which does not evidently work with this chipset anyways. But seeing that Youtube works in a respectable manner, I think this thing is going to do just fine. This is one of the only devices where they managed to get all the buttons right. I liked the concept back when I saw it, especially when the market was being flooded with 3 button 7" iPad clones.

I would really like to know if this will be (or is already) adopted for any foreign markets to be sold locally, because that is when a shanzhai device really can start to blossom.

Specs (from Leader):

Key Features
·Quick access to the Internet experience
Marvell PXA 166 800MHZ frequency CPU， memory 256DDR2 and Google Android1.6 or above version enables fast and stable internet connection

·7 inch wide screen
7-inch wide screen touch, allowing you to use more convenient.

·Wi-Fi/3G, wireless Internet access
Built-in wifi capabilities, whether offices, hotels, cafes or airports, as long as there are places where wireless Internet hotspot for free internet access at any time, open the computer can surf the web, stock, office, wireless office to do the real Internet to achieve the ultra-portable features.

·GPS Navigation
Built-in GPS high sensitivity receiver 42 channel,
Hot start: <=3s (in open place,-130dBm)
Warm start: <=32s (in open place,-130dBm)
Cold start: < =38s (in open place,-130dBm)

·Battery capacity
High-capacity battery 7.4V, 2400mAh, long standby time 400 hours, 5-6 hours battery life time on full power.

Hardware Specifications
·CPU: Marvell PXA166-800MHz
·OS: Android 1.6(Extend up to Android2.1/2.2)
·Screen:7 inch TFT with 800X480 resolution
·Memory: NAND Flash support 1GB to 8GB, RAM: 256MB DDR2
·GPS Module: Built-in GPS high sensitivity receiver 42 channel,
·Antenna: built-in antenna
·Wifi: Support 802.11 b/g
·3Gptional through usb host
·G-Sensor: Built-in
·Camera: Built-in camera for Video call, 0.3M pixel
·Input/Output:Touch Panel: Resistive type touch panel
Speaker: Builtin loud speaker
Headphone: 3.5mm stereo jack
MIC: Built-in Internal MIC-phone
SD / MMC: TF slot, capacity up to 8GB (support TF HC)
USB :USB2.0 Host , USB Slave
Dock: Include USB host, USB Slave, Charge_in , MIC.
·KEYower,Vol+/-,BACK,HOME,MENU,SEARCH andUP/DOWN / LIFT/ RIGHT / OK
·Battery:Type: Built-in 7.4V 2400mAh Li polymer
Active: System continues with backlight setting on middle range &
video play back function on full power mode about 5~6 hrs Charger:
Rechargeable battery
·Physicalimension:205.4*110.92*14mm
Weight: 400g

 

[lgstoian]

Finally got the tablet and have been playing with it. Got it rooted; updated the g-app except market, getting FC with 2.2.6 or 2.2.7; enabled jit which is running without any troubles; added the gingerbread keyboard.
I'm stuck now at getting the calendar app and the new market to work.

The cpu is listed as marvell pxa 168 and not 166 as is stated by the maker ( Marvell Mohawk rev 0 (v5l)), bogoMips 796.26 .

I'm going to continue tweaking it and probably gonna make some custom rom for it.
So any other users out there of this MID ?

Specs/Mini review, kinda sorta .. :
Marvell pxa 168 800 mhz ;
247 mb ram out of which I get 50 mb free after I kill all apps ;
262.94 mb internal memory which will be used for installing apps and around 1600 mb for whatever other purpose you want ;
Runs Android 2.2.1 FRG83 , kernel 2.6.34 ;
Screen resolution 480x800 7 inches , bright with good viewing angles ;
Front facing cam 0.3 mega pixels of doubtful quality to say the least ;
The touchscreen is quite precise as long as u do the calibration with a pen ;
Can't really say much about battery life yet ;
Doesn't get hot under use ;
Fells heavy and well built, makes you think it would survive a fall but I'm sure it wouldn't. The plastic has a rubbery feel to it ;
Having all the android hardware buttons does help with navigation ;
Gps works well with g-maps 5. Can see the new 3d buildings but have no idea how to rotate the view without multi-touch ;
Till now all the apps that didn't work from the market were the ones requiring a gpu and of course no adobe flash 10.1, dough I am hopping for some flash lite love ;
Really annoying proprietary cable which is used for charging and usb ;
The accelerometer is quite snappy ;
Will run 480p video without problems but I haven't tried yet anything higher ;
I will continue to add to this here grocery list as impresions acumulate and change .

Personal note: The punctuate android mascot vent thing on the back of the tablet is freaking cool .
Also has the worst battery discharging sound I ever heard, sounds like a goose in heat or something.

Benchmark scores using Benchmark benchmarking app for benchmarking :
Tablet died before I can post them so they are coming after the break.

Linpack - 5.1 MFlops. Thats not bad considering that the via chips have 1.25MFlops , Rockchip 2808 2.5MFlops , Rockchip 2818 3MFlops and Telechips 3.5MFlops

 

[lgstoian]

A little update : I got full market to work and adh-hoc support.

 

[lgstoian]

Well it seems in the end its using the Marvell PXA168 preprocessor. Can any other owners confirm this ?