Sylvania 7” Tablet - SYTABBL7-1070
I spent a week searching online and reading forums trying to figure out what I can do with this little tablet that did not require me to write code... I just wanted to try and combine as much as I could in one spot for the next person. Please feel free to add any additional info and tips you come across for improving this tablet and getting as much as possible out of it
.
For a cheap lil tablet that costs under 100.00 it is not bad, it is not going to be anything like a Galaxy Tablet or a Motorola Xoom, but if you tweak it right it us functional and you can do all of the basics on it. It will play angry birds and lots of the basic games, music, videos, display pics, book readers, internet, e-mail, etc.
First do a factory reset as described in this link:
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/sylvania-tablets/6437-apply-factory-reset-step-step-images.html
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/sylvania-tablets/3170-recovery.html#post17914
If you are out of internal storage you can go into settings, select privacy and do a factory data reset which will erase everything, so back up what you want to keep.
To get root access:
1) Install Launcher Pro set it as default launcher (you can install a home switcher app to select).
2) Press home screen like you were going to add a widget, but instead of widgets click on shortcuts. Then select activities, select settings, then select development and add the shortcut to your screen.
3) Now go into the development shortcut on your screen and select USB debugging.
4) Download Z4Root and run it (choose permanent root) and let it run, you may have to try it more than once.
PS: Another good low memory launcher to use for a tablet or other low memory android is “Zeam” Launcher, it is very minimal and does not take up much memory so it runs quick.
Next, download Android Market (version 3.311 works well on the tablet), install and add account.
I also like to use Root Explorer so I downloaded it next (version 2.9.4 works well on the tablet).
You may want to reboot after installing each of the new apps.
Next I download Titanium backup, then Absolute System Root Tools, Benchmark Optimizer Diamond, Simi Clock and Simi Folder, Hide it Pro / Audio Manager, good note apps are AK Notepad or Extensive Notes Notepad which has more options, AppBrain Market and Fast Web Installer, APKatcher installer, Seepu, Battery Status Bar, Mort Music Player and Mortplayer Widget, Alarm Clock Plus, Adobe Photoshop and Picsay Photo Editor are good pic / gallery apps, Quadrant Standard, Widgetsoid to create your own toggles like lockscreen, reboot, lock screen orientation, wifi, etc… For an anti-virus I went with Dr. Web Anti-Virus Light. WiFinder is a good wifi tool. Rescan media root so you can stop the media scanner from scanning every time you reboot which speeds up boot time but you can still scan on demand.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE 3D CHAINFIRE TO TRY AND INCREASE VIDEO PERFORMANCE, IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE AND YOU WONT EVEN BE ABLE TO PLAY ANGRY BIRDS.
Changing Boot Animation:
Absolute System Root Tools works and you can change the boot animation, there are lots to choose from. BUT, beware, either not all are compatible or some are corrupted, if you install the wrong one you may not get past boot and will have to do a full reset and start all over again rooting and setting up your tablet. Some of the animations do not play at all so after the Sylvania logo it is blank screen until it finishes booting up. The one called ring dream doesn’t work and you will get stuck at boot, but most others seem to work. Most are made for portrait instead of landscape but there are some landscape boot animations. There is also an editor function so that you can modify boot animations, add some of your own images to an animation, etc since this is a low end device make sure the boot animation you choose is not set at too many frames per second.
I have tried some different CPU scaling and overclocking apps but none have worked so far, I’m not an expert on CPU’s but this one may not be able to open to scaling to save power.
There are some other really useful apps like android assistant tools and my settings. There is an app called system tuner not all of the items in it are functional but there are some good things like “system tweaks” where you can increase the cache size from 128 (which is low) and bump it up to 1024 or more and auto kill settings to free memory (there are other SD Boost apps that do the same thing) , but remember to go into boot settings to have it start at boot, the applications setting will let you choose what starts up on boot (like why have the dialer start and use resources), you can also freeze apps (usually better than deleting system apps), backup, delete, etc. and it has a terminal emulator.
Great accessory: Case with keyboard and the keyboard works fine with this tablet, it has a regular size USB plug but a USB to mini dongle fixes that easy enough, I got it on sale for 13.00 and it was well worth it.
HDE 7" Tablet Stand with USB Keyboard - Black Faux Leather Carrying Case
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OB0EBQ/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details
I spent a week searching online and reading forums trying to figure out what I can do with this little tablet that did not require me to write code... I just wanted to try and combine as much as I could in one spot for the next person. Please feel free to add any additional info and tips you come across for improving this tablet and getting as much as possible out of it
. For a cheap lil tablet that costs under 100.00 it is not bad, it is not going to be anything like a Galaxy Tablet or a Motorola Xoom, but if you tweak it right it us functional and you can do all of the basics on it. It will play angry birds and lots of the basic games, music, videos, display pics, book readers, internet, e-mail, etc.
First do a factory reset as described in this link:
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/sylvania-tablets/6437-apply-factory-reset-step-step-images.html
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/sylvania-tablets/3170-recovery.html#post17914
If you are out of internal storage you can go into settings, select privacy and do a factory data reset which will erase everything, so back up what you want to keep.
To get root access:
1) Install Launcher Pro set it as default launcher (you can install a home switcher app to select).
2) Press home screen like you were going to add a widget, but instead of widgets click on shortcuts. Then select activities, select settings, then select development and add the shortcut to your screen.
3) Now go into the development shortcut on your screen and select USB debugging.
4) Download Z4Root and run it (choose permanent root) and let it run, you may have to try it more than once.
PS: Another good low memory launcher to use for a tablet or other low memory android is “Zeam” Launcher, it is very minimal and does not take up much memory so it runs quick.
Next, download Android Market (version 3.311 works well on the tablet), install and add account.
I also like to use Root Explorer so I downloaded it next (version 2.9.4 works well on the tablet).
You may want to reboot after installing each of the new apps.
Next I download Titanium backup, then Absolute System Root Tools, Benchmark Optimizer Diamond, Simi Clock and Simi Folder, Hide it Pro / Audio Manager, good note apps are AK Notepad or Extensive Notes Notepad which has more options, AppBrain Market and Fast Web Installer, APKatcher installer, Seepu, Battery Status Bar, Mort Music Player and Mortplayer Widget, Alarm Clock Plus, Adobe Photoshop and Picsay Photo Editor are good pic / gallery apps, Quadrant Standard, Widgetsoid to create your own toggles like lockscreen, reboot, lock screen orientation, wifi, etc… For an anti-virus I went with Dr. Web Anti-Virus Light. WiFinder is a good wifi tool. Rescan media root so you can stop the media scanner from scanning every time you reboot which speeds up boot time but you can still scan on demand.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE 3D CHAINFIRE TO TRY AND INCREASE VIDEO PERFORMANCE, IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE AND YOU WONT EVEN BE ABLE TO PLAY ANGRY BIRDS.
Changing Boot Animation:
Absolute System Root Tools works and you can change the boot animation, there are lots to choose from. BUT, beware, either not all are compatible or some are corrupted, if you install the wrong one you may not get past boot and will have to do a full reset and start all over again rooting and setting up your tablet. Some of the animations do not play at all so after the Sylvania logo it is blank screen until it finishes booting up. The one called ring dream doesn’t work and you will get stuck at boot, but most others seem to work. Most are made for portrait instead of landscape but there are some landscape boot animations. There is also an editor function so that you can modify boot animations, add some of your own images to an animation, etc since this is a low end device make sure the boot animation you choose is not set at too many frames per second.
I have tried some different CPU scaling and overclocking apps but none have worked so far, I’m not an expert on CPU’s but this one may not be able to open to scaling to save power.
There are some other really useful apps like android assistant tools and my settings. There is an app called system tuner not all of the items in it are functional but there are some good things like “system tweaks” where you can increase the cache size from 128 (which is low) and bump it up to 1024 or more and auto kill settings to free memory (there are other SD Boost apps that do the same thing) , but remember to go into boot settings to have it start at boot, the applications setting will let you choose what starts up on boot (like why have the dialer start and use resources), you can also freeze apps (usually better than deleting system apps), backup, delete, etc. and it has a terminal emulator.
Great accessory: Case with keyboard and the keyboard works fine with this tablet, it has a regular size USB plug but a USB to mini dongle fixes that easy enough, I got it on sale for 13.00 and it was well worth it.
HDE 7" Tablet Stand with USB Keyboard - Black Faux Leather Carrying Case
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OB0EBQ/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details
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