[Roman2025]

I had high hopes for the Onda Vi10 Elite... Here is the lowdown though on how it all panned out....

1. Their currently shipping ICS firmware is laggy but that was expected... So I don't knock it for that...

2. Their screen is absolutely horrible. It is 1024x600 and that is about the only nice thing to say about it. Viewing angles are bad, and colors are all washed out/blown out.

3. Build Quality is decent. I was impressed in that Onda seems to put some thought into the design of their devices. But at the end of the day, it feels cheap, the piano black finish on the back looks horrible after 2 minutes of use (finger print MAGNET), the materials feel cheap (the faux metal rim and plastic back feel cheap...) and it is very light (which I normally appreciate but it didn't help in this case...). The device is also very FAT compared with pretty much all my other devices. It is a box. My device also was missing one of the ugly black rubber stoppers they use to cover the screws on the back. Those stopper look nasty. It would have been better if they just left them off all together.

4. I didn't test the speaker (didn't get that far, decided not to carry it and not waste any more time with it).

5. I didn't test WiFi (ditto to above)

6. One positive was that the packaging looked great . But then it just helped set expectations that were never met

CONCLUSION: If you are looking at NON-IPS 1024x600 A10 tablets, buy an Elf. Bigger battery, way sexier, better forum support, and MUCH MUCH Better screen. I am not a huge fan of the screen on the ELF even but the Onda was just painful.

OH... That reminds me, I now have a brand new Onda Vi10 Elite for sale, $100, buyer pays shipping. I can't sell them, because I don't like them (my rule of thumb). If I had bought it 4 months ago this would have been a different review, but after having used the ELF for some time now, this thing just felt fat, cheap, and ugly .

I will say this, it wasn't the worst device I have ever tested and it wasn't the worst device I tested today (that honor goes to the JXD S9000 lol). In fact, in its own right, it is "okay". But, for the price compared with the ELF, well, no comparison.

Sorry for the harsh review, I was just very disappointed. Other owners feel free to hop on here and provide counterpoint and perhaps balance me out

Cheers,

Roman

This post has been edited by Roman2025: 08 March 2012 - 04:39 PM

[Arlisk]

Roman2025, on 08 March 2012 - 04:38 PM, said:

2. Their screen is absolutely horrible. It is 1024x600 and that is about the only nice thing to say about it. Viewing angles are bad, and colors are all washed out/blown out.

Can you post any photos here? Because in some video reviews it looks not bad.

[inakigarm]

Thanks for the mini review. I've an Ainol Novo7 Advanced but it doesnt't work now and I looked for another tablet.

The OndaVi10 Elite was my first candidate, but after your test... well, I think I'll wait to choose another tablet

Thanks...

Roman2025, on 08 March 2012 - 04:38 PM, said:

I had high hopes for the Onda Vi10 Elite... Here is the lowdown though on how it all panned out....

1. Their currently shipping ICS firmware is laggy but that was expected... So I don't knock it for that...

2. Their screen is absolutely horrible. It is 1024x600 and that is about the only nice thing to say about it. Viewing angles are bad, and colors are all washed out/blown out.

3. Build Quality is decent. I was impressed in that Onda seems to put some thought into the design of their devices. But at the end of the day, it feels cheap, the piano black finish on the back looks horrible after 2 minutes of use (finger print MAGNET), the materials feel cheap (the faux metal rim and plastic back feel cheap...) and it is very light (which I normally appreciate but it didn't help in this case...). The device is also very FAT compared with pretty much all my other devices. It is a box. My device also was missing one of the ugly black rubber stoppers they use to cover the screws on the back. Those stopper look nasty. It would have been better if they just left them off all together.

4. I didn't test the speaker (didn't get that far, decided not to carry it and not waste any more time with it).

5. I didn't test WiFi (ditto to above)

6. One positive was that the packaging looked great . But then it just helped set expectations that were never met

CONCLUSION: If you are looking at NON-IPS 1024x600 A10 tablets, buy an Elf. Bigger battery, way sexier, better forum support, and MUCH MUCH Better screen. I am not a huge fan of the screen on the ELF even but the Onda was just painful.

OH... That reminds me, I now have a brand new Onda Vi10 Elite for sale, $100, buyer pays shipping. I can't sell them, because I don't like them (my rule of thumb). If I had bought it 4 months ago this would have been a different review, but after having used the ELF for some time now, this thing just felt fat, cheap, and ugly .

I will say this, it wasn't the worst device I have ever tested and it wasn't the worst device I tested today (that honor goes to the JXD S9000 lol). In fact, in its own right, it is "okay". But, for the price compared with the ELF, well, no comparison.

Sorry for the harsh review, I was just very disappointed. Other owners feel free to hop on here and provide counterpoint and perhaps balance me out

Cheers,

Roman

[RadioactiveToy]

Roman, have you set the brightness to a proper level? From the reviews I watched I understand that onda elite screen darkens a lot when tilted upwards. In general though, if you look as if you read a book I think it is pretty ok. I also didn't notice any problem with the colors (...ok I don't dare compairing it with aurora's screen).
A second point I want to make is the battery. I prefer my tablet not to have battery drainage problems instead of having a battery with large mah and suffering from energy drainage. So have you noticed such thing on elite?

The only reason I would prefer elf is that it has a bigger community and thus bigger possibilities for development.

Anyway, I understand you are dissapointed but we 'd all be glad if you could give us some info about elite's wifi and performance in general. Finally I'd like you to tell us if it already rooted.

Thanks

Chris

[riderhk]

Vi10 elite official 1.0 firmware has been released, you may download and try http://file2.mydrive.../Vi10J_v1.0.rar

[Ali DSD]

riderhk, on 10 March 2012 - 04:08 AM, said:

Vi10 elite official 1.0 firmware has been released, you may download and try http://file2.mydrive.../Vi10J_v1.0.rar

Thats great, I am downloading now, I hope it will solve many problems including the hardware acceleration.
I noticed one thing related to display quality that display resolution is fine but due to high contrast(or something else) , the colors are light. I checked with different levels of brightness but this color wash out can not be corrected with brightness control.

If we could have Gingerbread for our tablet then I am sure there will be a lot more display quality due to Mali-400 drivers in Gingerbread.

Does anyone knows any link of GB for Vi10 Elite ?

Thanks

[riderhk]

I've downloaded the firmware and will try it very soon.

Onda official states that regarding 1.0 firmware:
1. brwoser with flash enabled
2. GPU hardware accelarated, optimizing flash and html5 video
3. wifi direct enabled
4. upto 16% performance increased

[Ali DSD]

riderhk, on 10 March 2012 - 05:15 AM, said:

I've downloaded the firmware and will try it very soon.

Onda official states that regarding 1.0 firmware:
1. brwoser with flash enabled
2. GPU hardware accelarated, optimizing flash and html5 video
3. wifi direct enabled
4. upto 16% performance increased

Yes, Flash is now working in browser and there is an option for wifi direct in settings. speed seems to be boosted, but still there is more contrast.
Searching GB Rom now.

[riderhk]

I flashed the 1.0 rom too, ok, i don't feel any performance increased. but now full screen movie playing is possible, i.e. no staus bar anymore!!

and flash is still not working with stock browser <--- sorry, ok after modifying >settings>debug>browser mode

This post has been edited by riderhk: 10 March 2012 - 10:59 AM

[yoyo33]

THEY said it 16% faster in AnTuTu benchmark ,over the 2900 points

[Roman2025]

Arlisk, on 09 March 2012 - 04:34 AM, said:

Can you post any photos here? Because in some video reviews it looks not bad.

It's not bad.... until you compare it to anything else.... And I really mean that. If I hadn't been using the Elf and Aurora tablets for the last month or so the Vi10 would have been appealing. But put up against those it doesn't hold a candle ...

[Roman2025]

RadioactiveToy, on 09 March 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

Roman, have you set the brightness to a proper level? From the reviews I watched I understand that onda elite screen darkens a lot when tilted upwards. In general though, if you look as if you read a book I think it is pretty ok. I also didn't notice any problem with the colors (...ok I don't dare compairing it with aurora's screen).
A second point I want to make is the battery. I prefer my tablet not to have battery drainage problems instead of having a battery with large mah and suffering from energy drainage. So have you noticed such thing on elite?

The only reason I would prefer elf is that it has a bigger community and thus bigger possibilities for development.

Anyway, I understand you are dissapointed but we 'd all be glad if you could give us some info about elite's wifi and performance in general. Finally I'd like you to tell us if it already rooted.

Thanks

Chris

Well, honestly I hadn't bothered with Wifi tests but if you want me to at least do a range test I certainly don't mind doing that . It doesn't take too long.

Checking for root takes a bit longer but not too much...

In regards to batter drain. The Aurora does indeed have that problem on ICS. The ELF (as far as I am aware) does not. But, all that aside, I hate most of the current implementations of ICS for the A10 processor and the Onda is no exception. What it comes pre-loaded with is just like what comes pre-loaded on the Elf/Aurora... In Short... slow and buggy.

Now, better ICS releases have come out that make it silky smooth but the battery drain (which is a CPU speed scaling issue) is still a problem in these newer versions as is app compatability and flash support.

So... if you look at my site, I load everything I sell with really really good versions of Android 2.3.4. The latest ones are the best yet (just got new stuff for the Aurora and Momo 9) and I am running hi-end gameloft games no issue. The OS is silky smooth and everything just works... So, I a still in the Gingerbread camp and its not that I don't like ICS. It is a great OS. It just is horribly implemented at present on the A10.

So, from the GB perspective, a bigger battery and no battery drain means better battery life.

Anyhow, I will do a bit of testing though on these things for your all's benefit. My time has been slammed, that is why I haven't been on here to respond to folks. I do have thing thing on my hands though and I want to sell it. So if someone wants is please PM me. I will consider reasonable offers (I don't mind taking a slight loss) so have at it

Kind Regards,

Roman

[Roman2025]

Ali DSD, on 10 March 2012 - 04:32 AM, said:

Thats great, I am downloading now, I hope it will solve many problems including the hardware acceleration.
I noticed one thing related to display quality that display resolution is fine but due to high contrast(or something else) , the colors are light. I checked with different levels of brightness but this color wash out can not be corrected with brightness control.

If we could have Gingerbread for our tablet then I am sure there will be a lot more display quality due to Mali-400 drivers in Gingerbread.

Does anyone knows any link of GB for Vi10 Elite ?

Thanks

That hits the nail on the head... That was my BIG ISSUE with the display, washed out colors. You fix that, it would be decent. As is, the contrast is all off. I still prefer the build on the Elf, but the display colors were what made me put the tablet down before finishing the review. Fix that, it is a decent unit.

-Roman

[kumskull65]

Hi Guys can someone come up with a video or proper docs on how to flash the firmware for the onda vi10 elite from 0.8 to 1.0. have the tools ready but instructions are so difficult to understand even after the translate of the language.
Really appreciate thanks.

Kumar.

[Ali DSD]

I sold my vi10 elite due to this color wash out.
I executed the same animated video on Advanced, and Elf and vi10.
The best color depth I found was on Advanced, Elf was on 2nd number and vi10 elite was on 3rd.
I was surprised to see the best color depth, clear details and best saturated color on Advanced.. I was expecting the Elf on top but advanced has better color representation.

Sent from my novo7_ELF using Tapatalk

[rob62158]

kumskull65, on 20 March 2012 - 12:13 AM, said:

Hi Guys can someone come up with a video or proper docs on how to flash the firmware for the onda vi10 elite from 0.8 to 1.0. have the tools ready but instructions are so difficult to understand even after the translate of the language.
Really appreciate thanks.

Kumar.

Kumar these are the instructions I used to update mine someone posted them in the Vi40 update thread they are from Colonel Zapps site and are a little easier to follow than any others I found.

Onda Vi40 Firmware Flashing Guide by Francis
A very heplful firmware flashing guide was posted by Francis right here, this kind of information should no get "lost", so I decided to make this new post for it. Thank you so much, Francis!!! :-)

1) First and before all, check in the settings / developer options that the USB debugging mode is set. Whilst you are in the settings, look where (which menu item) you can change the language as after you installed the 4.0.3 everything and I mean EVERYTHING will be in Chinese.

2) Identify in the Serial Number, at the back of the Tablet, whether you have a v1 or v3, important to decide which image version you need (next step).

3) Download from the Onda site (CLICK) the Livesuit (loader and flasher) which contains the img and the drivers. Select the right button depending on the table version (v1 or v3). The image is correct but the drivers and the Livesuit version aren’t (well, they weren’t for me) that’s why we will download another Livesuit in step -6-

Edit: Vi40_V1_Android4.0.3_v0.6.zip
Vi40_V3_Android4.0.3_v0.6.zip

4) Decompress the Livesuit folder you loaded in -3- with a decompression tool such as WINZIP, WINRAR or anything else. If you have a decompression tool, select the Decompress (unzip) here option (right click on the folder).

5) Identify where the image file is (.img) and remove the Chinese characters from its name (as the other Livesuit we download in -6- will not upload the file with these characters…..).

6) Now you have the right ICS image on your PC. We now need to download the right Livesuit and drivers, you’ll find them here: (CLICK)

7) Decompress the Livesuit downloaded in -6-

Launch the Livesuit downloaded in -6- but then select in Livesuit the img (the one you removed the Chinese characters from in its name) you downloaded in -3-

For the following, check also ColonelZap video.


9) Power off (complete shutdown) your tablet.

10) Press the Middle button (the menu key)

11) Connect your tablet to the PC

12) Whilst pressing the middle button, press several times the power button of your table. That should trigger the installation of the driver and initiate the flashing. Several windows will pop-up, just continue the process (don’t abort it, answer yes or continue to all).

13) That’s it. When finished (it goes pretty fast), power on the tablet and select the language (you’ll get several windows in chinese popping-up, answer anything to be able to access quickly the settings and change the language).
0
Also make sure not to touch or let anything brush the screen untill it has been rebooted the first time completely Onda says it will mess up the screen as it is supposed to auto calibrate when doing the first boot.

[Nickos-V]

Roman2025, on 12 March 2012 - 01:08 AM, said:

That hits the nail on the head... That was my BIG ISSUE with the display, washed out colors. You fix that, it would be decent. As is, the contrast is all off.

Keep in mind that comparing screen to IPS tablets, like Aurora, is really not fair. =)

IPS has better viewing angles, more vibrant and richer colors, etc. So, this tablet will never measure up to any tablet with IPS.

Thanks for your review. I was looking to buy a 7" (or 10") A10 tablet to hold me over for 4-6 months. After which I was thinking of buying 8726-MX or RK3066 (or maybe even Tegra3) tablet.

Too bad this one had "washed" out color display because it was my top choice. Low cost A10, 1GB RAM + 1024x600 resolution. Looks like I will have to choose another A10 tablet instead or wait for dual core tablets to come out.

[Nickos-V]

Someone pointed out to me that Onda has come out with VI60 Elite which replaces this one.

VI60 Elite:
AllWinner A10 chip
1024x600
1GB RAM
8GB ROM

More modern look/style tablet with better TFT display. Looks good from the Youtube video I saw. Boot up seemed slow but I did not time it to know for sure.

People are best to skip VI10 Elite and check out VI60 Elite instead.

VI60 Elite Youtube

[bong]

could it be possible that what you got for the review was using a different revision screen?
the onda vi10 elite that I got in a store was compared side by side to a novo advanced.
I checked the colors, brightness, contrast by playing games and video.
The Novo advanced had a very slight advantage in saturation about 1 percent. not easily detected.
Viewing angles advanced had a slightly wider angle than the onda
but very slight,
next I tested the contrast, now this is where the novo advanced had a tangible easily perceived advantage over the onda.
However, the differences are not so huge as was mentioned in your review so maybe onda or novo had changed screens since then?
The reason I picked the onda vi10 elite over the Novo advanced was the price difference in my country.
about 24 usd.
enough to get me a 32gb class 10 strontium micro SD with lifetime warranty.
I just needed something cheap as a handheld torrent/multimedia android player to tide me over till the nexus play tablet at 200 USD comes along around July rumoured release date.
this pretty much fills the bill.

This post has been edited by bong: 23 May 2012 - 03:43 PM

[Roman2025]

Nickos-V, on 21 May 2012 - 05:03 PM, said:

Someone pointed out to me that Onda has come out with VI60 Elite which replaces this one.

VI60 Elite:
AllWinner A10 chip
1024x600
1GB RAM
8GB ROM

More modern look/style tablet with better TFT display. Looks good from the Youtube video I saw. Boot up seemed slow but I did not time it to know for sure.

People are best to skip VI10 Elite and check out VI60 Elite instead.

VI60 Elite Youtube

Nice Update!

Thanks!