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Quad-Core Onda V972

318K views 978 replies 169 participants last post by  avishake.mitra 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
From Engadget:

China's Onda was once somewhat known as a manufacturer of low-cost PMPs that packed some relatively high-end specs, but it's unsurprisingly since moved on to more of a focus on tablets. While those haven't exactly garnered much attention to date, it's latest certainly continues that high-specs / low-cost tradition. Known only as the V972, the tablet packs Android 4.1 for an OS (a 4.2 upgrade is apparently promised), and it's among the first to use Allwinner's new quad-core A31 processor. The real standout detail, though, is a 9.7-inch screen that boasts the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as the Retina iPad. Otherwise, you'll get 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a microSD card slot, front and rear cameras, and a promised eight to ten hours of battery life -- all for $240. Those interested in taking the plunge on one will have to wait a bit longer, though -- it's currently listed as out of stock on Onda's website, and there doesn't appear to be any other retailers selling it just yet.

Looks like a decent tablet with $240, and some people even say that Onda V972 will be a competitor of Apple iPad. Another quad-core Onda V812 will also be available. Here is a Onda V972 & Onda V812 review: http://ondav.com/quad-core-onda-v972-onda-v812-review/

Teclast also announced Allwinner A31 based quad-core tablet Teclast P88 Quad-Core.

Update:

Ainol also announced Allwinner A31 based quad-core tablet Ainol Novo 9 Spark

Onda is on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ondacn

Onda Forum: http://forums.zzkko.com/forum/48-onda/
 
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#3 ·
I just ordered one yesterday too from Aliexpress, They are expecting a restock within 10 days, so I will let everyone know how i get on, once they get stock and it arrives.

Really looking forward to seeing exactly how much horsepower this little tablet really has (for 1/4 or less of the price of the higher end ipads!)
 
#7 ·
Hi,

There is now an A31 folder on SLD. I will see if mrsburnout can move this thread there (unless you are already reading this mrsb ;-)

Jez
 
#10 ·
Just ordered Onda V972... Was waiting for Ramos W30HD but it took so long and I'm afraid the Mali 400MP4 is not going to cope with that 1080p resolution. Even though I guess the Exynos has the quicker CPU I'm convinced the SGX544MP2 will defeat it hands down. Also the A31 can decode 4K so I plan to use it as a media center as well...

In total cost me 1299RMB and will arrive around 10th of January
 
#11 ·
#17 ·
Hi,

new member and new to Android - my V972 arrived yesterday.

This is my first Android device. Have been using my wife's iPad 1 for some time, mostly for reading and web surfing and wanted my own device.

I live in Hong Kong and bought it from Taobao for RMB 1329 (USD213). Included accessories (stylus, soft cover, ear phones, stand, USB adaptor, head phone splitter) which I now realise I won't use; apart from the USB adaptor.

First impressions mostly good but since I am new to Android have spent most of the time trying to learn what it does.
Also have a slight issue because it came in Chinese and I do not read Chinese. Had to wait for my wife to change it to English!

Screen is very good, in general the device is slick and responds well. Video playback is good. The speakers are not very loud but music through headphones is very good. Cameras seem to be OK but not great.

PDFs are laggy though. PDFs on the iPAD 1 render very quickly and things like screen scrolls seem to be instant. On the Onda, the same PDF, takes a short while to render and screen scrolling is bumpy. I suspect this is due to the screen resolution. This may get annoying because it is the main thing I wanted it for. So far I have only tried the free PDF readers. Would appreciate recommendations for a good, fast, PDF app. Paid for is OK.
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
This may get annoying because it is the main thing I wanted it for.
I'm very interested in your PDF research with Onda, couse I need a retina tablet primarily for reading technical PDFs.
Onda v972 or Chuwi v99 A31 Quad version, both looks promising. Chuwi has speakers on both sides and 9000mAh battery, but no real owners so far.
http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Chuwi-V99-Allwinner-A31-Qaud-Core-9_7-Inch-Ips-Retina-Android-4_1-2g-Ram-Tablet-p-61257.html

MrTurtle said:
Just found the official download page on the onda website:

http://onda.cn/Table...x?ProductId=239 click the centre tab.
That's where I got my link from. The page itself is loading very slow from europe.

UPD:
MrTurtle, did you try Radaee PDF Reader?
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=radaee.pdf

I've asked a guy from our local Russian forum to try a couple of heavy PDFs with Onda v972 he's just recieved.

He did this little video:

Looks not so bad in both scroll and page modes, considering the first PDF has lot of bitmap graphics and the second one has lots of vector.

Here is the actual PDFs:
http://www.st.com/internet/com/TECHNICAL_RESOURCES/TECHNICAL_LITERATURE/REFERENCE_MANUAL/DM00031020.pdf
http://www.rm.com/_RMVirtual/Media/Downloads/LEGO_Catalogue.pdf
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Mr Turtle,

Awaiting delivery of my v972 so interested to read your initial thoughts. How is the wifi? Also does it have normal & HD display modes like the RK3066 retina tablets? If so how smooth & responsive is it in HD mode compared to non-HD mode?

Pdf reading is also one of my main uses. For paid apps I found Quickoffice Pro HD to include an excellent pdf viewer as well as being a general office program. I have tried a few pdf reader apps and not many deal with large pdf magazines very well e.g. PC Pro or T3 which can be 140Mb and 180 pages of graphically rich pages. QO also remembers where you were with each magazine.

Having said that I found that even free Adobe reader & Documents to go pdf reader work well on RK3066 based tablets so it may just be a firmware issue on the v972 which might improve with future firmwares.

Jez
 
#19 ·
Hi Tablet_Collector,

I assume I am in HD mode and the menus/pages slide across very smoothly. Sometimes the screen moves too quickly, especially when moving icons.
I have no idea how to switch to non HD mode or check to see what mode I am in. The only related option in the settings is screen adaption and this hasn't made any difference yet.

Spent the morning playing with PDFs. The best so far (for me at least) is Adobe's Reader in single page display. A tap at the edge of the page brings in the next page - this is very similar to how I read on the iPad and means no page scrolling. The PDF viewer in WPS office is OK if you take your time with scrolling the pages. If you flick too fast the screen jumps a bit.

Have tried and don't like the following:
Solo PDF Reader
Fumiko
qPDF Viwer
PDF Reader

Don't have Quick Office so I can't comment on this.

I have started noticing some quirks/issues:

The power button is in the wrong place. When in landscape orientation I keep pressing it with the heel of my hand by mistake .
Unlock screen & Home screen is landscape only and I can't find a way of rotating them.
Battery seems to drain very quickly. Based on today's moderate use I get about 4 hours from a full charge. Installed Juice Defender to see if it helps.
Some of the other battery saver apps aren't compatible.

Advice on extending the battery would be appreciated.
 
#21 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Tablet_Collector,

I assume I am in HD mode and the menus/pages slide across very smoothly. Sometimes the screen moves too quickly, especially when moving icons.
I have no idea how to switch to non HD mode or check to see what mode I am in. The only related option in the settings is screen adaption and this hasn't made any difference yet.
Maybe it only has the HD display option available as they think the A31 SoC is able to handle it smoothly without the need for a low res option. For example on the Chuwi V99 which I have on loan (configuring it for a friend) it has a "display mode" option under the "display" menu which allows you to choose normal (1600 x 1200) or HD (2048 x 1536).

Spent the morning playing with PDFs. The best so far (for me at least) is Adobe's Reader in single page display. A tap at the edge of the page brings in the next page - this is very similar to how I read on the iPad and means no page scrolling. The PDF viewer in WPS office is OK if you take your time with scrolling the pages. If you flick too fast the screen jumps a bit.

Have tried and don't like the following:
Solo PDF Reader
Fumiko
qPDF Viwer
PDF Reader

Don't have Quick Office so I can't comment on this.
Yes I find Adobe reader pretty good these days too and use it instead of QO Pro HD. I only mentioned QO Pro HD because you asked for paid as well as unpaid apps. Of course it does a lot more than just PDF reading as well.

I have started noticing some quirks/issues:

The power button is in the wrong place. When in landscape orientation I keep pressing it with the heel of my hand by mistake .
Unlock screen & Home screen is landscape only and I can't find a way of rotating them.
Battery seems to drain very quickly. Based on today's moderate use I get about 4 hours from a full charge. Installed Juice Defender to see if it helps. Some of the other battery saver apps aren't compatible.

Advice on extending the battery would be appreciated.
Some of these issues may be fixed by new firmware (I see v 1.1 has been released - see post above thanks dehicka). When I get a new tablet I always let it discharge fully when new then fully charge it (usually overnight). The battery will usually settle down after a few charges/discharges and give a true indication of how long it will last. You can also use battery calibration app from Play Store which resets the OS information on battery charge status - you fully charge the battery and then hit the calibrate button to reset the stored information.

Jez
 
#23 ·
RE PDF app.

I don't mind paying but I like freebies if they are available and I don't mind spending some time trying them out.

I may end up with QO Pro HD but it probably does a lot more than I will need and its quiet expensive at HK$116. I hope I can I get a good PDF reader for less.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
This link is much slower for me than DeHickA's but I guess you are in Hong Kong so it will be fast for you.

By the way, have you run any benchmarks? Maybe wait until you have installed v1.1 firmware and then try running Antutu benchmark, Quadrant standard, GLBenchmark 2.5 and Vellamo mobile. Would be interested in the results, thanks.

Jez
 
#26 ·
I cant update the firmware. I installed the software (chinese language only...) and after i installed the driver, but after this i get an error massage, but i cant translate...

I tried start with recovery mode, but cant use the img file what have in the rar...
 
#28 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi,

trying Radaee PDF Reader. It renders pretty quickly and scrolls quite smoothly.
I also like to fact you can scroll sideways.

Just tried to update the firmware. Downloaded V972Core4_v1.1.rar and unpacked it. Installed PheonixSuite on the Windows 7 system.
PheonixSuite runs but cannot find the V972.

I run PheonixSuite and plug in the USB cable. The device confirms USB is connected and asks if I want to Turn on USB storage.
PheonixSuite does not connect; whether USB is on or off.

Turn USB on and AutoPlay pops up as normal and I can copy files so the connection is working OK.
 
#29 · (Edited by Moderator)
Did you enable 'usb debugging', i updated my V812 a few days agoo without problems with the PheonixSuite.

Driver installing is going automatically, much easier as the RK3066 chipset, which causes for some great problems.
 
#33 ·
Haven't done much with the tablet since the firmware upgrade but it does feel "nicer". The screen scrolling seems to be even smoother.

I am impressed with web surfing on the default browser. Pages look as you would expect and they scroll really well. Pages that crash Safari load without any problems.

I had a quick play with some video and they all played well in the 4K VideoPlayer.
1080 looks really good and plays with a problem.

Also tried vlc beta which had problems on the higher bitrate files - lots of stuttering and blocking.

For PDFs think I am settled on Adobe, Radaee and EbookDroid.
And something which may not be a big deal to the Android experienced people but will make a big difference to me is that you can see the same documents in different reader apps. On the iPad you need to load the same document separately for each app.

The glass is not stuck 100% completely to the screen and there are little (very little) areas at the edge where it is coming away (or more likely not stuck properly in production). It looks like the bubbles you get when you've made a mess of applying a screen protector. This is not a problem for me but my wife thinks it is.

All in all I am very happy with it. Especially for the price.
 
#59 ·
MrTurtle
Can you check Raw 2.7k and 1080p60 footage from GoPro 3?
Here is couple (download original MP4):

Played in 4KVideoPlayer from a thumb drive connected via an OTG cable.

- GoPro 3 Black 2-7K ProTune (2704x1536 / 28MB)
Plays good. Scrubbing and jumping on the timeline works well.

/ GoPro 1080p 60 FPS ProTune Medium Angle (1920x1080 / 32MB)
Plays OK. After about 20 seconds of jumping around on the timeline the timeline stopped responding but the video continued to play OK. No idea if I was actually getting 60 fps though.
 
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