[Offbeatmammal]

After looking at Kindles and iPads and deciding neither are quite what I wanted, I had a quick look at the Pandigital Novel and that seems too locked down (and while I like the Nook not sure I want to get locked down with their DRM) so after looking round here (excellent forum) I started trying to narrow my choices down... and the A81E looks pretty close but before I pull the trigger I thought I'd get some input / sanity checking from folks who actually know what they're talking about My current Android experience is with my myTouch 3G so perf / touch / battery life would be compared to that...Primary use will be eBook reading (Kindle app), comics (CBZ format) and email triage, though web browsing / RSS would probably feature.

• 7", multi-touch not required but good finger support
• Android 2.2 (ideally Cyanogen CM6)... real Exchange support as I'd like to use it for email triage
• Real Flash support... not crucial but nice for youTube or Hulu
• Market place... mainly because I want the Kindle app, Mint, Stock Tracker and others
• GPS would be nice but not essential (I have a Bluetooth GPS device)
• Bluetooth 2.1 EDR with A2DP (I have BT headphones I use for music)
• 3 buttons
  Seems the lack of hardware buttons is a big negative for the PDN
• USB charging... if I can use mini/micro USB to charge it's a lot easier than having to carry around a different cable
• Accelerometer... mainly for autorotation (but there are a couple of games that use it)... if not... desktop widget would do
• Good battery life. If I'm on a 5 hour flight I'd want to be able to listen to music while reading an ebook or playing patience and get to the other end and still have enough battery to look up my hotel on the Maps app...

My budget is around the $200 - $250 mark all up (so any suggestions for best place to buy, reputable, quick shipping, good accesories thrown in etc would be most welcome!)Thanks in advance folks!

 

[stephen0205]

It dosent have multitouch because its a resistive screen. One of the better ones by the looks of it.Android 2.2 no Cyanogen CM6 yet. But maybe somedayIt has flash support but its not perfect yet. They are working on itMarket place may come with depends whom u buy from. U can hack it into it or use slide meGPS models are available but not currently usable in 2.2Bluetooth i have no idea3 buttons should be enuff. They do what u needUSB charging as far as i know isnt possible.No accelerometer but there is rotation apps that will do it for uBattery life is different, everyone seems to have different ones, so cant comment there. Till i get mines anyways.

 

[ficklecycler]

GPS IS functional in 2.2.

 

[stephen0205]

nice they got gps working. Very nice. See mate the fw is coming along

 

[Offbeatmammal]

thanks all ... looks like this is a better bet than either a Kindle or iPad for what I want...Shame about the USB charging... it drives me mad when I have to carry around an extra adapter.now just got to look at prices

 

[stephen0205]

if your from the uk, mp4nation.net. It still comes from hong kong but they seem reliable and cheaper than the rest. But they are only taking pre orders. They will ship on the 23rd and take up to 10 days shipping, no import tax or custom fees So id say get in on the preorder before the price goes back up

 

[Sm0k3d0uT]

Try JTshop, they have it for $200 and it comes with an extra battery for free.From what people have said they have gotten their units in just little over a week.I decided to buy one from here as soon as I free up a little cash.A81 E,TI OMAP3 Cortex , Android 2.1 , Wince ,GPS Pre-order TI OMAP3 Cortex A8 , A81 7 , Wifi, Wince ,Bluetooth , GPS [WITS-A81E-GPS] - $200.00 : JTSHOP

 

[omnikai]

I think I'm going to go with this as well from MP4Nation. Also, you can get a free set of earbuds (code 991ee521b0) + free shipping (for everyone) from them.