As most of us now know, FC is backing away from their current A10 FlatPad. I guess they will still honor the warranty, but no support. They aren't able to do any ROM development & are at the mercy of the Chinese Mfg. for updates & enhancements. I guess $220 is a decent price for this tablet??? Still, I would only deal with a company that has the source code & was able to work directly with their customers to fix bugs & generate updated ROMs. That's what makes the platform worth so much more for me. Anyway, I wish FC much luck with their next product. I am sure they will be reading the contracts very closely with their next mfg. partner. Cheers,kev
I think Flat Computing made the right decision.
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[quote name='bugeyed;34394]As most of us now know' date=' FC is backing away from their current A10 FlatPad. I guess they will still honor the warranty, but no support. They aren't able to do any ROM development & are at the mercy of the Chinese Mfg. for updates & enhancements. I guess $220 is a decent price for this tablet??? Still, I would only deal with a company that has the source code & was able to work directly with their customers to fix bugs & generate updated ROMs. That's what makes the platform worth so much more for me. Anyway, I wish FC much luck with their next product. I am sure they will be reading the contracts very closely with their next mfg. partner. Cheers,kev[/QUOTE']I hope that they do a better job at picking an ODM next time, and beef up with some actual technical people since there clearly aren't any there right now......oh, and $199 would be a better price... but even that's pushing it to me...[EDIT]I take it that the forums must've gotten a little exciting as they seem to be gone now. (*damn* I almost always miss all teh inatrwebz dramaz!) Selecting the option just brings up the page with the two options, refund, or difference between old price and new one along with pointing out Zenithink's new fw...[/EDIT]
"One of these options includes receiving the tablet as is."I'm not sure how is $220 is a decent price for an AS-IS product. That means it's effectively orphaned, and FC will wash its hands of it. If it breaks, you eat it, since FC can't RMA it back to Zenithink. Tech support? Tough cookies, it's as-is. New firmware? Don't look at FC.So, sure, attaboy to FC for being upfront about the no-support thing, but is there anyone dumb enough to shell out a couple of Benjamins for a dead-end pad?Then again, looking at all the peeps snatching up APads & VIAs, I retract the question.
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I was contacted by Flat Computing today and was given a full refund via Paypal. I've verified and the refund has posted. Now that I've been waiting 14 days since purchase I'm back to square one with no tablet. I'm impatient. What is the best tablet on the market to purchase today with Andriod 2.1/2.2. Your input is much appreciated.
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I would have preferred they got in front of the wave, investigated the allegation that the processor was off, and then done something about it one way or the other, rather than getting in the way of it and ending up under it. Better to ride a wave than come up spluttering and half-drowned.
I think it's just a clash of cultures. As xaueious said, specs inflation is kinda the norm for Chinese (actually, most Asian) vendors. Zen didn't flagrantly lie itself, although it nudged the fib along. And it priced its wares in line with what it actually was. As it stands, it's more of a "misunderstanding" rather than an actual fraud. I'd have no problem buying from Zen, as long as I do my due diligence (as every buyer should).If fault is to be blamed, it's on FC for not doing its homework. But cut it a break as well, as it's a startup, and this is probably its first big deal, so it's more inexperience than incompetence. No doubt it'd be more on the ball hereafter. Same with Zen, it'll be more scrupulous from now on, at least in dealing with western buyers.Anyway, I don't think there'd be a shortage of Telechip pads, whether they be 800MHz or 1GHz. Buy from whomever you feel comfortable with.
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I know all about those(and related thread... I was following that Sunday(and later) to see what the fallout would be... which was bad for FC as I mentioned in various threads since in addition to being technically incompetent, they also have no concept of PR...), what I specifically meant was the fun that must've gone on in their own forums that caused their [email protected] a Witstech (Wirelession) A81 E. Their 2.2 fw looks to be firming up pretty good. OCed 800MHz Cortex-A8 (OMAP3530), GPS(optional), bluetooth(non-functioning in Android ATM), no accelerometer(big deal, lose a few games), easily replaceable battery pack... pphhht go look in the renamed Midnite whatever forum(right above PDN forum ATM). (Not very bright to list it as a particular model when many people won't know the midnite is an A81 E...)At least FC is refunding people... that got that part right even if they failed the rest.jgn1013;34544 said:
Too bad the A81 is an 8" tablet....what about the Enso?
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It's a ZT-180, well Orphan M16 IIRC which is actually a ZT180 just like the FC A10...what's wrong with 7" tablets? I wish more tablets were 7", as I feel that 10" is already pushing it, and 15" is just plain ridiculous, but look here for some English company that is trying to flog 7", 10", & 15" tablets... no idea about the specs or anything as they seem to only excel at marketing... apparently have some kind of deal with some wireless provider in the UK too...Oh, and the marketing comment I made because it sounds like they're going for grossly overpriced, i.e. iPad pricing at a guess... here went and found ya the thread, since I'm feeling slightly kindly ATM:http://www.slatedroid.com/non-listed/3456-icd-tablets-7-11-15-a.htmlIf you google it you can find some more info, but look at the 15" galleries... looks ridiculous with that woman holding it(15")...
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I just went off topic in another thread about Flat Computing, so I put the link here because I think it really should have been in this thread. In the other thread somebody wrote a reply that was very sarcastic, then editted it to be more constructive. I was just trying to say that I'm frustrated that Flat Computing isn't helping anyone in their forum (it's where I bought my ZT-180). Most people there just want a user manual for the tablet, they didn't include the printed one that comes with the ZT-180, and they keep saying it will be out "soon" since July. And that I'm just glad and grateful there are forums like this one and people out there willing to share info. So thank you everyone. I was just on the Flat Computing Forum trying to help someone install the secbulk drivers, but nothing I told him to try helped him. I'm just trying to "pay it forward", I know how miserable I'd be if I didn't have the latest ROM and Market on the tablet.The Omen;55947 said:
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Okay, I understand now. When I clicked the link, for whatever reason here at work, it sent me to the first post and not to your post. I just clicked it again and found that it did go to your post describing your concerns with Flat Computing so I don't know what happened the first time.
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[quote name='bugeyed;34394]As most of us now know' date=' FC is backing away from their current A10 FlatPad.[/QUOTE'] Well guess what. How would they be able to provide firmware updates for a system, which innards were developed by two chinese companies, specifically InfoTM Shanghai who developed the "system on a chip" which is the ZT-180 CPU. And then there is Zenithink who designed the PCB and picked the other components (e.g. NAND flash, DRAM, LAN, WLAN, external ports, display panel) and who produce the unit in quanity.Claiming that Flatpad would be able to provide updates themselves was unrealistic from the start.
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They kept saying their tablet wasn't a ZT-180, then after the Cortex A8 debacle they posted this: Purchase Options for FlatPad A10 | Flat Computing. But it looks like they aren't being upfront with new customers with the remaining units they are trying to sell off, at least from their webpage.Text from link above which no longer works after their website "facelift" on 9/15/2010:Thank you for your purchase of the FlatPad A10. See "Options" to take delivery of your FlatPad and receive a rebate or receive a full refund.As most of you are aware, our first entry into the tablet PC market is the Fla...tPad A10 that has the Zenithink ZT-180 CPU module inside and a 10.2" TFT screen.However, Zenithink, a Chinese manufacturer, dishonestly stated to our manufacturer that their CPU module was an ARM A8 Cortex processor which we then marketed and sold to you - only to find out that the Zenithink ZT-180 was really an ARM6 Rev. 5 processor. Due to this situation, we have decided to make the following options available to you.Flat Computing is happy to announce we are in negotiations with a new manufacturer and currently reviewing audit documents for the facility. We have secured a US based manufacturing partner with offices in Hong Kong and several other relationships that are moving this process along quickly. We anticipate being able to announce a new FlatPad basic unit and additional product specs this month with delivery in September. We will keep you posted.My personal comments and more detail are provided below these options.■Option 1: New Price of $220.00 + 16.00 Shipping = $236.00 ■Flat Computing will refund the difference between what you have paid and the $236.00 (by check).■Product shipped within 7 business days or sooner, when we receive your email response to [email protected] or simply respond to this email.■Option 2: Full refund. ■If you have received a FlatPad - please return to address below and a check for the full amount will be issued.■If you have a unit on order and desire a full refund, please email your response to [email protected] or simply respond to this email. A check for the full amount will be issued.Details to this Offer:After much deliberation and evaluation, we have decided that Flat Computing will not be able to meet our goals of offering continued quality of service and customer support on this particular Zenithink ZT-180 10.2" Android Tablet. While this decision is incredibly difficult for many reasons, our values and commitment for quality products that can be continually enhanced to offer superior performance are more important to us. We simply can't build our company on a future where we would be at the mercy of Zenithink and their ROM/Firmware updates.The employees of Flat Computing are committed to providing custom ROM and firmware updates and improvements on our tablets. Unfortunately, after much research and attempted negotiation with the Zenithink group, we have found this to be impossible.In attempt to build a product we could service, we went back to Zenithink and asked for the source code for the firmware and tools that we need to add our ROM with Google's Android Marketplace, speed enhancements, etc. Zenithink told us that they would not provide any source code or tools in order for Flat Computing to support and maintain and improve this product.So as a result, Flat Computing has decided to offer the 2 Options above to our customers.One of these options includes receiving the tablet as is. We did receive 200 units on Friday and have them in stock. If you would still like to receive this tablet, as is, with Zenithink's ROM/Firmware, Flat Computing is willing to sell these units at $220 per unit + $16 for shipping.If this is an option and is desired by you then you would receive a Rebate check for the difference between what you paid per unit and the new "as is" price of $220. These tablets will perform fine (in fact far superior to what you can get online from China now), they just won't' be the original specs as desired by Flat Computing.Please respond to this email with which Option you would like to do. Either full refund or get the unit at $220 along with a partial refund. Please allow us 7 to 10 business days to get refund checks, rebate checks and tablets to you.Again, Flat Computing is committed to providing the best tablets on the planet to provide customers what they want and meet the goals of the Android developer community… and this unit, with its restrictions from Zenithink, causes us not to be able to do that.Zenithink did release an updated ROM/firmware version on August 4th.Go to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=740631This has instructions on how to download Zenithink's latest ROM/firmware and Update Tool to flash this new build onto these ZT-180 units.We apologize for all the challenges and delay in bringing this product to market.Thank you for your patience,Todd Bryant - CEOFlat Computing, LLCRMA Address:Flat Computing, LLC7901 Cameron Rd Bldg 3 Suite 3-385Austin, TX 78754
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Now they are selling it for $200 with free shipping. Wish I could be refunded the difference, or at least have my emails replied to about the tablet not functioning as well as it should (taking 2x as long to charge battery these days, wifi constantly disconnects now even when I am right next to my router (with TxPower=20), and the speakers are sounding worse the more time passes).
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