MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk Your Local Manchester Web Network Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:13:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Android – Soundboard: Retro Gamer http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/07/14/android-soundboard-retro-gamer/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/07/14/android-soundboard-retro-gamer/#comments Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:12:30 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=163 The layout is reminiscent of old sound effect keyrings, but the sounds are more like old computer games. If you want something to play with for a little while, why not give it a try? The Google Play download link is listed below! Download it now from Google Play!]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/07/14/android-soundboard-retro-gamer/feed/ 0 Android – Colour Viewer http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/14/android-colour-viewer/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/14/android-colour-viewer/#comments Thu, 14 Jun 2012 17:54:57 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=144 There is a built in editor to make your own XML lists and some other features such as customisation, wallpaper changer, random colour mode and even a strobe light! If you work with colours often, this could be really helpful to you. Download it now from Google Play!]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/14/android-colour-viewer/feed/ 0 E-Tab 7006 CyanogenMod9 (ICS 4.0.4) http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/04/e-tab-7006-cyanogenmod9-ics-4-0-4/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/04/e-tab-7006-cyanogenmod9-ics-4-0-4/#comments Mon, 04 Jun 2012 13:05:17 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=152 I noticed that the default DPI is set to 120, which makes things look smaller since this is a LDPI setting. If you use a resolution changer and set the DPI to 160 (MDPI), you’ll not only get a larger view but Android will now operate in Phone mode, rather than tablet mode. Running in Phone mode means you won’t have access to the soft menu button and you’ll have to use your physical menu button. There’s also no fragment based lists (side by side) and obviously the interface works in favour of a mobile phone based device, so the expected orientation is portrait. I noticed in Tablet mode that with older apps (pre-actionbar) an extra icon is added to the status bar, which serves as a soft menu key. Some apps such as YouTube and Google Play have been upgraded to use side by side lists, but this tends to limit the amount of space available for information. Despite the non-working components, glitches and forced closes; I prefer this to the Gingerbread based ROM I was using previously. It boots up fast and looks really nice, so I think I’ll stick with it for now. Visit the topic on SlateDroid forums and download the ROM WARNING: If you don’t know how to flash this ROM, make sure you look around the SlateDroid forums first to learn how it is done.]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/06/04/e-tab-7006-cyanogenmod9-ics-4-0-4/feed/ 0 E-Tab 7006 ADB Driver http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/30/e-tab-7006-adb-driver/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/30/e-tab-7006-adb-driver/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:59:55 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=135 It actually took me quite some time to locate the proper drivers for this device, as it seems to be based on the Haipad M7 and has no manufacturer web site to download official E-Tab drivers from. I have mirrored the drivers on this site and also one of my network sites, should this domain ever be unavailable in the future. Enjoy! M7_USB_OTG.zip – (MancWeb) M7_USB_OTG.zip – (WinkLink)]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/30/e-tab-7006-adb-driver/feed/ 0 E-Tab 7006 Android Tablet http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/17/e-tab-7006-android-tablet/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/17/e-tab-7006-android-tablet/#comments Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:37:52 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=67

Introducing the E-Tab 7006

I had my sights set on the Archos Arnova 7 G2, mainly because it has a nice screen size and offers great build quality. The problem was, I could not find anywhere local to buy this tablet from, nor could I find a decent deal online! I noticed that Maplin were selling the E-Tab for £100, which I thought was fantastic because it offered many features and was so powerful for the price!

Basic specification

Android 2.3 OS 1Ghz processor 512Mb DDR RAM 4Gb storage 7″ capacitive screen Speaker and mic 0.3mp web camera Headphone socket SDCARD socket HDMI socket Mini USB HOST socket Mini USB OTG socket WiFi (802.11 b/g) Market access

What’s in the box

The outer packaging appears to be good quality, with a giftbox-like appearance. The main logo is reflective and generally seems to be of a decent quality. E-Tab 7006 Box The device itself comes in a foam sleeve bag, with pull off screen film on the front and back. Underneath the device are cables to charge the unit, allow USB connectivity with host and OTG devices and there’s also a set of headphones. E-Tab 7006 Inside As you can see, almost everything you need for a great multimedia experience is included. It would have been nice if there was also a HDMI cable, though you can pick these up for quite cheap on the Internet.

Initial charge

The first charge took around 3 hours and although this only quoted 84% charge in the OS, the actual discharge time was around 4 hours. This is with the brightness turned all the way down and only using simple apps such as the web browser and YouTube. I think this is quite acceptable for first time use. Future charges have yielded over 5 hours of use, this is while watching videos or playing online games with wireless enabled. All in all the battery life is decent for the price.

Operating System

The OS looks very much like Honeycomb, but alas it is just a skinned version of Gingerbread. This is not a major problem but the system settings claim the OS is Android version 3.0, when in reality it is a 2.3.x version of the Android OS. I find this quite misleading but it’s not a deal breaker. E-Tab 7006 About The first boot took less than 1 minute and the interface was really smooth, with low latency all round. At this point I was very impressed with the device because for £100 you simply cannot bark a bad word about it.

Screen details

The screen size is 7 inches and seems to be very clear, it is also ultra sensitive thanks to the capacitive display. I should mention that at this point I still haven’t removed the protective film, so I would think it could be even more sensitive without the protective film. E-Tab 7006 Screen One thing I did notice about the screen is that pressing down too hard on lower areas of the screen would cause the left hand side of the screen to blur. This doesn’t seem to happen on the upper regions of the screen but again, this is not a big deal because it is hardly noticeable and actually avoidable by being light handed with the touch screen.

Keyboard support

You might be thinking “keyboard on a touch screen tablet?”, to which I answer YES, YES, YES! Being a programmer / forum lover since the late 90′s I simply cannot be dealing with touch-screen keyboards, when I know how to touch type at over 50 words per minute. Being able to connect both a keyboard and mass storage at the same time is a big deal for me. E-Tab 7006 Sockets It is worth noting that since the menu and back buttons are small, flimsy and positioned in a non-ergonomic way, it really would be amazing if we could use a keyboard to control common functions such as back and home. E-Tab 7006 Buttons Thanks to the USB to Mini USB cable, USB keyboards are fully supported! You can use the HOME key to show the home screen, END to switch off the screen, ESC to go back, F1 to show a menu, the Arrow keys and Enter to navigate and any other key to type as normal. This is a very useful feature!

Web camera

The web camera on this device is absolutely awful! I’d compare it to the best web camera from the 90′s, simply not on par with today’s standards. But would anyone really choose not to buy the tablet because of this? I wouldn’t shop around for a tablet based on the quality of the camera because if I need a high quality camera, I will buy a high quality camera! It’s still nice to have even a low quality camera built in, though, as it could come in handy.

Missing features

Built-in bluetooth, GPS and 3G networking. These features can all be added with USB, so really it’s a question of “do you absolutely NEED these features built into the device?”. If the answer to that question is no, then nothing is really missing, just not connected until you plug them in. Personally I have a mobile phone that does all of these and I don’t really use blue-tooth and GPS, plus I have a USB 3G dongle so it’s not a big deal for me. Another thing I need to mention is that the Android Market / Google Play does not seem to like this device. It will hide a lot of the apps which should be compatible! The best solution is to flash the tablet with a custom ROM. I would say only consider doing this once you know the tablet is not faulty and there is no chance you’d return it. Many say this kind of tablet is resistant to bricking, if that’s true then it’s still only resistance and not full immunity. If you only plan to use this tablet for browsing the net then the above issues won’t really affect you. If you’re planning on flashing new firmware, you’re advised to use the 1.2Ghz versions because people have reported 1.0Ghz versions to brick their tablets. I’m not sure if this affects any or all models/revisions of this tablet, but better safe than sorry, I’d say.

System info

If you’d like to see what kind of specifications were reported by diagnostic apps, then check out the link below. E-Tab_7006_SystemInfo_20120317-143802.html

Final verdict

This tablet could be a lot better, then again it could be a lot worse and for the price there is really no point in dwelling on its’ shortcomings. If blue-tooth, GPS and 3G were built in and there was better market support, with say a 2mp camera, then I would give this tablet 10 out of 10. There are some features missing and the market support is below average, so I’ll give this tablet 8 out of 10 overall. If I was going to buy a second 7 inch tablet, I would definitely buy another E-Tab, regardless of these minor snags!

In closing

If you’re interested in buying an Ipad, but don’t want to shell out the high prices that Apple charge, then perhaps it may be wise to consider an Android tablet. Be aware that Apple and Adobe don’t have a software agreement, so the most popular web software (Flash) does not run on Apple devices! Android is an open source platform and thankfully, Flash is supported on many Android devices.

Buy online

It appears that Maplin have now run out of stock, so you’ll have to order from elsewhere. If you can’t find this particular tablet then you could try one of the variants, such as the HeroTab, Dropad or HaiPad which all use very similar hardware and are compatible with most custom ROMs available online. Last modified on Friday, 23rd of March, 2012 ]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/03/17/e-tab-7006-android-tablet/feed/ 0 New website – Play Games Now http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/01/11/new-website-play-games-now/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/01/11/new-website-play-games-now/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:31:59 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=57 Click here to visit the site All members who signup and login while playing games will earn EXP, this can be used to gain entrance to competitions. We expect to give away several types of redeemable codes for services such as Xbox Live, PSN, iTunes and others. Click here to visit the site It is FREE to signup and use, so why not make your account today and stack those points up? You never know, you might be one of the lucky winners!]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2012/01/11/new-website-play-games-now/feed/ 0 EuroGamer 2011 http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/09/28/eurogamer-2011/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/09/28/eurogamer-2011/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:02:09 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=54 Click here to view images]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/09/28/eurogamer-2011/feed/ 0 Surface images uploaded http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/surface-images-uploaded/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/surface-images-uploaded/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:13:37 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=48 Click here to view images]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/surface-images-uploaded/feed/ 0 Mobile app development http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/mobile-app-development/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/mobile-app-development/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:07:42 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=40 PhoneGap which allows you to design your app just like you are creating a web page, using HTML, CSS and Javascript. PhoneGap has been in development for some time and recently reached a version 1.0.0 status. It allows you to manage a project that can be potentially exported to popular platforms such as iOS, Android, Symbian and others. Most, if not all of the development tools and SDK’s are free to download and use, so provided you actually own a mobile device and don’t rely on the emulators too much, there is nothing stopping you from creating a useful app! We recently upgraded our mobile phones to the Samsung Galaxy series, which run on the Android 2.3.3 operating system. Within a few days, we have learnt how to adapt web code to power a basic mobile phone application! If you don’t already know HTML, CSS and Javascript then don’t assume you won’t be able to make something, if you have a basic idea then you should definately try because you can use sites like Tizag to fill in the gaps when you get stuck.]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/mobile-app-development/feed/ 0 Nature images uploaded http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/nature-images-uploaded/ http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/nature-images-uploaded/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:37:47 +0000 MancWeb http://www.mancweb.co.uk/?p=33 Click here to view images]]> http://www.mancweb.co.uk/2011/08/09/nature-images-uploaded/feed/ 0