New low cost toy
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Belated update... I got my Chuwi. Had some teething pains related to WiFi. Didn't realize this guy doesn't have a 5GHz radio, so I had to reconfigure my office WAP to broadcast 2.4 + 5GHz and enable bandwidth steering so other devices maintain 5GHz connectivity.
Now that that is sorted out, this is a darling little tablet. Screen isn't quite bright enough for my tastes, but it is otherwise punchy, sharp and colorful, with nice viewing angles. The touchscreen is very responsive as well.
The device is surprisingly lightweight due to the plastic casing, but it feels well put together. The size is pretty great, easily usable one handed and typing isn't too difficult. And W10 is way better for a tablet of this size than any previous Windows version.
I haven't done any heavy lifting in regards to app performance, but it seems snappy and gets out of its own way. The Android switching process is simple (desktop shortcut from within Windows causes a shutdown and reboot into Android; from Android, swipe down from the top-right corner of the status bar and tap OS Switch). I haven't spent much time in Android though, as it's not particularly noteworthy.
The #1 killer feature of this guy (besides price), for me, is the USB OTG support. It comes bundled with a Micro USB to USB female OTG adapter, meaning you can plugin any standard USB devices and Windows sees them as expected. I'm sure power will be an issue with anything bigger, like portable HDDs, but for most small peripherals it works great.
I have successfully tested (from within Windows) a 32GB thumb drive. a USB 3 hub/Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapter, and -- most excitingly -- a USB to serial adapter. So this + PuTTY == portable network troubleshooting toolkit.
I'll keep toying with it for a few days. I'll need a decent case/stand for it if I continue to use it. For now I rigged up a cardboard+foam+electrical tape desk stand. Paired with a Logitech K810 Bluetooth keyboard, it's working just fine.
Thanks for the tip. I think I can call it: Chuwi is the Archangel to Dell's Satanic Venue. Heck, it's even pure white vs Dell's morbid black. I think it's a $99 winner.
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Damn you people, now I had to buy one of these.
I'll see how cool it is when I get it on Thursday.
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@crustachio said:
Belated update... I got my Chuwi.
...
I have successfully tested (from within Windows) a 32GB thumb drive. a USB 3 hub/Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapter, and -- most excitingly -- a USB to serial adapter. So this + PuTTY == portable network troubleshooting toolkit.This has been a curiosity of mine... would it work as a serial...
well that almost tears it.. might have to get one also.
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@crustachio said:
Belated update... I got my Chuwi. Had some teething pains related to WiFi. Didn't realize this guy doesn't have a 5GHz radio, so I had to reconfigure my office WAP to broadcast 2.4 + 5GHz and enable bandwidth steering so other devices maintain 5GHz connectivity.
Now that that is sorted out, this is a darling little tablet. Screen isn't quite bright enough for my tastes, but it is otherwise punchy, sharp and colorful, with nice viewing angles. The touchscreen is very responsive as well.
The device is surprisingly lightweight due to the plastic casing, but it feels well put together. The size is pretty great, easily usable one handed and typing isn't too difficult. And W10 is way better for a tablet of this size than any previous Windows version.
I haven't done any heavy lifting in regards to app performance, but it seems snappy and gets out of its own way. The Android switching process is simple (desktop shortcut from within Windows causes a shutdown and reboot into Android; from Android, swipe down from the top-right corner of the status bar and tap OS Switch). I haven't spent much time in Android though, as it's not particularly noteworthy.
The #1 killer feature of this guy (besides price), for me, is the USB OTG support. It comes bundled with a Micro USB to USB female OTG adapter, meaning you can plugin any standard USB devices and Windows sees them as expected. I'm sure power will be an issue with anything bigger, like portable HDDs, but for most small peripherals it works great.
I have successfully tested (from within Windows) a 32GB thumb drive. a USB 3 hub/Gigabit Ethernet LAN adapter, and -- most excitingly -- a USB to serial adapter. So this + PuTTY == portable network troubleshooting toolkit.
I'll keep toying with it for a few days. I'll need a decent case/stand for it if I continue to use it. For now I rigged up a cardboard+foam+electrical tape desk stand. Paired with a Logitech K810 Bluetooth keyboard, it's working just fine.
Thanks for the tip. I think I can call it: Chuwi is the Archangel to Dell's Satanic Venue. Heck, it's even pure white vs Dell's morbid black. I think it's a $99 winner.
Did you figure out a way to charge it faster?
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@crustachio
I only have one minor request..Could you plug it all up and take a photo of it? Power, USB drive and such..
Thanks.
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@IRJ no, but I haven't used it long enough to have noticed how long the charges take. The stock charger is 2.0A, which is about as good as it gets for USB charging. Well, there are 2.1A chargers, but I don't think that would make a noticeable difference. Keep in mind it is a 4,000mAh battery, so it's not going to charge nearly as quickly as the average smartphone (with a 1,500-2,500 mAh battery) no matter what.
Thankfully micro USB chargers are ubiquitous in my life so I am never far from
oneten. I just leave stuff plugged in unless I'm going walkabout. -
@gjacobse said:
@crustachio
I only have one minor request..Could you plug it all up and take a photo of it? Power, USB drive and such..
Thanks.
Sure. What should I be wearing?
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@crustachio said:
@gjacobse said:
@crustachio
I only have one minor request..Could you plug it all up and take a photo of it? Power, USB drive and such..
Thanks.
Sure. What should I be wearing?
LOL - I'm interested in the Chuwi,.. not you. Sorry I'm attached.
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Ok note to self don't be drinking pop when reading threads. I tend to choke or spit things out from time to time.
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@Minion-Queen said:
Ok note to self don't be drinking pop when reading threads. I tend to choke or spit things out from time to time.
When will you learn?
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@gjacobse sorry for the delay, but sorrier still for these terrible pictures. Since you prudes only care about seeing "the device" I decided to leave my chiseled physique out of the frame.
Magic keyboard:
So I look important:
Gigabytez:
Plugz:
Chillin' on the lil' ghetto couch I made for it:
In "da club" aka "server room"
Windows Store really blows compared to iOS:
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@crustachio Wow... this could be a really handy troubleshooting device to carry around.
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My Chuwi is still running strong. I love this device. I am working on rooting android on it.
I am also thinking of doing a Linux installation to do a triple boot boot Windows, Android, and Linux.
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Rooted.... pending verification. I don't have internet access at the moment on my tablet (no wifi here)
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Intel Z3736F Quad Core, Max 2.16GHZ, 2GB DDR3L RAM + 32GB eMMC ROM, Support TF Card, Max 128GB
Not bad given the price. What about the battery, how long does it last and... how long does it need to charge to ~85-90%? That's often a problem on cheap devices.
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@IRJ said in New low cost toy:
My Chuwi is still running strong. I love this device. I am working on rooting android on it.
I am also thinking of doing a Linux installation to do a triple boot boot Windows, Android, and Linux.
Thanks for bring this up again. I guess though I need to hold off on some Amazon and Adafruit orders for a spell so I can put this in the purchase queue
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@thwr said in New low cost toy:
Intel Z3736F Quad Core, Max 2.16GHZ, 2GB DDR3L RAM + 32GB eMMC ROM, Support TF Card, Max 128GB
Not bad given the price. What about the battery, how long does it last and... how long does it need to charge to ~85-90%? That's often a problem on cheap devices.
The battery life is pretty good. The problem is the charge time. It takes a few hours to get a full charge and you have to use the included charger. Even my Samsung Galaxy fast chargers don't have enough power to really charge the device.
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@IRJ said in New low cost toy:
Rooted.... pending verification. I don't have internet access at the moment on my tablet (no wifi here)
Root checker is saying no root access, but I have Super SU installed. So am i bit confused if it is rooted or not. I will continue testing when I get home.
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@gjacobse said in New low cost toy:
@IRJ said in New low cost toy:
My Chuwi is still running strong. I love this device. I am working on rooting android on it.
I am also thinking of doing a Linux installation to do a triple boot boot Windows, Android, and Linux.
Thanks for bring this up again. I guess though I need to hold off on some Amazon and Adafruit orders for a spell so I can put this in the purchase queue
Chuwi has some higher end devices in the $200-300 range that look pretty nice. I might upgrade soon, but I will definitely keep my little workhorse now. I am considering putting Kali Linux on my current device. Who knows how much of a mess the drivers will be, but I will see.
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@IRJ said in New low cost toy:
@gjacobse said in New low cost toy:
@IRJ said in New low cost toy:
My Chuwi is still running strong. I love this device. I am working on rooting android on it.
I am also thinking of doing a Linux installation to do a triple boot boot Windows, Android, and Linux.
Thanks for bring this up again. I guess though I need to hold off on some Amazon and Adafruit orders for a spell so I can put this in the purchase queue
Chuwi has some higher end devices in the $200-300 range that look pretty nice. I might upgrade soon, but I will definitely keep my little workhorse now. I am considering putting Kali Linux on my current device. Who knows how much of a mess the drivers will be, but I will see.
Yeah, that was one of the use cases I was thinking about. Maybe dual-boot with Kali and Gentoo
