
A $45 Android tablet - yapcguy
http://www.walmart.com/ip/XELIO-7-Tablet-With-4GB-Memory/23709345
======
zw123456
I got one similar to this using points from my credit card, I checked online,
many similar ones for around $50 these days. The one I got was a profound
piece of crap, I fooled around with it a little, then disassembled it for fun.
Honestly, destroying it was the most enjoyment I got from it.

~~~
notJim
To be fair, if you're an engineer, this could be true of many of your
possessions :).

~~~
dkuntz2
You don't even have to be an engineer for that to be true...

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Ives
I wonder if devices like that are good for Android, or bad. One the one hand
they can bring Android who otherwise wouldn't have had the money to afford a
device, but on the other hand the default browsing experience is apparently
quite slow and it doesn't support the Google Play Store[1].

[1] [http://rodmc.com/?p=494](http://rodmc.com/?p=494)

~~~
fpgeek
I'm not sure whether or not devices like this are good for Android in and of
themselves, but they're an inevitable consequence of something that is great
fit Android: that people can take the Android source and run with it in a
variety of ways, whether Google wants them to or not.

For example, the first Android tablets pre-date the iPad by months and the
first Google Android tablets by about a year. Or you could look at the variety
of activity in the Android STB space, which has been substantially more
interesting and successful than Google's official efforts, so far

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DanBC
I understand why there are a bunch of these devices, but I don't understand
why the manfs don't release more information about them.

I'm finding it hard to work out exactly what processor is used in this device.

Setting up a wiki with minimal information, and then seeding the hacker
community with a few devices, would probably make one brand stand out over all
the other minimal Android tablets there are.

A device that could be rooted, could have a Linux installed, or could have a
different Android version installed, would be interesting for hackers. The
manfs don't have to offer any support.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Nearly all, if not all, of these are based on the "china special" which is an
Android tablet built on top of the Allwinner CPUs (the A13 is popular in the
cheap ones) Ars reviewed a $99 tablet[1] which was pretty funny. If you go to
Alibaba.com and search for 'android tablet' you will find a bunch of these.
And if you can navigate the Chinese there is a reference design on the
Allwinner site which is pretty much exactly what you get.

Put a capacitive touch screen on an Raspberry Pi and boot Android on it and
you'll have a better tablet than this I suspect. If someone does a definitive
teardown of the specific Walmart model that would let us know exactly which
reference design they used.

[1] [http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2010/11/worst-gadget-ever-
ars...](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2010/11/worst-gadget-ever-ars-
reviews-a-99-android-tablet/)

~~~
makomk
The A13 and A10 are substantially newer and faster than the Raspberry Pi.
Video decode acceleration on them sucks though.

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Zigurd
The $45 tablet is a non-Google Play device. So not that impressive.

This one is $59, and shows a screen shot with Google Play, GMail, etc. on it:
[http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-7-Tablet-with-4GB-Memory-
an...](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-7-Tablet-with-4GB-Memory-and-Google-
Mobile-Services/23350692)

A real Google logo device for $59 would be pretty astounding.

~~~
DanBC
The $45 tablet has a FAQ on the manf website apologising for having screen
shots of the Google Play Store; and saying that these are an error that
they're correcting.

The $59 device has a PDF for installing an alternative store so maybe they've
made a similar error?
([http://www.ematic.us/sites/default/files/Installing1MobileMa...](http://www.ematic.us/sites/default/files/Installing1MobileMarket_8.pdf))
The quickstart guide shows some other app store.
([http://www.ematic.us/sites/default/files/EGL26BL_QSG.pdf](http://www.ematic.us/sites/default/files/EGL26BL_QSG.pdf))

EDIT: the manf website for the cheaper device is horrible. Here it is
([http://xeliotablet.com/](http://xeliotablet.com/)) they have a faq about the
play store on there somewhere.

~~~
Zigurd
It would be great to see that 3rd tier OEMs can access the Google Play store.
I have long wondered why Google would shun inexpensive tablets. Android can
accommodate lo-rez screens and slower CPUs pretty well, and existing automated
tests can verify compatibility.

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guiambros
Seems useless. From one of the reviews: _" Advertised on Walmart.com as a
"Google" Android product, but Google play store and Google apps will not run
on it."_

For ~$100 on ebay, the (old) HP TouchPad seems a better option of a cheap
tablet. You can install ICS with little effort, and run pretty much
everything.

~~~
solox3
If it comes rooted / can be rooted, then an android device can install Google
Play and everything by mimicking a Galaxy Nexus (or any common device) by
editing build.prop. There are lots of tutorials online about this topic.

[http://highonandroid.com/android-apps/how-to-install-
google-...](http://highonandroid.com/android-apps/how-to-install-google-
wallet-on-any-rooted-android-smartphone-or-tablet/)

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tapsboy
I bought one such tablet couple of years back( Velocity Micro Cruz T301) for
$69 on woot. The tablet was pretty much useless for daily use. Flashed AOSP
and installed play store. Still useless, as most apps don't show up for that
device. However, works okay as a cloud connected photoframe.

------
rudros
I think it's more interesting to look at the range of prices from a company
you've actually heard of. Take ASUS for example.

ASUS makes the current nexus 7 ($199) :
[http://www.google.com/nexus/7/](http://www.google.com/nexus/7/) But they will
also sell you another 16GB, 7" tablet for $99 ASUS MeMo Pad :
[http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-MeMO-ME172V-A1-GR-7-0-Inch-
Tablet...](http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-MeMO-ME172V-A1-GR-7-0-Inch-
Tablet/dp/B00BDS25VA/)

Perhaps the lesson here is, by going back a generation, you can halve the
price of a tablet. As we've hit the $199 mark for 7" tablets for some time
now, $99 tablets from brands you actually know should be no surprise. As the
price of these tablets fall to 150 and lower, one generation older tablets for
75, 60 or even 50 will become the norm.

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deskglass
If you don't have a smartphone and want a cheap "tablet," then look into
buying a used smartphone. Doing so is super cheap because you don't have to
buy a data plan. Besides, phones tend to be more portable. I got a Droid2 for
$30 on Amazon.

~~~
Zigurd
The value sweet spot is almost certainly at a higher price than these
products, but even a 7" tablet with a crummy screen has a better UX for
browsing and Google Drive apps than a handset. The pricing of these devices
could be the reason lots more poor kids get a real Internet experience, and
that could be revolutionary.

~~~
DanBC
> The pricing of these devices could be the reason lots more poor kids get a
> real Internet experience, and that could be revolutionary.

I really hope they remember the lousy experience and remember to code for low-
spec devices in future. I love the nice whizz-bang websites, but it's
frustrating when they use weird features for no real purpose and thus slow the
page load down.

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thezach
I refuse to do business with walmart... their buisness ethics are just
horrible.

~~~
ars
You shouldn't get your news from unions. Unions don't like walmart because
it's not a union shop, and it's large so make a nice target.

Walmart itself is no different from any other large retailer.

~~~
gee_totes
Except for Costco, which manages to pay it's employees a decent wage and still
keep prices low.

~~~
ars
Costco is not in the same business as WalMart. They have an order of magnitude
fewer SKU's. They deal with a completely different clientèle, and the profit
for each item is much higher, so their labor costs are lower.

You can not compare WalMart and Costco.

~~~
derefr
Except that, if you have both a WalMart and a CostCo in your town, you'll
still make a cost-comparison, between:

    
    
        cost of set of things found at WalMart A
        + cost of a few extra things not found at WalMart B
        + travel time T
    

and

    
    
        cost of set of things found at CostCo A'
        + cost of a few extra things not found at CostCo B'
        + travel time T'
    

In other words, you might not be able to find all the same things at WalMart
and CostCo, or for the same prices, but if you're in the price-range of both
stores and trying to optimize your purchasing, you'll still be deciding which
one to shop at.

~~~
ars
First that's a comparison for the shopper, not the retailer (and we are
discussing the retailer here).

And second, you can only buy at Costco if you need the quantities they sell.
Everything you can get at Costco you can also get at WalMart, but the reverse
is not the case - it's not "a few extra thing" \- Costco doesn't carry a huge
amount of stuff you can get at WalMart.

So for the consumer buying at Costco is exclusively about what quantity they
need. (Or if they have a lot of storage space + budget to store extra.) And
then they also have to go to WalMart to fill in the rest.

Or in other words they complement each other - they are only partially
competitors.

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bitwize
Honey Boo Boo wanted an iPad, I said no, it's too 'spensive. But I saw these
down at the Wal-Mart, and they's just as good and only fo'ty-five bucks!

Honey Boo Boo! Don't tell me you broke that thang already! I tole you not to
drop sketti on it!

~~~
alaskamiller
Very poignant and witty. Better contender for Mark Twain than Sam can ever do.

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cpursley
Eventually, tablets will be free and will make money from services &
advertising.

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chrisblackwell
The Race to the Bottom!

