My New Elonex eTouch 10" 1000ET Android Tablet PC - Is it any good?

The other day, while browsing the web, I saw what I thought was, a little Gem, an Android based Tablet PC, with a 10" Touchscreen.

Full Specifications

Media Reader	Micro SD slot for photos, music, movies and apps storage
Memory	256MB
HDMI Port	No
Operating System	Android 2.1 Mobile
Sound Card	Yes
Bluetooth	No
Ethernet	1
Dimensions	270 x 179 x 16 mm
Battery Description	Li-on rechargeable battery
Processor	VIA ARM 11 1ghz processor
Modem	No
Colour	Black
Hard Disk Drive	No
Battery Life (Light Use)	3 hours
Screen Size	10 inches
Graphics	Yes
USB Ports	1

So I decided to get one of these, for basic internet browsing, email and possibly a few apps / books to read on the go..

I headed to Toys R Us and got one of these... I charged the unit and, excitedly, turned it on. I was like a kid with his new toy, so very overjoyed. Sadly this joy did not last long. The PC crashed within 1 minute (I was just trying the screen auto rotation feature). I really was not happy, so I went on the (the supposed manufacturer) Elonex website, and checked for a solution. I downloaded the latest firmware and carried out the upgrade procedure. This went smoothly, but sadly, I still had the same problem and issue, especially when I rotate the screen. So reluctantly, I decided to contact Elonex and give them a piece of my mind..

Sent: 07 January 2011 03:58 AM

To: Elonex-Support

Subject: eTouch 1000ET Support

Hi There,

I bought one of these, eTouch 1000ET, machines yesterday (from Toys R Us). I noticed a few niggles with regards to stability when using the product, namely the machine Crash and hangs on forever, not respond to any key presses. This is very evident when you rotate the unit few times. I updated the firmware to the latest version (from your website). This went smoothly, however, I’m still having the same stability issues, with random crashes, and the machine stops responding...

I’m not sure whether this is normal or expected. Please advise... And also, how can I view Adobe / Macromedia Flash Content on the unit..

I received the following reply:

From: Vicky Hill

Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 8:22 AM

Subject: RE: eTouch 1000ET Support

Good Morning,

Can you please tell me, does this only happen whilst connected to the WIFI?

Also the unit however, is not compatible at this moment with adobe flash player.

We hope there will be an update to change this in the near future, but we do not have an ETA as to when this will be.

Kind Regards

Vicky Hill

Sent: Friday, January 07, 2011 12:37 PM

To: Vicky Hill

Subject: Re: eTouch 1000ET Support

Hi Vicky,

Thank you for the quick response, the unit is connected to an always on WIFI...

This morning, the task bar disappeared, then it appeared and informed me that there are some updates, so I clicked to update, and the unit crashed (no response)..

I think it might be a software update or even a user (none familiarity) issue, which that might settle within a few days...

There is an upgrade which is available to download off our website which may get the device up and running for you.

I have attached to this email some instructions on how to run through the update.

I hope this helps.

Kind Regards

Vicky Hill

There was an attached instructions sheet, on how to update the eTouch 1000ET. This might as well was written in Mandarin, because it was really incomprehensible. And also, it pointed to a non existent file. I tried to follow that to the letter, and downloaded the nearest named file that I could find. This update failed miserably, and the machine was still crashing even after the update..

Sent: Saturday, January 08, 2011 5:29 AM

To: vhill@elonex.com

Subject: Re: eTouch 1000ET Support

Hi Vicky,

I followed your instructions to the letter.

I downloaded the Next-NXTTAB10BL-Firmware-Upgrade102.zip file,

I extracted the content to C:\1000ET,

I connected the Machine to the PC via a USB cable,

I simultaneously pressed both the "Back" and "Power" buttons,

I told the computer to locate the driver within the C:\1000ET Folder, and that was successful,

I run the "Burntool_v07.2.exe" program,

Device 10 turned Green,

I clicked on the Start Icon, below is a log file:

      FileLoad! szPathName: C:\1000ET\burn.ini

      [Nboot_DestAddr: 0x40200000 strNboot_DestAddr: 0x40200000]

      Opened successfully.

      Opened successfully.

      [SUCCESS: ReadFile otgtype:(1) hRead:(0xa4)]

      [SUCCESS: CreateFile]

      [Memory Allocation! txBuf = 0xfc0048 ]

      [UsbTxFile start! run_addr=0xffffffff]

      [UsbTxFile end]

      Find Device From Name

      Opened successfully.

      Opened successfully.

      [SUCCESS: ReadFile otgtype:(7602176) hRead:(0x110)]

This happens within less than 20 seconds, and then the device hangs up, displaying "Enter Downloading",

I tried that 4 times, but always with the same result..

After that, I changed the settings, using the Key Icon,

      uboot-img     =    C:\1000et\u-boot_et.img

      linux-kernel   =    C:\1000et\zImage

      linux-sys      =    C:\1000et\system.img

      linux-udate   =    C:\1000et\userdata.img

And tried that 3 more times, with exactly the same result...

I tried that on a Windows XP machine, I will try the same procedure in the morning on a Windows Vista & a Windows 7 Machines. I hope it does work..

Regards

This time, I just got ignored, because there was no obvious solution, that Customer Support could fathom, to the problem... So I decided that enough was enough, and I was going to take the  unit back to Toys R Us. But before doing that, I decided to investigate on the net. And guess what, everybody was having exactly the same reliability problems.

I really had no idea who the original manufacturers of the unit was, the only thing I had was the Burntool file, which I used for the upgrades. This mentioned Zenithink. So I searched Google for Zenithink, and there it was. http://www.zenithink.com - I went to the News and Latest Software Section - and downloaded the latest Firmware. I applied that patch, and guess what, the unit came alive shortly after the update. No crashes or anything. just pure joy to use. So I decided to contact Elonex Customer Support and tell them, that way they can help others in my situation.

Hi Vicky,

I was 5 minutes away from returning the pad to Toys R Us, the unit  was flakey at best and very unreliable, even after downloading and installing the Firmware upgrade.

However, and as a last resort, I decided to visit the manufacturers website www.zenithink.com and try my luck. I brushed up on my Mandarin and navigated to the Latest Software section, and downloaded the update.

I downloaded and installed the http://dl.dbank.com/c0iu1x0tim - as per the instructions given, and this has resulted in vast improvements in reliability and enjoyment... I can now run Apps and games with no random crashes, I can browse the web, browse my photos, read a book without the unit crashing.. I even managed to use the unit, solidly for 2 hours, without a crash.. 

The last update that you mentioned, did not solve the problem, but this one does.. The only down side is, the name and the logo of the unit, when booting, changes to ePad.

The thing is, the unit is very good, but is let down by second rate software, however this update seems to resolve 99% of all the issues.

I hope this helps you and other customers, struggling with these units,

Regards

And this time I got ignored - no thank you, no nothing...

The above are copies of email correspondence between myself and Elonex Customer Support - The RED emails are Mine, while the BLUE ones are their replies - I hope the info would help somebody out there, and save them time and hassle.