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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Anyone want an old 9" tablet?
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
Doing my Christmas clean-up, and came across an old tablet I had totally forgotten I even had. It is a 9" model, Android 4.2.2, kernel 3.0.8+. No idea of CPU and RAM specs, as there is no label on it, and settings from Android back then don't seem to give that to me, unless someone here knows how to find that out? Based on age, I would expect a dual-core ARM of some kind. Has Angry Birds on it, and it DOES connect fine to my WiFi, but every website you try to visit, it moans that it cannot be reached. I suspect this is cos of the circa 2013 browser app. Yes, system time is correct, so I suspect the sites at the other end are simply rejecting the request due to the age of the browser trying to connect. I am on the verge of throwing it in the skip, cos although it works OK, it is so old that it probably won't accept any kind of Android upgrade, won't load any websites due to app age, and is probably slower then even the cheapest new tablets these days....   If anyone in NZ wants it, PM me. Tablet and PSU free, but I would want you to pay for the courier bag. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| JohnS Guru  Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4044 |
It would likely work fine as HMI to MMBasic (like Craig / Tinine does). There will be several ways to figure out what it is, such as: 1. open it and look at CPU etc 2. root it - can it still download apps? 3. I suspect under Developer Options e.g. enable USB debugging and connect to PC then use ADB 4. er, others, not sure what I'd guess CPU will be A13 / A33 / A10 / ... (all Allwinner CPUs) John Edited 2022-12-29 19:00 by JohnS |
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| Frank N. Furter Guru Joined: 28/05/2012 Location: GermanyPosts: 949 |
Hi Grogster, I would be interested, but I fear that it would be a total financial loss to send the part to Germany...  Frank |
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IanRogers Senior Member  Joined: 09/12/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 151 |
Details here for anyone interested https://specdevice.com/showspec.php?id=5ed4-279e-ffd4-db280033c587 I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4044 |
How did you find it? John |
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CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2170 |
+1 re-purpose it. Write your snazzy human interface app and send stuff via bluetooth to your uC of choice (+HC-06) Edited 2022-12-29 21:16 by CaptainBoing |
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| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5089 |
Nope... No BT Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
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Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 7937 |
If it's the one that Ian found then that spec includes BT. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| IanRogers Senior Member Joined: 09/12/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 151 |
The name of the tablet is in the first pictures... SoftWinner.. They only seem to have one tablet to their name. I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4044 |
D'oh! John |
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| CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2170 |
bugger. sadly then, I fear there is no future for such a device... unless you wanna play angry birds Edited 2022-12-30 02:49 by CaptainBoing |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 7937 |
Angry Birds got onto it so it has wi-fi connectivity. Must be useful for something! Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9610 |
Angry Birds got on it back in 2013 or so, when the tablet was new, and website would allow it to talk to them and download apps etc. Now, it just outright refuses any internet website access saying the SSL certificate is invalid - and it probably is, if it is using 2013 as a reference.  Both the built-in browser AND Chrome say the same thing, so I think it is probably just skip material - especially as there is no BT in this thing either. 2013 was before the days of BT popularity, I think. The major issue being that no websites will agree to talk to it, which make upgrading the browser or Android(if even possible), rather difficult! I'll keep it here for a few more days, but if a donor cannot be found in NZ, I'll throw it in the skip. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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phil99 Guru Joined: 11/02/2018 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2640 |
Does Android's update app have the ability to work:- a) directly to google without a browser? or b) through your home network and it's browser? |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2442 |
it could make a nice music player, especially if it has an SD slot on the side; an entire music collection should easily fit on a $15 64gb SD card. better still if you can convince the tablet to always jump straight into the "music" app on startup. if available, you should also be able to side-load apps from an SD card if so inclined. cheers, rob :-) |
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OA47 Guru Joined: 11/04/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 986 |
If the specs that Ian has linked to are right, the unit does not have SD card slot but it does suggest it has Bluetooth and USB. Communications Phone None WiFi mma7660 USB Host Yes Bluetooth Yes GPS No OA47 |
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| IanRogers Senior Member Joined: 09/12/2022 Location: United KingdomPosts: 151 |
On a "firmware update site" , Google softwinner tablet firmware. You can get the latest firmware 2.1 , also linked somewhere, a version of firefox 55.02 that runs on android 4.. https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/mozilla/firefox/firefox-51-0-4-release/firefox-51-0-4-android-apk-download/ Even an APK.. I'd give my left arm to be ambidextrous |
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| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 7937 |
On the other hand, the battery might come in useful for something. :) Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4044 |
May be able to install a more recent / user-built Android (side load etc). It's worrying if an old Android can't connect to download an update!! edit: oh, beaten to it - maybe it can update John Edited 2022-12-30 19:36 by JohnS |
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| CaptainBoing Guru Joined: 07/09/2016 Location: United KingdomPosts: 2170 |
+1 and if you are junking it and ripping it to bits, look for a flash chip (winbond etc) on the board you can re-use. Such things use something like that for the firmware. Peanuts to buy but it seems a waste for the sake of 60 seconds with the hot air |
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