Windows Embedded Compact 7 tablet

Well, kinda. I've been poking around for an older Android tablet with the Via 8650 processor in hopes of flashing UberWinCE7 on it, a custom WEC 7 ROM built by HardCoreHacker of the TechKnow forums as an alternative to his Uberoid versions of Android:

http://www.techknow.me/forum/index.php?topic=4526.0

A lot of these tablets are mistakenly listed by sellers as having the 8650 processor, though, when they actually have a different CPU called the InfoTMIC x210, which doesn't recognize the 8650 ROM script. One example is the SoundLogic/CrystalView X5 convertible netbook, as I found out when I got a pair of them (under the SoundLogic name) cheap on eBay. (Too bad, cuz I've been waiting for another CE device with the convertible netbook-to-tablet form factor. ) Others flashed the ROM properly, but the touchscreen either didn't work or didn't recognize any coordinates. (Tapping the screen anywhere would register only on the upper left corner - coordinates 0,0 counting from the top and left.) (If you read the above forum, you'll see that it was hit and miss with a lot of tablets, some producing working touchscreens but nonworking WiFi, some the other way around, some neither, some even without sound. )

I finally tracked down an unbranded tablet that flashed the ROM correctly, producing a working touchscreen and working WiFi as well as sound. The only thing is that I have had to learn how to tap the touchscreen gingerly because it may be a capacitive touchscreen - it sometimes responds strangely to heavier taps or finger taps/swipes. Kinda cool though to finally be able to play around a bit with WEC 7 on a touchscreen device.

Here's a photo:





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Looks cool! It'll be interesting to hear your report of how it is to use.

I've also been trying out the CE 6 ROM for the 8650 built by wicknix (aka RTFM) on a couple of the other 8650 tablets I've picked up. It's also supposed to support touchscreens, according to this page:

http://www.techknow.me/forum/index.php?topic=1048.msg13791#msg13791

- however, thus far I've had no luck with the touchscreen (and can't pick up WiFi either). However, the tablet does connect via ActiveSync and synchronizes with the PC (a first - and a last - among Via devices), though as with other 8650 ROMs, it dumps the databases on reboot.

More testing to come.

Super cool...I was thinking of doing the same thing.

Focus on the web browser...any luck integrating flash into it so you can play YouTube directly through the web page? Also can you run old HPC software if you include the mfc libraries?

Easy enough to determine if it is a capacitive touch screen...use a stylus...if it doesn't respond...then it is. I'm betting it is a resistive screen as I've never seen any capacitive drivers for CE on any tablet...

According to Microsoft, WEC 7 is supposed to support multitouch gestures, implying the presence of capacitive drivers. That may be why the touchscreen does work with WEC 7 but not with CE 6. If that's the case, though, then the above-linked page talking about working touchscreens on some tablets flashed with RTFM's CE 6 ROM would further imply that some of these tablets have resistive touchscreens. (So far I'm using a wireless mouse through the USB/Ethernet adapter that plugs in the proprietary slot on the side.)

Application compatibility has been the same as the other WEC 7 and CE 6 devices I have. I haven't had success opening embedded videos. (Even the ones I used to be able to open on my ZT-180 don't open any more. )

That's too bad...that would be a major reason to use EC7 for me, the ability to play flash video through the browser. I know according to MS EC7 website, that when compiling a build for a specific platform, you have the ability to specify the plugins for the newer IE browser during assembly. The standard browser is pretty much identical to IE6, but EC7 is supposed to support flash video in the newer browser as well.

You say compatibility is the same for applications...you mean that you can run most of your HPC software if you include the proper DLLs?

I think for tablets, I'm going to have to stick with Android for now...I love the Dolphin browser for its simplicity and power.

But what you have there...well it is really pretty unique. I'm not sure that many have a CE7 working tablet...

I got hold of another no-name 8650 tablet a few days ago, and the touchscreen works flawlessly on it with WEC 7 (though I can't get WiFi working on this one). So then I tried reflashing the other WEC 7 tablet with the RTFM ROM, and the touchscreen still works (though still as wonky as with WEC 7) - but again no WiFi. ActiveSync won't connect on that one, either. All these tablets look identical on the outside, except that two of them do have brand names: they're both Maylong M250s. The one I've successfully synched is one of those. (The USB adapter it came with also has the Maylong name on it, and has one USB host and one mini-A USB client port. Another adapter I got with one of the others has no name on it and has two USB hosts and no client port.) When I reflashed that one with the older version of the RTFM ROM, it still synched successfully. So clearly it's hardware that's in play with both touchscreen and data connection.

Nice work...alas, no wifi...device is useless for most of us...

It may just be a matter of putting the right driver in \Windows. On this new tablet, the "Unidentified USB device" dialog pops up once it's finished booting up. It may be detecting the WiFi adapter. (So far I'm just tapping on the X button to make that go away, and it doesn't pop up again until the next time I boot up.) The UberCE7 ROM includes RT2870.dll, so I'm guessing that was the correct driver for the internal WLAN module in the tablet with the wonky touchscreen. (When I enter that in the dialog box and tap OK, the dialog box doesn't pop back up, but there's still no WiFi.)

Someone made a device in 2014 with no WiFi? O.o

Someone needs a trip far, far out into the countryside...

No, they made it okay, but it was meant to be an Android tablet and CEGeek put CE on it, hence he doesn't have the correct driver for it....yet.

BTW, I bought a netbook today on eBay, one of those Sylvania 7" ones. It's broken, bad power jack supposedly...nice color of red. But for $10 I figured that I would either fix the power jack or I wouldn't.

Anyways, I hope I can install EC7 on it, the Sylvania build that is, so I can see if it is really EC7 or if it is just CE6 that someone has hex edited the software so that it reports that it is CE7 and added a few graphics to fool the non-experienced into thinking it is EC7.

And it that doesn't work, well...then maybe I'll just drive to California and get into Gregg's garage and find a motherboard that will fit this thing when I get it.

If it came with CE 6, you can't install WEC 7 on it. The CE 6 models (SYNET07526 and SYNET7WID) have WM8505 processors rather than the 8650. The one that comes with WEC 7 (SYNET7WIC) is the only one with the 8650 processor.

Is there a cat in hells chance of finding the driver do you think?

If it's one of the Ralink USB WLAN drivers, I'd say there's a chance. ('Course, I could always use an external USB WiFi dongle in the adapter using one of those drivers.)

Are you sure about that? I thought most of these netbooks didn't supply power to the USB port, only had the data lines active....