Android 4 netbooks on eBay

I'm seeing Android 4 netbooks on eBay, in both 7- and 10-inch sizes. Has anyone here tried one of these out yet? Mainly I'm wondering whether they reliably retain the operating system onboard. Thanks, -Chuck

Do you talk about the ones with Wondermedia wm8850 SoC ?

I think so, this is in the specs: VIA WM8850 CPU, 1.2GHz, Cortex-A9; GPU: Mali-400

Moved to Off Topic

CE diehard that I am, I'd like to see a full version of Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 or Windows Embedded Compact 7 on one of those. (It's okay to dream, as long as one doesn't drool on the pillow. )

Hi diehard one,

believe it or not - the dream might come true...

i bought/ordered one of those devices
( with Android 4 ) BUT the chinese partner
promised that within 1-2 month a CE
will hopefully run on it ( be the good fate with
the chinese system engineers... ) and they
will deliver a SD card for 5$ to be able to flash.

You can imagine how thrilled i am.
My desperate hope is that applications
will still start/run on the Cortex A9... :-( or :-)

> i bought/ordered one of those devices
> ( with Android 4 ) BUT the chinese partner
> promised that within 1-2 month a CE
> will hopefully run on it ( be the good fate with
> the chinese system engineers... ) and they
> will deliver a SD card for 5$ to be able to flash.

WHERE DO I SEND THE MONEY!?!?!???

I ordered a Wondermedia WM8850-mid on eBay. (1.5Ghz, 4Gb flash, 1Gb RAM). It was advertized with Android 4.0 or Windows CE 6. I asked for Windows. I got it with Android. Not only is android a horrible OS for an HPC (I do like it on my tablet though) but this appears to be a stripped down version. I can't even enable the USB storage option (use the 'droid as a usb drive on the host computer.) I want it in Mobile Device Center, syncing with outlook, etc.

I like the hardware, but I really want Windows. Please tell me how to get it.

I've not seen any Android tablet yet that has a client USB port for synching with a desktop...remember, it is more than just a registry entry...it actually has to be hardware configured to be functional for Activesync or Windows Media Device Center.

Leon...you are simply out of luck...

With Android, you have to do this with Google. Use a Google account (make one solely for this purpose if you want) to sync your contacts to. Google provides an Exchange server interface that Outlook can connect to and sync.

> I've not seen any Android tablet yet that has a client USB port for synching with a desktop...

Have you ever seen an andriod tablet at all? No one I know of has ever made one that didn't have a sync port. But who's asking about either Android or tablets? Please read what I posted. No one has asked about syncing android (although android users do it all the time) and no one is trying to sync Android with Mobile Device Center. (There's no app for that. I looked.)

I'm asking about putting Windows CE on my Wondermedia Netbook. WKT said it was going to be available. When? Where? How?

I know this is not an Android forum, so I don't expect perfect knowledge of android, but I have a Dell streak 7 (I'm actualy downloading & installing the Dell/Nero sync software now) so I think I can safely say I know a little (yes, very little) about it. I know I prefer Windows CE or Mobile

If, as I suspect, Windows CE is not comming any time soon, I'll keep trying to get Ubuntu on it. Yes, Ubuntu Linux (and several others) is available for android devices. It was actualy first developed for the dell streak 7. Isn't there a Windows theme for Gnome? :/

Edited by Leon Howell 2013-04-18 12:55 AM

I can only say that I am in contact with the manufacturer who
delivered my wm8850 device since end of last year.

They tell me that they will inform me when/if WinEC7 ( WinCE6 ??? )
will be available.

I will post as soon as I have a SD card for flashing.

Leon, I said "client" USB port, not host. I've owned several of those MID cheapo Android tablets...they all had "host" USB ports....

In comparison to Windows CE devices, synching to a desktop was primarily through a serial port connection. Later with the newer CE devices, some started using a "client" USB port, which in conjunction with a proprietory software driver, allowed the desktop to connect, and synchronize data using, normally, an Activesync connection or WMDC connection. There were a few third party applications that used their own unique software to establish the same connection to a handheld.

Also, most of those CE devices that used USB for synchronization had separate USB ports, specifically for synching (client) or host applications, such as keyboards, mice, mass storage devices, etc.

Admittedly, there ae a few handhelds that can use the same port for either operation...but not in the vintage Handheld Windows CE world.

As far as your particular dilemma, the desire to use your Android tablet as a mass storage device...I wish I could help...alas, I am significantly ignorant on the inner workings of Android...and choose to remain so. If you ever are able to install Windows CE on the thing...then that would be a different situation and much easier in my mind to resolve.

Good luck finding the proper firmware for your 8850 tablet. I hope you succeed. All of the CE firmwares for my 8" MID PC-802 I used to own were not quite perfect. I couldn't find one that supported the 8" display properly, nor could I find one that had the proper drivers for the resistant touch screen. Now most decent tablets are capacitive touch screens and that brings in another new variable to consider.

Thus why I am still thinking about purchasing a Witstech A81 tablet...they offer firmware for both Android and Windows CE from the company...and make it easy to flash either at your choice....

> Leon, I said "client" USB port, not host.

That's what I'm talking about too - a USB client port to connect with a host PC. I've never seen a mobile device without one. My Dell Streak 7 tablet - a device I am *not* asking questions about here - appears in My Computer as two removable drives. One is the 16 Gb internal storage, the other is the 128Gb SD card.

My Wondermedia WM8850-mid netbook (or "smartbook" ) (NOT A TABLET!!!) - the device I *am* asking about herehas a mini USB port on the back labeled "USB" above and "DC 5V, 2A" on the side. this should be used on the Windows CE version for Activesync/Mobile Device Center, or on the Android version, when connected to the host PC, the netbook should be recognized as a removable drive (probably two) and by Android Sync & Nero SyncUp.

This feature appears to be disabled in the WM8850 netbook, but not the tablet version.

Edited by Leon Howell 2013-04-20 9:36 PM

It might just need a registry change in the Windows CE version, using USBLoader:

http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=17081

Which version do you have? (And which screen size is it?)