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Onda and Teclast Windows 8.1 "Retina" Tablets - Anyone try?

jacktesterson

jacktesterson

Diamond Member
This looks super Nice and I *ALMOST* hit the pay button but backed off. Its identical in size and weight to the iPad Air, has the same screen, but costs $200 and has a full blown Windows 8.1 with a baytrail CPU.

http://www.banggood.com/Onda-V975W-Intel-Z3735D-Quad-Core-9_7-Inch-Windows-8_1-Tablet-p-935961.html

Ideally this is what I want..... and YouTube videos seem to make the device look really nice.

I have a few concerns

1) Screen is simple glass and will break even with apply hard thumb pressure. Normal use this won't be an issue unless its dropped

2) Firmware - is it buggy? Being Windows 8.1 I was thinking this may work much better compared to the Android versions which I fear would be buggy.

Would love to know if anyone has bought once. I've bought stuff from Banggoods before without issue as far as delivery, but nothing ever like this.

I realize it will come in Chinese but its easy to switch everything to English.
 
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poofyhairguy said:
GPU is WAY too weak for that screen.
Click to expand...

I'd be using it almost entirely for Web Browsing, Reading and Magazines.

It appears on Youtube Web Browsing and Video Playback are smooth and fluid. Also looks like Windows 8.1 is just as fluid on this as as far as UI compared to say a Dell Venue 8 Pro.

Isn't BayTrail HD Graphics in the same range as the Adreno 330 ARM GPU as far as performance?
 
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thebigbolgna said:
Isn't BayTrail HD Graphics in the same range as the Adreno 330 ARM GPU as far as performance?
Click to expand...

It is right at an A6X:

58063.png
 
poofyhairguy said:
It is right at an A6X:

58063.png
Click to expand...


From what I've read the Bay Trail HD Graphics should be fine for Browsing and everyday type tasks at this resolution with Win 8.1. I've read people have no issues playing 1080p video content either including streaming services like YouTube, Netflix

There is video of this tablet driving a monitor, as well as its screen, using the micro hdmi and seems like its ok. (Which I wouldn't be doing)

Correct me if I'm wrong. Its for browsing 90% of the time.

Was hoping somebody had some experience with a tablet like this or the Teclast Air II which is identical almost only it dual boots Windows and Android 4.4.2 and costs about $50 more.
 
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poofyhairguy said:
It is right at an A6X:

58063.png
Click to expand...

So in simple terms, the gpu performance is similar to the Ipad 4? (I am trying to count and rememberall the different apple versions of products and which chip soc is which). The newer Ipad Air 1 (Ipad 5) was roughly 70% faster than the ipad 4 in gpu if I recall and Ipad Air 2 (Ipad 6) is 50% to 2.5x faster than the ipad Air 1 depending on the gpu benchmark and how much pure gpu the task is or their is an eventual cpu limit to the gpu task.

That is not bad if your goal is only reading websites and videos. I would agree it is not what you want for anything like playing a game or strenuous.
 
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Buying any Chinese knockoff device like that is taking a roll of the dice. Especially if you ever need support. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
 
mmntech said:
Buying any Chinese knockoff device like that is taking a roll of the dice. Especially if you ever need support. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole.
Click to expand...

Probably true, but I wonder if support for this device will be any worse than Dell's support for their Win 8.1 tablets which has been nothing short of terrible (at least from my experience with the Venue Pro 8).
 
DaveStall said:
Probably true, but I wonder if support for this device will be any worse than Dell's support for their Win 8.1 tablets which has been nothing short of terrible (at least from my experience with the Venue Pro 8).
Click to expand...

End of the day its only $200.

I want this because its ideally what I want and would buy it if a brand name manufacturer would make one priced similarly to an iPad

My concerns are reliability and bugs. Since its x86 and running Windows, I was thinking this thing would probably be fine (since its running similiar specs as most bay trail tablets) as long as the hardware was OK. (Like memory, battery and ram)

Seen lots of people claim to love it, but there is also some people complaining of there device just randomly quitting. Can't tell if this is a small percentage or not.

I haven't really seen any Real reviews on devices like this.
 
thebigbolgna said:
End of the day its only $200.

I want this because its ideally what I want and would buy it if a brand name manufacturer would make one priced similarly to an iPad

My concerns are reliability and bugs. Since its x86 and running Windows, I was thinking this thing would probably be fine (since its running similiar specs as most bay trail tablets) as long as the hardware was OK. (Like memory, battery and ram)

Seen lots of people claim to love it, but there is also some people complaining of there device just randomly quitting. Can't tell if this is a small percentage or not.

I haven't really seen any Real reviews on devices like this.
Click to expand...

I guess my biggest concern would be driver support, which is what holds the Dell tablets back from being really great. The hardware is great, the drivers suck. I don't know what kind of driver support you can expect from the unit you are looking at.
 
DaveStall said:
I guess my biggest concern would be driver support
Click to expand...

Mine would be that Windows DPI scaling sucks compared to every other major OS, and so when you end up having to run that tablet in "desktop" mode on occasion you will end up with UI elements so small that you can't "click" them.
 
poofyhairguy said:
Mine would be that Windows DPI scaling sucks compared to every other major OS, and so when you end up having to run that tablet in "desktop" mode on occasion you will end up with UI elements so small that you can't "click" them.
Click to expand...

That is a very valid complaint. Using the desktop mode on my VP8 isn't a great experience.

It seems I rarely get the chance to try it however, because there is an unresolved driver issue where the audio chip refuses to allow the tablet to enter sleep mode. So, if you don't mute the audio when you are done for the day, next time you want to use the device it is at 0% battery life.

It's a shame because I sort of like my Win 8.1 tablet, at least more than the iPad I was using before this. I am almost ready to look for an Android tablet now just because of the driver issues however.
 
I just got mine today. I got the Onda V975W. I'm going to play with it some more before I give a honest opinion on it. I got mine from DHgate for $200, shipping included.

The seller was kind enough to install the English pack, but there still are more region settings that need to be adjusted until everything is full English.

I had to update the tablet to the latest 0911 BIOS (fixes BT issues, CPU usage bug, and WiFI bug) and I installed the latest Intel baytrail drivers as well. The biggest issue was the tablet came with an un-activated version of Windows 8.1 with bing. There are some instructions that explain how to activate in a PDF file stored on the desktop. They have you call the MS activation number and follow the instructions, which had to translated to English (thank you - Google translate) - Kind of a pain in the butt...


So far the tablet is running great. I will say the screen is gorgeous (iPad air like), but it does have a slight gap between the glass and the panel; not a huge deal.
The iGPU has 512MB of system memory allocated, which renders the OS with 1.5GB usable memory. I went into the BIOS and knocked the iGPU allocation down to 256MB. Hasn't affected performance from what I can tell.

This guide has been very helpful - http://www.ondaforum.com/topic/746-quick-start-guide-for-v975wv975i-with-windows/

Stay tuned... I'll keep you updated.
 
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I am curious is any of these cheap windows with atom chinese tablets have proper stylus support from someone like wacom or another active digitizer company such as ntrig? If so at what price?
 
Face2Face said:
I just got mine today. I got the Onda V975W. I'm going to play with it some more before I give a honest opinion on it. I got mine from DHgate for $200, shipping included.

The seller was kind enough to install the English pack, but there still are more region settings that need to be adjusted until everything is full English.

I had to update the tablet to the latest 0911 BIOS (fixes BT issues, CPU usage bug, and WiFI bug) and I installed the latest Intel baytrail drivers as well. The biggest issue was the tablet came with an un-activated version of Windows 8.1 with bing. There are some instructions that explain how to activate in a PDF file stored on the desktop. They have you call the MS activation number and follow the instructions, which had to translated to English (thank you - Google translate) - Kind of a pain in the butt...


So far the tablet is running great. I will say the screen is gorgeous (iPad air like), but it does have a slight gap between the glass and the panel; not a huge deal.
The iGPU has 512MB of system memory allocated, which renders the OS with 1.5GB usable memory. I went into the BIOS and knocked the iGPU allocation down to 256MB. Hasn't effected performance from what I can tell.

This guide has been very helpful - http://www.ondaforum.com/topic/746-quick-start-guide-for-v975wv975i-with-windows/

Stay tuned... I'll keep you updated.
Click to expand...


I'd love to hear how you made out.

I ended up buying a Nexus 9 for my browsing tablet so I'm no longer in the market, but I am still very curious on your thoughts on Stability and usability.
 
I don't have the time to do a full review, but here is my quick overview of the Onda V975W thus far.

The build quality is pretty average. It has a nice aluminum back with a plastic front bezel. No aluminum chamfered edges here, its cheap plastic that can dig into your hand a little bit while using. Nowhere near the quality of an iPad, but i'm sure everyone already knew that.

The screen is the same one that's found in an iPad air (IPS 2048x1536), and as I stated before it has a slight gap between the the glass and the LCD - maybe 1-2mm. The viewing angles are good, but i did notice the screen has a purple like glaze when viewing it at a titled angle; not sure why as it's only view able when the screen is solid black? The glass is not Gorilla glass. It's pretty much the same glass as you would get if you bought a replacement iPad screen on Amazon. I don't' have any real issues with it, except it's a finger print and smudge magnet.

Only one USB port is on the tablet, so you can't charge and use a USB hub at the same time without rigging an adapter of some sort. It has dual stereo speakers on the back. The sound is somewhat tinny and weak, but does an adequate job if you're watching video content or listening the music. The tablet also has a Micro HDMI port if you're wanting to connect it to a TV or external monitor.

The tablet uses the Intel Z3735D quad-core CPU - 1.33Ghz and turbo's up to 1.83Ghz. You won't see all cores turbo up that high, but one or two may. I usually see the tablet sitting at the 1.4-1.5Ghz mark when doing heavy browsing. The CPU seems surprisingly quick, but I haven't benchmarked it yet to see where it's at.

The iGPU is based of Ivy bridge (valley view) I believe. It's cut down quite a bit, so don't expect real gaming performance here. I did install Torchlight II, and at 720p with the lowest settings it jumps back and forth between 15-30FPS. Might be playable for some?

Additionally, the iGPU also comes with 512MB of system memory allocated to it out of the gate. I went into the BIOS and changed it to 256MB, as I'd rather have the extra system memory (1.7GB usable). The extra video memory did nothing for Torchlight II performance and I didn't notice a difference with anything else as well. 2GB of total system memory seems adequate for basic use, but with a lot of tabs open in IE and other programs running in the background, you can quickly approach the 1.7GB limit.

I will say 32GB of storage isn't much, but the tablet does have a SD card slot that I believe supports up to 64GB. This is mostly a web surfer and client device for me, so having a lot of storage isn't what i'm looking for. I didn't get a chance to bench the reads and writes of the storage as of yet, but I plan on it.

Since my wife primarily uses this tablet, web performance was crucial. Her old iPad 2 is a bit long in the tooth now, and web performance is pretty terrible with iOS 8. I will say browsing performance is good once you reset Internet explorer's settings to default. If you don't, the web performance is slow and terrible. The wireless adapter is wireless N, but it's 2.4Ghz only and it doesn't seem to have the best reception. Even with a mediocre wireless adapter, IE Metro still does a good job an loading web pages quickly. I tried both Chrome and Firefox, and they were too slow to use in desktop mode.

Battery life is just okay...her iPad 2 has much better battery life overall. I could probably get 5-6 hours of constant use? Windows 8.1 sleep mode doesn't compare with iOS, at least not with this tablet. When I first got the tablet, I was losing 20% of battery overnight. :thumbsdown:
I did some research into the issue and was able to fix it the best I could doing a Sleep study to find the culprits. Now it uses about 6-7% in that same time period. If you're looking to travel much with this tablet, you may want to have a charger handy. It also takes a while to charge this tablet as well.


Wrappings things up, I first say, this is not a tablet for someone who wants a perfect out the box experience. You have to change the language to start, update to the latest BIOS; update all of the drivers (even beyond the driver pack), and have some time to do research when things don't act like there supposed to.

I wanted a Windows 8.1 Tablet with a iPad like form factor and comparable screen, and that's exactly what this tablet is. It was $200 shipped, and for that price it really is a great value Windows tablet. I've owned the ASUS T100 and they HP Pavilion X2 and the Onda V975W tablet is my preference over each of them. While the others may have better support, battery life, and a true working out of the box experience; none of them have a beautiful 2048x1536 display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Now I know most people like 16:9 for android and windows tablets, but I prefer the 4:3.

When I get some more time I will do a quick video on the tablet to show performance and show how it performs for general use (Also do some benchmarks). When I make the video, I'll link it here.
 
Sounds like a good device to tinker with. I wonder... could you install an alternative OS on there? Android-X86 project might be a good fit for a device like that.
 
Here are some ONDA V975W benchmarks. I am using AnandTech's graphs from the recent Nexus 9 review as a comparison.

70045.png


ONDA V975W - 488.1 ms (IE)

70046.png


ONDA V975W - 8748 ms (IE)

70054.png


ONDA V975W - 11,158 Overall

70055.png


ONDA V975W - 10,448 Graphics

70056.png


ONDA V975W - 14,644 Physis


ATTO Run

GyrRM7E.png
 
thebigbolgna said:
I'd love to hear how you made out.

I ended up buying a Nexus 9 for my browsing tablet so I'm no longer in the market, but I am still very curious on your thoughts on Stability and usability.
Click to expand...

Did you consider the Dell Venue 11 Pro? They're in the $200 range for refurbs.

Or were you just attracted to the 4:3 aspect ratio?
 
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