WM8850-mid, AGPTek TP10 7" Android 4.0, Play Store, microSD... Sub-forum candidate?

[cognus]

This is a sleeper that is trending skyward as best I can tell - WonderMedia / Via A9-based 7" 'er. The model I'm handling is the AGPTek TP10v 7" capacitive touch. If you look at the several entries for such model on amazon and the one on newegg, the reviews are coming in quite high, in sharp contrast to other "budget" tabs.

Is there a thread rolling somewhere that I'm not aware of? pls advise

What sets this one apart:
- apparently much better build quality - sturdy, no flex, no leak, substantial though not heavy. Yes there are some DOA's etc so QA is not the expensive process-driven kind, but the fallout looks to be tolerable
- Decent screen resolution. Off-axis view better than most cheap tabs
- Google Play Store works out of the box.
- Lean - very little bloat - in fact in my view, none.
- HDMI, microSD
- droid 4.0.3 kernel 3.0.8
- Via A9 Cortex @1.2Ghz

Again, what is impressive on the surface is the feedback - though less numerous than, say, Archos, the trend is much higher - relatively low puke rate....

 

[cognus]

one other thought as I can see a lot of people are reading this:
we speak here about the "Pure android experience"... this little tablet comes very close to the "pure experience": it has no meaningful bloat, and the App manager, which I guess is just the standard 4.0 manager, will let you uninstall everything, even to your own harm! I pulled out everything with no issues at all. As said before, the Goog Play Store is simply there from the 'get-go' - no drama no issues. I wonder if the thing is already rooted?? but I doubt.
In fact, I think the only reason there are ANY apps at all on the thing was so the maker could offer you some sort of functionality out-of-box: Adobe reader, Flash Player, a useless clock gadget, and a weather app is pretty much it...
should be a fun one to Root & ROM

 

[deesto]

I agree with you, cognus: just got this and am very pleased for the price. Have you rooted this one? any suggestions?

 

[cognus]

hi
rooting is a snap. go here: [Google Nexus 7 TOOLKIT V4.0.0] Drivers, Backup, Unlock, Root, CWM, Flash + MUCH MORE - xda-developers
download that puppy to your pc and install it on the root, i.e. path C:\
It is pretty much self explanatory and pls consider a donation to Mark - its a fabulous toolkit - easily the best I've seen.
basically you'll just install the ADB drivers on your pc, then you're ready to hook the tablet up and first/foremost root then make a full nandroid backup - in fact its not a bad idea to just make a backup first before you root it, just in case. since you have a TF/SD slot, you can stash your backup on the card and on the pc.

I'd be curious to know if the version of hdwe/firmware is the same - if you have time look at the "about" tablet info in the Settings and post back here what the stock 'ware is.

did you buy from amazon or where?

 

[deesto]

Hey cognus,

Got them (for my kids) from Amazon. The stock build is ICS (4.0.3) and firmware v 1.5.0-020121031.040426

Tried the toolkit, which didn't have a menu option for ICS, so I tried the lowest available version (4.1.1) and adb was able to reboot the device when I selected a NANDROID backup, but after that it sat at "waiting for device" forever, as the device finished a full boot and went back into the OS. The toolkit says there's an update available (to 4.2.5 from 4.0.0) but only donors can update. Trying the "help me" option to find a build goes right back to the build select screen.

 

[cognus]

ouch - I must have unintentionally misled you: you had asked about rooting the device. that toolkit is the easiest, most bulletproof way I have come across to root and install su and busybox so that you can basically do what you will with the STOCK build. There is nothing in that kit for the particular platform you have, other than the generic drivers, rooting, backup, etc. There is within the kit a way to stash your own images for that particular platform if you want to.
for what builds, custom roms etc are available for the device try this thread: [Q] Rooting WM8850 Android 4.0 Tablet - xda-developers

I spent quite a bit of time trying to find out who the real builder/assembler of that device is but no luck so far. it has to be a rebrand of some generic tab, and if we could figure that out, it would help pinpoint the choice of roms. but I would be happy with the stock one, personally. i found it to be great for everything one would reasonably want to do.

 

[deesto]

I see. Well I spent some time looking around, and found success in rooting the device with RootBurner v0.2, which roots & installs SuperUser with no trouble at all. As for a ROM, I have no idea either, but it would be great to get JB on there if possible.

 

[deesto]

BTW, would you mind running a silly test for me and tell me whether you can run the app "DragonVale" after installing it from the Play Store? This is the one app my kids wanted for this tablet, and it installs fine but crashes and exists instantly on run.

 

[escreate]

Check the AGPTek website for original firmware: AGPtek Forum • View topic - Agptek Tablet Firmware.

My device, TP15H, didn't come rooted. I rooted my device with RootBurner v0.2 very easily, installed Titanium Backup, and backed up the whole device. I have JB 4.1.1 on it now and it works fine.

If you want JB 4.1.1 check this out: AGPtek Forum • View topic - wm-8850 4.1.1 Jellybean ROM. I am pretty sure the TP10 uses the same firmware as the TP15H, just a different configuration file.

 

[winklebort]

BTW, would you mind running a silly test for me and tell me whether you can run the app "DragonVale" after installing it from the Play Store? This is the one app my kids wanted for this tablet, and it installs fine but crashes and exists instantly on run.

Fwiw, I just got a TP15, and yeah, kids wanted to play dragonvale, which does not run. The 1.5.2 firmware that I have is the latest. I'm going to post to their forums as well, and maybe go down this rooting route. But, without knowing why it is crashing that is sort of a blind approach. I strongly suspect heap size. Maybe I can run the app from the shell and get more info.

update: hmm, seems that i'm not alone in DV not loading - it is likely a DV problem! https://support.backflipstudios.com...date-1-16-Android-Users-Not-Loading-Into-Game

But I still want to root this thing. Not 100% sure the TP15 is a WM8850 though

 

[deesto]

Check the AGPTek website for original firmware: AGPtek Forum • View topic - Agptek Tablet Firmware.

My device, TP15H, didn't come rooted. I rooted my device with RootBurner v0.2 very easily, installed Titanium Backup, and backed up the whole device. I have JB 4.1.1 on it now and it works fine.

If you want JB 4.1.1 check this out: AGPtek Forum • View topic - wm-8850 4.1.1 Jellybean ROM. I am pretty sure the TP10 uses the same firmware as the TP15H, just a different configuration file.

Thanks escreate. I'll have to give this a try. The stock ROM is just awful.

Fwiw, I just got a TP15, and yeah, kids wanted to play dragonvale, which does not run. The 1.5.2 firmware that I have is the latest. I'm going to post to their forums as well, and maybe go down this rooting route. But, without knowing why it is crashing that is sort of a blind approach. I strongly suspect heap size. Maybe I can run the app from the shell and get more info.

update: hmm, seems that i'm not alone in DV not loading - it is likely a DV problem! https://support.backflipstudios.com...date-1-16-Android-Users-Not-Loading-Into-Game

But I still want to root this thing. Not 100% sure the TP15 is a WM8850 though

For your sake, I hope 1.16 is your problem with DV. But from my experience, I'm guessing that's a separate issue. Backflip's official response on my device was that it wasn't supported and they wouldn't offer any other info.

 

[winklebort]

For your sake, I hope 1.16 is your problem with DV. But from my experience, I'm guessing that's a separate issue. Backflip's official response on my device was that it wasn't supported and they wouldn't offer any other info.

Thanks deesto... yeah, you were right, DV 1.16.1 didn't help. :/ Got my kid's hopes up. Oh well, maybe his dad should buy a proper tablet. I still like the tablet though, and it has a lot of entertainment on it as is. Also at $80, when I start tinkering with the software on a lower level, I won't feel bad when I brick it. I'll be interested in your findings with JB 4.1.1.