JSM M001 White 7″ Touchscreen Netbook Google Android Notebook Tablet PC E-Book Reader with WiFi – 2GB Netbook

Here’s a short review on the tablet. I’ve had it two days now. First off it comes in reasonable packaging.

Items include:-

- headphones,

- telescopic stylus

- a multi-plug for charging

- a connector to the computer

- a small manual

- there is no sd card supplied

- no flash support

- no protective cover

Firstly touch and Feel.

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Its awkward. Its resistive touchscreen which means it can be used with a stylus, fingernail or fingertip. Resistive doesn’t have to mean awkward. Here’s an example: you open up a function like play music, you get a scrolling list, when trying to scroll down the touchscreen selects an unwanted item and loads it. Its so tricky to get this sensitivity right. It can take a few days. Even then it still doesn’t always work.

It doesn’t play flash. So I tried downloading skyfire. For some reason skyfire web links refuse to take you to a non Android market place to download. I’ve been looking to try download it for a couple of hours. Without the connection to Android Market its really difficult to get your favorite widgets and apps. Seesmic is a fantastic little twitter for Android. I can’t get it to download.

I tried finding my downloads on my Android phone which does have access to Android Market. I can’t find them anywhere. I downloaded a more comprehensive file explorer and still no luck.

So the point to pick up here is downloading apps is limited to what you can find. But it does work as I’ve managed to load a few apps.

There’s quite a few free games to download as well.

Also get the sd card in the right way(upsidedown). It goes in the wrong way quite deeply and then gets itself stuck.

It can get very hot if you don’t power it off completely. This is also fiddly and temperamental.

Typing is really slow. It doesn’t always register the press. It will probably get better as I get the knack of it. Portrait typing is the way to go with a device like this. The width is the same as a 3.5 inch device which is the limit for most hands.

E book reader

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I haven’t tested this thoroughly but it looks ok. I’ll come back later and update this review, hopefully with video. What I will say though is when people tell you a tft screen will fry your eyes after a while its true. I used the device for over 5 hours yesterday, my eyes were so sore they were burning, I had to close one to read on a normal computer screen. I could only manage 5 minutes then I gave up.

Good Points

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If you are wondering if a 7 inch screen is the way to go, this device confirmed it for me. What I was able to load and view was great.

Its so light I never thought to myself I can feel this device now its getting heavy. Its amazingly easy to keep holding it. Its thinner than my htc hero phone. Its very easy to read from.

The device is fun to use once you feel you’re getting a feel for its sensitivity. Its never going to match the latest generation of smart phones or the ipad for smooth, easy to use feel.

Price is amazing. £126. I knew I wasn’t going to get a mini ipad. I bought it to ease a curiosity about a 7 inch tablet. I felt that was the perfect size for portability and the purchase confirmed that.

Its nice for viewing pictures.

It has a music player on it.

It does have a microphone on it. Also a standard headphone jack. It plays out through the headphones well.

The charge is for two hours. I haven’t found this to be a massive problem. I use it at home and when I take it out its not so long.

It doesn’t charge off the computer. This is a bit of a shame but there you go. So trip into work via train might require taking the charger with you.

It does have an accelerometer. Its quite slow to react so don’t think ipod touch games action.

I’m glad I bought it but a bit disappointed its not what it could be. The shell is ideal, weight etc but the slowness of it can be a bit irritating. Even with full bars on the wifi it was a bit slow loading pages. Upstairs away from the router it was really slow. So downloads need to be done close to the router.

Its also not completely multi-tasking. When I had my music on it cut out when I switched to browsing.

I now know what the potential of owning a really top of the range tablet could be like. Also I can see what I would use it for and not. If I can get skyfire on it I might be able to watch flash, which will make it a lot more fun. Its certainly a curiousity soother.

I do now understand why there has been this big delay from a lot of manufacturers on their tablets. You have to get it right otherwise people will give up on the devices. It must do what its capable of well.

update 04:06:2010

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Now been playing with the device a few days now. With a lot of effort I finally managed to get a youtube app off my htc hero and onto this device. So now embedded or stand alone youtube is now possible. Its not the greatest video but it works. Its the app not the device though.

I downloaded a different e-reader and found it works with epub. Loads and loads of free books available. Switching to night mode puts the text white on black. Yesterday I was on the device all evening and my eyes were fine with normal usage.

I was thinking of getting an apple ipod touch but searched for such a cheap tablet device instead. Now I have it I would say I can live with the quirks of the device and enjoy a multi-purpose device. I’m glad I bought it instead of the ipod touch and each day I enjoy it more. But 3 stars is the right ranking as just around the corner are the 7 inch capacitive tablets which look amazing and could be a lot cheaper than the ipad. Also the one I saw from foxconn, 7 inch, has a sim card slot as well.

The one drawback with all the wifi only devices is lack of access to available Wifi points. At home though I am really enjoying the comfort of sitting in a chair or laying down and using the device.

update: 17.06.10

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I’ve decided to up my stars to 4. I think the device brings me loads of pleasure and therefore warrants the increase. I’ve had it for 2 weeks now and I’m learning more about what this device is capable of. I bought a cheap pack of 100 wisdom ebooks for $2.95. They were in pdf format. With a bit of digging around for a converter to epub I found the most brilliant web to do this calibre-ebook. I’ve bought some apps from amazon market, some port over to the device some don’t. You can get an instant refund within 24 hours. So if it doesn’t go over, get a refund.

update: 14.07.10

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As a result of my experiment with the Eken I was able to find what I would be looking for from a Tablet. My Android smartphone the HTC Hero 3.2 inch showed me how smooth and silky response to touch is a true pleasure on a touchscreen. The Hero showed me what it means to be always connected. Access to the Android market is really convenient as well.

Then the Eken showed me what life is like with a much larger screen. What its like to do all the things I was doing on the 3.2″ hero on much larger screen. Its certainly a completely different experience.

I concluded at the end that I could go smaller than the Eken without too much loss on size. I just needed to sample a 5 or 6 inch device. So when O2 came out with the Dell Streak 5″ tablet/phone I went along and played with it for quite a while over two days.

I was instantly impressed by its super quick responsiveness. All in all it was like a supersized htc hero. The time and money spent with the M001 was completely worth every penny.

In the end I decided that I wanted something even more portable than the 7″. That 7″ is just the screen. Its more like 9″ in total. Its just a wee bit too big. Its funny how a size can move out of the convenient with just a couple of inches. I find the Dell Streak fits really well in one hand. Its such a pleasure to use. The video quality is brilliant.

As far as I’m concerned these 3.5″ smart phones are too small. I don’t see the point if you feel carrying a tablet is not an issue for you. Why have two devices when you can have one? I’ve gone with a Data Only on the Streak. At the end of the year I’ll see if I want it to become my sole device once my htc hero contract ends.

The M001 is a cheap option to check out a tablet. Its well made but the Streak is in a completely different League. Bought outright for cash its more than the IPad. But its got web cam and camera and is a phone. Its also no more than other smart phones. I still struggle to see how buying a phone outright makes sense. On contract its free. You still need a connection monthly which is on top of what you paid.

From my experience which is about 3 years with smart phones, going larger than 5 inches for everyday portability is too big. The Streak has been well thought out, tested thoroughly, trying out all form factors until realising this size is the most optimal for portability. There is this weird size effect on a smart phone. I tried out a 4 inch Toshiba phone last year and struggled to handle it. It was too big for one hand and too small for two? Yet somehow the streak works beautifully in two hands. You can hold it in two hands very comfortably, or one hand holding the other using fingers to work it. Its about 2/3rds of the weight of the Eken at 220 grams.

update: 02.08.10

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I’ve posted my review for the Dell Streak now Dell Streak 5″ Widescreen Tablet

update: 14.08.10

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Two apps worth loading are jkappSwitch which allows you to see what’s running and then stop if you want.

The other is Startup cleaner. One of the things most of these apps do is load themselves up on startup. On my Dell Streak this morning Startup stopped 25 apps!!

These apps just keep accumulating and using small amounts of memory but it adds up.

Director of Beginner Tai Chi [DVD]
Rating: 4 / 5

I’ve been considering getting an ereader for a while and also looking at something that will take audiobooks and music. When I saw the Eken it looked like good value for money since it covered all my requirements. I read the two long and helpful reviews and then decided to take the plunge. I’m not a technical person so it needed to be easy to use and have user friendly software. I liked it as soon as I started using it, I downloaded Aldiko and Meridien to make it simpler for myself and then started to play. It’s fun using it as an ereader and having one device which does music and books is great for travelling. My partner is visually impaired and has been using a Sony ereader with increasing difficulty but found the option to have white text on black and variable font very easy to use so we’ve bought a second one!

I think it is a great little device for the money, I’m impressed by android apps and you don’t need to be technical to use it. I love it and would recommend it.
Rating: 4 / 5

Trialled this product before deciding to sell them.

Simply put, they’re about a 5th of the price of an iPad but far from being only a 5th as good. These are excellent little units for their price.
Rating: 5 / 5