OK, that's a fair answer.

I'm not 100% convince by jcmarcos and others pointing to ARM. It just that the pricing of the hardware does make it attractive.

ARM doesn't look fast enough to handle PPC code via JIT emulation though. That would leave us with the other (less palatable) idea of having a version of MorphOS that require recompilation of program code for existing programs.

Then there's ARM @ 1Ghz vs. PPC @2Ghz and abiove to consider.

Update:

> I did some search for the "Cherrypal developed" CherryPad America's looks
> and specs and found this: [...] ...with the difference that it's said to have a
> Telechips processor instead of the CherryPad's alleged Samsung processor.

Surprise, surprise. The CherryPad's alleged Samsung processor turned into a Telechips processor by pure magic:

"Processor: Telechips ARM11 800 MHz (CPU + GPU + DSP) system-on-chip"
http://www.cherrypal.com/c515.htm

"CherryPad is powered by the fast Telechip ARM11 processor (CPU + GPU + DSP, OpenGL 2.0) 800 MHz processor"
http://www.cherrypal.com/secure/product_info.php?products_id=16

This fact combined with the "slipped" original model number led me to this:

http://www.cadof.com/item/7965696188.html (Google translation, 908 yuan is about 137 USD at the moment)
http://www.uupad.cn/thread-3108-1-1.html (Google translation)

Great looking vaporware, Andreas. A 7 inch Android tablet, cheap? Sign me up! If one ever appears.

Do we have confirmation that Cherrypal has shipped anything?

> Great looking vaporware

No, the CherryPad C515 is real, but it's just not "Cherrypal developed". That's what I'm about.

> A 7 inch Android tablet, cheap? Sign me up! If one ever appears.

The market is really infested by those cheap Chinese tablet computers running Android. For instance have a look at this 400 MHz ARM9 based $100 one:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/walgreens-now-selling-100-maylong-m-150-android-tablet/
http://www.maylonggroup.com/M-150_MID.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu578pZVZm0

> Do we have confirmation that Cherrypal has shipped anything?

They say they started shipping the CherryPad C515 two weeks ago. See reviews and unboxing video:
https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6726&forum=11&post_id=77311#77311

They also have an open discussion forum on the CherryPad C515 including reviews:
http://www.cherrypal.com/support/index.php?board=2.0

And reviews in the store:
http://www.cherrypal.com/secure/product_reviews.php?products_id=16

[ Edited by Andreas_Wolf on 2010/10/30 18:34 ]

Thanks for the references. The tablets are a neat idea. Certainly better than lugging around a iPad. I'm going to look into one.

>> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=872128#post872128
>> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=872134#post872134
>> http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=882112#post882112

> Ouch... Velcro, are you on a multi-site quest to destroy your credibility?

Checking back those links it seems he's trying to get his credibility back ;-)

He also did an interesting review of the Cherrypal Asia C118:

"Moving on to the OS and software, I would say those are not as nice as the hardware. The desktop feels a bit awkward and unpolished. Despite the quick boot, it is a slow environment. The programs run slow. Cherrypal says "slow and sufficient." Having used it, I disagree about the second term. This OS and software are not sufficent on this hardware, at least not yet. I guess I would overall characterize the experience as just barely functional in some regards (browsing, connectivity, sound, a version of Android market, camera), dysfunctional in others (USB connectivity, I did not test everything there may be more dysfunction), and terribly slow overall. [...] For now, the Cherrypal Asia is a low-cost curiosity of great slowness and very limited functioning."
http://www.androidforums.com/android-lounge/204857-review-cherrypal-asia-netbook-running-android.html#post1785751

> Thanks for the references.

You're welcome. And just to show that I'm not a Cherrypal fanboy I'll also link to these:

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/10/26/cherrypad-orders-unfulfilled-customers-antsy/
http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/10/29/cherrypad-review-is-less-than-enthusiastic/
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/10/26/cherrypad-android-tablets-still-not-scam/
http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2010/10/26/and-the-cherrypal-scam-continues/
http://liliputing.com/2010/10/cherrypal-188-tablet-now-shipping-maybe-gets-hands-on-treatment.html
http://www.techeye.net/hardware/cheap-tablet-flogger-cherrypal-accused-of-upsetting-customers
http://tech.massivelinks.com/index.php/tech/article/cherrypad-review-188-slate-thats-too-good-to-be-true/

And something not directly related to the CherryPad:

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2010/10/20/cherrypals-max-seybold-is-so-bad/

Ouch! I guess Christmas isn't coming early this year. It's frightening how easily I fell for those specs. Has the tablet actually been seen in the wild or has Cherrypal completely scammed us on this one?


And is it just my perverse sense of humor or does Cherrypal's logo look like a pair of testicles?

> Has the tablet actually been seen in the wild or has Cherrypal
> completely scammed us on this one?

That depends on whether you regard the reviews and unboxing video I linked to as "in the wild" or not, I guess.

> does Cherrypal's logo look like a pair of testicles?

That joke is as old as the Cherrypal logo ;-)

Quote:

I wasn't trying to make a joke, I was just beginning to think my perception was off. Nice to know this is a common mistake. I guess you could add a third "cherry" and it would look like a pawn brokers shop sign.

-edit: wrong thread-

[ Editiert durch Zylesea an 2011/1/7 2:24 ]

Update:

> Surprise, surprise. The CherryPad's alleged Samsung processor turned
> into a Telechips processor by pure magic:
> "Processor: Telechips ARM11 800 MHz (CPU + GPU + DSP) system-on-chip"
> http://www.cherrypal.com/c515.htm

Did the 800 MHz turn into 500 and the 2 GB Flash into 512 MB?

http://www.cherrypal.com/support/index.php?topic=1364

I have a sense of déjà vu:

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6908&forum=11
https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6976&forum=11&post_id=71732#71732

"We all bought turds."

Well if that isn't enough to make you shy away from Cherrypal...

Update:

> Did the 800 MHz turn into 500 and the 2 GB Flash into 512 MB?
> http://www.cherrypal.com/support/index.php?topic=1364

What could you do best when your recent cheap product doesn't meet the claimed specs? Exactly, you plan to sell a more expensive better spec'd successor:

http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/01/18/exclusive-cherrypads-next-7-inch-android-tablet-will-have-gsm/

|||





[ Edited by Velcro_SP 20.04.2011 - 06:25 ]

> you're not being critical, that is to say discerning, enough in forming your opinion.

History has taught me who *not* to trust when it's someone's word against Cherrypal's.

> You saw some forum post at a cherrypal.com support forum that referred to
> speed and memory

Yes, and you saw it too.

> but it is not the complete picture

Then show me the "complete picture", please.

> and it doesn't back up what you claim.

Let's check that out. I wrote that Cherrypal's "recent cheap product doesn't meet the claimed specs". Cherrypal's claimed specs for the C515 are 800 MHz for the ARM11 CPU and 2 GB for the Flash drive. The forum post says that dmesg shows 500 MHz for the CPU and 512 MB for the Flash drive. You don't need an academic degree in mathematics to see the discrepancies of 300 MHz for the CPU and 1.5 GB for the Flash drive. So in essence, you're wrong in saying that the forum post doesn't back up what I claim.

> You say Cherrypal has engaged in false marketing

Yes, it very much seems that it has done so. And it had done so before as you pointed out a year ago.

> I say it's not that simple.

I'm curious about your explanation.

> The spec as applies to CPU speed in an SoC could mean more
> than the result logged by the poster. It could refer to the effective
> speed of the CPU combined with the other stuff on the chip.

You mean the ARM11 core really operates at only 500 MHz as said in the forum post and Cherrypal added the clock frequencies of other cores of the Telechips SoC to reach the claimed 800 MHz figure? If yes, that would be false marketing on the part of Cherrypal at its best. Clock frequencies simply don't work that way. An Intel Core i7 processor with six cores operating at 3.3 GHz each operates at 3.3 GHz overall, not at 20 GHz. Or to stay more in the context of this site: the MPC5121e with an e300 core operating at 400 MHz, an AXE unit operating at 200 MHz and a PowerVR unit operating at 100 MHz operates at 400 MHz overall, not at 700 MHz.

> the poster's memory measurement depends on a variety of factors,
> like how much is being used for system processes.

You seem to have missed that I only referred to the ARM11 core's clock frequency figure and the Flash drive's size figure. I deliberatly didn't refer to the RAM figure, so your point is moot.

> it marketed a $188 tablet, and who else did that? No-one else. No-one else did that.

Yes, no one else has marketed a $188 tablet. But some have marketed even sub-$188 tablets, going as low as some $100:

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?topic_id=6726&forum=11&post_id=78352#78352

Some more, in chronological order with Cherrypal's announcement included:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/06/firstviews-95-android-windows-ce-pc607v-tips-a-craptablet-ic/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/11/92-md500-android-tablet-from-hott-actually-looks-pretty-cool/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/ekens-100-android-mid-reviewed-you-get-what-you-pay-for/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/26/augens-150-android-tablet-hits-kmart-circular-coming-to-store/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/10/archos-32-internet-tablet-now-shipping-for-150-redefining-th/
----------> Cherrypal announces $188 CherryPad America tablet <----------
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/27/walgreens-now-selling-100-maylong-m-150-android-tablet/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/09/sylvanias-7-inch-android-tablet-now-ready-to-disappoint-swallo/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/14/toys-r-us-black-friday-doorbuster-includes-80-netbook-140-syl/

"We all bought turds."

Real buyer feedback. Maybe some of you would be foolish enough to trust this company, but their history of false statements and perpetually shifting specs make me very hesitant to trust them or to take any statements they make at face value.

Quote:

What is "True" big endian?

Quote:

All the Cortex-A processors can do big endian data.

BTW if you want cheap tablets, I am told there were tablets on show at CES based on the Cortex-A9 due on the market very shortly at decidedly low end prices.

> What is "True" big endian?

https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?forum=11&topic_id=6268&start=51
https://morph.zone/modules/newbb_plus/viewtopic.php?forum=11&topic_id=6268&start=54

> All the Cortex-A processors can do big endian data.

Well, "big endian data" doesn't sound like true big-endianness to me.

|||

[ Edited by Velcro_SP 20.04.2011 - 06:24 ]

|||

[ Edited by Velcro_SP 20.04.2011 - 06:23 ]

> The description of the CherryPad processor at Cherrypal's website says
> "Telechips ARM11 800 MHz (CPU + GPU + DSP) system-on-chip." You're
> phrasing this slightly differently, aren't you? It seems to have disclosed its math.

I don't think so. I read Cherrypal's description of the CPU as an ARM11 core operating at 800 MHz within a SoC incorporating that very ARM11 core plus a GPU core at undisclosed clock frequency plus a DSP core at undisclosed clock frequency. But either way it's false marketing as adding up clock frequencies is exactly that. An ARM11 core operating at 500 MHz plus a GPU core operating at 100 MHz plus a DSP core operating at 200 MHz don't make a SoC operating at 800 MHz.

> The reviews I've read say it plays movies very well, which is an
> indicator of effective speed.

Huh? What's that to do with any specific clock frequency figures?

> You say you're not questioning the memory.

Yes, that's what I say.

> about the flash-drive, could be a partitioning issue?

I take it that the tool reported the whole drive's size, not any partition's size.

> I would be surprised that PCMag and the other professional reviews
> wouldn't have caught this.

Good point, that's what I've been thinking about as well. I think it's possible that the reviewers got devices which actually met the claimed specs, whereas later produced devices were silently trimmed down in specs to save costs. That would be plausible at least.

> You have gone farther than he in inferring deceptive marketing.

Yes, obviously I know Cherrypal's history better than he does (and much better than he did when he decided to purchase the C515).

> I think I am right that the forum post doesn't back up what you claimed

I still don't concur. The reported numbers speak a clear language to me.

> more information is needed

Indeed. I'm still awaiting the response of 'Cherrypal Community Administrator' in that thread.

> nobody should jump to conclusions.

You're right that I did jump to a conclusion here. As I see it, there're far jumps and there're close jumps ;-)

> As for the supposed sub $188 tablets you linked, there are some issues.

Have a look there:

About 20 different sub-$188 tablets orderable new from Amazon (starting at $120):
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=s9_al_bw_srch?node=1232597011

22 sub-$188 tablets orderable from Merimobiles (starting at $95):
http://www.merimobiles.com/Tablet_PC_s_s/205.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=205&show=36

12 sub-$188 tablets orderable from CECT (German, starting at $96):
http://www.cect-shop.com/index_c30_s4a_pg1_x50_x1.htm?currency=USD

6 sub-$188 tablets orderable from different shops (EU, starting at converted $134):
http://www.heise.de/preisvergleich/eu/?cat=nbtabl&sort=p

Edit:

3 sub-$188 tablets orderable from TigerDirect (starting at $120):
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?Nav=|c:6845|

[ Edited by Andreas_Wolf on 2011/1/24 1:38 ]

|||

[ Edited by Velcro_SP 20.04.2011 - 06:21 ]

@Velcro_SP

Adding clockspeeds is just thruthful as adding the wattage of the alternator and windscreenwipermotor to HP of a car ;)

It's a sneaky lie and everybody knows it.

[ Edited by Kronos on 2011/1/23 0:06 ]