Dual-OS tablets – anyone used the Pipo W6S? And other questions.

[Evan]

Hello everyone,

I’m after a tablet, and lots of advice on selecting one.

Short version: I need a dual-OS 8″ to 11″ tablet with 3G and GPS for $200US (or thereabouts).

Long version: I’m looking for a tablet to run AvPlan and/or OzRunways, which aren’t particularly CPU or GPU intensive (no 3D, it’s all basic 2D displays) but they do take quite a bit of space (up to around 5GB), they require GPS and 3G, and they benefit from a high-resolution screen (1280×800 is too low; 1920×1080 would be fine). They’ll run under Android, but having Windows on there too would be useful. I’d like it to be as light as possible, but the official guidance for AvPlan/OzRunways is that the screen must be at least 200mm (7.87″) diagonal – obviously there’s a limit to how light a tablet can be while keeping a decent screen size. I’d also prefer to have a heavier, more robust tablet over a super-light but also fragile one. Based on that, the requirements are:

7.9″ to 11″ screen – closer to the lower end is better
Long(ish) battery life – 5 hours at medium brightness (with 3G on but not displaying anything particularly CPU/GPU-intensive or downloading much data)
3G/4G + GPS
Dual OS (Windows/Android)
At least 64GB flash (seems to be essential for proper dual-OS usage)
Screen usable in daylight conditions
Decent resolution – 1920×1080 or so at least
$200 US or close

The ones I’ve found so far are:

Pipo W6S 3G ($163 US) – 1920×1200, 8.9″. Added bonus that apparently Pipo’s Android ROM is very clean. The only problem is that I can’t find any reviews of it – the closest I’ve found is a mention on the XDA forums that Pipo quality is pretty hopeless, but the reviews of other Pipo tablets seem to be fine.

Teclast X98 Air 3G ($190 US) – 2048×1536, 9.7″. Seems to be very common and is generally well-liked. Main disadvantage is that the standard Android ROM is slow/bloated, and it’s a bit bigger physically.

Second-hand Dell Venue 11 Pro Core i5 ($250 US) – 1920×1080, 11″. Vastly more powerful than any of the Atom-based tablets (128GB/256GB SSD, 4GB/8GB RAM, Core i5). Unfortunately Android support seems to be extremely poor, unless someone here knows something that I don’t. Also fairly heavy, at around 800g compared to under 500g for the others.

Ones I’ve discarded:

Teclast X10HD – expensive, screen has major reflection issues, and apparently the 3G performance is pretty bad.
Cube i6 Air 3G – can’t find one with 64GB flash. Disappointing, since it seems to be considered a very nice device.
Onda V919 – no GPS, and quality seems to be lower than the Teclast products.
Cube iWork 8 – no GPS, and low resolution

The other option is to wait and see if either the Intel Core-M tablets come down in price, or maybe the new Intel SoFIA tablets will be produced with better screens (currently they seem to be stuck at 1024×600, which is really not good enough). If it’s likely that in the next month or two we’ll be seeing a 1920×1200 SoFIA tablet for $120 then I’ll wait for that; otherwise I’d prefer to buy now.

So, the key questions:

(1) Are there other tablets that meet my needs?

(2) Are there likely to be significant new tablets in the next month or two that would meet my needs better?

(3) Has anyone used the Pipo W6S and found out whether it’s good or not?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Evan

[Kody]

Have you made any progress on this? I’m also very curious about the Pipo W6S, but cannot find any good reviews of it.

[Evan]

No progress so far. I found a new X98 Air 3G 64GB on eBay for $85 AU, which is almost certainly a scam, but the risk to the buyer is low when using PayPal. Assuming I never get that, I’ll probably wait around and see what turns up – if I find a super-cheap Venue 11 Pro on eBay then I’ll get that and use AMIDuOS to run the Android apps.

[Stijn]

Did you order it on ebay? I saw the same ad for $100 AU

[Evan]

Yep. A week later eBay banned the seller and refunded my money.

[Stijn]

Cool what tablet did you go for in the end?

[Evan]

So far, none. I was leaning towards the Venue 11 Pro until I found out about its overheating issues. Currently leaning towards a Teclast X98 Air 3G.

[TS]

Hi, did you end up with any tablet that works for you?  GPS & high enough resolution?  I am in the same situation – looking for such a device but doesn’t seem to exist but it appears to be a niche market.

I’ve read that GPS doesn’t work on Teclast X98 Air 3G well, and/or it doesn’t work at all in Windows.  I don’t know why and no one seems to have a clue on what’s going on, even though the GPS module appears to be detected in Windows.

If it would work, it be great – Windows 10 allow offline maps.  The only confirmed 8 inch tablet I had that work with offline Windows map & GPS is: Toshiba Encore 8 tablet – the earlier model has GPS.  I had one of these before I broke the screen, so now seeking alternative but found surprisingly nothing.

[Evan]

Unfortunately not. I largely gave up after finding that the new version of the X98 Air 3G doesn’t even have GPS (link). At this point I’m keeping an eye on the new models just in case something good turns up.

[Author]

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