breathing new life into old Apad

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freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek

#103564 11-Jun-2012 10:41

A xmas or 2 ago I bought one of those cheap PoS Android "tablets" on special at PB tech (in hindsight that might've been my 1st mistake)

Apad II MID 701-R
running Android 2.1 (using it mostly for a bit of browsing & as a remote for my HTPC)

/proc/cpuinfo indetifies it as:
Processor : ARMv6-compatible processor rev 6 (v6l)
BogoMIPS : 499.71
Features : swp half thumb fastmult vfp edsp java
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 7
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0xb76
CPU revision : 6
Hardware : Telechips TCC89/91/92XX Demo Board

I've got root & found 2 possible firmware/ROM updates:
* what seems to be "official" - http://apads.com.au/forum/index.php?topic=547.0
* & a custom roll - http://www.michel-lange.net/tcc/ (unsure which one to use)

Both these systems are windows-based tools, and unfortunately I do not have any windows boxes (only VM's).
The device itself seems to have a basic recovery boot option, but upgrading via that requires a file Update.zip to complete the update.

I'm looking for:
* (maybe) a real recovery image; like one of the CM or AmonRA derivatives
* alternative ROM images I can make use of to complete the upgrade from a POSIX host
* maybe alternative ROMs I can use other than the official ones, as this is a pretty lame-ish tablet, that I'd like to strip out some of the overhead

FLOSS'er, aspiring Maker

sidkumar

84 posts

Master Geek

#639486 12-Jun-2012 10:05

Try Haipad.net, the APAD is also known as Haipad, and they had a gingerbread version out there.

freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek

#639502 12-Jun-2012 10:40

Thanks for that - I've tried those pages, but all the official pages have windows-only distributables :(

I've managed to find a handy resource: http://androtab.info/cyanogenmod/telechips/
Unfortunately I had trouble determining the NAND pagesize, so I erred on the side of caution & flashed with the smallest of the 3 (512MB) - aaaaaaaand I bricked it :p

A slight hiccup, but not all doom & gloom - now I have an excuse to pop the hood, scrape some NAND IC, and earn a deeper understanding of my device's inner workings.

FLOSS'er, aspiring Maker

Linuxluver

5828 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#639513 12-Jun-2012 10:54

Have you checked out slatedroid.com?

They were my go-top site for cool stuff for cheapo Android tablets back when I was dabbling with them.

Have a look here in their aPad forum. I see firmware there.... By now someone should have worked out the optimum config and firmware for these devices. Rooted and swapping to an SD card is usually the best way to make them feel more capable.

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I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....

freakalad

231 posts

Master Geek

#639534 12-Jun-2012 11:17

yip - I have, thanks, and also dropped by the unofficial IRC channel (I think that might've been where I found the link referenced above).
The site is pretty comprehensive but hamstrung without a registration. I'm gleaning what I can before I do that.

Unfortunately I borked the device, so will do some more under-the-hood "research" over the coming evenings/weekend

FLOSS'er, aspiring Maker

Linuxluver

5828 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

#639552 12-Jun-2012 11:31

freakalad: yip - I have, thanks, and also dropped by the unofficial IRC channel (I think that might've been where I found the link referenced above).
The site is pretty comprehensive but hamstrung without a registration. I'm gleaning what I can before I do that.

Unfortunately I borked the device, so will do some more under-the-hood "research" over the coming evenings/weekend

Why not register? I'm assuming it's still free.

I have a '&sendyourcraphere@gmail.com'-style mailbox for such registrations.....They don't go anywhere near my real inbox....or my real name or location.

_____________________________________________________________________

I've been on Geekzone over 16 years..... Time flies....