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[LazerFlash]

Is the glaring (and ongoing) lack of support on out-of-the-box AirPad 7P's for Android Market something more than a rush to market their self-admitted low-end of the market tablets and/or ICS? Or, is it something else?  There are plenty of work-arounds here and on other sites. But, all require more technical savvy than many users have. It would seem to me that X10 would be pushing hard to resolve this issue, since it's apparently been solved by the more technical members of its user community.

[dave w]

It would seem to me that X10 would be pushing hard to resolve this issue, since it's apparently been solved by the more technical members of its user community.

Two questions:
Will resloving the issue cost X10 money?
Does X10 have any motivation to fix the problem when users carry their water?

[LazerFlash]

It would seem to me that X10 would be pushing hard to resolve this issue, since it's apparently been solved by the more technical members of its user community.

Two questions:
Will resloving the issue cost X10 money?
Does X10 have any motivation to fix the problem when users carry their water?

I don't know the answer to the first one, but I'd have to guess "yes". As to the second, the motivation would be all of the AirPad users (like myself) who aren't comfortable following 3rd party instructions that always seem to start with "use at your own risk". When I bought my AirPad, I expected it to be fully functional.

So far, my opinion of the AirPad 7P is generally a good one. As with any piece of technology, there will always be pros and cons. However, its inability to access Android Market is a HUGE issue, IMO. For instance, as near as I can determine, the only way to access most public library ebook collections is via an app that is only available through A.M.

I find the following response from X10 thoroughly unsatisfactory:

X10 We are not allowed to include or troubleshoot the Android Market.

As you stated, there is plenty of 3rd party info available online.

[LazerFlash]

More from X10:

It is due to a liscensing issue. We are not allowed to include the market in our products.

We do not have any plans to support the Android Market.

[Brian H]

So basically X10 decided to not spend the money for a licence to keep their costs down or the OEM of the tablet didn't want to.

[LazerFlash]

So basically X10 decided to not spend the money for a licence to keep their costs down or the OEM of the tablet didn't want to.

It sure seems that way, doesn't it?

[X10 Repair Depot]

Any device that contains Android Market is required by Google to be certified. We did attempt to have our tablets certified, however, we were told that Google’s priority is certifying Android cell phones and not tablets. The lead time is so long that the tablet would be obsolete before the product would be certified.

This problem is not limited to X10, and it is the reason that the only tablets that LIGITIMATELY have Android market installed are higher end units.

Lazerflash, the AirPad 7p is fully functional as is. It is true that some apps are difficult to find without Android market, but most can be found with a little searching. I am guessing that the library ebook reader that you were asking about is Overdrive Media Console. If so, I did a search and found that it appears to be available here:

http://goodereader.com/apps/ereader-apps/e-reader-apps/

NOTE: I came across this site by doing a search. I know nothing about this website and X10 is not endorsing anything on the site.

As you stated, there are workarounds to expand the functionally of the tablet.

[LazerFlash]

I am guessing that the library ebook reader that you were asking about is Overdrive Media Console. If so, I did a search and found that it appears to be available here...

Interestingly enough, after I sent an email to the Overdrive folks, it is now also available directly off of their own website.

[LazerFlash]

Any device that contains Android Market is required by Google to be certified. We did attempt to have our tablets certified, however, we were told that Google’s priority is certifying Android cell phones and not tablets. The lead time is so long that the tablet would be obsolete before the product would be certified.

This problem is not limited to X10, and it is the reason that the only tablets that LIGITIMATELY have Android market installed are higher end units.

Thank you for taking the time to explain the issue... Too bad whoever is monitoring Facebook wasn't quite as forthcoming. 

I would like to suggest that X10 not give up on obtaining certification for its tablet line. Some of us are in this for the long haul. I don't intend to buy a new tablet every year, (or, for that matter, every other year). That said, post-sale support - and upgrades - are a big deal to me. I suspect that  I am far from alone in this attitude.

...the AirPad 7p is fully functional as is. It is true that some apps are difficult to find without Android market, but most can be found with a little searching.

You and & I clearly have a different opinion of what the phrase "fully functional" really means to the end user. Saying to me that "some apps are difficult to find" and that we have to resort to "a little searching" doesn't line up with my definition of "fully functional". And, while some apps that are on Android Market may be available elsewhere - after a lot of time-consuming searching - some are not available anywhere but Android Market. Want an example? According to the company itself, the BAM 2 app from Books-A-Million is only available legally on Android Market.

[cjhallx]

If you want the android market just flash it with the manufacturer's version.  Please realize that you will need to do research at places like slatedroid.com as to which versions are the best.  And of course, do at your own risk, I don't make house calls.

[X10 Repair Depot]

You and & I clearly have a different opinion of what the phrase "fully functional" really means to the end user. Saying to me that "some apps are difficult to find" and that we have to resort to "a little searching" doesn't line up with my definition of "fully functional". And, while some apps that are on Android Market may be available elsewhere - after a lot of time-consuming searching - some are not available anywhere but Android Market. Want an example? According to the company itself, the BAM 2 app from Books-A-Million is only available legally on Android Market.

Lazerflash,

If you look around at all tablets having a cost of less than 2 times the cost of the AirPad 7p, I cannot think of one that contains Android Market. Look at the best selling tablet on the market - Amazon's Kindle Fire. Amazon sold 4 million of them all without Android Market. All of these have the same availability to apps as our units.   

[Tuicemen]

You and & I clearly have a different opinion of what the phrase "fully functional" really means to the end user. Saying to me that "some apps are difficult to find" and that we have to resort to "a little searching" doesn't line up with my definition of "fully functional". And, while some apps that are on Android Market may be available elsewhere - after a lot of time-consuming searching - some are not available anywhere but Android Market. Want an example? According to the company itself, the BAM 2 app from Books-A-Million is only available legally on Android Market.

Just because you can't get the app you wish doesn't mean something isn't fully functional.
The AirPads will work with Android Market the fact that you don't wish to install this your self has no baring on it being fully functional
The Airpad has no settings screen for TTS or Voice Recognition either how ever it still will do both.
Expecting a vendor to have every thing you wish installed is a unreasonable expectation unless your willing to pay for it.

[dave w]

You and & I clearly have a different opinion of what the phrase "fully functional" really means to the end user.

Boomer, it is like a contract. If the Airpad does everything X10 and/or the instructions claim it will do, then it is fully functional.
You can' t define "fully functional" as you please.

[LazerFlash]

You know what? You all are right. At under $150, I was buying in at the low end of the Android-based tablet market. It was a gamble, for sure. Having bought X10 products many times in the past - and having found them all to be exceptional values, (often worth well more than their cost) - I think that I was expecting more from my AirPad. Perhaps it was foolish of me to think that I was getting a piece of hardware that compared equally with other tablets in the same size range. This turned out to not be correct. Sometimes, when you buy a low-priced item, you get what you pay for. The inability to access a major distributor of apps is a big issue, IMO, but as has been brought out multiple times by multiple people, there are ways around this - even it means applying changes that are entirely at my own risk. (I have to wonder how many of you who are so nonchalant about that would consider doing the same thing to the vehicle your wife & children drive in?) The reality is, that this model of operation isn't really new or unique, as those of us who are old enough to remember the early days of the ongoing Apple (Mac) vs. Microsoft war.

All of that said, I still think that it's a good product, even though it doesn't have everything that I think would make it fully functional. There is much about it that I find useful, (although I'm still looking for a decent calendar app), and have yet to determine that I just don't want it.

Thanks for all of your opinions on this topic. I still believe that X10 (or the company that actually manufactures the AirPad line) should continue to endeavor towards Google certification and officially sanctioned inclusion of Android Market. I think that we have beaten this one successfully to death...

[jker98]

I understand your frustrations.    It takes very little technical skill to corrected the android market problem.  It took me all of about 30 mins before I had flashed about 3 different builds to miine.   If you need or want help you can pm me and I'll direct you to some files that will help.    I was unable to ever get ICS to be stable or run properly... so i went back to  2.3.4.  Runs like a top, fast hardly any crashes and android market working great.