Scroll Excel or Kindle Fire?

[MikePembo951]

Hi,
I'm was considering getting a Scroll Excel but since the rumours of the Kindle Fire launching in the UK in January, I wanted to compare the two since they aren't going to be much different in price. Has anyone had any problems with either of these two tablets?

I know that both don't have access to the android store out of the box but I assume that you can install it one way or another on both.

I've heard about audio lag issues with the scroll excel. Is this going to be fixed with a firmware update? (Otherwise I'll go for the Kindle Fire because playing videos/movies is one of the main features of tablets.)

I've also read about wifi dropping with the scroll excel... How common is this? (Could this ever be fixed in a firmware update?)

Any other issues with either tablet please post below.

Thanks,
Mike

[moaxial]

Hi,

I got a Scroll Excel just before Christmas and I too was thinking of holding out till next year for avalanche of low priced tablets coming our way not just the Kindle. I took the plunge because this is a British firm with proper support and forums etc punting tablets at Chinese/Ebay prices.

I've not seen a Kindle (who has in the UK?) but the Kindle is more locked down, they even blocked Android Market via a browser hijack, and its their own version of Android with the pros and cons that go with that. Their latest firmware now helps quite a bit with these issues and they are always ways and means to get things working. However, it does seem they are trying to lock you into Amazon market and Amazon for everything. on Fair enough, its a subsidised price! Also it has no cameras, no HDMI, and no HD video playback.

It TOO has been suffering from niggles like wifi issues, sluggish performance etc, although having said that the weight of a firm like Amazon might mean they get address quicker, and as I said a recent firmware upgrade may have already done that.

As for the scroll, performance seems slightly better than my Samsung Galaxy S (V1), and its been seriously used and abused by the kids in the last few days for games and browsing etc. For this purpose its great, and you couldn't ask for more at this price. It is now easy to get the Android market working and other "official" google features like Google sync for calendar etc due to this great forum!

Plays HD as advertised via HDMI, you can even plug in a usb mouse/keyboard, monitor and use it like a PC if you like! Its solid, slightly heavier than expect and seems well made. Battery life on a par with my phone so far, i.e. use it like a laptop, then expect to be charging it by the end of the day, otherwise a couple of days on standby light use.

I have no issues initially connecting to wifi and using it i.e. no dropouts and strong signal (better than my phone) on my old Belkin Super G router. However, there ARE wifi issues for some users with some hardware, and I found that if it sleeps and drops the wifi reconnecting on wake can cause crashes and reboots! An issue I am avoiding by stopping the wifi from sleeping!

The video/audio lag is a real issue, and appears on 99% of formats inc IPlayer, Youtube, local and network avi files with a variety of players. It depends on the encoding of the video and can affect other Android devices but its a genuine issue on this device which I am hoping gets address with firmware soon. I and others have logged this with Storage Options, so we're now waiting anxiously!

Hope this helps,

Matt.

[MikePembo951]

Hi matt,
thanks for the quick reply.
Im gonna hold off buying the scroll until the video playback sound lag/sync issues are fixed. The kindle fire is supposed to be out in january... not long.
Just hope storage options gets this fixed.
Has there been any official statement from them about any bug fixes?

Thanks,
Mike

[moaxial]

Hi Mike,

No official statement from Storage Options yet but these issues have only been raised in the last 24 hours! However, worryingly another forum member informs me that the original scroll tablets had the SAME playback issues well over a year ago with no resolution yet!

I am still hopeful, but bearing in mind what I said about glitchy issues with the Kindle Fire, I'd say you'd be wise to hold back from buying ANY tablet in the sub £200 price band until things are settled. I made a pre-Xmas rush decision and although not a total loss, I lost my nerve and I reckon far better examples will emerge in the next 3 months.

Lots of manufacturers are rushing to get stuff to market, 2012 will be the year of the tablet, with big names pulling out of traditional PCs altogether. With all technology you always get more for your money the longer you wait, but CRUCIALLY you get to skip all the teething problems with new tech.

The scroll is still a good device for the money but video playback is a killer feature. I have now tried a dozen or so video files, I would say roughly 25% have no issues with audio sync, the rest vary from bearable to unwatchable. Could you live with say 50% of your films unwatchable due to sync issues? Exactly, I am not sure I can either!

If scroll fix the sync and the wifi issue, it beats the Kindle hands down I'd say, as it stands, neither is ideal.

Thanks,

Matt.