“The Maylong M-150 TabletPC is an Android-based device sold by Walgreens for a mere $99 a pop,” Jacqui Cheng reports for Ars Technica. “Unfortunately, the Maylong M-150 is the very epitome of ‘race to the bottom,’ and anyone looking to buy one would get more bang for the buck by setting it on fire for warmth.”
“The tablet itself is made entirely out of plastic and, upon first glance, is practically an exact (but shrunken) replica of the iPad,” Cheng reports. “If you press hard enough with just one hand, you can make the entire thing flex—yes, including the screen.”
Cheng reports, “The atrocious screen, which is not only flimsy and ugly to look at, [also] sucks as a touchscreen… Really, it’s hard to determine when you’re successfully doing anything, and trying to achieve a simple task like entering a WiFi password or searching for an app on the “App Market” takes minutes per task. It got to the point where using the device for simple things became such a chore that I would rather just not do it at all than battle the M-150 for the next 15 minutes.”
“We ‘used’ the device as best we could for as long as possible, and the battery usually only gave us an hour or less before dying out,” Cheng reports. “We can’t imagine getting too much more than an hour during anyone’s regular usage patterns. (Then again, it’s so infuriating to use, you probably would never find yourself using it for more than an hour at a time anyway.)”
Oh, yes, there’s much more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: Nice review (smirk). When you cede control, you forgo quality control, too. Whatever reputation Google’s iOS wannabe has dies a little bit each and every day. Death by a thousand crappy products.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “cptnkirk” for the heads up.]
If you are buying your computing solutions at a drug store…
I don’t really have to finish that thought, do I?
Google’s approach to quality control can be summed up in two words: “perpetual beta.”
This is further evidence of why Apple solidarity is superior to these “open” Android devices that are a dime a dozen. Long live Apple!
What a horrid rip off of OS X AND iOS. Sucktacular
I picked up a different “tablet pc” running android for about the same cost yesterday…
The build quality isnt the problem with mine, it’s android…
Figured it would be fun to mess with android while I wait for the iPad 2. At least I could learn android enough to help my sister who bought an android phone a few months back… One of the 34% that would rather have an iPhone, but is stuck with verizon for her work. (her only choice if she wants a free phone bill).
Man… Talk about a P.O.S OS…
While it will do what I wanted it for, read ebooks and general android learning for the tech support call I know I will get… It will not get much use outside that.
I’m in my living room ATM, 25 feet from my wifi… It says “out of range” I move 5 ft closer.. It can see my network.
And I have to manually make the dam thing connect… Turn it on and it will not reconnect to my wifi. Even if I open up a browser/marketplace.
Pain in the ass..
Tempted to return it.
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Heard you can hack a nook to run android
May just do that for S&G’s.
I have seen other android tablets that are cheap… And you can tell when you touch them. The one I have only the screen feels flimsy, the rest is pretty solid.
I have felt one of those flimsy tablets in the article… They are not exaggerating about bending the entire thing.
Cheap ass crap.
Only 3 types of ppl will buy this: the clueless, apple haters and fandroids. The last 2 deserve to use such crap. The first type will find out how far ahead the iPad is of the competition
oh i read this article earlier today and have not laughed so hard in a very long time.
then i posted to AI…to share the laughter. I am actually curious to buy one and purely for comedic purposes..
Wallgreens is NOT going to win repeat customers on this one.
It seems funny, but I genuinely feel sorry for people who have to put up with such crap.
@Rev. Dr.
I buy a lot of my Mac stuff (and RAM etc.) at a drug store. It is local to Vancouver and called London Drugs. They have all Mac products and an amazing 100% money back for 15 days, no questions asked, policy. You can’t beat that.
This is not the Android you’re looking for…
I think it’s genius, though. Nobody has invented this kind of ‘disposable computer’ before.
I would never buy anything from these crooks again.
Look at how they stole intellectual property (in the form of US Registered Trademarks) for this pig:
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer icon
Apple’s System Preferences icon
Avatron’s Air Sharing icon
None of these companies licensed their IP to Maylong or to Wallgreens.
This move is in direct response to Apple announcing they would soon be selling Men’s Virility pills at their retail locations.
Of course, these pills will not carry the 4 hour warning like their competition, but will in fact promise 10 hour performance with typical usage.
Ballmer Approved!
A W F U L.
Yet, they will probably sell a decent amount of these to consumers who don’t understand why they should be spending $400 more for an iPad when they both “look” the same..
It’s sad. 🙁
“Death by a thousand crappy products”
Never stopped people before. MDN expects too much from general public.
It’s obvious to me that the Maylong M-150 is the love child of a one night sexual encounter between Eric T Mole & Michael Dell. The plastic fantastic twins.
Men, this is the M150: Urban Assault Tablet.
That’s another aspect of Android fragmentation. With Apple, every year, there’s going to be a new iPad model. There will be several configs, but in terms of performance, they will be the same. Developers can depend on all iPads, even the older ones, to have good performance (in addition to consistent specifications).
In Android world, there are going to be garbage products like this one right here. Even with brand new Android-based tablets, there will not only be fragmentation based on differing specs (such as screen size and OS version) but also based on differing levels of performance.
If you have the $100 to spare and keep it handy to whip out when friends/neighbors/family admire your iPad but say it’s too expensive & they will probably get an Android. Then whip it out and let them see for themselves…
@ken1w: Exactly.
And let’s not forget the ecosystem of products that take advantage of, and rely on the 30 pin input design of all Apple mobile devices. Try building peripherals for dozens of Android mobiles. Much like shooting at a moving target.
OH… THE HUMANITY!
@Backlash – I had an opportunity to dink around with a Nook recently, the black and white one. Lousy experience. Slow. Incomprehensible icons. I don’t own an iPad, but I’ve used one, and it’s like night and day in contrast to a Nook.
Well, you know, if you’re picking up the right pills, then this thing might be a blast…..