eLocity A7 Tablet Unboxing and Review no comments
Steam Television’s eLocity A7 Android-based tablet finally started shipping a few weeks ago and I snagged one to review. Yeah yeah I know — another week, another 7-inch Android tablet, snore snore.
But the eLocity A7 stands out from the crowd of other 7-inch 
Android tablets because it is one of the first to ship with the Tegra 2 chipset from NVIDIA. I’ve found the eLocity to be quick and responsive – more so than the other Android tablets I’ve tried.
At first glance, the eLocity A7 may seem a little less elegant than some other tablets with its square edges. Rounded and beveled edges are more elegant, but probably harder to fit a lot of ports into. The A7 has both a USB 2.0 host and an HDMA port as well as earphone jack, AC power port, microSD card slot, SIM card slot and docking port. The SIM card slot is not currently supported and there does not seem to be a dock available yet. The eLocity has that now ubiquitous rubberized coating on the back and edges which does add tactile comfort.
The first thing I needed to do after unboxing the eLocity (after charging it – the battery was completely dead) was to install the latest firmware update. Before installing the update the A7 could not detect any wireless networks. To install the update you will need a microSD card and a card reader (if your computer does not already have one). You have to download the update and then from your computer transfer it onto the microSD card , which you then put into the eLocity to install the update. You can download the update and see the full instructions for installing it here.
This and other tasks involving sideloading things onto the eLocity would be much easier if there was an easier way to connect the A7 to your computer. The USB port is a host, so you will need to have a USB A to A cable to connect it to your computer. The unused docking port and pictures of the eLocity in a dock would seem to indicate that Stream TV will be releasing a docking accessory at some point. I asked Stream TV about this but have received no answer as of yet. In the meantime you will need a microSD card and a reader for your desktop.
The firmware update also adds a few more apps 
to the selection that was present on the eLocity pre-update. After the update there are 27 apps installed, including: Adobe Reader, Aldiko, Amazon shopping, Appoke and Getjar app stores, Documents To Go, FBReader, Kindle, OI file manager and Spare Parts.
The Kindle ereading app is installed with the update and you can get Kobo, Wattpad and Nook apps from Getjar. Except for the Kobo app, which I couldn’t get to work, the reading apps let me connect to the stores with my existing accounts and download my libraries. The eLocity will give you access to at least two of the major ebookstores (Kindle and B&N) plus Wattpad and hopefully Kobo at some point in the future.
I found the capacitive touchscreen of the eLocity A7 to be quite responsive, even at the edges of the screen. The eLocity does not support true multitouch, which may cause some games and other apps to not work on it. While the display does look quite good, I am a bit spoiled by the screen of the Nook Color, which has richer and more vibrant colors and a much wider viewing angle.
Battery life is nowhere near as good as the iPad, which is currently the gold standard. It seems to get around 5 hours, so you should be able to get a day’s use out of one charge, but if you let the eLocity go to sleep and forget about it the batteries will likely be drained when you go to use it again.
Typing on the virtual keyboard, even in portrait mode where the keys are smaller and close together, was quite easy with few mistaken letters. This can sometimes be challenging for my largish man fingers on some touchscreens — but not on the eLocity.
The Web browsing experience is quite good. The browser is fast and pinch and zoom is enabled but is perhaps not as smooth as on devices with true multitouch. Screen orientation changes automatically and quickly with the A7, which is handy when on the Internet.
I have some video files made from my DVD collection that I 
made to put on my older generation Archos media player. When I bought this several years ago it was one of the few devices that would let you carry your movies with you and use a patch cord to plug into a TV and watch them. Quite handy when travelling.
Now there are a number of devices that will let you do this. The eLocity A7 has an HDMI port and will output 1080p, so as long as you have access to a TV that is 1080p you can watch your movies on a bigger screen. Both the movie files and video from my Flip would not play on the eLocity (nor on the Nook Color) until I converted them using HandBrake — a free download.
After conversion the videos usually played well. The speakers on the eLocity are not very loud at all, as with most devices of this type, so you will want to use a pair of earbuds. A basic pair of earphones is included with the A7.
I’ve experienced almost no problems with the eLocity A7, but a couple of times it did balk at playing a video for some reason. After rebooting the video would then play normally.
When listening to MP3 tracks, I found the sound quality of the eLocity to be superior to that of the Nook Color, except that there is a very faint background hiss always present when using earphones.
eLocity A7 vs iPad vs Kindle vs Nook Color, etc.
The eLocity A7 is no iPad, but it is cheaper and more portable. It is great for web browsing and watching videos. YouTube videos look much better on the eLocity than they do on the Nook Color. As long as games don’t require true multitouch they should also work well on the eLocity. For ereading, you will have access to at least the Kindle Store and Barnes & Noble.
The eLocity A7 leaves the less expensive Android-based 7-inch tablets I’ve tried in the dust. It is much faster and the touchscreen more responsive. It also seems to be less buggy.
Of course, at $299 it is also quite a bit more expensive. Because of its price, I think that it is most competitive with the Nook Color. I found the A7 to be better for watching video and slightly better for web browsing than the Nook Color. It also seemed to me to have better sound when listening on earphones – if you can overlook the slight hiss. The Nook Color wins when it comes to the sheer beauty of its screen. The Nook Color is overall a more physically attractive device. B&N’s customer support, while nothing to cheer about, is also better than that of Stream TV.
If you want more tablet in your tablet, then the eLocity A7 makes an alluring alternative to the Nook Color for not much more money. The A7 will also give you access to not only the B&N ebookstore, but the Kindle Store as well. While the eLocity does not have access to the Android Market, there are a number of games and other apps available for it.
Of course, it is now easy to root the Nook Color, which will also give you access to the Kindle Store – as well as giving you access to the Android Market. On the downside, you will probably have to redo this every time B&N releases a new firmware update.
Actually, we should soon have a version of Android that will be optimized for tablets and will bring access to the Android Market. When that happens, all of the current tablets that can’t upgrade are going to be looking much less appealing.
You can currently buy the eLocity A7 at Amazon and elsewhere for $299. The user reviews at Amazon are mixed, but many of the negative reviews are from before the first firmware update of Dec. 24, 2010. After the firmware update I have had no problems with the Wi-Fi. As you see in the video, I was also able to install one of the free versions of Angry Birds as well. Before the update Angry Birds would not install.
eLocity A7 tablet cases & covers
So far the choices are limited when it comes to cases and covers for the eLocity A7 tablet. CaseCrown has a faux suede sleeve
