Menards: Polaroid PMID10C 10.1" tablet $129.99: 8GB internal memory, dual cameras 1 GHz

[Guest]

Apps Stores Included

Did you do the install for google play or did you leave yours "as is"

I found enough on the 1Mobile App market to keep me busy for a while. I don't know if I'll need the Google Play, at least for a while.

[pa4055]

Thanks -

I found enough on the 1Mobile App market to keep me busy for a while. I don't know if I'll need the Google Play, at least for a while.

Thanks was hoping that was the case was a little hesitant to do the steps unless necessary.

[SingleDad]

I mainly bought this tablet to run SkySafari on it. First problem was it is only available on Android Market/Play which this tablet didn't have. Solved that with directions here: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...laroi-pmid701/

I was excited to download SkySafari, but lo and behold, I couldn't find it from the 10C. I went to my Motorola Droid and quickly purchased and installed it. Went to the Google Play website and it shows my Polaroid 10C as "Unknown PMID10C", and for SkySafari, it says "This item is not compatible with your device".

I have to believe that this tablet will support it if it works fine on my ancient phone. Is there any way to get it installed? I've seen some posts saying you can fake Google Play into thinking the tablet is a different device. Not sure how dangerous that is. If I could copy it from my phone somehow or get the .apk file, that might work. I have purchased the app and am not looking to get an illegal copy.

Anyone have any better luck or ideas?

I don't think it's a matter of the Polaroid PMID10C not being capable of running the app...it has to do more with the fact that Southern Telecom/Polaroid didn't play the Google Play licensing game and pay to have Google Play installed on the tablet. Therefore some apps won't show up and will show as incompatible with the device. However, if you manage to get the apk files you'll find 90% of the "incompatible" apps work just fine.

To get around the incompatibility limitation the old way was to mess around with the build.prop file to make a device show up as a better supported device for Google Play. It's hit or miss now and typically doesn't work for me. (Changing the model and manufacturer for me and rebooting did nothing to "open" up the market to "incompatible" apps.) Plus you CAN cause problems with your tablet if you aren't careful when editing build.prop.

The newer/easier way to get around this is to get a hacked/modded version of the Google Play "Vending.apk" file installed on your device that removes the device limitation. However..even that isn't working for me when I try it. SkySafari still shows as incompatible with this device The only other thing I can think is it is an issue on the Developer's side with them intentionally locking out non Google Play supported devices from their app?

I'm fairly sure some of the more knowledgeable members of the forum will start coming up with better solutions/roms before long. It's a new device so it just takes a little time for that to happen.

[SingleDad]

Factory Firmare released for the PMID10C

I just wanted to let everyone know that Southern Telecom has released the factory firmware for this tablet!

While to my knowledge there is no updated firmware yet...the release of this factory firmware update DOES allow you to recover your tablet and get it functioning again in the event something goes wrong while playing around with it.

The PMID10C firmware can be downloaded here:

http://www.southerntelecom.com/polaroidsupport/firmware/

[Guest]

NOT a Brick (yet)!

I was enjoying setting up my new Polaroid PMID10C 10.1 Internet Tablet, until I tried turning on the encryption. Instructions say to be sure battery is fully charged and to not interrupt it. It should take an hour, with a couple restarts. (Encrypts apps and data) With a full charge and plugged in, I turned on the password setting (should have stopped there), then started encryption. The android robot came on the screen and that's it. It's been over two days now and it appears it is still not done!

I should have turned off the sleep mode . It does not appear that I bricked it ... I can lightly press the power tab and it will wake up; If it's been over 30 min (my setting), it will ask for a password. The time and charge show on the password screen. But after entering the password, it goes back to the screen with the green android robot; only the volume buttons show and they work ... so it appears the system is not hung up. I don't know if it keeps working when it goes to sleep or I need to keep it awake until it finishes I spent a couple hours one evening tapping it every 1-2 minutes to keep it awake, but it still hasn't finished. I can't find any info about encryption for ANY android tablet on the web.

(I can't find a detailed PMID10C manual anywhere.)

I hate to try a reset as it may leave it partially encrypted. (No significant data on it yet.)

Any ideas?

Well, I finally reached the point where I figured I couldn't hurt it much more. Remembered the Home button on the side and pressed it and voila, the main settings appeared! Apparently the screen with the green android robot was a screen saver that I hadn't seen before. It is functioning, but I did loose some features, like the Return, Home, buttons across the bottom, which is one reason I didn't know it was done encrypting. Going back into the encryption, it appears that it may not have finished (probably stopped when it went to sleep), but I don't think I'll try that again ... Just the password is enough security for me. I also lost the battery and airplane mode button on the lower right, so I may try a factory reset (no significant data on it). At least I didn't kill it - yet.

Anyone tried the Factory Reset yet?

Update: I powered it down. Upon power up, the missing functions were back. Looks like I'm back to normal. Whew!

P.S. They've added a link on the User Guide screens for the PMID10C, but when I clicked it, I got a 404-not found error ... at least they're working on it.

[EMT_1497]

Google Play installed, just continues to stop working

I followed the steps and everything installed just fine. When I click on the Google Play app, it starts and then I get a message stating that Google Play has stopped. I wasnt sure what was wrong, so I tried again and the same thing. Then I installed market once more and it's doing the same error. I followed the steps listed for the Kindle Fire method and it worked just fine, not sure what I am doing incorrectly.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Richard

Sure! Don't let the "Kindle Fire" reference get to you. The GoogleServices and related files and the basic installation steps are all basically the same basic thing for whatever device you're attempting to install to. There isn't really anything "Kindle Fire HD" specific about the files or the install.

The older files and instructions I typically use for Polaroid tablets weren't working for me. So I found a much newer walk through of someone who installed Google Play on the newly released Kindle Fire Hd. Sure enough the files they linked to and their instructions worked for me and my Polaroid PMID10C.

Let's break it down step by step. Here's the info cut and pasted from the link I posted. These are the exact files and instructions I used. It's basically just following them step by step. (I used the "Root Explorer" app for steps 4 and 5.




1. Step 1 you skip because the Polaroid 10.1" PMID10C is already "rooted" out of the box.

2. Just like the step says you download and install the "GoogleServices Framework apk file. Download it from the link the original author posted: http://www.mediafire.com/?zaumfwhraxcifqf
You can download to a Micro SD card, or USB flash drive and then transfer the file to your tablet. You could probably also download directly from your tablet if you wanted to using the internet browser. If may give you a warning/ask you if you want to install Google Services framework b/c it's already on the tablet. I just went ahead and installed the downloaded "GoogleServices" apk over the existing file on the tablet. When complete, click "Done".

3. Download the Google "Vending" apk file from: http://www.mediafire.com/?31bn3e258jjpj8d and transfer it to the tablet if you didn't download it there.

4. Here's where it's just a little tricky if you are new to this. You'll need a "special" app to access files with superuser permission to make changes to permissions etc. I use a paid version of the "Root Explorer" app but there are free versions and free alternatives out there. Open the Root Explorer app & navigate to the vending.apk file you downloaded. We need to move the file to the /system/app spot on the tablet.

To do this, while still within "Root Explorer" (or whatever file management app you're using) Long-press Vending.apk & select the "Move" option on pop-up menu. Now navigate to the /system/app folder and tap the "paste" button to paste the vending apk into the /system/app folder.

5. Now we need to set the permissions settings for vending.apk to match the permission settings of the other files in that folder. Long-press Vending.apk & select "Permissions" from pop-up menu. Change permissions to match all other apps in this folder (rw-r--r--). Check the first two boxes on the first line and then the first box on the second and third lines.


6. Install Vending.apk (Just press it and select install)

7. You now have the old Google Market app on your tablet. Go ahead and open it and follow the walk through it gives you to set it up with your existing google account and email address.

8. Now we need to update Google Market to the newer "Google Play". Download the "Play.apk" file to your tablet and install it. (The original author's download link takes you here: http://www.mediafire.com/?wwcqrlfwt8o1gnv)

9. That should be it!

All of the standard disclaimers apply here. This went well for me but I did blindly install files downloaded from an unknown third party.

If you have done something like this before and you follow the steps carefully the odds of messing anything up or permanently bricking your tablet are pretty slim. That being said...I don't think Polaroid/Southern Telecom has released the factory firmware yet. It generally takes them a long time to do so. If you DO manage to mess anything up (unlikely) you'll likely have to wait until they release the firmware to fix your tablet.

Hope that helps!

[coldguy]

Same as me?

Richard, I had the same problem, and then realized my mistake. Download and install the GoogleServices Framework apk file. Download, but DO NOT INSTALL "Vending.apk". I went and installed it right away, and I got the google play icon, but it would say "unfortunately, google play has stopped..." so I re-read the directions.

Do not install vending.apk until you have first moved it to the system/app/ folder with a file explorer with root (I used 'easy file', free from one of the other app stores) and changed the permissions to rw-r-r. I uninstalled Google Play. Then I picked up SingleDads directions at step 4. Play store works fine now.

Has anyone gotten Chrome browser working. It force closes every time on me. I also tried firefox, but youtube videos wont play (says it needs an app to run them?) Seems like the stock browser may be it?

[Guest]

Best Browser?

Has anyone gotten Chrome browser working. It force closes every time on me. I also tried firefox, but youtube videos wont play (says it needs an app to run them?) Seems like the stock browser may be it?

I use Firefox on my PCs and so would like to use it on the tablet. (Youtube isn't important to me and perhaps there is a Firefox plugin to fix it.) Just wondering about size and speed of Firefox vs Chrome, Opera, OEM. Anyone used a few different browsers to compare?

[elektrik]

I use Firefox on my PCs and so would like to use it on the tablet. (Youtube isn't important to me and perhaps there is a Firefox plugin to fix it.) Just wondering about size and speed of Firefox vs Chrome, Opera, OEM. Anyone used a few different browsers to compare?

I use version 14.1 on my 701C but I don't particularly care for Chrome (and never have)....

[shpowell]

anyone have any idea if/when any roms will come out for this ?????

also will I be able to use this as a gps unit in my car if I add a usb gps antenna ?

thanks

[jlaudio11]

Firefox works the best for me compared to the stock browser or dolphin. Very few fc's and IMO the quickest.

[Guest]

Battery Life

I saw a note in one of the 701 manuals (PMID10C user guide is not available yet). It said for the first three uses to nearly deplete the battery and then charge for 12 hours. After a couple cycles, my battery is holding up MUCH BETTER than the first use or two.

[D Soa]

App store installs

I installed the Amazon app store from the Download App Stores link. When I launch it, I get a black screen and a search bar that does nothing.

1Mobile Market seems to work.

GetJar installed, but it is very flaky. Clicking on the tabs like Apps and Categories rarely does anything. Right now I have an empty screen with both the Categories and Apps tabs highlighted.

Opera Mobile installs and runs fine.

So does SlideME.

MobiHand gives me Webpage not available.

[D Soa]

Desktop widget

Tried installing 3D Weather Widget. Can't place it on the desktop. Has anyone got this to work?

[D Soa]

Skype

I installed Skype and did a video chat the other day. It was pretty good except the other person got tons of echo. I needed to turn the volume way down on the tablet. Maybe the speaker is too close to the microphone. I didn't try it with headphones. Maybe that would work better.