Deen0X’s monster JXD s601 Review

Hot on the heels of his massive YDPG18 review, Deen0X has given the JXD s601 his once over.  Head on over to http://www.gp32spain.com/foros/showthread.php?t=89189 for his great review, or suffer through the joys of Spanish to English Google translate here:

Video Review Console / Tablet JXDs601 Thanks to the store willgoo.com sent me a sample of the * console JXDs601 of which is talking a lot lately in related forums retro consoles and Android in general. whereas now there are several similar alternatives (consoles android) try to make this review as objective and focused as possible, and if I use some reference to another console is only to graph or get an idea of some particular point. In no way do I want you to understand this review as a comparison between consoles. for that, possibly generating other inputs where talking about it. That said, I invite everyone to continue reading this review that, as in every previous attempt to make it in the most clear and direct as possible for anyone interested in this product. Unboxing and first impressions The console comes packaged in a cardboard box, printed on nearly all sides by images and texts appropriate to their content. Opening the box we find the interior divided into 2 compartments, and all properly packaged, which I was pleasantly surprised since we are not used to seeing great care in packaging of such products. Content - Wall Charger with standard jack (EUR), Mini-USB connector (5V 500mAh) - About sealed with headphones / earphones-the-Ear - USB-miniUSB cable (to connect the console to the computer) - Console (properly wrapped in a protective envelope, and turn into a bubble bag) - Brochure mini-guía/descripción console. The Folic includes a list of all installed applications on the console. This point is especially grateful for those who have touched your life in an android device as briefly explains what each option / console app. Physical description of the console. Top view: - Audio out (headphones / earphones) - miniUSB - TV out (mini-jack connector 3.55mm) - Vol - - ​​Vol + - Triggers L & R (Left and Right) Bottom view: - MicroSD slot - Power Button - Switch to lock buttons (Lock) Front view: - D-PAD (Directional digital Phillips) - Stick (Joystick) - 4 action buttons (containing the same symbols as buttons on a Playstation controller / PSP: Triangle, Circle, Square, X) - Back - Menu - Select - Start After carefully inspecting the console, you get to the coclusión that does not have a "Home" button The texts of the box are all in English, which feature the following: - ARM MALI-400 - 1080P, 264 high-definition video decoder - Open GL ES 1.x/2.0 - Android 2.3 - 4.3 "touchscreen, resolution 480x272 - Camera 0.3MPx - Flash 10.3 After reviewing all the case, I see nowhere to specify the processor speed. Just out of curiosity I check the manufacturer's website, and the * product description puts the following: Chip: * Amlogic M3 (ARM Cortex A9 1GHz CPU, 3D graphics acceleration ARM Mali400 hardware GPU), 512MB DDR3 With the above and having experience with other similar products, and questions remain about what will be the actual processor speed, so at first instance install a program to obtain information from the console hardware (Quadrant Standard), yielding the following information: CPU Name: ARMv7 Processor rev 4 Max freq: 600MHz For those who do not know, this topic, saying that the serial processor could reach 1GHz of speed, but is castrated at 600MHz, apparently by the architecture of the plate (this information * I have taken internet browsing.'m no expert on the subject) on the physical buttons Special mention must be made ​​on paragraph of the buttons on the console. The D-PAD consists of 2 parts, rather than the traditional single piece to press the arrows. A comprises the left and top, and the other is of the Right and Down buttons. This configuration so rare has a rather strange to the touch, when using the D-PAD, as the diagonal Up + Down + Left or Right, they have the same / sense / response / touch the opposite diagonal Up + Right or Down + Left, resulting for some games easier to make one or other of the diagonals, depending on the game and the user. The only reason I can find for this particular provision, so that you can press all the keys arrows at once, which with a plastic piece could not be achieved (and not that app / game may have this use). Apart from this, I find no other way to the decision to "split" part of D-PAD. In addition, the triggers of the console is too hard. I understand that by using these buttons may end up softening, but until that happens we must have patience (and strength) to use the triggers of the console. About the absence of "Home" button on this console. As mentioned above, this console lacks the "Home". According to the instructions supplied with the console, the action buttons correspond to some typical Android buttons, but I found the way to enable them to have that functionality, namely: - Square = Menu - Triangle = Home - Circle = Confirm (Enter) - X = Backward In the first instance, it seems that not a big problem, but with the use Android is extremely necessary to have a "Home" button, among other things, to select a task in the open. As mentioned above, the launcher that comes by default is the "Game Hub", which has Softbuttons ( buttons software / Android buttons on the screen) that supply this deficiency, but are not available when an application is presented in full screen. To solve some problems (but not all), I chose to install the application zMooth which gestures I allows the 3 button functions typical of Android: - Back - Home - Menu I hope that an update is successfully able to establish alternative configuration of the action buttons, to have a home key that is much needed. Patch of the Press "Home" Currently, there is a "patch" to allocate the HOME key to another key on the console and consists of the following steps: - Download the file " HOME Button Patch.rar "and unzip into the harddrive of the PC - Inside the folder "HOME Button Patch", copy the files "adc_keypad.kl" and "qwerty.kl" at the root of MicroSD console - With a program like ES Explorer (as root) or Root Explorer, copy the above files in the path (overwrite if any): / system / usr / keylayout / - Restart the console. Now, the button is the button BACK HOME, and the Circle button is the button Back to emulators and games that does not affect circle is back, as this button can be configured without problems in emulators. The only care to be taken is that when the buttons are mapped emulator / game, but the circle is mapped, then every time we press this button will act as the key BACK The layout previously proposed (with the files to copy the system) is based on the Xperia Play. Camera On this section, little can comment. The built-in camera is one of 0.3MPx, No Zoom optical, no autofocus and no flash (LED), so that it can be concluded that there is quite enough. I got a couple of photographs and a short video to get an idea of the quality of the camera. The photographs were taken at night with artificial light very low, and supported by a flash of a mobile phone. Multimedia Viewer (Example video recording, using the camera built into the console.) Performance Testing / Benchmarking take I'm in the Quadrant, and performed a test to see the overall performance of the consola.Nota: when doing this test, the console is already rooteada and the Go Launcher installed. Test result: 1694. Above the Samsung Nexus S, and below the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.Acerca the result, as can pareciar, performance in all sections has been fairly even, with the 2D test the worst has been given to the hardware, getting only 990 points in 3D counterpart, thanks to the Mali-400 chip, get 1438 points. Launcher preinstalled (Game HUB 1.05) When you first turn this console, we have a launcher adapted to it. This is the "GAME HUB 1.05", a launcher that is configured with the software preloaded on the console, and then allowing you to choose emulator and the ROM in a graphical way to be a part lanzar.Por quite comfortable, especially for new user in the Android world, since we should not have much knowledge of this environment in order to select and implement any corresponding ROM emulator, and directory structures lost in the attempt to find the needed files (ROMs) to run a juego.Por other hand, this launcher can be quite annoying for anyone used to manage in Android, since some functions and shortcuts layer important for this system.For example, access to the Android settings are not in launcher home screen, which typically would be in "screen-> menu button-> Settings". In this case, the configuration is in the * icon * "Settings" menu "All Apps" on the main screen. may , a more veteran user will choose to install Android launcher any more "standard" for a more natural use of the device. For these tests, I chose to install the "Go Launcher", which works fine with the resolution of this console. Rooteo and installation of the Market The default console is not installed with the Market, so it must be manualmente.Antes install this, you have to make the process of rooteo the device, and for this I followed * this guide (it's in Russian), but with some modifications. Then give the steps for how Root: Downloads: - * UnLook Root - Enable Debug mode (Settings-> Applications-> Development-> USB Debugging) - * Install Root UnLook - Connect the console to the computer. Wait for the appropriate drivers installed. Note : If at the end of the process still appears "unknown USB device" off the console, wait about 5 seconds and reconnecting. (Alternatively, you can run "Install drivers" in the installed program folder in the Windows Start menu) - With the program open and the drivers installed correctly, click on the big green button "Root" - A window with android devices connected. select for the tablet. - Wait until the process ends. Upon completion, the program will ask if you want to install some applications. In my case, I installed the battery saving. (These programs are optional) Then according to the guide there is a software program to clean up the console. I have run this script directly, but later I realized that I have eliminated the gamehub.apk, and I wanted to analyze, so I reinstalled the whole system again, hoping to regain everything as it comes factory, but I lost the GAME settings HUB Multimedia Viewer (Video showing the steps for conducting an android device ROOT, using Unlock Root) Android gaming test I will briefly summarize the experience in this consola.Como android games I mentioned above, this console screen is resistive only 1 punto.Aquí I stress the quality of the resistive screen used in the manufacture of this console and is responding very well, sometimes it feels to be capacitive, since it works seamlessly with the fingertips. The first game I've had in this console has been the ShadowGun. I decided to try something that can directly be of particular interest to most usuarios.Antes to run the game, I installed the libraries Chainfire3D. The game starts correctly, but there is a problem with touch controls, because when * the Chainfire3D resizes the screen size (to reduce CPU and GPU), the configuration is beyond the touch-screen viewing area, and therefore can not activate these controls are basically point the gun or any other existing touch control at the bottom of the screen. Turning to other games that require fewer requirements for execution, I tried the usual games that appear on the console's existing demos, and say that all run without any problem or slow-down. It's amazing what you can do this CPU + GPU combo, even capando the CPU speed to 600MHz. Below is a user-generated video Skelton (of GP32Spain), where is a review of several games on this console run android . I think interesting to quote the comment of the user, for a general context of how they have performed these tests. "... I'm playing bad as the camera subject, jejje. I've been taking a look at the n64 emu and setting the frameskip only 1, are much better games. Mario Kart is played much better than I do in the video and Super Mario 64 is very playable. I'll do another video to see him. wish there were a way to climb the 600 mhz, because at least I still prefer sacrificing battery, which said, lasts very good. " Multimedia Viewer In general, android games run with hardly any slow-down in specific areas, but not involving at all a bad user experience. Emulators Test arrived at what should be the main objective to acquire this console, and is the world of emulation of retro-consolas.En this point, we will establish a "range" of emulation, considering the 8-bit consoles emulation base, and reaching the most current consoles and have an emulator. To be blunt, this console can emulate almost any system well below Nintendo 64 (N64) and Playstation One (PSX), or whatever it is, any 16-bit system will have no problem on this console to be emulated .. Thus, according to tests The following emulators run almost perfectly: - Gameboy Color - Gameboy Advance - Nintendo NES System Entretainment (Nesoid) - Super NES (SNesoid) - Mame (MAME4oid) - Mame (Arcade Tiger) Multimedia Viewer (Video where you can see various emulators of 8 and 16 bit running on the console.) Note on MAme4Droid Reloaded (MAME) For those who have problems with mapping the buttons in this emulator, then left a standard configuration of buttons for Street Fighter. Code: Stick B -> [] (Button_Y) Stick X -> R1 (Button_R1) Stick A -> / \ (Button_X) Stick And - >> <(Button_B) Stick-L1> L1 (Button_L1) Stick R1-> () (Button_A) This setup will leave buttons assigned as follows: Code: [] -> Low Punch / \ -> High Punch L1 -> Medium Punch > <-> Low Kick () -> High Kick R1 -> Medium Kick Nintendo 64 (N64oid) As mentioned above, the processor on this console comes castrated at 600MHz, which is very tight power to run the Nintendo 64 emulator, which can move or WipEout games like Zelda Ocarina of Time, but with a slight slow-down that is playable though at some points that require more processor and the open environments of Zelda becomes upset by the fall of the emulación.Aún framerate suffers with the above, you can play on the emulator, and presumably a future revision of the emulator may be gained in performance enough to run without titles or other problems relentizaciones. On the subject graph, you can see the same errors and glitches on this console, using another better performance as a Iconia A100 where speed can "hide" some graphical errors, but are there anyway. As discussed on other occasions, there are several videos * Promotional * of this console running this emulator, * but in most can not hear the audio emulation (being replaced by music). These shows are not entirely valid, since the emulator without sound gains a little speed of execution, but at the cost of not having audio in games. PlayStation One (FPSE) The emulation of this system, exactly as happens with Nintendo 64 , it will not completely fluid, having many microsaltos (even more than N64). The titles are tested with microsaltos and * slowed, resulting in little jugables.Incluso removing the audio are slow and many microsaltos.Posiblemente with some updating and improving the speed gain is achieved emulator on this machine, but now the result of the implementation of emulator is not satisfactory. Multimedia Viewer (Video where you can see the console emulating PSX and N64) TV Out (TV output) With the firmware update the day 05/03/2012, was enabled TV Out option from the console. The output is composite video, so do not expect an HD output, and this must be considered is the same video output of the console (480x272) scaled to display on the screen. [Media] <object width="560" height="315"> < Multimedia Viewer (Video demo, running the game GTAIII with the output to a TV) The downside of this option is that the screen is still receiving touch events, which are reflected in the connected display, but the console turns off your display, making use of the screen should be done blindly, ie , click on the console screen (which is off) and see their interaction on the big screen, makes reference is lost on that part of the screen are pressing, and of course games that require some precision (vs. plants zombies, for example), can be frustrating trying to play them. However, to games / emulators that go well with the buttons, the resulting experience is very satisfactory, because the console command fucniona well as connected to the TV, so you can enjoy retro-consoles emulated without problems. Update Firmware As I write this review, has released a new update / firmware of the console that brings new improvements in his performance / stability, and the expected TV Out (output to TV ) download from the official website Mirror Pros, cons and possible improvements to the console After performing the above tests, we can list a number of pros and cons of the console, which I think are interesting when considering the acquisition of this product. PROS - * Compact size . As a replica of the PSP Slim (with a few millimeters larger), it is very comfortable to carry in any pocket. - * Touch screen quality . Despite being a resistive screen responds well enough to not require the use of a pointer in it (you can use your finger directly) - * Recharge battery with the same USB port data . This detail is very interesting, since it is not necessary to go with a console exclusive charger to recharge. Simply connect a USB cable to any available port on a PC, and can charge the console. - * Battery . As you can read user comments, the battery can last more than 4 hours with a relatively intensive use of the console (3D games, WIFI). with a more normal use (surfing the Internet, watching movies with a resolution similar to the PSP for not requiring both the processor), can reach 5 hours without problems. - * TV composite video output . For some it will be a step ago, but under the circumstances, this can be much more practical than it sounds, since there are still many devices / TVs / monitors where this type of entry is still a standard, and therefore can connect the console without problems. Plus it's much easier and cheaper to have a composite video cable + audio (typical A / V cable that is 3 on 3 RCA connectors) and a minijack adapter 3 outputs (Video, Audio Left and Audio Right .) - * Manufacturer interested in feedback from users . It has been the case the console manufacturer wanted to know the opinion of some users to know that things can improve in future firmwares. Although this is no guarantee of anything, the act of showing interest is a vote for the manufacturer, in favor of the incorporation of improvements (via software) in later firmware revisions. CONS - * Processor gelding well below its posibiliad by defect . Currently, the processor is castrated at 60% of its actual capacity (normal, without overclocking), presumably to save on batería.Cierto is that some users have contacted the manufacturer to see the feasibility of a little speed up processor in a next firmware revision. - * No HOME button (or in this case, the "Home" button is not active). The Android OS becomes impractical in the absence of this tecla.Actualmente there is a solution to assign the key to another key physical home console. - * trigger buttons too hard . With the use may end up softening, or directly to waste. - * D-PAD "exploded" . The feel of the D-PAD is not very good as gaming experience. - * D-pad and analog with the same functions . You could assign different keys to these controls, and 2 in order to have different sets of keys to allocate console emulators. IMPROVEMENTS - Consider a hypothetical revision of the console, a good way to update the console is adding more power to the processor with the addition of a program to manage serial console speed, and you may choose between saving energy (limiting the speed of the processor) or performance (speed up) - Another point to consider is a redesign of buttons, especially the trigger, and the plastic piece used in the D-PAD, which is not divided. - Addition of a key HOME-Upgrading to ICS? Information Website: http://www.jxd.hk based Review : http://manguiro.blogspot.com/2012/03...t-jxds601.html Summary After being tested the console for a couple of weeks, I must admit that my initial impression is much improved, especially with the last firmware update and its output TV Out, and the interest that is showing the console manufacturer as to what users say, and who knows maybe take some firmware with increased processor speed (castrate less) and with this win enough to run more smoothly Nintendo 64 and Playstation One For now, the section of the screen I was pleasantly surprised. Being resistive, responds quite well, even using the fingertips, and do not need a pointer to push the pantalla.Por the contrary, the triggers are too hard and are annoying to use. possibly be completed by using smoothing. The overall price of the console I think it is quite reasonable and low, and therefore can result in a purchase affordable for many potential users. While you can find better alternatives in terms of processor / screen / gpu, also imply a higher cost than they can even be twice what it costs to this console. Conclusion This product is not the best of its type or much less, but after giving it some use quite more interesting than it first appears. The truth is that if a user already has some kind of emulation of retro consoles, a PSP with custom firmware, this device may not be of interest, as ultimately pursued more or less the same. However, for those who want to capitalize on an Android device, in addition to a retro-portable console is a good option to considerar.También turns out to be a good choice for new users who want to enter the world android, but not want to spend a lot of money on a device with this system operativo.O above in a word, if you do not require a great deal and do not have economic alternatives like, catches this console, it sure gives you good times retro -emulation. final note I think for all those users who like to have equipment "for tinkering" should have a console like this, but is the one discussed in this review, if you can be one of the alternatives, as these devices give much play, not only in paragraph playful, but also in the technical "Crockery", being devices that lend themselves to that users can get their hands and tinker in the guts of your OS Acknowledgments I thank again willgoo.com store for the sample sent for analysis and review, users also http://www.elotrolado.net and http://www.gp32spain.com (especially Skelton, forero of both sites) for their interest in the console, comments and contributions made ​​which have improved the content of this review. Deen0X