[Upgrading, Modifying and Unlocking] anjenaire:
Impression of Maylong versus Sylvannia

So I got my Maylong this evening. (I had tried to get them to waive the shipping fee as it went into overtime but I was unsucessful; oh well). I purchased the SYNET7LP (Sylvannia) from Sears on Wednesday. Not sure which I will return (or both!).

Screen and Real Estate: SYNET7LP is slightly smaller overall although both screens measure 7 inches vertically. The Maylong has a more responsive screen and the pressure sensitive areas are better defined on the Maylong. I found myself having to use the stylus with the SYNET7LP unit (maybe my fingernails have grown slightly since this morning). The G-Sensor in my SYNET7LP unit doesn't work so this unit is going back for that reason alone. Edge: Maylong

Speed: Not to shabby on the Maylong. Latest build on the unit may help, about 60 seconds to boot up versus maybe 30 for the Sylvannia unit. The Sylvannia unit is faster to load different applications but the screen responsiveness means often times you have to attack the app more than once so total elapsed time may be equal. Edge: Sylvannia

Android Marketplace: Neither unit is official. Seems like the 2.1 version of SAM (SlideMe.org) works a little better than the app market included on the 1.6 version of the Maylong M-150. I have loaded a bunch of apps on the Sylvannia, haven't tried yet on the Maylong. Edge: Sylvannia

Camera: Well no camera on the Sylvannia. The folks who market it to Sears/k-Mart never answered me on that question. I asked several times (picture shows a camera, does it have one). Sears outright told me it had one. Maybe some versions have cameras, some don't. This unit doesn't have one. I will try my USB webcamera later to see if I can make that work. The Maylong camera is pretty poor. Not many mega-pixels. Need full light conditions and it still is pretty grainy. Not sure this unit is ready for video conferencing in any manner. Edge: Maylong M-150

Ports etc: The Sylvannia unit has two micro-USB ports (and comes with one micro to regular adapter) and a micro-HDMI connection. I don't have an adapter so I can't test that port. Both of my ports operated a USB mouse, wireless mouse and USB keyboard. So my mileage was a bit better than Tipster's. The Maylong has a proprietery dongle with two USB ports and an ethernet RJ-45 connection. The dongle connection is quite sensitive to connecting. I finally got it connected and was able to connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to the unit. Also a USB Thumb drive (although the screen was blinking on and off ; perhaps I had the dongle a little off kilter). Which will I lose first, the dongle or the microUSB cable? Since the dongle is not standard, I would say the Sylvannia has a slight Edge here and since there is an HDMI output that would be great. However, both units come with a headphone jack but the Sylvannia's is a micro-jack (cellphone size) while the Maylong uses a regular headphone jack for a PC. Hmmmm my noise cancelling headphones will need another adapter. I guess I'll give the Edge: Sylvannia.

SD Card: Both units can accept upto a 16GB microSD card. I found it easier to gget it out of the Sylvannia unit. Not sure I will be able to get it out of the Maylong. Perhaps that's a design feature. Install-it-Once. I didn't need to get the needlenose pliers ala Tipster but pushed it in and it popped out on the Sylvannia unit. Edge: Sylvannia

Stylus: The Sylvannia has a hiding place in the back of the unit. However as indicated above, I haven't had to use it with the Maylong. Still the edge goes to: Sylvannia

Menu, On/Off & Volume Control Buttons: Well the Sylvannia only has the Menu & On/Off button and they are located on the back (a nice grippy rubber material). The Maylong has all three located along the edges of the unit. Edge: Maylong

Applications: Just installed the Kindle App off of the App Market for the Maylong. Worked like a champ. As an e-reader the Maylong maybe a winner with its Gsensor working. I used apks at work today downloaded to my PC, onto microSD card and into the Sylvannia unit. Worked to add apps (including Angry Birds Free Edition). I downloaded the Alkido (came with the Maylong) and it worked just fine. Edge: Maylong (but it may be the Gsenor talking).

That's it for now. Winner? Who knows. I am sort of leaning towards the Maylong frankly for $50 cheaper maybe I will feel differently if I get a different device with the Gsensor but the screen feels better to me but the dongle just bothers me for some reason.