Pantech Element, the 1st ideal tablet

iPad Mini is the very first tablet that's done right - the 7.9" size, thin frames and 4:3 screen ratio. Apple's stuff are all deadly locked and over priced, so I've been waiting for something like that but non-Apple. Here it comes, the Pantech Element.

I played with one in a store and found it to be fast and smooth. The 8" size is right and the 1024x768 screen is perfect for rendering web pages and photos. I never understand the point of 16:9 or 16:10, even for video.

Then I saw it's on sale for $167, so I ordered one. Although Pantech is a crappy company, nothing to lose at this price and I already touched one, so I know what to expect.

http://www.all4cellular.com/product/pantech-element-p4100-16gb-tablet-at-t-refurbished-5190.html

Some facts I have gathered so far:

• Just 1 lb, slightly heavier than iPad Mini, but much lighter than all 10" craps.
• Large 6400mAh battery to last 9 hours for video playing.
• Running ICS, can root, add CWM recovery and SIM unlock.
• Hotspot, once you root and remove the AT&T Communication Manager.
• AT&T LTE 700/AWS and HSPA+/HSPA: 850/1900/2100 MHz.
• You can, say, buy a China Unicom SIM card and use the 3G over there.

Warning: I took out the micro SD card from my camera and inserted it into the Element to see how photos look. The stupid thing deleted all the JPG files without a warning!!!

I'll update this article once it arrives. I post this article this soon, thinking others might want this great deal too before it's gone.

Some screen shots I took in the store (you can see ebay items in full lines with prices at the right side; something cannot do with phones):

[update 01/24/13] Received it and very happy so far. It is like brand new condition with protection film still on the back.

• Bought a SIM unlock code on ebay for $1.59 and unlocked it. T-Mobile SIM works on 2g/3g/4g/lte (AWS), need to add this apn: fast.t-mobile.com.
• Downloaded the ICS 4.0.4 from Pantech and updated by a simple click. I already installed the USB drivers earlier when I bought a Pantech Burst phone. Then did a reset to factory.
• Rooted it with this instruction by pure adb, used su, busybox and Superuser.apk files from this zip. 
• Moved the APNWidget.apk out of /system/app. Enabled tether menu with Secret Codes Revealer, both USB and WiFi tether work.
• Inserted my SIM card and enjoying very fast 4G.
• Installed TouchPal and typing this in Chrome.
• The 1024x768 screen is indeed ideal for checking photos from my G5. No need to mention web pages.
• Installed Dice Player and it can play the MTS video directly from my G5 using HW decoder! Image is bumpy, but audio is smooth and synced with image.
• I can hold or grab it with one hand, indeed the ideal size, feels heavier than 7" though.
• Speaker is loud and clear.
• Good battery life, dropped only 10% from 88% to 78% overnight, idle with 4G connected, about 1% drain per hour, typical for Android. Watched online TV over 4G for 30 minutes and battery drained 10% from 78% to 68%, which means about 5 hours online video watching. Dropped 9% after 30 minutes of forum browsing and posting over 4G, translating to about 5.5 hours.
• Several languages included, Chinese is one of them.
• When I connect it to my laptop, it won't be charged. Because the USB port is at the bottom, it needs a special stand for watching online TV while being charged.

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