Inoi Tab8, can it replace Jolla Tablet?

Devices
#1

My Jolla Tablet died, and doesn’t come with replacement parts. Getting a new Jolla device seems to be impossible, so what are the options?

From the information I was able to gather, it seems that there is a russian tablet available, called Inoi Tab8. The specs look ok, and it seems it comes without Android support, which is fine. But what other differences are there between Jolla Tablet and Inoi Tab8? Particularly:

Does Inoi Tab8 come with the same language options as Jolla/Sony devices?
Does Inoi Tab8 have the same Jolla Store apps available as Jolla/Sony devices?
Does Inoi Tab8 have the same accounts as Jolla/Sony devices (especially Google, MS Exchange)?
Does Inoi Tab8 get the same OS updates as Jolla/Sony devices?

8 Likes
#2

Hi @Moshroom, I think that only people who lives in Russia can buy inoi tablet, so if you don’t live there you can’t get it.

2 Likes
#3

I have been trying to obtain a Sailfish tablet for years. I’d also love suggestions for this too. Seema like all the tablets it was ported to (if only partially) are very old now.

1 Like
#4

I once brought up the idea of a sellers group for Inoi devices. But if i am right, one problem we would get, russian devices are not CE certified, so the import of the products would be illegal, and if detected probably would get confiscated at the customs. Moreover if we buy a bigger amount of those devices we would have to pay customs fees. So the only option would be Jolla themself importing batches of those devices. But as Inoi devices get old nowadays, i don’t see this opportunity coming…

1 Like
#5

I just decided to sell my Jolla tablet (32GB - JT1501-32).
So, if one of you is interested: make a decent offer and if I’m ok with it, I’ll reset it to factory state and send it to you with DHL.

The device is fully functional. Battery life was never great - but I think you know that.
I don’t find the original power socket (at least I’m not shure which one it is) - if you insist, I add a random one…it’s just a standard usb power socket anyway.

Cheers
(you can reach me by e-mail to tobset at web dot de)

#6

I don’t think Jolla Tablet came with wall charger, just the USB-cable was included.

2 Likes
#7

I bought a Jolla tablet from someone. it works but the battery is dreadful and Android apps are not possible.
You can charge the tablet with the same cable and socket as for the Jolla 1.
I would be very pleased as a new tablet would be in the market for Sailfish.

#8

Another approach would be to use a PineTab from Pine64 and play around with community builds of Sailfish.

Though, keep in mind:

  • currently there are some production problem (obtaining parts that have gone through a recent price hike, see pine64’s recently blog entries), so it’s going to be quite some time until there’s a new batch that you can order from.
  • I wouldn’t expect the latest Sailfish build to mature (thus not a daily driver).
  • Most of the “Sailfish on Pine64 hardware” community efforts are going to be targetting the PinePhone instead (though there’s some overlap).
  • I doubt that official Sailfish support from Jolla is ever going to come to the PineTab.
  • Thus no android apps support, unless you hack AlienDalvik from your smartphone, or manage to get another compatibility layer running (e.g: anbox, SUPRV, etc.)

On the plus site:

  • hardware is supported by mainline linux kernel, you don’t need to beg Qualcomm for an upgraded kernel, nor does Jolla need to rebuild an entire new libhybris compatibility layer over Sony’s latest new firmware generation.
  • supports multiple OS (and multiple boots), so at least you can fall back on Manjaro ARM, UbuntuTouch, whatever GNU/Linux you like.
  • has a standard 32bit ARM CPU so compatible with most apps, doesn’t rely on some weird 486 clone.
1 Like
#9

I emailed Inoi directly because I was interested in getting a tablet with the OS on it.

  1. They won’t sell the device retail.
  2. The minimum order size is 100 units, $160 each excluding shipping, and they will ship to the US.

We would have to do some sort of a group buy, but I’m not even sure what the logistics of that would look like.

However if there is substantial interest, perhaps we can somehow use indigogo to put together a group buy.

I’ve thought about the Pinetab, but in all honesty if I am using a device with an 11.6 inch screen I expect laptop specs out of it. An 8 inch tablet seems about the perfect form factor to bridge from phones to laptops.

2 Likes
#10

Bugger, I didn’t know Inoi was that hard to import. Could Jolla perhaps create a community device program based on Inoi tablet, like they did with Intex Aquafish (Jolla C)…

Thanks, tobset, for the offer, but nowdays the original Jolla Tablet is beginning to be a bit old to actually buy. I’ve considered, but I really don’t trust the hardware. I used mine with care, never dropped it or kept it in cold or hot temperatures, and still it broke. My only hope is to learn to fix the one I’ve already got and if that doesn’t happen, I’ll wait for new hardware being able to run the OS. Hopefully you’ll get a buyer, though.

#11

The hard to find Aigo x86 tablet is supposed to be the tablet hardware that Jolla customised / cloned for its own Jolla tablet.

By default it comes with Android OS, but I recall that someone had ported Sailfish OS to it.

2 Likes
#12

as i know, no need port SailfishOS to this tablet, just flash original Jolla Tablets firmware

1 Like
#13

I have an InoiT8 and it works reliably. The updates were coming regularly, almost in sync with my Jolla Phones (1 and C). I cannot tell about the SFOS 4 Koli update yet, because I and the tablet are currently in different cities.