EEVblog #822 - World's Worst Tablet Computer Teardown

[EEVblog]

WARNING: You cannot un-see the dodginess inside this Esinomed Infoview Medical Tablet Computer!

[c4757p]

[CrashO]

This has to be the worst pile of shit you have ever teared down, wouldn't it? 

[smd75jr]

How did this make it into the country?

[lowimpedance]

OMG now I need to go to the optometrist to check the retina damage.

Love the FAIL and BULLSHIT buttons ..... ,I  seriously need them at my work too 

 

[retrolefty]

Hard to believe it's a commercial product? I might smell taxpayer funding at work here?

[matseng]

I LOL'd at the address label.....   They're located in Prutting, Germany and the Swedish word for "fart" is "prutt".
I'd say that Farting is a very suitable city for shitty product like this :-)

[EEVblog]

This has to be the worst pile of shit you have ever teared down, wouldn't it? 

I think it's the winner!

[EEVblog]

I LOL'd at the address label.....   They're located in Prutting, Germany and the Swedish word for "fart" is "prutt".
I'd say that Farting is a very suitable city for shitty product like this :-)

 

[peterrash]

That strange pattern on the display looks just like the displays we used at a company I used to work for. IIRC, they were a ruggedized, hardened glass projected-capacitance touch panel, designed for industrial applications where the operator needed to use the touchscreen while wearing gloves. I think they were made by a company called Zytronic. That display might be a similar type.

[Bud]

I am trying  to imagine what serial #0001 looked like....

[rs20]

Wow, I won't watch this video until I get home; but given the responses in this thread, sounds like it'll be truly remarkable...

[xrunner]

I would like to un-see what I just saw please. 

[cpuerror]

The truly sad part, is that more than likely each of those tablets sold for thousands.

[Dino KL0S]

I've lurked here watching the EEVBlog since the beginning but have only made a few posts - after seeing this POS I just have to vote to name it THE worst kludge I've ever seen in 46 years in electronics. I've seen beginning ham radio operator projects much more professionally constructed. 

[coppice]

Hard to believe it's a commercial product? I might smell taxpayer funding at work here?

Is it a commercial product? With a serial number of 11 it might have been one of a handful of proof of concept units thrown together at a moment's notice. Even for a proof of concept I would expect a tidier job, but I think a little more history is needed to make a fair criticism.

[warp_foo]

This has to be the worst pile of shit you have ever teared down, wouldn't it? 

I think it's the winner!

I think we need a Top 10 Dodginess List...

m

[jazz]

Uhh, I think it's much more probable that some kid got his hands on one of these (whatever it was before), took out whatever was inside and slapped in some parts so he could run XP on his homemade tablet. Maybe it was a display unit for something else before.

I mean honestly, how realistic do you think it is that something like this was actually sold to customers by a company? Sure, we all kinda want it to be true, because it would be really funny. But when you think about it for just a second, it doesn't really make any sense whatsoever.
And look at the software it's running: something called "Remote Controll" (sic!) that looks like it was quickly slapped together in some form editor, apparently nothing related to a medical environment. Also this thing seems to run some VNC software.

So I'd say it is exactly what it looks like: Something a kid (probably more interested in computers than in electronics) put together for fun.

[Karlcloudy]

That strange pattern on the display looks just like the displays we used at a company I used to work for. IIRC, they were a ruggedized, hardened glass projected-capacitance touch panel, designed for industrial applications where the operator needed to use the touchscreen while wearing gloves. I think they were made by a company called Zytronic. That display might be a similar type.

Well there was a Zytronic label with a Serial and Part No. carefully affixed shoved in there...

[Tomorokoshi]

Let's look at how it might have come about.

Someone gets the idea that a touch-screen tablet computer is the next big thing in the medical accounting industry.

They pitch the idea to some doctors, some administrators, some VCs, and raise some money. The block diagram of the device makes it look like a grown-up version of a Palm Pilot. Windows XP puts it possibly in the early 2000's.

The money is burned through with design ideas and initial software development on a PC. At some point it becomes clear that the project is behind schedule and over budget. Any engineers who were involved at the hardware level are laid off, and someone with a modicum of skills is given the task to put it together at 12 hours per day.

Hence, the contrast between some parts that are apparently well thought out, and parts that are clearly bodged and held together with spooge.

The eventual bankruptcy was probably predictable given the apparent disconnects between concept, management, and engineering.

[Halcyon]

Let's look at how it might have come about.

Someone gets the idea that a touch-screen tablet computer is the next big thing in the medical accounting industry.

They pitch the idea to some doctors, some administrators, some VCs, and raise some money. The block diagram of the device makes it look like a grown-up version of a Palm Pilot. Windows XP puts it possibly in the early 2000's.

The money is burned through with design ideas and initial software development on a PC. At some point it becomes clear that the project is behind schedule and over budget. Any engineers who were involved at the hardware level are laid off, and someone with a modicum of skills is given the task to put it together at 12 hours per day.

Hence, the contrast between some parts that are apparently well thought out, and parts that are clearly bodged and held together with spooge.

The eventual bankruptcy was probably predictable given the apparent disconnects between concept, management, and engineering.

They should have done their homework. Panasonic have been supplying Toughbooks to Emergency Services and Defence (in Australia at least) for many years. Now they have a 'detachable' version which is essentially a Toughbook but the display part detaches to form a tablet computer. NSW Ambulance Service use the Toughbooks to complete their 'paperwork' on. Good luck going up against them.

(Sidenote: I actually love the Toughbooks. Very well built. I'd love to see Dave do a teardown on one and really pick it to bits.)

[aargee]

I really think this is a prototype proof of concept prop. Prop is all it would be, like the first F15 fighter jet concept was made of wood and put together with PVA.
Did it come from a client of the company? I doubt it.

The casing is made of injection moulded foam, especially for props so it can be carved up and modified on the fly. I imagine it went something like ..." here are all the bits, get it working before tonight so we can show it off" No time for Jaycar or anything, you do what you need to do and hack/cobble what you need to to make it work for the night. I can't say I've seen worse, but I have seen similar. Usually it ends up in the dumpster the next, week, month.

To get all jelly mortified about it all is probably out of context.

[Stonent]

That strange pattern on the display looks just like the displays we used at a company I used to work for. IIRC, they were a ruggedized, hardened glass projected-capacitance touch panel, designed for industrial applications where the operator needed to use the touchscreen while wearing gloves. I think they were made by a company called Zytronic. That display might be a similar type.

I've seen it on ATMs as well.

[Stonent]

I'm guessing maybe this was a series of devices possibly made for some kind of trade show or series of trade shows to generate interest in the product.

[Bud]

There is no excuse for such bad soldering, prototype or not. Soldering is beyond awful. I soldered MUCH better when i was 12.