Android has proven to be one of the most versatile operating systems. It is found in a multitude of devices, even those that have a function as specific as a calculator. You might think that having Android in a calculatorWhen we have great calculators on our phones, it’s silly and…yes, but it’s still curious.
Li Zexi, editor of CNX Software, saw the announcement of GHLBD, a calculator with Android 9 and the Allwinner A50 processor. These three concepts appealed to Zexi, who went on to purchase this $10 Android calculator for invaluable analysis.
“I think this product is useless”
This is one of the – pointed – conclusions of the analysis of this calculator. At Xataka Android, we’re not nearly as resounding with our analysis because there are always edges, but here it seems that there are not many more conclusions
Let’s go in parts. On the outside, it’s a normal calculator, but with a huge color touchscreen. Zexi indicates that it turns on and off by pressing the “on and off” buttons simultaneously. It may give you an idea of what this calculator really is, but let’s not rush it.
When you turn it on, the Android logo appears – it mounts Android 9, which is a few years behind, but for a calculator it’s an overkill system – as well as the “A50”. It refers to the SoC, the Allwinner A50 which is a bit of a strange name for a 1.8 GHz quad-core processor with a Mali-400 MP2 GPU
I’m sure you think that’s a lot of power for a calculator and you’re right, but the second curious thing is that does not have a scientific calculator function. In other words, it has power to spare even for games, but forget about doing more than the most basic operations. It is that, let’s see, even in the browser we have a scientific calculator without extensions or access to websites.
What it has is a calendar, a history of calculations, connection to Wi-Fi networks and a notepad. To enter notes you have to use the touch screen and something that can be done is to root the device to load a fuller version of the system and even run games.
This is something that some users have done that have even loaded Minecraft, but what’s really interesting is what we see in the Zexi photos and in the reviews comments. And that’s it, when disassembling the case you can see a 2700 mAh battery which is insufficient to keep the calculator, keyboard board and PCB alive for weeks.
On the blue plate is the processor and the integrated circuits, but it can also be see an inaccessible microUSB portas well as a microSD reader which does not seem accessible either.
On the PCB we can see a literally inaccessible card reader and a microUSB.
Is this nonsense? Well yes, but… no. And it is that, as we can see in the comments, it is possible that the manufacturer, or a supplier, has had an excess of tablets with the PCB on which this A50 is mounted and, given the lack of demand, decided to give the material a second life. .
Taking advantage of the tablet screen and the PCB, they added the keyboard, caseay they assembled this curious calculator. There is another user pointing out a way for students in China to bypass the restriction on using cellphones, but both approaches are still speculative.
I have to admit I had been looking for a buy link for a while so I could get a unit and see if I could run DOOM, which is the only thing I care about in a calculator these days.
Pictures | Li Zexi
