Before I decided on this tablet I researched for
about two months along with the Stream 7 and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 in 8 inches.
What made me choose this over the Stream 7 is the extra inch of screen. I chose
this over the Tab 4 mainly because I have had Android in the past (tablets and
phones) and besides the HTC Sensation I was not impressed and sometimes
downright irritated over how the devices performed. I always hesitate on
Android when it comes to any kind of device. I have owned iOS in the past (iPad
mini and iPad 4G) and liked the interface but Apple was a bit more costly than
needed to be spent at this time.
What
Am I Using My Tablet For?
Blogging – I was spending countless
hours in front of my work computer updating my blog. My office chair is not
that comfy and I felt like I was stuck at work as opposed to posting at
leisure.
Email – Due to my working from home I am always
getting multiple emails a day and with no tablet that meant that either the
email had to come through my phone which kills the battery or through my
computer which means that when I’m off the clock I am still stuck to my
computer.
Music – I have the XBOX Music Pass because my cell
(Nokia 521 Windows 8.1) streams and downloads the music. This was one of my
selling points, I didn’t want to have to use another music database had I
chosen another type tablet since I was already subscribed to the pass.
Social Media – I also use Facebook, Google Plus and
LinkedIn. While I can use Facebook on my phone, Google Plus and LinkedIn was a
bit more irritating on the cell (Google Plus being the worse).
Productivity – I don’t create a lot of documents but
I do from time to time and wanted a device that is able to perform certain
duties i.e PowerPoint presentations, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets when
I need it to.
Entertainment – I watch Netflix, Amazon Prime shows
and YouTube a lot. As it stood before I acquired this tablet I had to sit at my
computer at times when I just wanted to lounge and relax.
Features
Full Windows 8.1, no RT - The difference between
full and RT is that with RT you have a more scaled down version of Windows. You
have applications that are compatible but there is a large limit on what you
can use the tablet for. I would say it’s more in the lines of iOS with the lock
down of what you can do. This is fine if you aren’t using it for much but I
wanted a full experience for the possibilities it created. Full basically means
you can do just about everything on it that you could do on your Windows PC.
For example, I tested downloading iTunes and was successful in installation,
launching and using. This would not have been available to do on RT.
Free year of Office 365 Personal - This would
otherwise be $69 to purchase so that’s very nice to include.
Free T-Mobile Data - This tablet comes with free
data of up to 200mb a month. 200mb is not much but if you’re like me and don’t
really head out much then that’s a lot for you. If you require more data there
are other prepaid plans you can get or if you have service already this can be
added to your cell phone data plan. Only for T-Mobile though; it could work on
other carriers but you would have to contact them to find out. Difficulty level
in connecting was a 4/5. My SIM card was already in the tablet when it came so
in case you see the plastic with the card punched out chances are it’s in the
tablet.
Battery Life - I have noticed the battery life is
draining more than I thought but in all fairness I have been playing with this
tablet since I got it. If you are a light to moderate user (check social media,
browse the internet and check email) then you should get a day or
more out of this tablet. If you’re like me and use it for other things like
creating documents which requires the screen to be on the entire time then expect
the battery to die every night. I have charged this up a couple times and have
noticed the battery indicator never reaches 100% charged. It reaches 99% but
never that extra percent. Not sure completely why but it doesn’t bother me but
may bother others. From dead to 99% charged it takes approximately 3-4 hours.
Storage - The storage capacity is 32gb and the
amount you can use is 14.7 or something close to that. This decrease in used
storage is due to the operating system and pre-installed applications. I did
purchase a 32gb micro SD card but I’m wondering if perhaps I need to go ahead and
grab the 64gb card instead. The jury is out on that but the SD card by Samsung
worked fine and was recognized. To get the SD card to work you just have to do
a few file path tweaks to make sure applications, music and files install to
the card as well as the C drive.
Device Functionality - The specs on this tablet is as
follows:
Screen Size: 8 inches with 1280 by 800 resolution
Processor: 1.3 GHz Intel Atom
RAM: 1 GB DDR3L SDRAM
Hard Drive: 32 GB
With those specs one would think that the tablet
wouldn’t perform well, just bare minimum and that’s it. That couldn’t be more
wrong. So far I have been able to use multiple applications at the same time
and haven’t noticed a decrease in speed or functionality. I think it all comes
down to what you are using it for. If you run a lot of powerful applications at
once then you may see a dip in overall performance. If you are using Word and
listening to music while updating Facebook (like I’m doing right now) them your
performance will be fine. Speed also pertains to hardcore games like World of
Warcraft-type heavy graphics. This tablet will not run them and
if it does the performance will be abysmal.
Bluetooth - I purchased the Infiland Bluetooth
keyboard which came with a case (basically the same case I got from them in red
sans keyboard but this one is purple) and connected it to the tablet. It took a
while to figure out the instructions because what they were telling me to
select in the instructions wasn’t how it was listed in Windows 8.1. However, I
managed to connect it with no extreme issues. Only thing is the Bluetooth installation
was a bit slow, took about 5-6 minutes to install. Other than that everything
is connected and stable. I also turned the keyboard off and turned it on later
and it reconnected without having to set everything back up. Solid experience.
Conclusion
This tablet is meeting my expectations and doing a
lot more than what I was looking for. At this price point I wasn’t looking all
that forward to it because I knew the specs were considered bottom tier when
compared to competition in the same price range. I am pleasantly surprised and
now can’t imagine using any other type tablet. I would highly recommend if your
usage is more along the lines of what I use tablets for. If you are a hardcore
gamer I would look elsewhere because you will have issues as this isn’t a
gaming tablet. It’s almost a shame to call this a tablet, it’s more of a shrunk
down computer but when you think of the limitations on graphic heavy games
reality comes back that this is a tablet, and a damn good one.
Note: I typed this entire write-up on this tablet and it worked excellent!
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