This must be some sort of 17 day record - but here lies a once reasonable Medion quad core android JB 4.2.1 tablet, after it got picked up in a pile with a stack of other Christmas presents and the screen went C<R<A<C<K!
I got in touch with "Medion" but as expected no chance of warranty on a cracked screen but they did say they could repair it for almost as much as I paid for it plus two way postage.....I think not!
The LED display is still fine its just the digitiser has been open circuited - actually still works OK with a usb mouse.
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Not to be too downhearted I immediately started looking for a replacement but as the promotional offer on the Medion has now finished it makes it a £100.00 purchase instead of the original £79.99 so I decided to look elsewhere.
Eventually my stretched budget bought it down to a choice of 2 within my financial reach at this time.
A refurbished Asus Nexus
or a Tabtronics (who I had never heard of but seen many good reviews) Tabtronics Mini which was selling @ £89.99 on promotion before the New Year but now seems to have increased in cost by a whopping £50.00!
Of the eight pre-Christmas Amazon reviews on the Tabtronics Mini, 7 were 5 star and 1 of 4 star. All extolling praise for this moderately well equipped 8" ipad mini shameless doppleganger. Since then one disgruntled purchaser has managed to screw up his micro-usb charging socket.....a weakness on many devices especially Blackbery when you Google it.
I will also be adding my two pennyworth when I get around to it.
SPECIFICATION
Tabtronics Mini Pad - the slimest and lightest tablet to date.
CPU: Boxchip A31s Quad-Core, ARM Cortex A7@1.0Ghz
GPU: SGX544MP2 OpenGL ES2.0 Open CL1.x, DX9_3
Operation system: Android 4.2
Memory: 1G DDR3
Flash: 8GB NandFlash
Screen: 7.85 inch (4:3) 1024*768 IPS
TP: G+G
3G: External
Colour: White Front, Silver Metal Rear. Extend card: Support TF card up to 32GB
Wifi: IEEE 802.11b/g/n
Camera: Dual camera (front:0.3mega, back:2.0 mega)
G-sensor: Yes
I/O port: mini USB2.0*1, USB OTG*1, HDMI port*1, TF card slot*1, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack*1, DC-in jack * 1
Being an android supporter, I am still looking for devices that suit my all desires but whilst still seeking that faultless device ...... I believe that will be a never ending journey - but meantime what about this Tabtronic Mini.
Well, for a change lets start with a few negatives and then see what's left to make it worth the £89.99 I paid for it.
Firstly, as expected nowadays from Chinese imported electronics manufacturers, you can't believe the advertised specifications as they change almost on a weekly basis so the description of mini USB2.0*1, USB OTG*1, HDMI port*1, TF card slot*1, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack*1, DC-in jack * 1 comes down to just ONE Micro USB2 in which is your OTG (lead supplied) your charging port (charger supplied) and your USB2 PC connection (lead supplied)
The charger is very disappointing and cheap with a poorly formed micro usb plug that would not fit the tablet without force - so I abandoned it (fortunately I have many usb based chargers including the one from the Christmas Crackered Medion tablet) I suspect this is what led to the downfall of this chap
The front facing .3Mp camera is the worst I have ever experienced on a tablet. You don't expect much from a camera on a tablet I know, but this is worthless. The 2Mp rear camera fares a little better and is just about useable for Facebook snap and uploads but little else.
My first impressions of the tablet were favourable with a well built aluminium (sealed in battery) rear and a narrow bezel surrounding an IPS 1024 x 760 screen, pleasing to the eye, light in weight and full of promise.
I was a little concerned about the A31 quad-core CPU+onboard GPU chip as it only came available mid 2013 and I had no knowledge of how good it is but the specs do sound very promising for a budget Processor:
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Alwinner A31 Quad core specs
CPU ARM Cortex-A7 Quad-Core
256KB L1 Cache
1MB L2 Cache
GPU PowerVR SGX544MP2
Complies with OpenGL ES2.0, OpenCL 1.x, DX 9_3
Video UHD H.264 4Kx2K video decoding
Multi-format FHD video decoding, including Mpeg1/2, Mpeg4 SP/ASP GMC, H.263, H.264,etc.
H.264 High Profile 1080P@60fps encoding
3840x1080@30fps 3D decoding, BD/SBS/TAB/FP supported
3840x1080@30fps 3D encoding
Complies with RTSP, HTTP, HLS, RTMP, MMS streaming media protocol
Display Dual-Channel LVDS 1920x1080@60fps
4 lanes MIPI DSI 1920x1200@60fps
Dual-channel RGB/CPU LCD 2048x1536@60fps
Integrated HDMI1.4 1080p@60fps
Camera Integrated Parallel & MIPI I/F sensor
Integrated powerful ISP, supporting Raw Data CMOS sensor
Supports 5M/8M/12M CMOS sensor
Supports 8/10/12-bit YUV/Bayer sensor
HawkViewISP Static and dynamic defect pixel correction and lens shading correction
Anisotropic non-linear Bayer interpolation with false color suppression
Programmable color correction, dynamic range compression and contrast enhancement
Advanced spatial de-noise filter
AE/AF/AWB
Anti-flick detection
Memory Dual-Channel LPDDR2/DDR3/DDR3L Controller
Dual-Channel NAND FLASH Controller with 64-bit ECC
PMIC Specially designed PMIC AXP221
21-channel power output and 2.2A Flash charging
Comply with USB 3.0 power supply standard
Audio Integrated HI-FI 100dB Audio Codec
Three integrated differential analog mic amplifiers for headset and phone
One digital mic interface with software noise cancellation
OS Supports Android 4.1/4.2 and above
Compatible with Microsoft Windows 8
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Having only 8Gb storage (less in reality because of the OS etc leaving a conservative 4GB available to the user for app installation etc) is about par for a budget tablet and did not seem too much of a disadvantage as the device supports up to 32Gb Tf card for things like films or the like. Unfortunately, even with JB 4.2.2 this can not be used for installing apps to direct from playstore but you can sideload from it.
The battery is an unknown as "Tabtronics" omit to print any specs about it but I would guess around 5,000mAh as in general use I have been getting around the 5 hour mark which is a very useful amount for a budget tablet.
Switching on gives way to a very clear and distinct display, Flash 11.1 (the very last version issued for android) is pre-installed and the tablet has immediate access to googles play store (following input of account details as usual)
Also pre-installed is a 2160p video player which gives great reproduction of full HD video. There is a mini HDMI out port which due to the A31+ onboard GPU specs can output 4 simultanious 2160p streams @ 60 Fps.
When the A31 chip was first released to market it was restricted to 1Ghz although it will allow a range of overclocking to device manufacturers as time goes on. The "Tabtronics Mini" I purchased is clocked @ 1.2 Ghz. It would appear that although the A31 Chip is marketed as a quad core processor that there is actually a 5th part which operates when the tablet is in idle mode and this helps extend battery life even further as the main cores are not in use during sleep state.
After switching on I was not too surprised to find everything a bit swampy and slow as all my (now considerable) Google information and apps updates flowed down into the tablet so I just left it for while to get on with things before trying it out for responsiveness which turned out to be rather good indeed with the possible exception that the WIFI whilst present and working shows about 80% signal strength of what I get from My ZOPO phone and my FUJITSU laptop.
Nonetheless, I can still stream a 5Mb bandwidth at the furthest point from my router. Consequently, I would only describe the WIFI capability as adequate rather than good.
The sound is audible and no doubt does meet the expected minimum of 90 DB at 1 Mtr but only just.... and for mini TV use I find I need to use a pod-amp speaker or earphones.
So, with all these negatives you might wonder why I bothered but you would be wrong because the main redeeming factor of this Tabtronic Mini android tablet is the 1024 x 768 IPS screen which is the same specification as the first generation iPad mini XGA making reading easier on the 4:3 aspect ratio and along with the A31 processor make this a relatively fast HD device which is very easy on the eye at virtually any screen angle.
So far, I like it a lot and despite its faults I definitley think I got me a bargain at the promotional price of £89.99.
