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DEAL WATCH: Keurig K-Express | 22% off $69.99

Keurig has changed the face of coffee, and snagging one of these for less than $70 is a solid deal. Read Review

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  • Introduction

  • Front

  • Back

  • Sides

  • Size Comparisons

  • In the Box

  • Handling

  • Screen

  • Indoor & Outdoor Use

  • Controls

  • Connectivity

  • Battery Life

  • Reading Books

  • Buying Books

  • eBook Formats

  • Newspapers & Magazines

  • eBook Battery Life

  • Music & Audio Controls

  • Music & Audio Management

  • Music & Audio Formats

  • Music & Audio Battery Life

  • Video Controls

  • Video Management

  • Video Formats

  • Internet Video

  • Video Battery Life

  • Email

  • Web Browsing

  • Internet Apps

  • Other Internet Features

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Device & Specs

  • Screen

  • Battery

  • eReader

  • Internet

  • Conclusion

  • Introduction
  • Front
  • Back
  • Sides
  • Size Comparisons
  • In the Box
  • Handling
  • Screen
  • Indoor & Outdoor Use
  • Controls
  • Connectivity
  • Battery Life
  • Reading Books
  • Buying Books
  • eBook Formats
  • Newspapers & Magazines
  • eBook Battery Life
  • Music & Audio Controls
  • Music & Audio Management
  • Music & Audio Formats
  • Music & Audio Battery Life
  • Video Controls
  • Video Management
  • Video Formats
  • Internet Video
  • Video Battery Life
  • Email
  • Web Browsing
  • Internet Apps
  • Other Internet Features
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Device & Specs
  • Screen
  • Battery
  • eReader
  • Internet
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Front

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Back

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Sides

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Size Comparisons

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In the Box

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Along with your tablet, the packaging for the {{product.name}} contains a USB cable, a wall charger with country-appropriate prongs, an in-ear headset with four different size sleeves, and assorted documentation.

Handling

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One of the best things about having a tablet that doesn't cater to those who want a 9+ inch screen is the fact that it is much lighter, and a lot easier to hold in one hand. Another cool feature of the {{product.model}} is that you can actually use motion to control your tablet if you elect to, and the lightness of the unit itself helps facilitate this greatly without making the handling feel weird.

Screen

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The {{product.model}} is built around a 3.5625 x 6.0625 inch screen, with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. Sure, it's no retina display, but it gets the job done, even for its tiny size. Despite the fact that most tablets use an IPS display, the {{product.model}} uses a WSVGA plane-to-line switching (PLS) display, which allegedly affords it 10% better screen brightness, and a wide viewing angle.

Indoor & Outdoor Use

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Because the screen of the {{product.model}} is so ridiculously reflective, and the fact that the backlight is so weak, the {{product.model}} is a very poor option as far as tablets go to take out into the world when the screen is subjected to anything close to direct sunlight. Because backlit LCD displays rely on a strong backlight to make their image seen rather than using ambient light (like eReaders), strong external light sources will make the screen of the {{product.model}} look washed out.

Controls

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Aside from the volume and power buttons, all of your interactions with the {{product.model}} are going to happen through the capacitive touchscreen. The touchscreen is very responsive, and the {{product.name}} uses the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system, which you can explore more in-depth here.

The controls on the top right side of the iPad body: volume, lock and power.

Connectivity

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In addition to having an internal 802.11n wireless card and the standard 3.5mm headset jack, the {{product.name}} also has bluetooth connectivity, and an IR blaster to control your home theater or other IR-enabled devices. While the {{product.model}} does not have any video output ports like a microHDMI port, nor does it have a full USB port.

Here we see a Lightning dock in its natural habitat.

Battery Life

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While the {{product.name}} does fairly well in other areas, battery life is not one of them. With the backlight cranked to 11, all wireless turned off, and all additional processes terminated, the {{product.name}} only lasts 5 hours and 29 minutes playing video, and 6 hours 22 minutes reading an eBook continuously. Normally we'd tell you that you can improve the battery life by switching the settings around to dim the backlight, but because the peak brightness is so low anyway, you might find that you can't squeeze a lot more life out of your battery without making the screen too dark. WiFi will also reduce battery life.

Reading Books

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Because the {{product.name}} uses the Android 3.2 operating system with the Amazon Kindle App pre-installed, the visual experience of reading an eBook will be virtually identical to any other tablet, save for the screen size. What is different with the {{product.name}} is the fact that its small size makes it easier to hold in your hand for an extended period of time, which is a big plus if you're prone to do this sort of thing often.

The iBooks program offers a range of controls for font and text size

Buying Books

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Buying eBooks through the Kindle App is very straightforward and simple once you've set up your account with billing information. After you've done this, simply tap the shopping cart icon and search for the title you would like to buy, or browse selections. Once you've found what you'd like to buy, simply tap the purchase (or download, if the title is free) icon, and your account will automatically be billed. Once the card clears, your download will begin, and you can start reading your title.

Books can be purchased on the iPad through the iTunes store

eBook Formats

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Because the {{product.name}} has access to the Google Play Store (aka the app outlet formerly known as Android Market), if you run into an eBook format that your stock apps don't get along with, you can always download another eReader application to read them, or you can convert them using software like Calibre, and then import the converted file.

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Newspapers & Magazines

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Buying or subscribing to periodicals through the Kindle App is just as simple as it is to buy an eBook. If you tap the Newsstand icon, the app will bring you to a screen from which you can search or browse newspaper or magazine titles. Purchasing works in the same way, but there's the added capability of subscribing to a periodical if you wish, provided you keep your billing info current.

The New York Times is available on the iPad through their own app

eBook Battery Life

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Music & Audio Controls

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Once you start listening to music with the Music app, you will be greeted with a few simple controls, namely the play/pause icon, track forward/back, and a scrub bar on the bottom of the screen. Virtually every element on the screen can be interacted with for additional track information and the like, and there are also a few advanced controls like shuffle, repeat, and playlist making.

The iPod app shows the cover art while playing music

Music & Audio Management

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Because the {{product.name}} uses the Android Honeycomb operating system with the music player app installed, listening to your music library will be a rewarding experience, simply by virtue of the fact that the new music app allows you to store music on Google's servers, and stream your library from anywhere that has WiFi. So, instead of having to load up your tablet's hard drive, all you will have to do is find a reliable source of internet. Cool, huh?

Audio files can be sorted by title, artist, album, genre or composer

For the music in your library, you can either sift through it all with a cover flow, or a list format. Both have their merits, but you can also search for a title as well.

Music & Audio Formats

Music & Audio Battery Life

Video Controls

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Following a very similar design scheme as the music player, the video player offers a fairly good control interface that doesn't stick out like a sore thumb, and allows you to watch your movies without an overlay blocking your view of anything. If you tap on the screen once your title starts playing, the control overlay will briefly pop up, and allow you to scroll through a scrub bar, play, or pause the video.

Video Management

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Video files are stored on the internal memory of the device, and managed by the gallery app, right next to your images. There are no real special ways to sort them, aside from creating folders while connected to your PC.

The gallery is used to navigate videos, and only offers thumbnails

Video Formats

Internet Video

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Included in the stock software for the {{product.name}} is the YouTube app, which allows users to browse the vaunted video streaming client for their favorite clips and web shows. You may be interested to know that it's not just .flv file support, but an actual app, developed specifically for tablets to make use of the touchscreen, so the YouTube app has some very cool features like a video gallery.

Video Battery Life

Email

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There are two stock email applications on the {{product.name}}, one GMail app, and a regular email app that allows you to link your POP/IMAP/Exchange inboxes with your tablet. The interface is fair, and less wasteful of space like larger screens tend to do. You can also pretty much do anything that you'd normally do with your inbox on a computer as well.

The iPad email app is basic, but adequate for most users

Web Browsing

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The stock browser for all Android Honeycomb tablets is actually quite nice, and is very reminiscent of Google's Chrome browser, with different colors and slightly lighter in the advanced feature department. You can surf on multiple tabs and windows, and you can even bookmark pages. This browser works much like a traditional browser should, but doesn't offer much in the way of a redesign to accommodate users not wanting to hold the tablet with only one hand.

The iPad boasts a fully featured Safari web browser

Internet Apps

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Recently re-branded as the Play Store, the former Android Market is the second most popular app retailer, and is lauded by many as it rapidly gains ground on Apple's App store. While it doesn't have the raw numbers to rival Apple's competitive market, it does have some apps that help unlock the full potential of a tablet's hardware that are often blocked in Apple's closed-system.

Keep in mind that not all the apps in the Play Store will work with your {{product.name}} if you haven't rooted it, or if it doesn't have the hardware to support it (like anything requiring bluetooth 4.0, or an HDMI port, etc.). This happens because the Play Store is filled with apps that are designed to work on many different machines with different hardware and capabilities, and they don't always overlap.

Other Internet Features

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Device & Specs

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From a hardware standpoint, both have relatively similar performance and parts under the hood, but the two main differences are the 7.0 Plus' IR blaster, and the 10.1's much larger screen. You'll have to decide which is best for you, but much of this comes down to cost and screen size.

Screen

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While the {{product.model}} has a very small screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a huge 10.1 inch screen with a somewhat proportionally smaller resolution. Both do fairly well in our tests, but both are extremely reflective.

Battery

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The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the superior battery, lasting well over what the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus can in both reading eBooks and playing back video.

eReader

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Because from a software standpoint, both tablets are identical, this comparison comes down to form factor, and the {{product.model}} is far easier to hold for longer periods of time in one hand or two.

Internet

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Both have identical internet features, though the {{product.model}} can also control your TV or home theater setup through an app and its onboard IR blaster.

Device & Specs

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Let's face it, the iPad has a powerhouse of a processor that the {{product.model}} can't quite keep up with. While that's true, there isn't much in the way of additional features, like the {{product.model}}' IR blaster to control TVs and the like, so if that's important to you, take a second look.

Screen

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The latest iPad has hands-down the best screen on a tablet by far, with a near HDTV quality color gamut, and a massive near-retina display. The {{product.name}} has a tiny 7 inch screen.

Battery

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Strangely enough, both tablets have very similar battery capacities, namely because the iPad requires a lot more juice to run. That being said, it does not have the screen brightness issues the {{product.name}} has, so you can potentially squeeze more battery life out of the iPad.

eReader

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As an eReader, the {{product.name}} is far easier to hold as it not only is lighter and smaller, but it also does not heat up as much.

Internet

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Because the Apple iPad has access to the App Store, it has a much broader access to apps and content than does the {{product.name}}, but after a certain point, personal tastes matter more, as Android has more of the "grey area" apps than does the Apple App Store. It's up to you, but check out some of the apps online first to see what you might like.

Device & Specs

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From a hardware standpoint, the {{product.name}} absolutely trounces the Kindle Fire with more RAM, a better GPU, and full version of Android 3.2 (the Kindle does not). On top of that, the {{product.name}} has an IR blaster, so you can use it as a universal remote.

Screen

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While the {{product.name}} has a better resolution than does the Kindle Fire, it cannot compete with the Fire's screen brightness, which allows it to be seen in a wider range of lighting environments.

Battery

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The Fire's battery impresses here, as it can last quite a while longer than can the {{product.name}}'.

eReader

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Because all Kindle devices are also granted access to the lending libraries through Amazon, the Kindle Fire takes this one too, as it is the better eReader.

Internet

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On the other hand, the {{product.name}} has full access to the Play Store, while the Kindle Fire has access to only a severely trimmed-down offering by Amazon, with a tiny fraction of the popular apps offered by the Play Store. Stick with the {{product.name}} if you're an app fiend.

Conclusion

All things considered, you could do far worse for the money you'd shell out for the {{product.name}}. Not only does it perform about average for any tablet, but it does so at a reduced price, and greater array of wireless options. While the screen size might deter people, the improved hardware over the last iteration of the Samsung Galaxy Tab should turn some heads.

While all of this is true, there are a few low points, like the screen performance and poor battery life that should give any prospective tablet buyer pause. Not only will the image on the {{product.name}} be very tough to see on a bright day, but even in a well-lit room you will have issues. On top of that, the battery will not last for a full inter-continental flight, so you may want to look elsewhere if you want a long-lasting battery.

Overall, the {{product.name}} is great if you want an Android 3.2 device that won't break the bank, and isn't terribly awkward to hold, sacrifices nothing in the performance department, and can function as a universal remote. It has its shortcomings, but what tablet doesn't? If you've read the review and are still enthusiastic about the device, have fun with it.

Meet the tester

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas

Staff Writer, Imaging

@cthomas8888

A seasoned writer and professional photographer, Chris reviews cameras, headphones, smartphones, laptops, and lenses. Educated in Political Science and Linguistics, Chris can often be found building a robot army, snowboarding, or getting ink.

See all of Chris Thomas's reviews

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