Monday, February 17, 2014

Asus MeMo Pad HD7 first Impressions

So a few days back I received my shiny new MeMo pad from Newegg.com. I went the cheap route and bought an open box item for only $112.00. Not a bad deal at all. If you are looking for a mid-level, first time 7 inch tablet at a low price this one is definitely work looking into. Be aware that there are 2 versions of this device out there. Last year's version and the HD7 from this year. The new model is an ME173X. Keep that in mind when shopping online. You will see these MeMo pads really cheap, but always be aware that it is usually the ME172X, which has a slower processor.
The specs on the HD7 are as follows:
  • 1.2 Ghz Quad Core processor
  • 1gb DDR3 ram
  • 16 gb of device storage
  • MicroSD card slot for up to 32gb storage
  • 1280x800 IPS display
  • WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
  • 5mp rear camera, 1.2mp front camera
  • 10 hr battery life
The product comes with Android 4.2 but upgraded immediately to Android 4.2.2. The setup took only a few minutes and the device is surprisingly fast. It isn't a Nexus 7 by any means, but fairly close to last year's (2012) Nexus 7. It comes with most of the standard Google apps installed, such as Gmail, G+, etc. The main, and only advantage to this tablet over the Nexus 7 is the microSD card slot which allows you the luxury of being able to insert  as many microSD cards as you wish to save data. So storage is only limited by your budget on microSD cards. I installed at 8gb SanDisk that I had lying around and of course immediately realized I'll probably need at least a 32gb to store all my stuff.

The default home screen comes with the clock and weather app (accuweather widget) already setup. Kind of handy as it also has your alarm settings on it.









The Notification bar is super handy and allows you to control most functions such as WiFi, Bluetooth Power Saving, brightness and jump to system settings all from one point.








Battery life is pretty close to what is advertised. I watched several movies yesterday and used the device extensively to surf the web, check Google+ and at the end of roughly 8 hrs use I had about 33 percent battery life left.
In closing I would highly recommend this device for anyone wanting a very good tablet without blowing more than $150. They list for about $149 on most sites, but can be found for a bit less if you shop around. Amazon and Newegg usually have several "open box" items at much lower prices than list. I expect the price on these to further drop now that ASUS has introduced the HD 8 version.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled surfing.
Tim
For more good stuff visit my primary website.
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One more gratuitous screen shot:

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