7 Inch Tablets

The Optus MyTab got one of the best reviews when we searched around looking for reviews and information. When my brother gets it I will add another module to this lens to give our own personal view on it, but for now I will share what we know about it from our research.

First, here are the specs for the Optus MyTab

Specifications

· Colour: Black

· Weight: 403g

· Dimensions: 192x110x12.6mm

· Operating System: Andriod 2.1 Éclair

· Battery: 3400mAh

· Camera: 3MP Rear-Facing

· Memory: 512MB ROM _+ 512RAM

· Storage: Included 2GB MircoSD card, upgradable to 32GB

· Screen: 7" Touch Screen, WVA(800x480)

· 3D Gaming

· GPS

· Video Streaming

Review

Though Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab seem like the reputable tablet options, budget entries from Telstra and Optus offer food for thought, if nothing else. The Optus My Tab is specced like the T-Touch Tab, but we knew it was a different, better budget Android tablet as soon as we stabbed at it with our fingers.

Design

Perhaps the best compliment we can give the ZTE-manufactured device is that it looks the part of a cheapish Android tablet. Its 7-inch screen sits within a piano-black bezel, which gives way to a plastic silver covering around the back. Emblazoned across the back of the My Tab is a large, friendly-looking Android as well as a second opportunity for Optus and ZTE to co-brand the handset.

The 7-inch centrepiece of the My Tab is a rather dull-looking TFT display which uses resistive touch technology for user input. For those in the know, this isn't a very appealing-sounding combination, though we have to say, this screen certainly serves its purpose. The touchscreen is surprisingly usable, requiring very little pressure to register a response. Its WVGA resolution adds to the underwhelming appearance of the images on the screen, but at the end of the day, it does its job of delivering information.

The tablet isn't too heavy either, in fact, at 350 grams the My Tab is the lightest of the 7-inch tablets we've come across to date. This is an important metric for comparing devices whose weight you'll likely support for long periods of time. The tablet also has a 3.5mm headphone socket, a micro-USB port and a microSD card slot fitted with 2GB of memory.

Features

Like most of the prepaid Android handsets we've encountered in 2010, the My Tab is a fairly bare-bones Android experience. It ships with Android version 2.1 (Eclair), so it comes with a decent suite of productivity tools, like Gmail, calendar and Google Maps. There's also the stock Android music player, stock video player and WebKit web browser.

The My Tab supports the basic range of connectivity options with HSDPA wireless compatible with the 900 and 2100MHz frequencies, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB. We've been testing the unit with an Optus prepaid SIM card installed and the service has been good in the Sydney CBD (as you might expect), delivering 2-3Mbps downloads and a respectable 60- to 70-millisecond latency.
Performance

Even though the My Tab runs on a comparatively slower 600MHz Qualcomm processor, it manages to deliver a pleasant user experience. We're not going to go further than that and say we were blown away with the performance, we encountered a fair amount of animation jitter across the menus and home screens, but next to the Telstra T-Touch Tab, the My Tab is like a cheetah chasing an elephant. We ran the standard Android benchmarks and saw a decent 26 frames per second in Neocore and other processing benchmarks in line with older devices like the Xperia X10 and Motorola Milestone.

This performance is evident across the range of different apps available to users of Android 2.1. The web browser is snappy, though the resistive screen does mean there is no multi-touch gestures, like pinch-to-zoom, and there's no Flash support. We installed Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds to test gaming on the My Tab, which worked as you would expect them to, though Fruit Ninja did show some lag after longer sessions of play. There are some apps that really struggle too: RockPlayer is our "go-to" DivX and XviD video player and it was basically unusable on the My Tab. RockPlayer uses a software decoder to play files that the stock Android video player doesn't support and, unfortunately, the My Tab simply doesn't have the grunt to handle these sort of tasks.

The 2-megapixel camera is definitely a dud, taking terrible images time and again, but then we can't say we expected too much in this department. Even when we tested this camera under optimal lighting situations, the lens would find the hottest part of the image and create a photo-destroying lens flare.

Battery life was serviceable without being amazing, with up to a day and a half between charges when used for long sessions of web browsing and social network updates. However, My Tab did have impressive standby power, even with the 3G radios connected. Though the battery drain meets our expectation, charging the battery takes forever, with up to four hours or more to charge the 3400mAh battery pack. You'll definitely be keeping the travel adapter next to your bedside table to accommodate the long charge time overnight.

Overall

For AU$279 there are going to be some major sacrifices made in delivering a device like the Galaxy Tab, but for nearly a quarter of the price. Thankfully, these sacrifices don't impact too greatly on the user experience, and though in many ways the My Tab isn't a pretty machine, it certainly works as advertised. There's no one part of this device that truly blows us away, but if you're looking for a tablet for web surfing, gaming and music playback, the My Tab is an absolute bargain compared with the alternatives.

But be aware of its limitations too. The My Tab doesn't support Flash in the web browser, doesn't love to multitask (though it's technically capable of it) and isn't powerful enough to playback any of the HD video files you have lying around on your PC. We also wouldn't recommend it for phone calls unless you use a Bluetooth headset. Those who understand what this tablet can and can't do will get some very good use out of it.

Review Source: http://www.cnet.com.au/optus-my-tab-339307123.htm

The Optus MyTab gets a 9/10 and many of the customer reviews following the main review are all good reviews.

I'm not sure if the MyTab is available overseas but it is available here in Australia and I believe possibly in the UK too.

My brother got his MyTab a couple of weeks ago and he is pretty happy with it. The only problem that we found was that his memory filled up very quickly. With my Android phone when I download games and apps onto it, it saves them on the 2GB micro SD card. The MyTab came with a 2GB micro SD Card but we couldn't work out how to get the downloads to save onto it. Instead they were saving directly onto the hard drive which filled it up real quick.

After lots of research we discovered that with the 2.1 Android you can't get things to save onto the SD card which is a real pain. At this stage there is no upgrade to the 2.2 Android although there is one coming, apparently - but apparently it's been coming for some time now :)

Anyway, we got around it by installing an app called Link2sd which allows you to transfer the downloads onto the SD card. It wasn't quite as simple as just downloading the app though as you had to have root access first. It all got a bit complicated but once we worked it out it was quite easy. So he is all good now, he can transfer his downloads to the SD card which gives him so much more memory.

His tablet does just about everything that my phone does so he is happy. He has quite a few games on it now and can watch droid streamer - which is an app that lets you watch TV episodes on the tablet.

One problem we found too with the game 'what the doodle' is that we can play against each other - him on the MyTab and me on my phone - but because of the different screen sizes I can't see the whole screen of what he is drawing. So if he is playing online against other people then they will likely have the same problem. So that sucks a bit, but no big deal since it's just a game anyway :)

We are pretty happy with it though and for the price of $199 that we paid, it's pretty good value!

The Samsung Galaxy looks fantastic but it was a bit above our budget, it is actually right up there with the iPad as far as price goes.

The Samsung Galaxy got a rating of 8/10 from Cnet so let's take a look at their rating:

Specificaions

Battery

* Battery type included Lithium-ion

Connectivity

* Network interface 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, HSDPA

Display

* LCD technology WSVGA
* Natural resolution (max) 1024 x 600 pixels
* Diagonal screen size 7 inch

Drives

* Primary hard drive 16GB or 32GB GB

General

* Weight 0.38 kg

Memory

* Amt of RAM 512MB

Processor

* Processor speed 1 GHz

Software

* Other software included Android 2.2, Flash 10.1

Review

The Galaxy Tab isn't the first Android tablet computer to have been manufactured and sold, but it does have the honour of being the first worthy of your attention. Unlike the Chinese knock-offs and re-branded cheapies, the Galaxy Tab is a refined example of tablet design, with a sleek white-coloured plastic backing and a 7-inch Gorilla glass capacitive touchscreen on the front.

Though some felt the twinge of disappointment when they learnt that the Tab wouldn't have the same AMOLED screen technology we find in most Samsung smartphones, we do think the Tab's screen is still quite nice to look at. It sports an SWVGA resolution (1024x600 pixels) LCD panel, which looks sharp and crisp, while the colour, brightness and viewing angle of this display are all very good compared with most LCD mobile phone displays. The touchscreen is also very responsive, in line with what we've come to expect from Samsung's latest mobile devices.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently cast aspersions on the 7-inch profile, telling an audience of capitol investors that Apple's research had found that "human fingers are too big to be able to accurately hit icons on a screen that size". We couldn't disagree more. Samsung's 7-inch tablet is more than adequate in size for tasks like reading and composing messages and email, web browsing and interacting with most apps. Plus, the saving in size translates to a huge decrease in weight; the Galaxy Tab weighs in at 380 grams, which is half the weight of Apple's hefty iPad.

Like Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone, the Tab has its power button on the right-hand side, alongside the volume rocker and above a SIM card slot and a space for a microSD memory card. There's a 3.5mm headphone socket on the top of the device and a pinhole for a microphone on the left-hand panel. The only part of this design that really baffles us is Samsung's use of a proprietary charging socket, rather than the standard micro-USB connection. The custom slot looks freakishly similar to an iPod cable connector and it doubles for making a connection to a PC for file transfers. Not only is this a pain for people who already own several micro-USB cables, but Samsung only include one in the box to share between charging and PC connectivity.
Plays nice with Android?

Running on the latest available version of Google's Android OS, the Galaxy Tab benefits from a few class-leading advantages over the iPad. For starters, the Tab can be used as a giant mobile phone, albeit one without an earpiece speaker. When making calls your options are to use the speakerphone, and share your conversation, or use a Bluetooth headset for some privacy.

It is also compatible with Flash video and animations, capable of delivering a rich internet experience. In the wake of the Flash debate surrounding Apple and its iPhone some may have been left wondering about how essential Flash is to their experience of the web. For us, it is a huge part of what we love about going online, and being able to access the vast majority of videos online is a huge plus. That said, Flash playback through the browser has been hit-and-miss during our review. CNET Australia's videos struggle to play smoothly, as do other videos from several sites we tested on. Then you have the excellent mobile Flash games available on Kongregate which work perfectly.

One area that the iPad has in its favour though, is compatibility with the entirety of the Apple App Store. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Tab struggles with a number of apps that haven't been designed for the higher screen resolution, and there is no easy way to rectify this. We did come across one very handy YouTube tutorial for adjusting the software's compatibility settings, and while this solved the small-screen problem for most apps, it also broke other apps we tested even further.

Out of the box

If you thought the Galaxy Tab looked like a giant smartphone, you'd have been closer than you might have thought. Not unlike the iPad, the Galaxy Tab is made up of hardware components very similar to those you'd find in a top-shelf smartphone. Samsung opts for a Cortex A8 1GHz processor for power and matches it with 512MB RAM. It also features the same connectivity options as most phones, with HSPA data speeds, Wi-Fi, A-GPS and Bluetooth version 3.0 with A2DP stereo audio streaming.

The tablet's 3-megapixel camera takes nice photos for viewing on the tablet itself, but they are images that ultimately fail to impress under closer scrutiny. The LED flash does a nice job of illuminating in low light without overpowering the photos, and there is definitely something exciting about having a 7-inch viewfinder to compose your shots. If you prefer your images moving, the Galaxy Tab also records video at 720p at 30 frames per second.

The hardware aside, Samsung has also thought to include a few unique pieces of software to sweeten the deal. There's a fully licensed version of Navigon Navigator maps with turn-by-turn directions and points of interest search, an app called Reader's Hub with a built-in Kobo ebook reader component and magazines by Zinio, as well as Swype keyboard input for thrashing out emails in record time.

But perhaps our favourite feature of the Galaxy Tab is its ability to stream media to and from compatible DLNA media servers. We successfully tested this feature with both a netbook running Windows 7 and a PS3 and saw video performance better than with any mobile device we've tested previously. When watching one 50-minute TV show episode we noticed that the player paused briefly only three times to buffer during playback, and at the end of the episode it had used 20 per cent of a full charge to stream the media.
Performance

In terms of everyday application processing and web page rendering, the Galaxy Tab does a fine job of keeping up with its smaller Android smartphone rivals. Our use of the Tab revealed no concerning issues and we saw none of the processing lag many users have experienced with the Samsung Galaxy S. Its benchmarking results suggest strong 3D graphics performance and processing performance akin to the other Androids from HTC and Samsung. To make sure this performance remains consistent, Samsung has added a Task Manager into the multitasking menu (found by holding the Home key), allowing users to close apps that remain running after you've finished using them.

Battery life for tablet use will vary greatly depending on usage. We installed a SIM card for our testing, but often used the Tab with data connectivity switched off while within range of a wireless network. We also managed to get about two days out of every charge with moderate to heavy use of the web browser, media streaming and some game time. The most successful part of this equation is the standby power; as a rough guide we found the Tab drains 1 to 2 per cent of the remaining charge every hour in standby, allowing it to retain a charge over several days.
Overall

Early adopters chasing the best Android tablet this Christmas should look no further than the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Its performance is on par with the best of this year's smartphones, and the size and weight suit a device you intend to lug around with you each day. It offers excellent multimedia support, decent app support and a great suite of pre-installed tools, like Navigon Navigator.

Our only reservations come from the tablets we can see peeking over the horizon and into 2011. Samsung is so close to releasing more powerful machines and Google has hinted that Android 3.0 will be designed with tablets in mind. Those who jump in run the risk of the Tab being superseded within a few months, and its AU$999 price tag certainly ups the ante on this gamble.

Review Source: http://www.cnet.com.au/samsung-galaxy-tab-339305776.htm

Specifications

Product capacity - Flash Serie: 8 GB**** flash memory + Micro SD Slot (SDHC compatible)
- Hard Drive Disk Serie : Hard Drive: 250 GB**** Hard Drive
Display characteristics - High resolution screen, WVGA 800 x 480 pixels, 7'' TFT LCD, 16 million colors
- Capacitive multitouch screen
Application Framework Android 2.2 Froyo7
Processor - ARM Cortex A8 at 1 GHz with DSP
- Graphic accelerator: 3D OpenGL ES 2.0
Video Playback1 - MPEG-42 HD (up to 720p, 30 fps@6Mbps)
- MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution, 30 fps@8Mbps)
- H.264 HD (HP@L3.1 up to 720p, 30 fps@5Mbps)
- WMV9/VC1 (AP up to 720p 30 fps@10Mbps)
- M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in VGA resolution

With optional plug-in (downloadable on www.archos.com):
- Cinema: MPEG-2 (up to DVD resolution MP/D1, 30 fps@10 Mbps)
With the above codecs, the device can play video files with the following extensions: AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, WMV, MPG, PS, TS, VOB, FLV, RM, RMVB, ASF, 3GP
Audio Playback1 %u2022 MP3 CBR & VBR
- WMA, WMA-Pro 5.1
- WAV (PCM/ADPCM)
- AAC, AAC+ 5.13
- OGG Vorbis
- FLAC

With optional software plug-ins (downloadable on www.archos.com):
- AC3 5.1
Photo viewer4 JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF
Subtitles Support subtitles files with .srt, .ssa, .smi, .sub extensions
Webcam Yes
Pre-installed applications - Aldiko, Ebuddy, Wikipedia, Avecomics, HubKap, Deezer, Mewbox, Raging Thunderlite (a 3D car demo game), WordNewspaper, Touiteur, Fring
Interfaces - USB 2.0: Mass Storage Class (MSC)
- Micro SD (SDHC compatible) on flash version
- USB Host: Mass Storage Class (MSC) (adapter micro B/A sold separately)
- HDMI output5 (Mini HDMI / HDMI cable sold separately)
Communication protocols %u2022 WiFi (802.11 b/g/n)
- Bluetooth 2.1 EDR
Miscellaneous %u2022 Built-in speakers
- Built-in leg stand
- Built-in Microphone
- G-sensor
- Front VGA Camera
Power source - Internal: Lithium Polymer battery
- External: Power adapter/charger
Battery life - Music playback time6: up to 36 hours
- Video playback time6: up to 7 hours
- Web surfing6: up to 10 hours
Scalability - Device automatically downloads latest firmware updates when the WiFi connection is activated
- Updates can also be downloaded at www.archos.com and updated via USB mass storage
Dimensions & weight %u2022 ARCHOS 70 internet tablet Flash series: 201 x 114 x 10 mm - 300 grams / (7.91 x 4.49 x 0.43 - 11 oz)
- ARCHOS 70 internet tablet Hard Drive series: 201 x 114 x 14 mm - 400 grams / (7.91 x 4.49 x 0.55 inch - 14 oz)
Minimum system requirements - Microsoft® Windows® XP, Vista, 7 or higher
- Mac
- Linux
- USB 2.0 interface
Package includes ARCHOS 70 internet tablet, earphones, Standard USB cable, Quick Start Guide (QSG), legal and safety notice, power charger.

Source: http://www.archos.com/products/ta/archos_70it/specs.html?country=us&lang=en

Review

I've had this device for 6 days and I've been very pleased with all aspects of it. I did a lot of research before buying and it has met all of my expectations. Best for those who already have some experience with the Android operating system.

Here is what I like:

It makes an excellent e-reader. I can use books from Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon, Google and my local library. It is a great PDF document reader and works great for comics as well.

It is very good internet browser. Flash capability isn't perfect yet, but having it in even a limited capacity opens up a lot more of the internet. I've been an iPod Touch/iPhone user for several years and I really like this device. The internet experience is superior.

Google integration. If you use Gmail and google apps, Android offers better capabilities than iOS devices. (Note, this does require a hack, but it is very easy to do).

Expandability. MicroSD, HDMI, USB. Archos doesn't control what I can and cannot do with this device.

Video playback. Excellent playback of local, network and internet video.

Form factor. I've played with an iPad and it's a fun device, but I like the size/weight of this device a lot better. It is more practical and easy to take with me. Much easier to hold for long periods of time when reading.

Battery life. Not iPad levels, but still very good.

What I don't like:

Future ability to upgrade. By only putting in 256MB of RAM, they have limited the ability of this device to Android 2.2, which means I will probably want the 2011 version, instead of upgrading this one. (I think they planned this)

Hacking is necessary. Because of limitations that Google puts on Android currently, it is necessary to hack the device to access it's full potential. This will ultimately damage the ability of new/inexperienced users to enjoy their Archos tablets.

Overall, I love this device and if you have used Android or if you are willing to do some research on websites like archosfans.com, you will love it as well!

Review source Amazon.com

The Velocity Micro T301 Cruz tablet is the best selling 7 inch tablet on Amazon. Let's take a look at the specs and review:

Specifications

General

* Product Type Tablet
* Width 5.6 in
* Depth 0.6 in
* Height 7.5 in
* Weight 16 oz
* Bundled with 4 GB SD memory card

Display

* Display Type 7 in Color TFT active matrix
* Display Resolution 800 x 600

Memory

* Flash Memory 4 GB Integrated
* RAM 256 MB
* Supported Flash Memory Cards SD Memory Card,
SDHC Memory Card

Communications

* Wireless Connectivity 802.11b/g/n

EBook Reader

* Supported Text Formats EPUB,
HTML,
PDF,
TXT,
PDB
* Supported Still Image Formats PNG,
JPEG,
BMP,
GIF

Multimedia Functionality

* Supported Digital Video Formats MPEG-4,
H.264
* Audio speaker(s)
* Supported Digital Audio Formats AAC,
WAV,
MP3

GPS System

* GPS Navigation None

Input Device

* Type Touch-screen

Battery

* Installed Qty (Max Supported) 1
* Technology / Form Factor Lithium ion

Expansion / Connectivity

* Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card
* Interfaces 1 x USB,
1 x Headphones - Output

Miscellaneous

* Sensors Accelerometer

Operating System / Software

* OS Provided Android 2.0

Manufacturer Warranty

* Service & Support 1 year warranty
* Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year

Review

Pros: Great for Internet browsing, and e-reader format is good

Cons: Clunky Touchpad, need internet access for e-reader

Summary: I recieived this for Christmas. I thnk if you want a good device for internet access while traveling, and you don't want to lug you laptop, this is the ideal platform. The problem is....it's pretty slow, and the touch screen is difficult to navigate and even worse for entering text. Expect to "go back" several times to correct typos which were hard to enter in the first place. When browsing, be prepared to "go back" becsause ....."wait, that's NOT what I touched. I've yet to figure out how to enjoy e-books without an internet connection and the Borders app. Also since the screen is quite shiny and reflective, it is impossible to use this device in bright light...consider that and the lack of an internet connection a deal-killer for the beach or airplanes. These issues may be overcome....I"mreally not sure. Rather than take the time to find out, or research it, I may just buy a Kindle for reading, and use this for surfing, should I find myself in an area that supports WI-fi.

Review Source http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/velocity-micro-cruz-tablet/4852-3126_7-34451903.html?tag=rnav

The Telstra T-Touch sells for around the same price as the Optus MyTab but the T-Touch didn't get a very good review at all. Cnet only gave the Telstra T-Touch a 4.5/10

Specifications

Battery

* Battery type included Lithium-ion

Connectivity

* Network interface Bluetooth, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n

Display

* Natural resolution (max) 800 x 480 pixels
* Diagonal screen size 7 inch

General

* Dimensions (H x W x D) 108 x 15.5 x 209 mm
* Weight 0.5 kg
* Laptop type Thin and light

Memory

* Amt of RAM 512MB
* Memory card reader Yes

Other

* Integrated webcam Yes

Software

* Other software included Android 2.1

Sound

* Embedded stereo speakers Yes

Review

It's one thing to save money on a low-cost tablet, but it's another thing when you waste cash on a tablet that has a clunky touchscreen and lousy battery life, which means you won't use it after a few weeks.

A terrible thing happened in the middle of our Telstra T-Touch Tab review: Samsung delivered the Galaxy Tab and we finally had something to compare Telstra's budget model tablet next to. Needless to say, the T-Touch didn't fare well.
Design

Without wanting to sound too childish, the T-Touch Tab is U.G.L.Y. (it ain't got no alibi). Though perfectly functional, the placement of the fixtures and the choice of finishes shouldn't have Apple's prized designers losing any sleep. On the back of the T-Touch is a stainless steel slab covering the battery, a 2-megapixel camera and a handy kick-stand. Around the edges you'll find a range of ports, including a proprietary pin socket for the non-standard charger, a separate micro-USB port for data transfers, plus a thin docking port (which is apparently for peripherals that may not actually exist at this time).

At 500 grams, the T-Touch is between the heft of Samsung's 380-gram Galaxy Tab and the slightly cumbersome 780-gram Apple iPad. Its 7-inch screen provides good real estate, even though it isn't as wide as Samsung's similar-sized tablet display. But it's not the size we're concerned with, it's the lousy picture this screen displays; in fact, the poor quality of this screen is one of the major deal-breakers for us. On paper this screen appears well-specced: its the right size, it has a WVGA resolution, but in reality this is a dismal touchscreen. The colours in the image are dull and lacks charm, even on maximum brightness it still looks washed out.

Manufacturer Huawei has opted for resistive touch technology for this tablet. Mind you, it's not the "nearly as good as capacitive" kind, but rather the kind you have to press firmly to have the software respond - the kind that is likely to give you friction burns when you swipe from screen to screen. There is a stylus sheathed into the back of the phone, but honestly, who wants to use a stylus these days?
Features

For AU$299, the T-Touch is a well featured device. It runs on Android 2.1, and though it's unlikely to receive a Froyo update, it does a decent job of keeping the user engaged with decent performance in the menus and apps. It sports a full suite of connectivity hardware, including the ubiquitous trio of HSDPA, Wi-Fi and A-GPS. It also has Bluetooth for connecting a wireless headset and allowing you to use the T-Touch as a phone.

The user interface is a custom-designed experience, featuring an obvious mixture of Huawei and Telstra. You have access to Telstra's range of BigPond content, and while this typically has phone-lovers rolling their eyes, we do have to say that the Foxtel experience is pretty great. The user interface is split into five pre-named home screens, plus the standard Android app drawer. There is a handful of custom widgets, but nothing to write home about.

The rest of this tablet is mostly standard Android, including the multimedia experience. Media lovers will make use of the MP3 player and video player supporting MP4 and H.264. Telstra includes a 2GB microSD card with the T-Touch, and while this will be sufficient for the majority of punters, serious music lovers will need to fork out extra for a larger memory card.
Performance

What's really surprising about the T-Touch Tab is that under the less-than-sexy exterior runs a pretty powerful computer. Driving this bus is a 768MHz Snapdragon processor with 256MB RAM, so if you do manage to master the resistive touchscreen the rest of the T-Touch should keep up with you just fine. We've tested some of the most popular Android apps on this tablet, including Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, and we've seen no serious issues with performance.

The browser is also as good as we've come to expect from the Android OS, and the T-Touch Tab supports dual-screen display in apps that have been developed with the larger screen real estate in mind. One example is the customised notifications panel on the T-Touch, which is halved between your standard systems messages and a very handy task manager for killing resource hungry tools that have bottle-necked your memory.

Battery life is yet another major drawback for the T-Touch Tab. Our standard smartphone tests incorporate between 90-120 minutes of web browsing, plus push email and the standard calls and messages, but in testing the T-Touch Tab we went without the calling aspect and opted to up our multimedia consumption, adding a 30-minute TV show episode. This combination was enough to drain the battery on each attempt, which needed to be charged twice a day with this sort of use. If the battery were to deteriorate over time, as Lithium-ion batteries tend to do, you could find yourself wired to the power supply to get decent use out of this tablet.
Overall

The great disclaimer we could apply before each of our criticisms is: "it's just $300". It's true that you can buy this tablet subsidised through Telstra for a third of the cost of an iPad or Galaxy Tab, but comparisons aside, is this AU$300 well spent?

To achieve a budget price tag for a 7-inch Android tablet, corners are going to be cut, but when these cut corners are in fact the cornerstones of the user experience - the touchscreen input and the battery life of the device - you have to ask yourself if this is a device you are going to get a lot of use out of.

It's one thing to save AU$600-AU$700 buying a cheap tablet, but it's still a waste of money if you grow tired of struggling with the clunky input and decide not to use it after a couple of weeks.

Review Source: http://www.cnet.com.au/telstra-t-touch-tab-339306869.htm

We almost bought a Pendo Pad until we did a bit more research on it. It is a cheaper tablet than most others but I guess there's a reason for that! There is no review on the Cnet site but we did find some info on android forums.

Specifications

* Screen: 7" WVGA touch screen 800×480 resolution
* Operating System: Android 2.2
* Power Supply: Adapter AC 110-240 v
* VGA Camera

Dimension and Weight

* height: 19 cm
* width: 12 cm
* thickness: 1.2 cm
* weight: 360 g

Display

* 7" WVGA touch screen
* 800×480 resolution

Outputs & control buttons

* Navigation control
* MicroSD slot
* Power button
* Earphone Output
* USB 2.0×1, USB 1.1×1. OTG/USB Host Mode
* AC 97
* Built-in speaker
* Built-in microphone

CPU & Memory

* Rockchip 1.0Ghz
* 2 GB Flash
* 256MB DDR

Additional

* Audio Player with AAC, MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, ADPCM support
* Video Player with MPEG-4, H.264, WMV/VC-1, MPEG-2 support
* E-Book Reader with fb2, epub, oeb, txt, html, pdf support
* Image Viewer with JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP support
* E-mail Client
* Internet Browser
* G-sensor

Review

It was a little more difficult to find a review on this tablet, but here is one I found on Aussie Tech Heads forum:

Bad Points: for the price of this pad, you can't expect fantastic quality, the biggest problem externally is the buttons , they feel clunky and cheap, they work fine, so-far, and the lack of a hardware back button, the only other external things are the micro SD card which sticks out a couple of mill, and the hard power off button, which protrudes just enuf to be easy to bump.

Now to the screen, it has a resistive touch screen, which is easy to use and can use a stylus if need be, but doesn't allow for multi touch, the biggest problem i have with the tablet is the quickly assembled android o/s. Now the website claims android 2.2 but my testing has come up with 2.1 with a 2.2 skin, which for the most-part isn't a problem except some apps don't work or are buggy because some files are missing from 2.1. annoyingly they have left in the "Cell" portion of the OS as-well, like cell call, and SMS. causing "cell standby" to drain the battery quicker than it should because it always roaming. ( I'm working on a workaround for this).

Lastly on software, some of the options are missing in the setup menu, but I'm finding apps to solve this. from a hardware standpoint, its still commonplace to only put a VGA camera in the front, i don't know why, and the absence of blue-tooth and GPS means no blue-tooth tethering or turn by turn navigation, now i know that sounds like a lot, but most of that is to be expected in a pad of this price.

Good Points: Very good battery life, I'm talking at-least 8 hours of heavy use. Watching a movie uses about 5-10% depending on brightness
now basically the USB host mode means that i can plug in any USB device that has generic drivers, so far I've tried a keyboard, mouse, hub, thumb drive, 3g dongle USB headset, and USB hard drive. All of which worked. if you turn the host mode off, it lets you plug it into the PC and backup the device, files, root it, etc.

Now the CPU, which is quite powerful for a device of this price. remember i said 600/560, "560 MHz DSP" refers to the speed of the Digital Signal Processor chip. This chip is used to convert analog signals to digital and back again. the "600 MHz" is the speed of the CPU to which the DSP is linked. Yes, it is a 600 MHz processor, but the DSP enhances the effective processing speed.

OK so the case is plastic, and the plastic coating on the screen takes a little bit of getting used to, but it feels solid and sits well in the hand, one hand operation is possible even with the 7" screen, speaking of the screen, it has a matte finish so glare is fairly low even in full sun, and the picture is more than satisfactory, easy to read even small text and video playback is smooth and has good contrast, when using the touch interface, once effects are turned off its quite responsive, more-so than my phone. as its a plastic coating on the screen you do have to use a firm touch, but that eliminates accidental swipes.

The audio is very good, loud and clear from the rear facing speakers, not very basey but much better than I expected. using earphones really enhances it even further.the wi-fi range is quite good, better than my laptop,

Now when i signed up for this device, id had a look at cheap android pads, and they are cheap and nasty so i wasn't expecting much, after playing with it for 4 days, I've decided i really like it, before you ask I'm not even going to try to compare it to the ipad for many reasons, one the screen size is different. but i will say the android experience is pretty good despite the pendo pad programmers trying there best to muck it up. the tablet work well, fells good in the hand, is quick, has good screen and sound. all in all I'm very happy with it, and at half the price of any similar pads, i think its worth getting.

Review Source: http://www.aussietechheads.com.au/migrate/forum/viewtopic.php?p=20436

My Thoughts

After reading through some forums trying to find information on this tablet, there was a lot of mixed reviews. Some people were happy with the tablet while many others returned it due to problems or due to it being advertised as Android Version 2.2 when it is version 2.1.

I read comments about it being a cheap china tablet and quite a lot of technical issues with it also. The instructions are also apparently in another language and not English which isn't very helpful. There was just a bit too much negative reviews on this one that we didn't feel comfortable getting this model.

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Specifications

Processor: Intel Atom Z670 1.5Ghz Oak Trail Lincroft CPU
Core Logic: Intel Oak Trail Whitnet Point
Graphics: Intel Integrated
Display: 10.1%u2033 Wide (16:9) 1024×600 LCD Multi-touch Screen
Hard Drive: 16G/32G/64G/128G SSD
Memory: Up to 2GB DDR2 Memory
Audio: Codec: Azalia Codec support 2.1 channel output
Internal Mic: Built-in Mic
Jacks: 2 Jacks, Mic/Line Out
Speakers: 2 stereo speakers
Microphone: Internal Microphone support
Mini PCIE Slot: 1 for WiFi card; 1 for 3G module
Card Reader: 2-in-1 SD/MMC
Wireless LAN: Mini PCI-E Interface
Support: 802.11b/g & 802.11b/g/n
WiFi Device: Intel WIDI wireless display technology
3G/3.5G Support: Mini PCI-E interface, Support 3G/3.5G
TD-SCDMA/CDMA2000/WCDMA
HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS - 850/900/1800/1900/2100 MHz
Bluetooth: Optional
Digital Camera: 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera
Ports:
1x HDMI
1x SIM Card Slot
1x Kensington Lock
1x USB2.0
2x Jacks, MIC/ Line out
1x DC-In Port
Battery Life: Up to 8 Hours
Dimensions: 242.8(W) x 175(H) x 15mm(D)
Weight: Less then 700gm
Operating System: Ready for Microsoft Windows® 7 / Android

Info

In addition of their existing DreamBook ePad 7 Android Tablet, Pioneer is throwing out another new series called DreamBook ePad N7 to the market. Similar to its predecessor, DreamBook ePad N7 is not Full HD yet. It comes with 7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) LCD touchscreen display that support 16 million colors. The tablet PC is powered by NVIDIA Tegra II T20 Dual Core 1.2GHz, 1MB L2 Cache, and a ULP GeForce graphical chipset.

Pioneer Computers DreamBook ePad N7 features 512MB of 1.8V DDR2 667MHz RAM, 4GB internal storage, expandable via MicroSD memory card, Powered by Android 2.1 OS, and 1.3MP camera and 2-cell battery.

Connection-wise, Dreambook ePad N7 has can hook up with the local WiFi Hotspots, or it can go online using SIM card over to the 3G network. Optionally, you can add Bluetooth connection to the device so you can hook up with bluetooth devices.

Source: http://www.hardwaresphere.com/2010/08/20/pioneer-computers-is-throwing-out-dreambook-epad-n7-to-the-market/

Review

I went out and bought one last night. It worked straight out of the box (lucky I guess). I found it worked very similar to the original Samsung Omnia phone that I used to have (the 8 Gb one) only it's bigger and you can't make phone calls or send sms with it.

It does pretty much everything you would want it to do but a lot of the things are a bit complicated to do (when compared to the iPhone or iPad at least anyway).

I found the internet browsing worked fairly well although it was a bit on the slow side and I noticed that when you are typing a website into the address bar, the blinking curser stays in the middle of the address bar and the text being typed just keeps on moving. It opened most sites I tried to go to but it stalled when I tried to open the Windows Live (Hotmail) login page (even when I used the link from the nineMSN homepage)??? The touchscreen keyboard worked in a very similar way to the ones on the Apple products, almost identical in appearence but the touchscreen responds to pressure rather than heat (as with the Apple products) and I found it to be sometimes slow to respond to a keypress. It was also a bit inaccurate and sometimes difficult to select links on a website without zooming the page in (Bureau of Meteorology for example).

I managed to get to using most of the preinstalled applications on the tablet and they seemed to work OK. Some of which I had no need for. I was able to dowload a couple of the free app's from the app site (Solitaire and Sodoku) They were both difficult to operate at first but after looking up the instructions in the app store, I found that to start new games and change settings you have to press the menu button on the side of the tablet just above the volume buttons. There are't any on screen links to restart a game or change a setting until after you press the menu button.

I had difficulty logging in with the facebook application that was pre installed. I think maybe the link doesnt go to the right address and I haven't spent the time to try fix it yet. I'm told you can use the browser to go to facebook and log in and use it.

One thing I found particularly annoying was that when the tablet went to sleep (after 2-5 minutes of inactivity), it disconnected from your wifi network. This happened even if you left the unit sitting right next to your wifi router. You could be looking at a news article on a site, get up to make a cuppa and when you return and fire up the tablet again, the signal strenght bar has vanished from the top of the screen and if you try to refresh your page or go back to a home page, the browser just stops. This can only be restarted by closing the browser session, opening the wifi settings link on the tablet, waiting for 10 or 15 seconds for the tablet to reconnect (you don't have to select your network again or do anything really, it just reconnects) and then you close the wifi settings window, open the browser session again it continues on from where you left off.

I haven't decided yet if I'm going to keep it or return it. I might play with again in the morning. Another thing worthy of note. The battery more than half drained after only one and a half hours of use?

Source: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/1572039