ASUS Memo Pad HD 7-Inch 16 GB Tablet, Pink (ME173X-A1-PK)..
Buy ASUS Memo Pad HD 7-Inch 16 GB Tablet, Pink (ME173X-A1-PK) By Asus
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588 of 608 people found the following review helpful.
By K. Burke
So, I've been putting off a new tablet purchase for quite awhile. I've been suffering with an Acer Iconia Tab A100 for awhile now, and while it was nice when it came out it simply doesn't cut it anymore. But I am cheap. A year ago, had someone said that I would be able to get a tablet with a quad core 1.2 GHz processor, 16GB internal storage, Cameras, GPS, and micro SD slot with a gorgeous 1280x800 IPS screen, and that it would be running Android 4.2.1 Jellybean - all for $150 - I wouldn't have believed them. I had known for awhile that at some point prices would come down enough and hardware and software would catch up, and was waiting for the right moment. It came today.
Most of the reviews I've read on this tablet have essentially said that it's a solid tablet functionally, but that its construction is weak and it feels cheap. Honestly, I don't see it. While it doesn't have the same ultra-solid feel that the high-end (expensive) tablets have, it doesn't in the least feel cheap to me at all. The back panel, while plastic, doesn't feel flimsy to me. The screen looks and feels high end to me. There's alot made about the newer resolutions like the new Nexus 7's 1920x1200 display, but my eyes can't really tell the difference in most situations. I will say that if you are planning on using this outside on a sunny day, forget about it - it's almost impossible to see the screen under direct sunlight. But indoors it is great, and it has great viewing angles as well. Some reviews complained about the button placement but it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Some reviews also made a big deal about the back panel extruding slightly past the top screen panel, but I don't feel it's uncomfortable or in the least bit bad looking. The tablet is fairly light and thin, certainly not a burden to hold in one hand for extended periods.
The tab comes with Jellybean 4.2.1 and has a build update that will likely launch as soon as you power on and sign in. Engadget reports that it will get a 4.3 upgrade in the "near future". The OS is thankfully pretty vanilla, with only a few unobtrusive bloatware apps thrown in. Asus has a skin that IMHO is barely detectable; it's there if you want to use it but you can pretty much ignore it if you want to. This is a fairly lean implementation of Android and I for one appreciate that.
Performance seems to be very good so far in my limited testing. I've seen very little lag or stutter, definitely nothing that I find annoying. The screen is very responsive and looks great. The browser (Chrome, I am a Chrome user, and it pays off to be able to sync across devices) seems to run surprisingly fast. I did try a few games on it including Order and Chaos, Shadowgun, Dungeon Hunter 4, Anomaly HD, and Modern Combat 3; all played nearly flawlessly with only the occasional slight stutter, barely noticeable. I'd say this is a perfectly capable gaming tablet, even if not the highest-end, it plays everything I've thrown at it so far. I did experience some slightly long loading times with the games but that doesn't really bother me; waiting an extra 5 seconds to play a level is not a big deal to me. ETA: I just downloaded and played N.O.V.A. 3 on the tab and was surprised at how well it did. I had read that it was nearly unplayable on the MeMo, that is not true. It DID take a very long time to load the first level (a little over 2 minutes), but once loaded it played pretty well. I could notice a little stutter here and there but it's definitely playable. If it'll play that then it'll play anything I am likely to throw at it.
Battery life is quite good. With normal usage I can easily go all day long without having to plug it in, and still have some juice left over at the end of the day. I just got done playing Dungeon Hunter 4 for about 4.5 hours and saw battery life was still at 47%. That is pretty amazing. The battery also recharges very quickly, in my experience about 4-5 hours from a dead battery.
The camera is adequate. It's not bad, just nothing to write home about. It works, but it's not a reason to buy this tablet. Same goes with the forward facing camera - it works, but it's nothing special. If you want a great camera you should probably be looking at camera reviews, not tablet reviews.
I can confirm that the tablet does have its own standalone GPS and does not require a wireless connection to function (although Google Maps and Earth do). Turning off wifi and turning on GPS, I was unable to get a lock indoors, but at my house that has always been a problem (something in the walls or roof); as soon as I walk outside on the balcony GPS Status app tells me I've locked to 7 satellites, not bad. With an offline mapping app like Mapdroyd this will work great as a GPS unit in your vehicle.
The wifi seems to run very fast. I ran a couple of Speedtest trials on it and consistently got over 22-24 mbps speeds, which for my network is very fast, far better than my other devices.
I am finding the floating apps feature to be pretty useful. I can open up a calendar, calculator, video player, internet browser, and a few other "mini-apps" in a window with the touch of a button without exiting what I am doing. Very convenient for a quick check on something, great for multitasking.
I recently bought the Hisense Sero 7 Pro for my son for gaming, and while that is a great device for the money this one feels more solid, and more smooth in operation. Also, the extra internal storage is going to be tremendously important. I trust Asus to have better support for the MeMo Pad HD 7 than Hisense, as well. I would say that if you are really into gaming but don't need a bunch of games on your tablet at once then go with the Hisense, but for everyone else the MeMo is superior. The 8GB internal storage on the Hisense really is limiting.
I thought about going with the new Nexus 7, but two things broke it for me: 1) cost (obviously, paying less is better), and 2) the new Nexus 7 STILL doesn't have a microSD card slot. I have a large collection of music and offline movie files and don't like having to constantly load and unload stuff, so a microSD card slot is a requirement for me. I need that internal storage for apps, and I want an external card for everything else. Maybe the next Nexus 7...
I had wanted a black tablet, but the closest they have is blue. It's a very dark blue and in most light appears black. I got a black TransCover (very nice cover, BTW - makes it look and feel like a premium tablet, worth the money IMHO) for it and it looks for all intents and purposes like a black tablet now, which makes me happy.
My initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive. The more I use the tablet the more amazed I am that something at this price point can be so capable. Generally the old axiom that you get what you pay for is true, but in this case you're getting nearly everything you are going to get with a premium high-end tablet in a slightly downgraded package for ALOT less money. This one gets 5 stars from me not because it is the best tablet out there but because it is a solid tablet AND it's the best value out there in terms of capabilities versus price that you are likely to find. For the price I don't think it has any real competition.
ETA: 09/04/13 - today I tried to play NOVA 3 multiplayer over Wifi. It didn't work. I think I've found the tab's limit. My son's Hisense would load fine, but my MeMo was unable to join without losing the connection... It'll play solo - though it takes a long time to load - but it won't do multiplayer. I am, of course, trying to push it to the extreme; NOVA 3 is currently a benchmark game for Android. The Hisense is definitely a better gaming tablet. But it still suffers from small storage and lack of support. It took an hour to load NOVA 3 on the Hisense and I had to remove half of my son's games just to get it on there. Again, the 8GB storage on the Hisense really is limiting.
So, if you are looking for a powerful gaming tablet, this is not it. It will do everything short of powerful gaming very well, though. I have absolutely no complaints beyond the fact that it won't do networked play for the most graphically intensive Android game out right now... :)
ETA: 10/03/13 - Today a firmware update was pushed out by Asus which fixes issues people were having with Netflix among other things. It always ran fine on mine but apparently some people were having problems with it. But this is one of the reasons I went with this over the Hisense or other tablets; I trust Asus to support the device. It has apparently been listening to users' issues and is responding. The fact that the tab already got a firmware update so soon after launch to address issues is a very good sign for support in the future.
I am still very happy with mine.
381 of 407 people found the following review helpful.
By M. Erb
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R28NGZJ55MW4H5 UPDATE: 23 Mar, 2014: Well I sent the 2nd MemoPad refurb replacement back to Asus in February. Weeks went by and I heard nothing. When I called Asus they told me that had not received the tablet... even though they had provided a trackable FedEx return shipping label. So I went to the shipping dropoff point and got the confirmed delivery information and sent it back to Asus. A few days later the 3rd refurb replacement showed up. Finally they shipped one that did not have the NVRAM Warning error. The tablet still has the poor touch sensitivity that I mention in my review. My advice? Get a Nexus 7 if you want an Android Tablet or get an iPad.
UPDATE: 06 Feb, 2014: I've received the second replacement under warranty. Once again when I started up the tablet for the first time, it did not go through the typical first time startup walkthrough. This means that it was a refurb and had not had a factory reset. And again as soon as I went to the Wi-Fi menu, there was a "NVRAM Warning: Err=0x10" in the list and this could not be deleted. Every time I try to "forget" the network the error immediately reappears. Once again I'll be contacting Asus for another return. I will also mention that the Asus website is terrible to navigate for support and unless you are using Windows Internet Explorer, it is basically an unworkable website. I have reduced my rating further. Asus has completely dropped the ball on this. Quality Control is poor. Communication is poor. The website is poor. 3 strikes and you're out Asus. It's sad because the MemoPad HD 7 has a lot going for it but it's like throwing dice... you might get one that works, maybe not.
UPDATE: 22 JAN, 2014: A couple of weeks ago, I went to use my MemoPad and the battery was dead. I attempted to charge it as usual but this time it would not charge. I tired different cables, different charges and nothing worked. It simply would not accept a charge. I returned it to Asus under warranty. It took 3 weeks to receive the replacement (a refurb I assume) and it immediately had a problem. The problem was that when I turned it on, it had already been set up. In other words, a factory reset had not been done because I was not walked through the normal setup procedure. But more troubling was that when I went to Settings>WiFi to connect to my network, I saw an available network in the list called "NVRAM Warning: Err=0x10". It appeared as an available network but could not be deleted. When I tried to "forget" the network, it would immediately reappear. So I did a factory reset myself in the hopes that the warning would go away, It did not.
I'll be having to return this again to Asus and obviously my opinion of Asus has suffered as a result of this.
I have reduced my rating to 3 stars/
Your mileage may vary
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UPDATE: 1/2/2014 - Some bad news. My MemoPad refuses to charge now. Suddenly, I plugged the MicroUSB cable to the MemoPad for charging yesterday and nothing happened. I checked the plug and it was fine but I tried two other cables just to ensure it wasn't a flaky cable. It wasn't. Also checked it with several different AC chargers and on my laptop. NO dice. It won't charge. I then tried a hard reset by holding the power button for 1 minute, connecting USB to power and repeating the procedure. Nothing. My MemoPad is on it's way back to ASUS for warranty repair. I'll leave my rating intact for the time being. I may have to lower it depending on the outcome. I realize that some defects occur so I will give the benefit of the doubt for now.
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UPDATE: 10/19/2013 - It is possible to install Flash on this. But you must use Firefox beta browser or the Boat browser. After you install either or both browsers, go to Android settings and set security to allow downloads from unknown sources. Then Google "Adobe Flash Archives Android" and choose the Adobe site result which should be the top result. Go to that site and scroll down the page to Android 4 versions and download the latest version. Once it downloads, install it. if you have Boat installed change browser settings to check that flash is enabled. You should now be good to go.. Change security settings back to the way they were if you want to to continue protecting yourself from downloading from unknown sources.
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I've been very happy with my Nexus 7. However the Nexus 7 lacked a few important features that the Asus MemoPad HD7 has, such as a MicroSD slot for additional storage and a 5MP rear-facing camera. Asus managed to add those important features, and increase the resolution of the screen while pricing this quite a bit below the cost of the Nexus 7. Of course the newer Nexus 7 now has a rear-facing camera but still no MicroSD slot for easily adding storage.
Asus did have to cut some corners but the corners that were cut may not mean much to most people. Perhaps the most significant missing feature is NFC. The case material is not quite as substantial as the Nexus 7 case. It's a bit more slippery and somewhat more plasticy feeling. Also there is definitely something different about the display surface itself... it feels more like plastic than glass. I don't know what it is, but it's not as easy to slide your finger over the Asus MemoPad display as it is on the Nexus 7. Using a stylus largely eliminates that issue and also eliminates fingerprints on the screen.
Setup of the MemoPad was easy. I fully charged mine overnight before even turning it on. When I did turn it on, it walked me through the setup process. Only took a couple minutes if that. I added my email accounts, and Google account information and I was up and running in no time.
The Asus table includes what some would consider bloatware. It's not pure Android like the Nexus 7. Asus has created a skin over Android that makes certain things a look and operate a little differently, though not necessarily bad, when compared to pure Android. Play Store is installed so it's easy to install new apps.
I have noticed that the screen does not seem to be quite as responsive to taps as the Nexus 7. I am frequently having to tap a button a second time to get the desired action to happen. Maybe it has more to do with the material that the top of the display is made from (plastic or glass?) but I'm not sure. I also will comment on the case a bit more and mention that the bottom half of the case is not completely flush with the top half of the case. It actually has a lip around the edges that just feels a little unnecessary to me. It's a little uncomfortable to hold and if you never held a Nexus 7, maybe you wouldn't even notice.
Battery life is great... up to 10 hours. The rear-facing 5MP camera is very nice and I think it takes great pictures. The included camera app gives you some great control over brightness, camera resolution and camera effects and filters that we've all become familiar with due to the proliferation of smartphone camera apps (fill light, highlights, saturation, shadows, tint, warmth, vintage, nostalgia, LOMO, grayscale, negative, sepia, vampire, under the sea, night vision goggles). You also can easily change video resolution (1080p, 720p, 480p, CIF and QCIF) and use video effects (like vintage, nostalgia, LOMO, grayscale, negative). I really like the camera app and the control it lets you have.
The quality of the built-in speakers may surprise you. It was much better than I was expecting. I have installed iHeartRadio, Pandora and listening to streaming radio/music is fantastic. I have not run into any apps yet that will not run well on the Asus MEMOpad HD. I have not played many games but those that I have played, such as World of Goo, have worked perfectly.
This is a great value in a 7" tablet with a beautiful display, expandable memory, nice sound and decent performance.
128 of 136 people found the following review helpful.
By B. McCarthy
I already own 2 andriod tablets, 1 palm tablet, 2 kids tablets, and half a dozen old cell phones (mostly android). In fact, just 2 weeks before getting this one I purchased the brand new Nexus 7 2013! So when this arrived at my door listing specs that sounded like my brand new tablet that I spent $230 on and boasting the same screen and manufacturer, I naturally wanted to hate it! I mean, who does it think it is, coming around here acting all cool with it's $150 price tag. Thinking that just because it's cheaper people will love it! I felt like it was taunting me because I spent so much more for my new tablet...
Then I tried it out...
If I ignore the extra apps that Asus includes with this, and if I didn't pick it up (it is slightly heavier and thicker), I would swear it was the same tablet that I just spent $230 for...........
But who can ignore the extra apps?
I haven't tried them all, but I loaded a video and opened the video app, expecting it to give the usual slow loading and then it goes full screen. Boy was I in for a surprise!
Not only did the video load in no time flat (and we're talking about a full length movie converted from avi format using Handbrake, so not exactly designed to run smoothly on a tablet), but it opened in a small box, which stayed right on top of my other app......
Wait, did android just multitask???????????
The one thing that I love about my Palm devices is multitasking, and even the Palm only shows one app at a time. Here I can watch a movie while I surf the net, play a game, or [shudder] work on a project! And then when I am ready, I can hit the full screen button and watch full size on the HD screen.
Okay, I am taking up the entire review and then some talking about video, but you don't understand how rare this is. NO TABLET MADE BY ANY COMPANY ANYWHERE ELSE CAN DO WHAT THIS TABLET DOES!!! I've been saying that Android beats IOS for years, and with good reason (better hardware, better software, cheaper, more upgradable, more configurable, more apps, and all by a magnitude of dozens of times (except the hardware, that one is by a small margin)). But here we have a tablet with true multitasking capabilities, albeit only for video over other apps. This changes everything we know about computers!!!!!
That being said, I've been asking for this feature for years, and it wasn't really a big stretch or anything. And the S4 came close to doing this by letting you quickly switch between two running apps (which, I grant you, is multitasking). But nothing has ever done this!!!
If you are deciding between this tablet and an IOS device, hit yourself over the head, you might start to think straight again!
If you are deciding between this and a random android tablet, look at the specs, you'll see what I mean.
If you are deciding between this and the new 2013 Nexus 7, read my review over and over again until you see why there is no comparison!
And if you are deciding whether to spend the extra money on this versus a cheaper android tablet, trust me on this one, GET THIS TABLET!!!
If you are reading this and comparing with anything on the market today (or expected within the near future, I'm in IT and I keep up on these things), BUY THIS TABLET!!!
Okay, I'll settle down now, I've given my speech, and I feel better for having done my small part to encourage other manufacturers to INCLUDE THIS BASIC SOUNDING FEATURE WHICH I ASKED FOR ON MY NON-SMART PHONE IN THE MID-90s, BUT WHICH NO ONE ACTUALLY LISTENED TO ME ABOUT UNTIL AUGUST OF 2013!!!
Thank you for listening to me rant!
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