We had high hopes for Asus’s new 8in tablet
because the company also makes Google’s cracking Nexus 7 tablet. But while it
does have its charms, it’s just not as good as its more famous cousin.
ASUS
16GB MeMO Pad HD 8 Tablet
The MeMO Pad 8 is thicker and more
curvaceous than the Nexus 7. Throw in an easy-to-grip surface, and this tablet
is more comfortable to hold than the thinner Nexus, despite narrow borders on
each side of the screen (when held in portrait mode). Another difference is
that the MeMo Pad has a microSD card slot - useful for supplementing the
built-in 16GB of storage or for downloading photos from a camera.
Although its screen is an inch bigger than
the Nexus’s, it actually has a lower resolution – 1280x800 pixels instead of
1920x1200. Text is, therefore, noticeably fuzzier, so reading is a bigger
strain on the eyes. It’s still very bright, though, with reasonably good colour
accuracy and contrast although the Nexus’s screen is even better.
It’s
still very bright, though,with reasonably good colour accuracy and contrast
although the Nexus’s screen is even better.
The MeMo Pad’s 1.6GHz quad-core processor
didn’t excel in our demanding webpage- loading and 3D graphics benchmark tests,
but it’s still reasonably fast at launching and running complex apps. The
touchscreen’s responsiveness was generally very good, tracking our finger
swipes and prods accurately and quickly. The exception was when we activated
Asus’s power-saving mode, which drastically reduced the responsiveness of the
touchscreen to the point where it was infuriatingly unusable.
This is a shame because the power saving
mode did actually work. With it switched off, the battery lasted 10 hours 16
minutes in our tests – which is good for a mini tablet. With power-saving mode
on, another two and a half hours were added. But given the excruciating lack of
responsiveness it causes, we’d suggest avoiding it unless you really need every
last drop of battery life. Annoyingly, the power-saving mode randomly turns
itself on, even after you’ve deactivated it.
Besides power-saving mode, Asus hasn’t
radically altered the Android 4.2 operating system. Some useful apps have been
added, such as a basic file manager and a handy parental lock app. The latter
lets you determine which apps your kids can use and also remotely track and
disable the tablet if it gets lost or stolen, as long as it’s connected to the
internet.
The
MeMO Pad 8 is thicker and more curvaceous than the Nexus 7.
The Asus MeMo Pad 8 is a good Android mini
tablet, but unless you really want the microSD card slot the Nexus 7 is far
better value. Its higher-resolution screen, fast performance and smooth
responsiveness, as well as a guarantee of future Android system updates, make
it well worth the extra $ 33.17.
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Specifications
•
8in 1280x800-pixel touchscreen
•
1.6GHz quadcore processor
•
1GB memory
•
16GB storage
•
Mali 400 graphics chip
•
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
•
350g
•
213x127x10mm (HxWxD)
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