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When last year we reviewed Aldi’s Medion Life Tablet, we
discovered that budget tablets are now getting increasingly powerful (or is it
that powerful tablets are getting cheaper?). Finding another prime example of
that, and one that comes in a gorgeous pint-sized package, we checked out the
ASUS MeMO Pad 7.
As the name suggests, this slim tablet computer from ASUS
weighs in with a seven inch screen and a pleasingly narrow bezel. Curved around
the sides and very light, the MeMO Pad is a comfortable to hold and easy to use
Android tablet, that despite having a price south of £100, features everything
you’d expect from a modern slate.
Situated not on the side of the device, nor on the back -
but sort of at a weird curvy angle – you’ll find the volume rocker and sleep
button on one side, and a Micro SD card slot on the other (supports cars up to
64GB). On the top of the device there is the standard headphone jack next to a
Micro USB port to accommodate the included USB charging cable and adaptor.
The ASUS MeMO Pad 7 features a pretty impressive screen with
a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels and an anti-fingerprint protective coating.
The screen also offers viewing angels of up to 170 degrees, meaning everyone in
The Simpsons won’t sudden turn blue when watching from a weird angle. Inside
you get 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage (which is not bad at all,
remembering the SD card port), and an Intel quad-core processor.
So far, so good… and certainly the ASUS MeMO Pad 7’s size and
weight make it a perfect portable gadget. As it’s running Android 4.4, and
features all the usual connection options like WiFi, Bluetooth and screen
mirroring to other smart devices, it is massively flexible in use. We were also
quite impressed with the nine hour battery life (when used lightly – it dipped
to around six with constant streaming and use).
One area with which we were less impressed was the camera.
On the back you get a mediocre 2MP sensor, while on the front, for selfies and
Skyping fun, it is a mere 0.3MP… and boy can you tell. Even in daylight
conditions we found both cameras underperformed, and although it is a blot on a
fairly clean landscape, we found that we really couldn’t care less. We’ve never
known anyone to buy a tablet for photographic purposes, and certainly never
have ourselves. Other than to snap the odd picture to
upload to the eBay app, we never used it, and we’re quite sure you never will
either.
Still, it is almost a shame that ASUS included it at all, as
the cameras’ stats do bring the overall average for the MeMO Pad 7 down. Apart
from that, this is a very good bit of kit, at a very good price, that will
handle most of your day-to-day tablet needs.
£79.95
Visit www.asus.com/uk