Zen
and the art of tablet buying.
When
we last reviewed a tablet from ASUS, the MeMO Pad 7, we were
impressed by the build quality, aesthetics, and price of the
device... as well as ASUS's ability to play fast and loose with
random capital letters. This time round, ASUS have very kindly
increased the number to 8, thrown in a bunch of extras, and supplied
us with a gorgeous new tablet experience in the form of the ZenPad
8.0.
As
the MeMO Pad 7 sported a seven inch screen, so the ZenPad 8.0 boasts
a lovely eight-incher (oh, Matron!) A lot more has changed since the
previous device, as this new Android tablet feels sleeker in the hand
and... well, just looks God damn sexy.
We
apologise if that sounds weird, but as you might imagine we handle a
lot of tablets and phones, and get genuinely excited by the ones that
stand out from the crowd somewhat. In the hand the ASUS ZenPad 8.0
feels relatively light (it weighs just 350g) and not that much bigger
than the MeMO Pad. This is because ASUS have worked hard to reduced
the bezel around the screen as much as possible, resulting in a
larger screen, but not that much of a larger device. For those who
like stats, the screen accounts for 76.5% of the total area of the
front of the tablet.
Continuing
to look at numbers and letters, the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 runs Android 5.0,
has 1GB of RAM, has an Intel Atom Quad-core processor, 16GB of
storage built-in (expandable thanks to a Micro SD card slot), comes
bundled with free cloud storage from both ASUS and Google, boasts a
5MP main camera and a 2MP selfie camera, and a battery that will last
you for eight hours. Oh, another eight. Nice.
Uniquely,
the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 (which comes in white, black, or metallic)
features a removable rear panel. There is nothing behind that panel
except the the SD card port, but it very handily gives you the option
for a partial colour change. Several other colours are available in
the range of spare covers, including a saucy shade of orange which
paired well with our white version of the tablet. Changeable covers
reminds us of Nokia phones from around 2000... which is never a bad
thing. Being able to remove the back cover also helps with another
additional accessory which we'll mention later.
So
when charged up and running, Android 5.0 looks great on that 1200x800
screen. On top of Google's OS is ASUS's own ZenUI, which we actually
rather like. The pull-down top menu seems a bit more useful
(including a reading option which kills the blue light from the
screen), and all the touch buttons are nice and chunky. ZenUI also
gives you the option to do away with the app drawer altogether, and
keep all your apps on the home screens, just like in Apple's iOS. If
you're new to Android, this could perhaps help you get your brain
around it better.
Everything
worked very smoothly on the ASUS ZenPad 8.0, and we've yet to
encounter a glitch. Sure, 1GB of RAM isn't a massive amount, and run
several heavy programmes at once and you will notice a slight degree
of lag, but ZenUI can help with that. Slap bang in the centre of the
pull-down menu is a handy memory cleaner which will stop unneeded
apps and processes, boosting vital processing power. But then again,
this is an eight inch tablet; what exactly are you going to use it
for other than light web, email and Twitter use?
And
if you think an eight hour battery life just isn't enough, ASUS can
help there too. Bundled in with our shiny new ASUS ZenPad 8.0 and
spare back cover was the ASUS Power Case. This external battery has
the same dimensions as the replaceable cover (if a bit thicker) and
can attach to the rear of the tablet, boosting the battery life up to
15 hours! Although the Power Case can be charged while connected to
the ASUS ZenPad 8.0, it also ships with a separate little dongle to
be charged separately, making it extremely versatile. Seriously, the
Power Case doesn't add all that much extra weight and thickness to
the overall tablet, and in providing a huge increase in lifetime, its
tempting to leave it permanently attached.
At
the end of the day, this is a great small-not-so-small Android
tablet, that drops in at a decent price. It might not be crammed with
super-mighty processing power, but it is no way a budget tablet.
Since using the ASUS ZenPad 8.0 we've discovered our favourite new
tablet size – small enough to comfortably hold in one hand, yet big
and clear enough to make watching films and TV, as well as playing
games, an enjoyably immersive experience. Hats off here boys, hats
off.
£119.99
