You may start associating the brand that’s been known
for its monitors with tablets. This week, AOC introduced its Android
slates to the Philippines, the first country in Southeast Asia to have
them.
The newly launched devices come with low price tags. Are the people
behind AOC launching mid- to high-end tablets in the coming months?>>SEE ALSO: The next tablet trend? 8-inch screens
“Frankly speaking, there’s no way we can compete with the iPad,” AOC executives said. “Even Samsung cannot dominate that market. We will concentrate on the low-end range. The next batch of products will arrive second half of this year.”
For as long as low prices don’t mean low quality, then we’re not complaining.
Ladies and gents, meet AOC’s affordable tablets, complete with our initial review:
The overall design resembles the Huawei MediaPad 7, and that's probably because of the product's metallic back. It has a gorgeous anodized aluminum finish, with a matte black accent on the corner and exposed screws on the sides.
That, plus the device’s solid feel, is not what you'd expect from a sub-P10,000 tablet.
However, because of its squarish form factor, no thanks to bezels that need some trimming, the G8DC or MW0831 is not that easy to hold with one hand. Good thing its thickness and weight are comparable to those of most Android tablets.
Port selection is pretty thin; the right-hand side houses a microSD card slot, a mini-HDMI port, a headphone jack, and a microUSB port. But despite the AOC Breeze Tablet G8DC or MW0831’s lack of full-sized options, this unit has a Bluetooth module, unlike most budget offerings.
>>READ: What's hot & what's not about these 7 Starmobile devices
The 8-inch screen is IPS [in-plane switching], so it delivers bright, natural-looking colors and wide viewing angles. At 1,024 x 768, the resolution is a minor letdown, considering we've seen sharper displays on more affordable slates. The screen's 4:3 aspect ratio, which is similar to the iPad mini's, is also a curious choice for an Android device.
Inside, the tablet runs Android Jelly Bean version 4.1 and packs a Rockchip chipset, a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and Mali-400MP graphics. This translates to a score of 11,818 on AnTuTu Benchmark.
Internal storage is at 8GB, with an option to add up to 32GB of space via the microsSD card slot.
The non-removable battery is rated at 4,500mAh, which should give make the G8DC or MW0831 last for one day with moderate usage.
There's also a 2-megapixel front camera that takes in a decent amount of light so photos and videos look slightly brighter. Take note, though, that there is no rear-facing option here.
Hardware performance is decent—what you'd normally expect from a dual-core Android. One thing: The metallic back panel heats up rather quickly.
AOC 7-inch Breeze Tablet (G7DC or MW0731+) – Price: P5,999
This AOC tablet’s screen measures 7 inches and has a WSVGA resolution of 1024 x 600, which means it has a wider aspect ratio than its bigger sibling.
But get this: You’re looking at a smaller, more rectangular version of AOC’s 8-inch tablet. Yup, the two look alike, so you practically get the same casing, complete with an iPad-like anodized aluminum finish and set of exposed screws.
Even the placement of the integrated speaker, physical side buttons, and notification light are the same as the G8DC or MW0831’s. The only thing missing here is the mini-HDMI out.
The AOC Breeze Tablet G7DC or MW0731+ is also powered by the same hardware inside the 8-inch breeze tablet: a Rockchip R30 chipset armed with a dual-core processor clocked at 1.6GHz, 1GB of RAM, and MALI-400MP graphics.
>>READ: Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0
Internal storage is pegged at 8GB, and the battery is rated at 3,100mAh. It likewise runs the same version of Android Jelly Bean.
Real-world performance is comparable to that of AOC'S 8-incher even though it got a score of only 8,717 on AnTuTu Benchmark.
The VGA front camera is quite a disappointment, so this clearly isn't the tablet for you if you're planning to take a lot of photos.
The most attractive feature—if you can call it that—of the G7DC or MW0731+ is still its price. P5,999? Some people would say, “Shut up and take our money.”
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