This little gadget is the best purchase I have ever made! My whole world is on this thing, not to mention majority of my blog content. I purchased it for R1999.00 at Incredible Connection in June 2015.
Size: Generally I like big screens, be it TV, computer screen or phone it has to be big so I always planned to later upgrade to a 10” device when I purchased a 7” tablet. But I later changed my mind when one day I was seated in a small conference room of about 30 people and there was a lady seated right in the front. She had a massive 10” tablet that just attracted all the attention and we could all see what she was doing on it. She responded to emails, took note of what the speaker was saying, read a document, took a video and finally she logged into Facebook. No thank you! I don’t need the whole world having front row seats of what I’m busy with. The tablet was just too big! It looked like a laptop screen and she had to hold it with both hands. So this 7” is perfect for me, fits in my handbag, sometimes my pockets and I don’t have to sit down, put it on my lap to use it. I have big hands so it fits comfortably in my hands and can type with both thumbs. I can’t have it any bigger than this.
Picture quality: the 2MP camera is very poor, you have to be directly under the light, lots of light … well I didn’t buy this tablet to take pics, I think I’ve only ever taken less than 10 pics. My phone does a much better job. Besides it’s cumbersome to take pics with a big device.
OS: Runs on Android. Android is all I know so it’s nothing new.
Battery Life: I use my tablet all-day-everyday so I can’t complain about the battery. Takes about 4 hours to charge to 100% capacity so I charge it a few times throughout my day. Right now as I’m typing this blog post, I’ve had the tablet on since 6.40am, it is now midday and the battery is at 46%.
Major technical glitches:
- Though there is the option to use external storage space (memory card) of up to 32GB there is no option or feature that allows you to transfer files to the memory card. I have to do that using a computer. That is a huge downer for me because I can store up to 4000 pics on my tablet and I need flexible space!
- I don’t know what causes this but the tablet randomly shuts down out of the blue, it goes dead. I can just pick it up, try to use it and its dead yet it has over 50% battery. It won’t switch on, it won’t charge, I connect to the laptop and it doesn’t pick it up either. DEAD. So I have to just give it a time out until it comes around. It’s the most frustrating thing ever because sometimes I really need to use it and sometimes I just never know if it will work again because I have a lot of info and content saved on there that I cannot afford to lose. This only started exactly a year after buying it. I have never ever dropped it, neither do I leave it in the sun or close to heat. No idea what this is about.
- Lately the touch screen function has been acting up too. It’s so weird. So let’s say there are 24 app icons placed on the screen in a grid format and I touch/press a specific app icon wanting to open it, the tablet will instead open an app that is placed 4 icons away from the one I selected. And sometimes I have to press the screen really hard. I don’t place any objects on top of it either.
- It was extremely difficult to open the back of the tablet so I can insert the SIM & memory cards. I struggled for about 45 minutes that I was ready to go back to the shop I bought it from so they can assist me. When it eventually popped open I thought I’d broken it. So I have to be extra careful every time or avoid having to switch SIM cards.
- The charger was really crappy, it gave up after 5 months or so.
Overall: Having a tablet has taken the strain off my phone which is long due for an upgrade. I now use WhatsApp on the tablet, I can make & receive calls, as well as text. It functions like a normal phone where with other tablets I’d have to download a calling app of some sort. Having three internet enabled devices (phone, tablet, laptop) might mean more data usage though which can be costly. Also some apps are better to use on a tablet with a bigger screen as opposed to a 4” phone screen. A tablet is great for lengthy reading of documents and ebooks on the go. I use my laptop a lot less now since the tablet can perform most of the same functions.
| NETWORK | Technology | GSM / HSPA |
| LAUNCH | Announced | 2014, April |
| Status | Available. Released 2014, August |
| BODY | Dimensions | 8.9 mm thickness |
| Weight | 298 g (10.51 oz) | |
| SIM | Yes |
| DISPLAY | Type | TFT capacitive touchscreen |
| Size | 7.0 inches (~64.5% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 600 x 1024 pixels (~170 ppi pixel density) | |
| Multitouch | Yes |
| PLATFORM | OS | Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), planned upgrade to v4.4.2 (KitKat) |
| CPU | Quad-core |
| MEMORY | Card slot | microSD, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot) |
| Internal | 16 GB, 1 GB RAM |
| CAMERA | Primary | 2 MP |
| Video | Yes | |
| Secondary | Yes |
| SOUND | Alert types | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes |
| COMMS | WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| GPS | Yes | |
| Radio | No | |
| USB | microUSB v2.0 |
| FEATURES | Sensors | Accelerometer |
| Messaging | SMS (threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM | |
| Browser | HTML5 | |
| Java | No | |
| – MP3/WAV/eAAC+ player – MP4/H.263 player – Photo viewer/editor |
| BATTERY | Non-removable Li-Ion battery | |
| Talk time | Up to 6 h (multimedia) |
| MISC | Colors | Black |
| Price group | 3/10 |
*Table source: www.gsmarena.com
When purchasing a device you must know what function it will play, for example:
- My phone is for: calls, taking pics, listening to music & radio and taking notes.
- Tablet: Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, games, blogging, browsing, reading documents & ebooks, picture editing, Facebook page manager, emails and storing documents & files because I hate having to upload onto Dropbox & Google Drive.
- Laptop: Typing, blogging, Skype, storing all my files & documents and watching series/movies.
These are the other related tablets to choose from: LenovoA7-30 A3300/ Asus Fonepad 7 FE171CG/ Acer Iconia Tab 7 A1-713HD/ Acer Iconia Tab B1-A71 / Acer Iconia Tab 8 A1-840FHD and funny enough I actually compared through all of these. I’ve had my Lenovo laptop for close to 4 years so I decided to experience a different brand and it has given good results, it’s very strong. My sister had an Acer laptop and it was very strong in terms of hardware so I confidently settled for this brand.
That is my review of my trusted Acer tablet, I’m looking to get a new phone soon so do give me your suggestions. Camera quality and storage space are key functions.
Xx AngieTinashe
angietinashe.wordpress.com 