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Different Magic - PIPO M8 Dual Core Tablet Hands-on Review

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First, I have to say that I am really very excited that PIPO has chosen me, along with 19 other people, to review this new tablet. I’ve become quite a fan of the device as soon as I laid my eyes on it. As I always go for uniqueness and the feel of black technology (Sorry, Apple!), the PIPO M8 gives me just everything I need!
For people who have never heard of this brand, it is a company focusing on making differentiated tablets in the Chinese markets. It is the first Chinese company to market a 7 inch tablet with 1280*800 IPS display, an 8.9 inch PLS tablet as well as this 9.4 IPS display device we are testing today. As far as I am concerned, this marketing strategy has been quite successful, as PIPO has attracted tens of thousands of fans in just a few months’ time since U1 hit the market.
Highlights
9.4” IPS Capacitive Touchscreen, 1280*800
Slim Magazine-like Design
Support WCDMA/GSM Mobile Internet (Only the 3G version)
Android 4.1 OS
RK3066 Dual Core 1.6GHZ processor, quad-core of Mali-400MP
1GB RAM, 16GB ROM
5.0 Mega-pixels AF Camera
Front facing Stereo Speakers
Bluetooth 2.1
Support OTG, HDMI
Support 2160p video playback
Specifications
Operating System: Android 4.1.1
Model: PIPO M8
Display Technology: IPS Capacitive touch screen
Screen Size: 9.4 inch
Resolution: 1280*800
CPU Manufacturer: Rockchip
CPU Model: RK3066 Dual core A9 Chipset with Mali-400MP4
CPU Speed: 1.6GHz
RAM:1GB [email protected]
Hard Drive Capacity: 16GB
PCMCIA Expansion: T-FLASH (Support 32GB MAX)
Camera: 2MP+5MP Auto Focus
HDMI: HDMI1.4
3G: Internal 3G for 3G version, external 3G for the WIFI version
Bluetooth: Yes
GPS:NO
G-Sensor:Yes
Gyroscope: Yes
Audio: Built in stereo speakers (frontal)/ Built in Microphone
Language:Multi-language support
Battery Type: Li-ion, 6500mAh
Charging Voltage: DC 9V - 2.5A
Color: Black
Item Dimensions/ W*D*H:240x 172 x 9.0mm
Net Weight: 520g
Connectors
Ports: 2 x Micro USB port (USB Host and USB data port)
1 x Micro SD card slot
1 x 2.5mm DC input (9V, 2.5A)
1 x Audio jack
1 x Mini HDMI port
Communications
Wireless Connection:WIFI 802.11 b/g/n; WIFI+3G for the 3G version
Bluetooth 2.1
Retail Package
I received a gigantic delivery package last Friday, within which there are a slim paper back box which holds the tablet and a warranty certificate, another smaller but thicker paper box which holds the fittings and the manual for this tablet. A protection cover which is more likely an optional fitting more than a bundled one.
And above are all the standard fittings for the tablet.
Design
There’s no questioning that PIPO has come up with a stand-out look for this tablet. From the second you see the M8, it’s clear that the company is making a statement about how you’ll live and work with the device. The basic shape calls to mind a folded book or magazine, which is really comfortable to look at even though it feels very different. The device sports a 9.4-inch screen and weighs in at 520g, but it feels lighter in your hands than other tablets on the market because of the way the shape allows weight to be distributed. The tablet is only 9.02mm at its thickest point, and tapers down to a narrow 4.36mm.
Whether or not you warm up to this design is probably a matter of taste, but I found myself a big fan of the magazine shape, in both two-handed and single-hand settings, as well as on a flat surface. The beveled shape makes typing slightly easier when you have the M8 on a desk.
Besides the big screen up front, the M8 features a 2.0 Mega Pixels Front-facing camera, an ambient light detection sensor which enables auto-brightness of the display, and two speaker gates. This is the first time I’ve seen any tablets putting speaker gates on the front, but this is actually a very smart move, as you could never block them again wherever you put your tablet, Both the clarity of the outer sound the stereo speakers produces and its volume is very good, better than any other Chinese branded tablets I have tested.
Most of the ports and all the hardware keys are located on the upper edge, including a menu key, an ESC key. a Micro SD card slot which supports cards up to 32GB, a Micro USB Host connector, a Micro USB data port, a Mini HDMI interface, an LED notification light and a DC charging jack. The plug PIPO includes is of the 9V-2.5A standard, which ensures great charging efficiency.
​
On the left edge lies a 3.5mm audio jack, and on the right a Power/Standby switch which is artistically designed.
On the back you will find a 5 Mega-pixels AF camera which is able to shoot fairly sharp photos, another outstanding feature for the gorgeous device. All of the ports and buttons on the device feel very reasonably placed and easy to find.
In all, the M8 is a distinct device with a lot going for it in terms of industrial design, and there is almost no misstep here that makes the device underwhelming. The skin-feel metal back cover gives the device all the feel of expensiveness it needs, even comparing to those Apple and Samsung tablets which are priced many times more.
Display
The front is occupied by a 9.4” 1280x800 pixels screen, surrounded by fairly thin bezel. The screen resolution is the main gripe to be held against the M8, in this day and age of flagship slates with 1080p displays and above. Having said that, it is a very good screen in terms of colors, contrast ratio and viewing angles. The display brightness is also really satisfactory, meaning that you would be able to use the M8 outside even on a sunny day.
Internals
Inside the M8, you will find a healthy dose of familiar Android guts. The device is powered by Rockchip RK3066 dual core A9 chipset, running at 1.6GHZ, meaning you’ll get solid performance on all almost all applications. According to previous tests with other tablets powered by this chipset, RK3066 is arguably the most powerful dual core ARM processor. The M8 has 1GB of RAM onboard and 16GB of internal storage. The device also sports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an array of sensors (gyro, light, accelerometer, etc.).
Software
​
Most tablets these days must be judged on their software. In the case of Android Jelly Bean tablets, that’s not exactly a Herculean effort.
PIPO is no different in the sense that the company has opted for slight tweaks in the software rather than a major overhaul. The M8 utilizes largely the same build of Jelly Bean as other tablets (like the Galaxy Tab 8.9), though there are a few notable differences.
First, PIPO has designed a customized M8 homescreen which does not have a portrait mode, this can be quite annoying sometimes when you exit an portrait-default application like an E-reader or games such as Temple Run.
The widgets and icons of the regular applications have been revised to fit the custom UI. Having seen lots of stock Android UIs, I find myself quite a fan of those cute, crystal-like icons. As the M8 has no hardware controls for volume adjustment, PIPO has put the virtual volume rocker in the permanent android status bar, along with a screenshot button and the regular ECS key, Home key and Task Switcher.
PIPO has also preinstalled a few applications and games on the M8, but one of them PIPO-exclusive. You can easily find them free in any android market app.
Cameras
The rear-facing 5.0 Mega-pixels camera does a great job of capturing images — if you’re into holding a nearly 10-inch tablet up while you snap away. As I’ve said in many other tablet reviews, taking photos with the cameras on tablets are completely silly to me, even though I actually have seen quite a few Chinese and Japanese people doing that in public. I certainly won’t. On the other hand, the front-facing camera here is a step up from most other models, and I’m happy to see PIPO trying to improve the specs on what is normally an afterthought.
Just know this: even though the rear camera is probably the best I have seen on any Chinese tablet, it won’t replace a real camera or decent smartphone option — mostly due to the size of the device and awkwardness in use.
You can also capture 480P videos with the M8, though this seems even more bizarre to me than snapping photos. Quality was solid, though the device’s awkward size made it tough to get steady content.
Performance
As I have mentioned above, the RK3066 chipset, although seemingly a little outdated as a bunch of quad-corers have already hit the market, is still able to provide more than enough power to run the device smoothly over a variety of applications.
Some benchmark scores of the M8 and the comparison to other dual core devices.
In terms of General performance, the device seemed speedy running graphically intense games. And the experience of video playback is also very pleasant as the chipset can easily supports all formats of videos to at least 1080P. Thanks to the updates Google has made for Android4.1, the responsiveness and smoothness is better than ever. It doesn’t pale even compared to the Apple iOS.
Connectivity
As for connectivity, M8 has probably the best WIFI reception of all Chinese tablets I've tested, Online video streaming is possible even when you are 10 meters and some walls away from the WIFI router.
Besides, M8 also has built-in Bluetooth, which is a rare feature for Chinese slates. The WIFI version of the tablet can also get access to 3G network through connecting a 3G network card to the device through an OTG cable. And the 3G version has built-in 3G module which supports WCDMA/GSM SIM card. As I've only received a WIFI version, I cannot tell you how well the 3G module works on the M8.
Battery Life
Battery life on the M8 seemed solid to me, as the device features a 6500mAh rechargeable Li-PO battery. In my intense 720p video playback test, the M8 lasted nearly 8 hours, which is quite something considering that most Chinese tablets can hardly stand 5 hours of screen-on use. However, I did notice a more pronounced drain on the battery when the device was sleeping than my Tegra2 powered Samsung Galaxy Tab8.9 and Motorola XOOM, and I felt it fell short of competitors like the Ainol NOVO10 (8000mAh battery) and FSL Fast (8000mAh battery) in terms of overall battery longevity.
Another annoying issue is that the device does not support charging under the shutdown state, even though the charging efficiency with the 9V-2.5A plug is quite amazing (A full charge only takes as short as 3 hours).
Wrap-up
Good stuff:
Fascinating industrial design
Great looking display
Capable cameras
Excellent front facing stereo speakers
Solid battery life
Wonderful WIFI reception
Not so good stuff:
Incapability of charging under a shutdown state
Pricier than alternative options
Android slates are mostly competing on specs and price these days, rather than with design and overall experience.
The M8 goes for RMB1199 ($193) from PIPO, and, granted, this is $200 less than the market-leading iPad Mini, or the original 9.4 inch Sony Tablet S which is powered by the quad-core Tegra3 chipset. But for the same $200 price you can get the Exynos Qua-core Ramos W30, or the brand new Ployer MOMO19 with quad-core A31 and 2GB of ram.
The M8 does offer some features to differentiate itself from the competition, though, apart from the distinctive looks, like the very capable cameras and battery. Other than that, you can find plenty of decent Android tablets with this screen resolution and processing power for even less.
Overall, those who'd appreciate the more distinctive, elegant look will find the M8 right up their alley. But for those who just want a cheap Chinese tablet with a big screen and decent processing power, there might be other options.

thanks for your report.
questions:
how fast is the gpu clock for the mali mp400mp4 in the m8, ist the clock at 533 mhz???

Thanks for your question, the GPU is clocked at 399MHZ, powerful enough to run all Android games smoothly.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

against cube u30gt how does it compete?
thanks

Okay, ive got one for over a week now, the M* 3G (built in), and I must say......it rocks! Can work for about 6 Hrs without recharging, Wifi is perfect, design is a beauty,Im living in the Netherlands and today I tried (without any hopes of working) my built in 3G sim...guess what, no problem, worked right away. Graphic Speed is more than sufficient. The screenres. is perfect, tried to stream from my QNAP 469 (Twonky & Serviio) and the QNAP apps, worked like charm ( besides the mkv of 20+ gb.....but that's normal). When you buy this Tablet, beware of the fact that the OTG cable can be defect (as was mine...) when i tried to hook up a keyboard which i ordered in a sleeve, after replacing it it worked fine (also mouse and HDD). Sufficient power out for the HDD. Conclusion for me (mind...non-gamer, mediafreak yess) for about $185 ex. shipping: A WINNER!

For me, m8 is the better choice, u30gt is much porkier. And I prefer the design of m8.
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the 3G version, $185? r u serious? It's priced at RMB1,399 here in China, which is above $200....
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You should mention in the negatives that you can't update the android OS by OTA you have to do a whole procedure to do a system update via your pc (so if you have a linux based pc you are pretty much sc....d). In my case I have an Andersson ADT 2.6 which is a rebranded Pipo M8
Sent from my ADT 2.6 using Tapatalk 4

M8 replacement
For those who love their M8 Pro, like I do ...and would like a viable replacement someday, look to the M8HD.
It is the same case with a 10.1" brighter screen installed; thinner screen surrounds; bigger battery.
Pretty sure the M8 Pro is being/has been discontinued. I hated that they might give up the M8 size and style.
Not so, thankfully!
Could be one day we will see a RK3288 in the M8 case. Now that would be nice! ?:good:
Edit on 6/28/15
Amazing that I can still edit this post after so long. My M8 Pro finally died a quiet death. I was going to give it to a family member now that I have my Cube T9; decided to update the RileyRom, and bricked the tablet. Dead android on back; frozen on screen with a triangle above him marking his demise.
Boo hoo! There was a lot about the M8 Pro I really liked!
?

The battery is not even close to what the review is referring. Its last for 2 hours only in daily use and it was something like that from the begging. I have the tablet for 1 and a half year and after 6 months it started to hang, freez, you hard reset it and does not come on easily. As a conclusion DO NOT BUY IT!!! NEVER NEVER!!!

The iFive Mini2 Hands-on Review

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​When it comes to android tablets, the 7 inch display size is probably preferred most amongst customers today. Simply because the bigger display unlocks many potential uses for the device while keeping it portable enough so as not to make it cumbersome. While there is a slew of 7 inch tablets present in the market, the choice for customers has really widened.
While the prices of most Chinese branded dual core tablets have already dropped to below $100, the iFive Mini2 hit the market just now with a price of $130, declaring a war against those more celebrated tablets with quad core chipset.
Before I received the mini2, I had no idea what to expect from iFive, though I have been hearing great things about it. Once I laid my eyes on the tablet, it easily became my new favorite!
Highlights:
☆Fashionable design.
☆7 inch IPS display of 1280*720 pixels.
☆8.3mm body depth.
☆5MP AF camera.
☆Gyroscope, Bluetooth, HDMI
☆iFive Skin 2.0
Retail Package​
iFive is pretty generous when it comes to the Mini2's retail package and bundled fittings, a high quality pair of earphones, and an OTG cable have been packed in a very elegant-looking paperback box along with other fittings such as the manual, the quality guarantee card and the data/charging cable.
Design
As the Mini2 is 30 dollars pricier than average 7 inch dual core tablets, everybody would expect better build quality and more fashionable design, and iFive doesn’t disappoint us at all. The narrow bezel, the white plastic chassis, the silver frame and the 8.3mm thick body makes the Mini2 the best-looking 7 inch tablet I have ever seen.
The front of the mini2 really is everything I want a tablet to look like, a 7 inch screen surrounded by very narrow pure white bezels, you can also find a 2MP camera and a light detection sensor which enables the tablet to automatically adjust its display brightness.
The back of the tablet kind of reminds me of the famous galaxy tab2, only it’s even smaller. A very gorgeous LOGO is in the middle of the back cover. Although the material is plastic, yet it doesn’t feel cheap at all, thanks to iFive’s exquisite workmanship.
The few physical buttons and connectors are all conveniently sized and positioned, so they're always easy to find, but never get in the way.
At the top of the unit is a micro USB port for charging the tablet or connecting it to a PC or other USB device. Next to that there’re also a micro HDMI port, a micro SD card slot and a power/standby key.
On the right edge there’re a volume rocker and a menu button.
The four ACC speaker gates and a 3.5mm audio jack are located at the bottom of the device.
The information of the storage and the serial number of the device is delicately plated on the left edge.
It’s even thinner than the 8.6mm slim Galaxy Tab 8.9.
Display​
​The Mini2 has featured the same display used on the famous Nexus 7, so I don’t want to go into details about it, just so you know it has amazing brightness, nice contrast ratios, vibrant colors, and great viewing angles. And the 1280*720 resolution is really great for the eyes.
System & UI
The iFive Mini2 offers no surprise when it comes to the system it carries, Android 4.1.1 is currently on every tablets with RK3066 chipset. But still, the iFive Mini2 refuses to be normal, the iFive skin 2.0 user interface on the Mini2 is by far the best UI I have seen on any Chinese tablets.
The home screen, the app drawer, the music app and the video app and lots of the widgets have been exquisitely customized.
Hardware​
The Mini2 is powered by Rockchip RK3066 chipset, based on Cortex-A9 frame and uses 40nm workmanship, it has also had the impeccable Mali-400MP4 as its GPU and 1GB of RAM. I don’t think I need to again go into details about how powerful this chipset is, but one thing I will say is, after the so-called quad core tablets with the Allwinner A31 and the Actions ATM7029 all failed my expectations, I am glad to go back to a RK3066 tablet. Here are some benchmark scores of the Mini2 comparing to some other quad core devices:
Although it’s just dual core, the Mini2 is no loser to any quad core tablet I have used. It does almost everything better than those A31 and ATM7029 tablets, whether I am browsing image-heavy webpages or streaming super HD videos online.
Entertainment​
The RK3066 Soc. Is no letdown when it comes to gaming and video playback, it does support all formats of videos to at least 1080P through hardware decoding, and the powerful Mali-400MP4 GPU ensures all the games to run smoothly on the Mini2.
By the way, I am not playing a pornography on the Mini2, it’s an Usher Music Video called “Dive”.
Connectivity​
The iFive Mini2 has actually very pleasant Wifi connections, I noticed no fluctuation at all, and the reception is still solid even when the tablet’s 10 meters away from the Wifi Reuter.
Besides Wifi, the Mini2 has also featured built-in Bluetooth, which is very convenient. I even used it to connect to my friend’s smartphone to play a Virtua Tennis combat against him!
Camera
The iFive Mini2 has featured a 2MP front-facing camera and a 5MP rear facing AF camera. But don’t get fooled by the specifications, either of the cameras can shoot satisfactory images. Not only are the pics quite glossy, but the focus also happens very slow and imprecise.
Photos shot by Mini2​
Battery​
Mini2 has featured a 4,200mAh Li-PO battery, which gives the tablet normally five to six hours of on-screen use. During my 720P video playback test (30% brightness, 50% volume), the Mini2 stood for 5 hours and 45 minutes, which is solid, but not impressive.
Verdict​
As I said earlier, the iFive Mini2 became my new favorite. I am always a bigger fan of the 7 inch display, but as the Ainol NOVO7 Venus and some other tablets with A31 chipset all failed me, the iFive Mini2 arrived just right on time!
But it’s not all good things to say about the Mini2, the cameras are a little bit under my expectations, and the battery life should have been better.
Although the RK3066 dual core processor does help the mini2 deliver a decent performance, but I would prefer to see the RK3188 Soc. update for a 7 inch device, we are already in the quad-core era after all!
Plus:
Very fashionable design.
Super clear IPS display with vivid images.
Exquisite user interface.
Built-in Bluetooth.
Gyroscope.
Minus:
Dual core Soc.
Uninspiring camera.
Unsatisfactory battery Life.
Pricier than alternative options.

great review.anybody knows how to root and install cwm on this tablet?tyia

theejhay said:
great review.anybody knows how to root and install cwm on this tablet?tyia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
use the app called ZhuoDaShi.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

have you tried using that?

Seems nice!

of course, mine is already rooted.
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Dexcellium said:
Seems nice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it is pretty nice.
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jupiter2012 said:
of course, mine is already rooted.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
prove it.can u share the procedure or share some screenshot?

theejhay said:
prove it.can u share the procedure or share some screenshot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am really too occupied to do that.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

jupiter2012 said:
i am really too occupied to do that.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok.i just want an assurance.i'll wait for other members who can truly help me

theejhay said:
ok.i just want an assurance.i'll wait for other members who can truly help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
wish u the best of luck!
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

Great review!
By the way, I have some few questions about this iFive Mini2.
Does it have PlayStore?
256K colors or 16M colors?
Have you tried connecting it to your TV? Does it works, no issues/problems?

Hi guys any news on how to root and install cwm on our beloved I five mini 2?

personalizing ifive mini 2
Hi,
Is it possible to remove the calendar and weather data displayed on the home screen or are those fixed? Also, do you know where we can get ifive mini 2 user manuals in English?
Thanks in advance.

bricked or bootloop?
Hi ! is there anyone who can help me , i have an ifive mini 2 talbet. my friends are playing it then it suddenly restart . then when im waiting ... its just restart and restart . what should i do ? cant find a thread pertaining to this kind of issue. thanks

hey look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4HZJR0QmEI
look at my tab . what should i do with this ?
plz help thanks..

I like all... Thanks giving this review :fingers-crossed::victory::highfive::good:

1.8GHZ Quad Core + FHD display - in depth Review the CUBE U30GT2

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The CUBE U30GT2 has actually been on sale for quite a while now. The ten inch tablet runs on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean), with 1.8GHz quad-core processor, the display’s resolution is WUXGA (1920 x 1200). It has a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. It is 9.6 mm thick, comes in black & white.
For:
1. The High-resolution screen rivals the iPad4's display in sharpness and clarity.
2. Extremely powerful, Apps launch quickly, 3D games run smoothly.
3. Excellent battery life, probably the best among all Chinese slates with FHD or Retina displays.
Against:
1. A littile bit heavy and porky.
2. Outdoor visibility is still unsatisfactory.
3. The rear-facing camera is really not much more than just decoration.
Key Features
◇10.1 inch 16M-color super IPS display at WUXGA resolution (1920X1200 pixels), 224PPI
◇Rockchip RK3188 SoC., 28nm quad core 1.8GHZ Cortex-A9 processor, Mali-400MP4 GPU, 2GB DDR3 RAM
◇Stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
◇32GB of built-in-storage
◇2MP front facing camera, 5.0MP rear-facing AF camera
◇Stereo speakers
◇HDMI TV-out
◇Bluetooth 2.1
◇Anti-rolling frame
◇USB host
◇MicroSD card slot
◇1080p video playback
◇7200mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery
First Impressions​
The CUBE U30GT2 feels like a solid tablet. I really fancy its white plastic chassis, which makes me forget how much a fan I am of the feel of black technology.
Contrary to my worries before receiving this slate, the RK3188 SoC. seems to support the FHD display very well, tasks from scrolling image-heavy webpages to running graphic-intense games were all handled with ease. And the tablet remains incredibly responsive while running several big applications at the same time!
Design and Build​
The CUBE U30GT2 uses the kind of design which most large-screen tablets look like. It’s thinner than its predecessor, the dual core U30GT, at just 9.6 mm. It is also a little bit lighter at just 659 g, but still way too heavy for single-handed use. There’s sufficient amount of bezel on either side of the screen, so you can use it in any orientation comfortably.
A 2MP front-facing camera sits comfortably in the middle of the bezel above the display, which can be used for online video chatting. The intelligent light sensor, which helps the tablet to automatically adjust the display brightness, is located on the upper left corner of this flagship slate, covered by the sticker.
All the keys and connectors are hosted on the left edge. You will find a power button, a volume rocker, a mini HDMI port, a MicroSD card slot, a 3.5mm audio jack and a 2.5mm DC port there. The metal frame around the edges looks very cool.
The stereo speakers are hosted on the middle of the right edge, which is not reasonable at all, as they are easily covered by our palm while we are holding the tablet with both hands.
The back of the U30GT2 is ABS plastic, which is not only good-looking, but also very durable. The UV coating process also helps with avoiding the feel of plasticky or cheap. The 5MP AF rear side camera and a LED flash sits on the top-left corner, but don’t get excited too soon, the quality of the shots is nowhere near images coming from a 5.0MP cell phone camera.
Display and Sound
The LCD-backlit IPS display on the U30GT2 is a lot better as compared to the MVA screen on the U30GT. The full HD resolution (1920 x 1200) at that size offers a decent pixel count of 224 PPI. This is not too far off from Apple’s 264 PPI on the iPad4, which means you won’t notice a huge difference between them in everyday use. The display is bright and text is sharp and crisp; perfect for web browsing or catching up on your TV shows. The viewing angles are wide -- so wide, in fact, that you can easily watch a movie with the tablet placed face-up on a table in front of you (not that you'd need to do this ever). The display also has a screen guard protecting it, just like the other CUBE tablets, but I left it alone this time.
The brightness of the display is decent, but not amazing as the one on PIPO M9, which can boast 600nit brightness. While I am using the U30GT2 outdoors, the screen glare sometimes overpowers whatever's on screen.
Like many other CUBE tablets, the U30GT2 comes endowed with ACC speakers, which make for some loud, though not exceptionally rich sound. Just keep in mind that the speaker is located on the right edge, which means if you are holding the tablet with both hands, any songs and movie dialogue will sound muffled.
Performance
The CUBE U30GT2 packs an 1.8GHz quad-core Rockchip chip (RK3188), which is built on Cortex-A9 frame and 28nm process, paired up with 533MHZ quad core Mali-400MP GPU and 2GB of DDR3 RAM. Although this is not the first tablet I've tested this setup, it is truly the first one with FHD display, and it didn't disappoint—the U30GT2 scorched the benchmarks, recording some of the highest scores I've seen across the board. The 16,413 overall Antutu benchmark score handily beat the 10,401 notched by the Onda V973 and approached the 18,000-20,000 marked by the Sony Xperia Tablet Z and Asus Padfone Infinity, both of which use Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 APQ8064 quad core chipset.
High CF-Bench and Vellamo HTML5 scores confirmed anecdotally speedy Web browsing performance during day-to-day use, while Nenamark2 frame rates were among the best I’ve seen. From rapidly switching between multiple running apps to playing graphically intensive games like NFS17, the U30GT2 handled everything I threw at it easily. Sliding between widget-loaded home screens and scrolling down media-heavy websites was smooth, with very rare choppiness.
The U30GT2’s benchmark score compared with other tablets with quad core processor.
The tablet has 32GB of internal memory with the option of adding up to a 32GB microSD card, which will suffice the need of majority of users. If that’s not enough, you can always connect an USB disk or mobile hard drive to the slate via OTG.
Software
The U30GT2 isn’t skinned with CUBE’s much loved yet also much hated Win8-like interface, instead it uses the original launcher of the stock Android 4.1.1. There are indeed some very cool and useful preinstalled applications, but none of them actually developed by CUBE, and you can find them in Google play or any third-party app market.
Multi-media
Media playback is solid with the U30GT2 and it breezed through anything I threw at it, including MPEG-4, RMVB, and MKV files at resolutions up to 1080p. The sound the speakers produce is of relatively high volume and nice quality.
Also, the U30GT2 has HDMI support, you can output the display to much bigger monitor and TV screens in Full HD resolution via an HDMI cable, enjoying movies and funny videos with friends and family.
Communication
New tablets should have an easy time in the connectivity test. However, many voices spoke out about the poor WLAN performance of many of CUBE’s slates. This was not really the case for the U30GT2, as I am pleasantly surprised with its Wi-Fi reception.
The U30GT2 uses 802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth 2.1. A version with a 3G module has not yet been announced by CUBE. In my standard Wi-Fi reception test, the U30GT2 beats most Chinese tablets in test results:
Cameras
There are two cameras on board here, a 5-megapixel F2.8 rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The rear camera disappointed in my tests, with noticeably grainy images in both indoor and outdoor settings. Images are moderately sharp, but the U30GT2 struggles with dynamic range, blowing out highlighted areas and losing detail in shadows. You can record video at 480p resolution, but I'd use it as a last resort—video is shaky and riddled with image noise. The front-facing camera is serviceable for Skype calls, but not much more. This, however, is pretty typical of most tablet cameras.
Battery
The U30GT2 packs a 7200mAh battery. In my battery rundown test, which loops a video with screen brightness set to 30% and Wi-Fi turned off, the U30GT2 lasted 10 hours, 38 minutes. That's pretty impressive compared to the Onda V973's 8 hours, 5 minutes and the Nexus10's 8 hours, 47 minutes on the same test.
During testing, I also noticed the U30GT2 seemed to charge faster than competing models, a full charge only took about 4 hours with its bundled 12V-2A charger. But, contrary to most other Chinese tablet products with RK3188 chipset, the U30GT2 cannot be charged under a shutdown state. And I believe this is gonna annoy quite a number of people.
The competition
With a 1920 x 1200 screen and a $204 starting price to match, there's little question that the CUBE U30GT2 was intended as a cost-efficient device. By now, most Chinese tablet makers have lowered the price of their goods, leaving the U30GT2 with only a handful of competitors in the 2-hundred-dollar range. Starting with the obvious, there's the ifive X2, which sports an 8.9-inch, 1920*1200 PLS screen, along with a RK3188 processor and 2GB of RAM. All told, these are similar specs, except ifive's model costs $40 less and runs a slightly more skinned version of Android. As it happens, I am in the process of testing one now, but not quite ready to post my impressions and benchmarks results. In the meantime, then, it's at least safe to say that the X2 sits in the same class as the Infinity U30GT2 and is definitely worth your consideration, although it is beaten by the U30GT2 in internal storage (16GB: 32GB).
Within the same price range there’re also the Yuandao N90HD, the Aoson M33 and the PIPO M9 Pro, all of which pack a Retina display and the same RK3188 set-up, posting serious threat to the U30GT2’s market share.
It's also worth noting that the U30GT2 could face competition from within the CUBE line: the U30GT1 has already been on sale for a couple of weeks, at only $169 it is very likely to draw lots of users’ attentions away from the U30GT2.
Conclusion
The U30GT2 is a truly impressive tablet. It's exquisitely designed, exceedingly fast, and has a sharp full-HD display. Throw in extras like anti-rolling frame, built-in Bluetooth, expandable memory, and dual cameras and you have a seriously loaded Android tablet.
If you want arguably the fastest Android tablet with a full HD display for under $250, the U30GT2 is the way to go, since it is much more pleasant to use than those Allwinner A31 powered tablets with Retina displays. But my suggestion remains with the PIPO M9, as a standard resolution still has much better compatibility with most applications.

Price Incorrect - Or Changed?
Hi.
Nice review. I like that I can compare it to your Pipo review.
Question: you state that the cube can be found for around $200.00 or so. Where was that? I realizes prices can change, but your review is just a few weeks ago, and the typical price is around $250.00. The U30GT (version 1) goes for around $200.
Thanks!
-Pie

Hardware is good, but the rom is poor. it is always the problem of china tablet.

EatingPie said:
Hi.
Nice review. I like that I can compare it to your Pipo review.
Question: you state that the cube can be found for around $200.00 or so. Where was that? I realizes prices can change, but your review is just a few weeks ago, and the typical price is around $250.00. The U30GT (version 1) goes for around $200.
Thanks!
-Pie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The price that I presented here is turned from the retial price in China (RMB) to USD according to the exchange rate, the actual price in your country or some online stores might differ.

jupiter2012 said:
The price that I presented here is turned from the retial price in China (RMB) to USD according to the exchange rate, the actual price in your country or some online stores might differ.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, so they cost less when in China. Makes sense. But a road trip across the Pacific to save $50.00 is probably out of the question for me at this point.
BTW, can U30GT2 do chroot and run Linux distros like Ubuntu under Android? I use LinuxonAndroid and it made the process really easy on my Nook HD+... and it left me wanting for speed, which is why I'm interested in the UG30GT2.
Thanks.
-Pie

The best review i've ever read. Thank you mate!!

antooonn said:
The best review i've ever read. Thank you mate!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank u for your support!
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

Screen on/off power button no workee
I just got the Cube U30GT2 in the mail earlier this week. You're right, it's got a bit more heft to it, but not so bad, just a tad heavier than my Galaxy tab 10.1. However, unlike that tablet, the U30GT has lots of options for connecting things, micro USB, micro SDHC, micro HDMI. My tab 10.1 couldn't do any of those.
On the bummer side, the momentary power button, screen on/off doesn't seem to be working. The tablet is new with all the wrappings on, but that button is slightly busted. It will reboot the tablet, but won't turn the screen on or off. I worked around it for now with a screen always on app, and screen off app. I also discovered plugging or unplugging the power cord from the tablet also turns the screen back on. But aggravating. I have yet to succeed at getting the attention of the seller (androidtablet.com).
The price was middle of the road: $250 or so. But that's terrific compared to a Galaxy Tab or other recent tablet.
---------- Post added at 08:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:34 PM ----------
I forgot to mention, I read lots of reviews online for the Cube U30GT2 before popping for it. Most rated it as one of the currently best Chinese tablets, and not withstanding the power button issue, I tend to agree. However, all of the Chinese Android tablets seem to suffer from weak wi-fi signals, and in my table at least, this is true.
I tested my Galaxy tab laying right next to the Cube tablet. The Galaxy was able to knock out 10mbs on my wi-fi router from my family which is 15 feet or so away. The cube tablet only hit 2 to 5 mbs. Mind you, I couldn't tell much of a difference when hitting youtube, but it is a distinct disadvantage. I'm going overseas next month and the weaker reception could mean I won't get reliable wi-fi reception in the hotel.

Looks good.
I have the previous one and it's great .
Recommended.

Looks OK. Just wished they opted to put a slightly better GPU in it. The Mali 400 is good for phones but for a tablet that had a 1080p + display needs a bit more power. However, this is a good bargain considering it's original nexus 7 price tag.
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app

Thanks for the nice review.
I think according to the price its a good tablet. But I agree to obscuresword, that the GPU it too weak for the Resolution. My Galaxy S3 has the same GPU and many benchmarks show, that its not as good as many people think.
The HP Touchpad tought as, never trust the hardware, if the software isnt good. Because of that, i never bought a Tablet from China. Android is not efficient enough, to ignore new Android versions...

artoni said:
Thanks for the nice review.
I think according to the price its a good tablet. But I agree to obscuresword, that the GPU it too weak for the Resolution. My Galaxy S3 has the same GPU and many benchmarks show, that its not as good as many people think.
The HP Touchpad tought as, never trust the hardware, if the software isnt good. Because of that, i never bought a Tablet from China. Android is not efficient enough, to ignore new Android versions...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How come I don't understand your last sentence....
Android has its advantages and disadvantages, that all comes down to personal preference. As for myself, I could never get used to the iOS system. I used to own an ipad2, but got too sick of the system after using it for just 2 months and gave it away.

Very comprehensive review! Thanks a bunch!
The deal-breaker for me is the placement of the "stereo" speakers on the righthand side. You'd think they would have separated the two speakers, one on the left side of the tab and one on the right side, but they didn't.

1.8?
I just wanted to point out that the clock is running at 1.6Ghz and not 1.8Ghz as advised. It is still a good choice for the price thought.

vondroid CFW
http://vondroid.com/resources/cfw-vondroid-cube-u30gt2-1-x.374/
4GB Internal Storage
CWM Recovery (ClockWorkMod)
Rooted
Debloated Chinese Software
Add apps (Youtube, ES File Explorer)
Apps updated
Ads block
Partial Build.prop optimise
Solved Settings crash issue
Fully Build.prop optimise
Fully market support
Init.d support
Init.d tweaks
Update apps (GoogleSearch)
General system optimise (Launcher.apk, Framework-res.apk)
Vondroid Boot animation
Support extra .ko files (Tun.ko, cifs.ko, nls,...)

antooonn said:
The best review i've ever read. Thank you mate!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yaah men i agree

WHich one
I have been looking at the cube u30gt2 and still undecided which one to get.
i have looked at.
1. Cube u30gt2
2. Pipo Max m9 pro
3. Ramos W30HD
4. Ramos I9
each seem to have similar pros and cons,
I am just nervous I buy the wrong one and nervous I am buying from china?
Please help me decide

Quite a good review. Ordered mine from China together with the Onda. Yet to receive them. Will post impressions after I drive the two.

Root
I can´t find a rooting tutorial for this tablet. Can some one give a clue about that?
Thks
Pirex

jy_P said:
I just wanted to point out that the clock is running at 1.6Ghz and not 1.8Ghz as advised. It is still a good choice for the price thought.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got one, and mine is runnig at 1.8Ghz
Cheers

Cube T6 hands-on review: the cheapest 4G tablet

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The Cube T7 and T9 have enjoyed great reception from the users, and now Cube introduces a new slate from the T-series to the world – the Cube T6. Like the T7 and T9, the T6 has 4G access and phone functions. However, unlike the other two models which have some advanced features and were once marketed as flagship tablets, the T6 is really just an entry-level slate with a TN screen, some low-end internal specs as well as a RMB399 ($64) price tag.
Cube T6 Specs
OS: Android 5.1
Display: 6.98-inch TN, 5-point multi-touch
Screen Resolution: 1024 x 600
CPU: 64-bit MT8735 quad-core processor (4 cores of Cortex-A53)
CPU Frequency: 1.0GHz
GPU: Mali-720MP2
RAM / Storage: 1GB / 8GB
Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, OTG, Miracast, FM Radio
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
GSM: band2, band3, band5, band8
WCDMA: band1, band5
FDD: band1, band3, band7
Camera: 2MP back camera, VGA front camera
Battery: 2,600mAh
Extend Port: Micro SD card card slot, Micro SIM Card Slot 1, Micro SIM card slot 2, Micro USB port, 3.5mm Headphone Jack
Weight & Size: 240 g / 191*99*9.5mm
Design and build
The main design element is the size of the tablet. Although the T6 is just one of the many 7-inch tablets we have seen from Cube, it is certainly the smallest. It’s almost like holding a phone because the device is so small and slender – holding it one-handed is a breeze. The silver frame looks nice, so does the rounded curves of the cover. However, the proportions of the slate looks extremely weird and lanky, I would prefer if the bezel was a little bit bigger.
The T6 has a plastic rear cover which matches that of the Cube T7 and T9, as well as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S. It may look better than the plain plastic back from the U25GT and Talk 7X, and provide better grip than the metal chassis, but it still feels cheap.
The T6 has the minimum number of ports and buttons. The only physical controls you’ll find are the power/lock key and the volume rocker switch on the right hand side of the slate (when held in portrait). The 3.5mm headphone jack and Micro USB port are on the top side of the tablet, while the Micro SD card slot, and the two Micro SIM card slots can only be accessed after removing the cover on the top.
The tablet weighs 240g, not much heavier than many of the large phones, long period of one-handed operation wouldn’t be much of a problem. However, at 9.5mm, it isn’t a slim tablet by today’s standards.
Decent build quality has been maintained with no signs of unwanted gaps in the casing or wobbly buttons. The lack of premium materials such as aluminum is hardly unexpected, given the $64 price tag attached to it.
Display and sound
Here comes the greatest weakness of the Cube T6: a 7-inch TN display at the resolution of 1024*600. Taking the price of this tablet into account, we wouldn’t mind a low-resolution display if they are giving us a PLS or IPS panel to look at. But a TN display is really something we cannot tolerate, especially when lower-end tablet such as the U25GT ($32) are now featuring a Samsung PLS display.
The nice thing is that the TN panel on the T6 looks better than those seen on the tablets released in 2011, as it has better color saturation, brightness and contrast.
However, when compared to better LCD panels such as MVA, PLS and IPS, which we are already accustomed to see on smartphones and tablets, the TN panel doesn’t have equally wide viewing angles.
The colors appear distorted especially when looking at the display from the left (in landscape). Generally the response time of the TN display is also not as short as that of the IPS or PLS displays, but that’s much more difficult to notice than the viewing angles.
Compared to the disappointing camera, the rear-facing speaker is one of the few areas where the T6 unexpectedly impresses. It is loud enough to hear in a quiet room, although the sound quality is not as good as that of high-end slate such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4. I was okay with the sound the speaker produced while watching YouTube videos, but I was still in desperate need of connecting the T6 to my Monster Clarity HD Bluetooth sound box or plugging in one of my Astrotec headphones whenever I was listening to music.
System and apps
The Cube T6 runs the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop OS, with light customizations on top. Preinstalled applications are kept to the minimum, and you can uninstall most of them without rooting the device.
Although there remains a dearth of tablet apps for Android, especially when you compare it to the wealth of high-quality apps made for the iPad. 7-inch tablets don’t really suffer that much as almost all phone apps still work brilliantly on this smaller tablet screen.
Performance
The Cube T6 is powered by a 64-bit quad-core 1.0GHz MediaTek MT8735 processor with 1GB RAM. It is now the new basic setup for a tablet with 4G and phone functions. As the processor is quite new to us, we need some benchmarks to evaluate the T6’s real horsepower and see where it fits in the spectrum of tablet performance.
Antutu V5.0 returned a score of 18,583, putting the T6 behind most of the budget smartphones and tablets released recently, and Geekbench 3 reported scores of 477 single-core and 1,336 multi-core, which is not good, but decent. The CF-bench test resulted in a score of 17,911, and the Quadrant Advanced gave the T6 a mark of 9,248.
In the more graphic-focused 3D Mark test, the T6 was returned 3,329 in Ice Storm and 1,682 in Ice Storm Extreme, which are expected for a tablet in this price range.
In real day to day use, apps open swiftly, video playback is smooth, and Web browsing doesn't disappoint. However, running too many applications simultaneously in the background could cause significant slowdowns. Having two browser windows open, for instance, makes both load at a slower clip, while the virtual keyboard can take a moment to pop up.
I did also notice some compatibility issues of the GPU, as some of the 3D games weren’t able to run on the T6, and a few graphic-intense games such as Zombie Wood and Asphalt 7 ran at a very low frame rate. Luckily my personal favorite: Virtua Tennis, Crazy Cars and Banana Jungle were very smooth.
Connectivity
Like other tablets from Cube’s T series, the T6 has 4G access and full phone functionalities. While the higher-end T7 and T9 supports both FDD and TDD, the T6 only supports FDD-LTE, but it is not really an issue for people who don’t live in China, as TDD-LTE is currently only used by China Mobile.
Voice calls worked as fine as it was on my HTC Desire, and I could easily pair it with a Bluetooth headphone. Wi-Fi reception was also nice as I had no problem streaming online music and videos several meters and a wall away from the router.
Battery Life
The T6 houses a 2,600mAh Li-Po battery, which is less capacity than in most of today’s smartphones. With varied usage including frequent e-mails, some video, a few games and a good deal web browsing, the T6 lasts 6 hours on average, which was pretty good given the battery capacity. In our standard cngadget battery test, where we loop a 1080P video with 30% screen brightness and 50% volume, the tablet lasted 8 hours and 35 minutes, much better than other entry-level slates.
Cameras
The rear camera is simply bad and can't really do much either in photo or video mode. It is funny that Cube even gives an LED flash to this low-end tablet, instead of giving it to the more capable T7. The front webcam will do the job for online video chatting, as long as you're in good lighting; otherwise the lags quickly add up.
Photo by the rear camera
Verdict
This T6 doesn’t really impress in almost every respect. The only exceptions are the OS and 4G access, as the Android 5.1 brings a lot of new nit features to the table, and the 4G voice call and data can really be quite useful on some occasions. With that said, the TN screen is something that should not be used on a 2015 tablet. According to Cube, an enhanced version of the T6 will be released soon, and the new slate will feature a much better PLS display and possibly a larger battery.
Overall, the T6 is a reasonably priced budget product that can handle the basics, but because of the display I would still suggest that you wait for the enhanced version.
The good
Reasonable price.
Android 5.1 OS.
Decent overall performance.
Nice battery life.
The bad
Low-resolution TN display.
Poor cameras.

Thank you very much for the great review

Krystyna said:
Thank you very much for the great review
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for reading it!

if anyone can explain root for this tablet please for friend useur stuck google services http://www.tablette-chinoise.net/forum/cube-t6-4g-t7219/page10.html

cube t6 good phablet but very low internal memory
Hi all
has anyone tryied to root or repartition the size of internal memory beacause this tablet has very small internal memory partitioned
after a few stock apps google play, gmail,gdrive cannot instasll any app
"there is not enough space to install app"
any idea what to do ?
tryed link2sd but without root cant resolve my problem
or am i alone whit this phablet?
tried kingoroot, supeonclick, kingroot, framaroot ....an a lot more
no succes
regards Steven

LoLaTiOn said:
if anyone can explain root for this tablet please for friend useur stuck google services http://www.tablette-chinoise.net/forum/cube-t6-4g-t7219/page10.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi LoL, your friend managed root yet ? Tried iroot yet?
Anyone managed root yet??

Just received an ota for the cube T6-C, dated 26.11.15,not used it for a while.
Did have the 30.06.15 before.
Wasn't able to get root , hopefully will able to with this update due to complaints about storage probs,anyone else have oneof these managed it yet ? :*(

root
Hi guys, i'm new here. I'm italian so sorry for my english.
I have got a cube t6 tablet. I can't able in noway to root it. Did someone do? I just tried all methods founded on the web but noone working. I knew that for rooting it we need a custom recovery twrp for our tablet. I think it's the only way to root but i can't compile and on web i can't find a working twrp for t6. There's someone here that can help me? If yes what device info do you need for compiling recovery? Thanks

Cube T8 Plus hands-on review: several great improvements and a minor disappointment

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Only weeks after the original Cube T8 was released, Cube, the dominant Chinese brand in making tablets with smartphone functions, introduced the enhanced version - the T8 Plus, which features a more vibrant Full HD IPS display, a more powerful octa-core processor as well as better cameras. It is made to woo buyers with a higher demand for specs and performance, buyers whom the T8 just failed to impress.
Cube T8 Plus specifications
•OS: Android 5.1
•Display: 8-inch IPS, 5-point multi-touch
•Screen Resolution: 1920 x 1200 (16:10)
•CPU: 64-bit MT8783 octa-core processor (8 cores of Cortex-A53)
•CPU Frequency: 1.3GHz
•GPU: Mali-720MP3
•RAM / Storage: 2GB / 16GB
•Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, OTG, Miracast, FM Radio
•WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
•GSM: band2, band3, band5, band8
•TDS: band34, band39
•WCDMA: band1, band5
•TDD: band38, band39, band40, band41
•FDD: band1, band3, band7
•Camera: 5MP back camera, 2.4MP front camera
•Battery: 4000mAh
•Extend Port: TF Card Slot, SIM Card Slot, Micro SIM Card Slot, Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Headphone Jack
•Weight & Size: 354 g / 215*122.9*9.85mm
Design
The Cube T8 Plus looks almost identical to the original T8: a widescreen display which dominated the front panel, a relatively small bezel around the screen, rounded corners, and a metallic rear side.
There is an earpiece on the front panel, right above the screen, which means you won’t have to plug in a headphone or use the built-in speakers for phone calls. You can also find a 2.4MP front-facing camera, a light sensor, a proximity sensor on the front.
The rear side of the tablet is a combination of plastic and metal, which reminds us of the LG G Pad 8.3.
There are a 5MP main camera and an LED flash, some branding, and a single rear-facing speaker on the back.
The only physical buttons you will find are the power/standby key and the volume rocker, both hosted on the right side.
Like the original T8 and other Cube T series tablets, the T8 Plus is a very promising slate when it comes to connectivity. On the top side of the tablet you will find a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Micro USB port which supports USB on the go.
Once you remove the plastic lid on the rear, you will find a Micro SD card slot which supports cards up to 128GB, a Micro SIM card slot and a full-size SIM card slot. Both SIM slots support dual 4G network (TDD and FDD). Unfortunately, we didn’t find the Micro HDMI port, which was one of the main reasons we fell in love with the original T8. The absence here feels somewhat unacceptable.
At 9.85mm, the T8 Plus is not thin by today’s tablet standards, still I would say it is an okay thickness as I didn’t really feel much more burden with the T8 Plus than with my super slim Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, although it is noticeably thicker. Also, the T8 Plus feels very solidly constructed, There is no sign of unwanted gaps in the casing or wobbly buttons.
Like the original T8, the T8 Plus comes with two color options: the white version has a white front and a silver rear, while the black version has a black front and a blue rear. The black version does have a more premium feel to it, but the white version is made for those who hate the feel of black technology.
Screen and sound
One of the major improvements from the original T8 is the screen. As the T8 Plus sports an 8-inch IPS display at Full HD resolution, with a pixel density of 280PPI, a huge leap from the 189PPI of the original T8. Although it is still not the highest, especially when compared to the crazy sharp display found on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and Tab S 8.4, it beats the sharpness of the iPad Air series (264PPI) and the LG G Pad 8.3 (273PPI).
As you could imagine, icons and images are so crisp and lifelike that they look painted on. The Cube T8’s display even looks as sharp and clear as the screen on the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4, almost impossible to tell the difference in PPI with your bare eyes.
Also, color imaging is natural and precise, it is more than vivid and vibrant for an entry-level tablet. The same goes for the contrast, which offers very pure white tones and extremely dark black. The viewing angle on the T8 Plus is also very wide, and it offers amazing brightness even suitable for outdoor usage.
As for the device's speaker, I was pleasantly surprised by how loud and rich the single rear-facing speaker sound. To my non-audiophile ears, I didn't detect much tinniness, and found it perfectly acceptable for watching YouTube videos and listening to FM radios. But if you really want to experience the soundstage and instrument separation in music, and the boomy effects of adction movies, I would recommend an external audio system such as a headphone or a set of speakers.
System and Apps
Like the original T8, the Cube T8 Plus ships with Android 5.1, which is also the latest version of Android OS. While the T8 runs stock Android skin, with almost none customizations on top, the T8 Plus has been skinned with some unique features.
You can choose to switch running applications between full screen and floating windows. You are also able to run several applications in floating windows in the foreground, and even pin apps on top by tapping the small “pin app” icon.
However, if you expect the multi-tasking feature of the T8 Plus to be as refined as the Qslide App of the LG Optimus UI or the phone mode feature on the REMIX OS, you will certainly be disappointed. All apps can be switched to floating windows on the T8 Plus, but not all of them can be usable in windows, some applications just show a small proportion of their interface, and are not really responsive to our tapping. Also, the windows are not resizable at all, making the multi-tasking a less useful feature than it could have been.
There is a small triangular icon at the bottom left of the screen, by tapping it you can bring up a small screen of applications you often use, you can even add more apps to this screen.
Other than those features, the T8 Plus still keeps the head to toe stock Android Lollipop feel which most users would prefer.
Like all Cube’s Android tablets powered by the MediaTek processor, the T8 Plus also support OTA, making firmware upgrade much easier for average users.
Performance
Another major improvement of the T8 Plus is the 64-bit MT8783 Cortex A53 octa-core processor and 2GB RAM. While the improvement in smoothness isn’t that obvious, as the T8 is already quite fast thanks to its lower resolution screen, the improvement in benchmarks is quite evident.
The T8 Plus was returned some pretty impressive benchmark scores. It notched 33,608 in Antutu Benchmark, which is on par with the score of the Snapdragon 800 powered Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4. It also got 2,525 in Geekbench3, and 24,195 in Quadrant, pretty amazing results for an entry-level tablets.
In the more graphic-focused 3D Mark Ice Storm tests, the T8 Plus handily beat the original T8, but still lags behind major Android tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and the Google Nexus 9.
In the real world use, the T8 Plus proved itself capable of handling almost everything with ease. Image-heavy websites rendered quickly, video playback was extremely smooth.
Thanks to great compatibility of the Mali-720MP3 GPU, most graphic-intense games loaded fast and ran at acceptable frame rates. Some of my favorite 3D games such as Virtua Tennis and Zombie Woods ran at even higher frame rates on the T8 Plus than on My Snapdragon 805 powered LG G3 Cat6.
Battery Life
Even with a bright, Full HD IPS display, the T8 Plus was still able to deliver a battery performance on par with the original T8. With an average of 3 hours’ screen time, the tablet can easily last more than 2 days on a full charge.
In our standard cngadget battery test, we loop a 1080P video with 50% of screen brightness and 50% of volume from its built-in speaker, the T8 Plus lasted 7 hours and 9 minutes until auto-shutdown. It is definitely no match for the battery performance of high-end tablets such as the iPad Air 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S, but still quite decent.
Connectivity
As another tablet from Cube’s famous T series, the T8 Plus can be used as a smartphone. It supports both TDD and FDD 4G networks, and there are two SIM card slots on board to enable dual standby. Other smartphone functionalities such as voice call, SMS, Bluetooth, GPS, FM Radio are also included.
Although we would not recommend anyone to use an 8-inch tablet as their main communication device, but it is nice to know you have a backup once your smartphone runs out of juice.
Cameras
The T8 Plus has a 2.4MP front-facing camera and a 5MP main camera with auto-focus support and LED flash. Both cameras are quite basic, but they are capable finishing the tasks which they are meant for. The front-facing camera is nice enough for video-chatting via Skype and Wechat, while the rear-facing camera could snap some photos for Facebook and Instagram updates.
Photos taken with the main camera
Price and Availability
The T8 Plus has just been released, and is isn’t publicly available yet, not even in the domestic Chinese market. It is now open for pre-ordering on Ali-express.com for $136.8, but there will be an promotional event on Oct, 8th, when Cube will offer an awesome discount for the T8 Plus.
Final verdict
The Cube T8 Plus brings a lot of important improvements over the original T8. With a stunning Full HD IPS display, amazing performance, decent battery life, great build quality, full phone functionalities and a relatively low price, it is definitely one of the best entry-level Android tablets out there.

What is the difference between Cube T8 Plus and Cube T8?

Krystyna said:
What is the difference between Cube T8 Plus and Cube T8?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cube T8 has Quad core, but Cube T8 plus is the upgraded version with Octa core chipset.

jupiter2012 said:
a Micro SD card slot which supports cards up to 128GB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure about this part? I'm asking because it says in the link bellow that it supports max 32GB.
Code:
cube-tablet.com/cube-t8-4g-lte-mtk8783-octa-core-2gb-16gb.html

Hi,
thanks a lot for this review.
I'm looking for a tablet for my son. This one seems to be really good but i'm hesitating with the Cube Talk 9x who seems to be good too.
My son play a lot of games and he look vidéos on youtube.
Can you tell me for you which one is the better choice?
Maybe another tablet ?

Any root for this ?

Just to understand
Sorry for the question as a newbie I am,
Is there any particular reason that the Cube T8 Plus root procedure has not been addressed in Xda-dev forum ?
Indeed I have heard that the root procedure has been probably discovered in the 4pda.ru russion forum.
Thanks for your feedback.
Please let me know if my question is in the correct Topic.

serwolv said:
Hi,
thanks a lot for this review.
I'm looking for a tablet for my son. This one seems to be really good but i'm hesitating with the Cube Talk 9x who seems to be good too.
My son play a lot of games and he look vidéos on youtube.
Can you tell me for you which one is the better choice?
Maybe another tablet ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Careful. I just got the T8 plus and the available internal storage for apps is JUST 2.9 GB. Thats very low. If you install games then you will probably run out of space with two games.

64Bit
Why do phones have 64bit processors even though they don't have more then 3gb of ram?

sonmauri said:
Careful. I just got the T8 plus and the available internal storage for apps is JUST 2.9 GB. Thats very low. If you install games then you will probably run out of space with two games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it'd be possible to re-partition the internal storage, tho, to then give more of the available 16GB to the 'system' partition as people have done on many devices with the same situations and as it's mentioned here for another device (T9) from the same manufacturer:
Code:
facebook.com/ACUBEworld/posts/601765506629241?comment_id=601938259945299&reply_comment_id=602312136574578&total_comments=2&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D

I just bought this tablet for 115$ and now I am awaiting delivery. What worries me is what I found on 4pda.ru, that occasionally happens:
(source: http://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=695306&st=320#entry44378744 - you need to click 'Cпойлер (+)' to see image)

I also just bought this from Aliexpress. Hopefully there will soon be a way to fix the small internal storage and also root.

mantis454 said:
I also just bought this from Aliexpress. Hopefully there will soon be a way to fix the small internal storage and also root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root is now possible in 4pda forum (showtopic=695306) , but you have to be cautious
I did it successfully
---------- Post added at 12:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 PM ----------
The flickering issue could be linked to the one below :
I personnaly tried to update the firmware in order to figure out slownesses encountered when playing mp3 music from the sdcard port.
But it failed (soft brick) - despite the procedure was succesfully performed - with the same image flickering issue.:crying:
Hope this advise will prevent people to try the same. (Firmware version limited by IMEI starting as T8P.)
Now I am waiting for the next firmware to fix my issue.

jak78007 said:
The flickering issue could be linked to the one below :
I personnaly tried to update the firmware in order to figure out slownesses encountered when playing mp3 music from the sdcard port.
But it failed (soft brick) - despite the procedure was succesfully performed - with the same image flickering issue.:crying:
Hope this advise will prevent people to try the same. (Firmware version limited by IMEI starting as T8P.)
Now I am waiting for the next firmware to fix my issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've ran into same issue. Now we're waiting together

No multi user support
for both the T8 and the T8 Plus. Need to apply custom zip through recovery or root the phone. enabling multi user support effectively blocks updates because checksum check of build.prop will fail.
Cube allows anyone with access to the fota servers (or middleman) to install any software/malware they like. since they use the publicly available Android test keys for signing - As a toy their tablets are good enough though...

Brick solved
I had same flickering issue after flashing the official firmware downloaded from cube-tablet . com
BAD FIRMWARE - 0502L800_UE78_T8PG4W10F13TTEXMX8C(STD)_F915_IND_FULL
I downloaded another firmware, flashed it with SP Flash Tool and the Cube T8 Plus has been recovered totally to factory default.
GOOD FIRMWARE - 0502L800_UE78_T8PG4W10F13TTEXMX8C(STD)_EA04_IND_FULL
I cannot post link, but google that and you will find it easily on Mega. I found it on chinagadgetsreviews . blogspot . it (DEC 5, 2015 - DOWNLOAD LATEST ANDROID LOLLIPOP 5.1 STOCK FIRMWARE FOR CUBE T8 TABLET)
I don't know why, but some versions of Cube T8 Plus works with first (official) firmware, other versions of Cube T8 Plus (like mine) works with the second firmware.
Download archive, extract, open SP Flash Tool, go to Download tab, select the scatter file of the new downloaded firmware and select "Firmware upgrade" (not "Download") before click the download button and connect the tablet.

Hotspot
Today i ll order my cube t8 plus.. But i m not sure about wifi hotspot function! Cannot find really attendible specs! Please help! My ipad 4 is destroyed..

Alfessio11 said:
Today i ll order my cube t8 plus.. But i m not sure about wifi hotspot function! Cannot find really attendible specs! Please help! My ipad 4 is destroyed..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just tried the wifi hotspot and it worked as expected. No problem connecting from my Android phone or macbook air.

Hello there, does it worth 138usd? I would like to buy a tablet around the price of 150$ but I want a reliable one.

[email protected] said:
Hello there, does it worth 138usd? I would like to buy a tablet around the price of 150$ but I want a reliable one.
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Seems like a good one for the price!