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Dare to be Different – FSL Fast Review

Dare to be Different – FSL Fast Review​
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Introduction​
After entering the tablet market with Windows 7 proves to be little success, FSL, the Shenzhen based Chinese tech company starts to covet after the fast-growing market for Android tablets. It has recently launched its first Gtab called “Fast”, which uses a 9.7 inch IPS display manufactured by LG, an RK3066 dual core 1.6GHZ processor, and 1GB of DDR3 ram.
The market has seen dozens of tablets with 9.7 inch IPS displays since the end of last year, almost all falling into the category of iPad copycats. Well, bigger plans have been made for “Fast”, as FSL engaged a Korean team of expert designers to tailor the contour of the Fast, making sure that it’ll be unique and fashionable.
Key Features
◇9.7” 16M-color IPS display of XGA resolution (1024X768 pixels)
◇Weighs 580g, 263.9mm*173.9mm*9.8mm in size.
◇RK3066 chipset: Dual-core 1.6GHZ ARM Cortex-A9 processor; 1GB of DDR3 RAM; Mali-400MP4 GPU
◇Stock Android 4.1 JellyBean
◇16GB of built-in-memory
◇2.0MP front facing camera; 2.0MP rear-facing camera
◇Stereo speakers
◇HDMI TV-out
◇USB host
◇Bluetooth 2.0
◇Micro SD card slot
◇Standard 3.5mm audio jack
◇Adobe Flash 11 support
◇1080p videos of all formats
◇8000mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery

1. Retail Package​
The FSL Fast comes in a gigantic paperboard box that’s much thicker and wider than the tablet itself. It holds the charger, a USB cable, a 3.5mm headphone and an OTG cable, along with the user manual as well as the warranty certificate.
The tablet is packed in a smaller and much slimmer sub-box in the package.
The only impression this gives you is that the whole package is unreasonably humongous for such few fittings.
2. Design and Build Quality​
As is mentioned above, “Fast” features a 9.7 inch XGA IPS display manufactured by LG. Yet, there’s nothing special about the resolution, especially as some 9.7 inch tablets have already pushed the pixel density to above 260ppi. If you did the math already, you’d know that “Fast” is far behind at only 132ppi.
However, this LG IPS display, which has already had great success in supporting the dominant iPad2, does have impressive viewing angles, great color saturation, deep black, infinite contrast, nice outdoor visibility, much better than most ordinary IPS display seen on other Chinese tablets and smartphones.
And yet, despite all the superlatives it deserves, the screen won’t be the Fast’s key selling point. The role is most definitely reserved to its unique design by a professional Korean team. The black border surrounding the white bezel can easily help u spot the Fast among a bunch of 9.7 inchers.
The Fast, just like the rest of the Android gang, has very few hardware controls. With all the navigation done on the screen itself, there’s no need for hardware buttons on the front panel. All you get there is the 2m pixel video-call camera.
Unlike the iPad, the Fast is designed with lateral use in mind, you can identify that with where the video-call camera is located. Of course four-way screen rotation lets you use the tablet however you like, but the lateral seems to be the default orientation.
The back of tablet is also quite cool. The steel-colored aluminum, with a porcelain plastic trim for where your fingers rest when you hold it of its back cover gives the Fast all the exclusivity it needs. The stereo speakers and a 2 mega-pixel rear-facing camera are on the back, exactly where they are needed. The two speakers are quite far apart, creating stereo effects while playing music and videos, the volume is quite ideal, too.
Also notable is the Fast’s impressive complement of ports and slots. Along the right edge (when holding the tablet in lateral orientation), you have a Micro-HDMI port, a charging connector, a micro USB data port, a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB host connector, and a TF card slot that supports card up to 32GB, which could easily accommodate most people. The reason why the Fast needs to separate USB host and USB data port into two connectors remains mysterious.
As is mentioned above, Android tablet doesn’t need many hardware controls. Having said that, along with the power/standby key & volume rocker which all tablets have, the Fast is also equipped with a physical back button, this is a very considerate addition as the status bar can be faded to dots while the display is showing pictures or videos.

3. Software​
After lots of tablet makers’ efforts in improving the experience with customized UI turned out to be setbacks, many people would rather have a stock Android tablet than any skin, full stop. And FSL listens to many people. No customization has been done to the original Jelly Bean user interface, no icons changed, no color scheme tweaked….In a word, nothing has been changed.
The taskbar at the bottom of the screen is designed from ground up for tablet use, the navigation keys are in the left corner: Back, home and Task Switcher. The notification area is on the right corner, tapping it brings up the notifications box, which includes quick controls for turning on/off Wi-Fi, Flight mode, and screen rotation lock, among other features, plus you can access the brightness setting on the fly and tap into the full settings menu.
The search shortcut (voice and text) are in the top left corner of the home-screen, while the app drawer stay in the top right. There’re no dots or other shapes on the screen indicating the number of available homescreen panes and the current selection.
There are a few additions, though, including a customized FSL free market app which offers thousands of free applications for FSL users, a PDF reader which allows you to view PDF documents with the page-flipping effects, a Gaming center where you can download games compatible for this tablet. A voice assistant app which is a cool improvement from the famous Google voice search function.
The biggest improvement of Jelly Bean over its predecessor is the function of “pop-up play”, which enables you to watch videos in a floating box on the screen, and you could do some reading or even gaming simultaneously. I did play “Fruit Ninja: Puss in boots” while I was watching a clip of Adele “Set Fire to the Rain” in that floating box, and I scored more than 400 points in that game, pretty impressive, huh?
4. Performance​
Rockchip RK3066 is inside of many tablets I’ve tested in the last few months, and they pretty much all work the same. The Fast is really fast and responsive, and is particularly adept for playing games – as it is powered by the impeccable Mali-400MP4, which is also used by the famous Samsung Exynos 4410. I am getting really good at “Virtua Tennis” and “Star Warfare” as I test more and more tablets. And they are as smooth and impressive on the Fast’s display as any I’ve tried.
With Android4.1, the performance has been improved in many ways: the screen rotates much faster, scrolling is smoother, and every animation happens slightly faster. I ran some traditional benchmarks on the Fast. Obviously, processing power is the last thing to worry about in this tablet – there are few dual core android tablets that can outdo the Fast in most tests.
Below are the benchmark scores of the Fast in comparison with some of the Mainstream dual core Android tablets:
If you are a fan of videos, then the Fast won’t disappoint you in anyway. The RK3066b processor in it can support all formats of videos to at least 1080P, all local videos in my mobile disk and all online HD videos I tested can be streamed smoothly on the Fast.
Below are the videos I’ve tested on the Fast:

5. Connectivity
According to the findings of testing many other tablets, metal back cover can lead to poor data reception when a tablet is connected through WIFI. Unfortunately, this is also true on the Fast. Data reception heavily depends on the performance of your WIFI router, if your Fast is a wall and more than 6 meters away from a weak WIFI router, you probably will not be able to stream online videos, and even loading the mobile version of a web page can take quite some time. At least that's what I've experienced.
However, the Fast does support a 3G network card through an OTG cable, a very cool addition since FSL doesn’t seem interested in producing a 3G version of this gorgeous tablet.
6. Battery Life
This tablet includes an 8000mAh battery, and this should be sufficient for most users. The Fast lasted more than 8 hours during my 720p video-playback stress test (with 50% display brightness and full volume), which is better than any Chinese Android tablet I’ve tested during the past several months, it even beats Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9’s 7 hours. Impressively, the Fast’s charge can last several days when the tablet is not being used, even with WIFI turned on and automatically receiving some emails. This is quite great for non-intense users.
7. Cameras
FSL includes two 2-megapixel cameras in the Fast, one in the front and one in the rear side. Both cameras did a better job than I had expected, especially the front-facing camera, very ideal for video chatting, and the camera in the rear side can shoot images clear enough to share on Twitter or Facebook. But that doesn't mean I will suggest you to take it out as a digital camera.
Front-facing Camera Shot
Rear-facing Camera Shot
8. Browsing and Reading
Most android tablets come in with a widescreen, which is ideal for watching movies. But the advantage in browsing and reading of the 4:3 standard screen which are mainly seen on the iPad, doesn’t get talked about enough.
All browsers, even the stock one on Android 4.1 can offer up-tabbed browsing experience. Thanks to the powerful RK3066 dual core 1.6GHZ processor and 1 GB of ram, loading and scrolling of the web-page happen very fast, even with lots of flash contents on it. And the 9.7 inch XGA display shows just the right size of all the contents on that page, you don’t have to zoom to see them clearly.
Reading with the Fast’s 4:3 display is even more of a pleasant experience. All screen resource can be fully utilized, and 9.7 inch is just the right size for reading a full scanned copy of magazine. Of course you can zoom it a little bit just in case the contents are not big enough for your eyes. Flipping of the page also happens very fast, even with a 300MB full color PDF magazine of National Geographic, I experienced no lag at all.
Fast's standard display compared to Tab8.9's widescreen in reading​
9. Accessories:​
One of the iPad’s biggest advantages doesn’t get talked about enough: It has a wide range of accessories that complement and improve the device. For a company that’s still in its early stage, there isn’t going to be an ecosystem for its tablets any time soon. But FSL did smartly release a protection case specifically designed for the Fast. The case is nice, a thin and light rubbery material with a cord for keeping it closed. Unlike most covers which only uglify the tablets in them, this case, which comes in many colors, is a rather nice decoration for the Fast.

Verdict
Like:
The design and the build are pretty close to ideal. It doesn’t reach the high point of iPad4 or Nexus 10, but it’s a solid and unique piece of gear at a super low price (@USD 160.00). The Korean team of experts has done a remarkable job in making the Fast one of a kind, and most importantly, gorgeous.
The LG IPS display is impressive in view angles, color saturation, contrast ratio and outdoor visibility. Although the 132ppi density is now far behind most other tablets, you will still appreciate it if you are a Magazine subscriber or comic reader, you can read those stuffs full screen here.
The fast-growing Shenzhen tech powerhouse has also managed to pack in a slew of ports and slots for the Fast, saving the cash you might have to spend on other tablets which need adapters to work the OTG or HDMI output.
Dual cameras and dual stereo speakers also help the Fast to stand out from its Chinese competitions. 8000mAh of Li-Polymer battery and more than 8 hours of 720P video playback is probably most of a Chinese tablet needs to have now!
Dislike:
I haven’t found anything that I particularly dislike about this tablet. If I really have to count one, it should be the startup company LOGO, which looks very poorly-designed and should only appear on the archways of a lame grocery store in some very remote villages.
Besides, if FSL wants to make it big, WIFI connectivity needs to be improved in the next generation of its tablets.
The Fast is one of my favorite tablets so far, and I can tell you it’s because of its gorgeous design, you will find nowhere in the world another tablet that looks exactly the same as the Fast, for that alone, it’s a device worth having.
Below are the scores according to the scale I’ve designed for tablet products and the chart showing the comparison with scores of other tablets I’ve tested.

google play
VERY GOOD REVIEW!!!!!!!! But now I have only but one question can you install the play store on this device and have it work?
jupiter2012 said:
Verdict
Like:
The design and the build are pretty close to ideal. It doesn’t reach the high point of iPad4 or Nexus 10, but it’s a solid and unique piece of gear at a super low price (@USD 160.00). The Korean team of experts has done a remarkable job in making the Fast one of a kind, and most importantly, gorgeous.
The LG IPS display is impressive in view angles, color saturation, contrast ratio and outdoor visibility. Although the 132ppi density is now far behind most other tablets, you will still appreciate it if you are a Magazine subscriber or comic reader, you can read those stuffs full screen here.
The fast-growing Shenzhen tech powerhouse has also managed to pack in a slew of ports and slots for the Fast, saving the cash you might have to spend on other tablets which need adapters to work the OTG or HDMI output.
Dual cameras and dual stereo speakers also help the Fast to stand out from its Chinese competitions. 8000mAh of Li-Polymer battery and more than 8 hours of 720P video playback is probably most of a Chinese tablet needs to have now!
Dislike:
I haven’t found anything that I particularly dislike about this tablet. If I really have to count one, it should be the startup company LOGO, which looks very poorly-designed and should only appear on the archways of a lame grocery store in some very remote villages.
Besides, if FSL wants to make it big, WIFI connectivity needs to be improved in the next generation of its tablets.
The Fast is one of my favorite tablets so far, and I can tell you it’s because of its gorgeous design, you will find nowhere in the world another tablet that looks exactly the same as the Fast, for that alone, it’s a device worth having.
Below are the scores according to the scale I’ve designed for tablet products and the chart showing the comparison with scores of other tablets I’ve tested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

yes, u can, but it will be limited to only free apps.
Sent from my XT910 using xda premium

Not Impressed
I bought one of these as an impulse buy after my old tablet smashed on a hard floor. A glance of the specks looked ok, and I could have one in my hands in under 24 hours. Big mistake. Cost me 25 Euro to return it.
It may have a decent cpu, but for the price, the screen and build quality are terrible. That black rubber seal you see around the edge (along with some plastic clips) is what holds the the whole thing together, so the front actually creaks and moves around against the plain (slippery) metal back case. the one I tried was also developing air bubbles under the screen (NOT a screen protector - the actual screen) after a few days.
The screen quality makes reading the internet a blurry frustrating experience that will give you a headache in 20 minutes, movies were very dark and hard to watch on the brightest settings, and the touchscreen is very...very.. poor and unresponsive. You are forever repeating actions to try and get the response you want. The peripheral sockets also feel very weak and poorly made. It felt like a gamble each time you plugged in a usb as to whether it was going to break.
It seems to be a tried and tested formula used by smaller 'fly by night' ****ester computer builders. Stick in a good cpu and more central noteworthy components, but match it up with the very cheapest more peripheral components you can find to build a complete lemon. You know you'll sell enough before going down on the core specification alone.
(I sent it back and got a pipo m1 for the same price. I am now a happy man - and what a huge difference in all round quality)

Benyi Miracle One Quad-core In-Depth Review

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The Benyi Miracle One (AKA Dolphin) has the hardware needed for high end Android tablets. But still, with so many more tablets currently on the market, choosing the right one involves a great amount of research deliberation, so let’s take a look at what this package from Benyi has to offer.
Highlights
1.4 GHz Exynos4412 Quad-Core Processor
9.7” 1024×768 IPS display
1GB LPDDR2 RAM
12,000 mAh Lithium battery. (Approximately 10 hours of use)
5MP rear camera
3MP front camera (webcam)
Stereo Speakers
Specs:
Operating System: Android 4.0.3
Model: Benyi Miracle One (Dolphin)
Display Technology: IPS capacitive touch screen
Screen Size:9.7 inch
Resolution:1024*768
CPU Manufacturer: Samsung
CPU Model: Exynos 4412 (Quad core Cortex-A9)
CPU Speed: 1.4GHz
GPU: Quad core of Mali-400MP
GPU Speed: 400MHZ-440MHZ
RAM: 1GB LPDDR2
Hard Drive Capacity: 16GB
Storage Card Support: No
Camera: 3MP+5MP Auto Focus
HDMI: No
Bluetooth: No
GPS: NO
G-Sensor: Yes
Gyroscope: Yes
Audio: Built in stereo speakers / Built in Microphone
Language: Multi-language support
Battery Type: Li-ion, 12,000mAh
Charging Voltage: 5V - 2A
Color: White plus sky blue
Item Dimensions/ W*D*H:238.5×181×11mm
Net Weight: 680g
Connectors
Ports: 1 x Micro USB port (with OTG support)
1 x Audio jack
Communications
Wireless Connection: WIFI 802.11 b/g/n
Retail Package
The Benyi Miracle One, along with a USB data cable, an OTG cable as well as a pair of earphones is held by a very interesting, yet very expensive-looking see-through plastic packing box, which kind of reminds me of the Apple iPod touch, only it comes gigantic.
The battery charger is packed in a smaller paper back box.
Besides, I have also received a white leather case which is a perfect fit for the tablet and piece of anti-friction screen protection cover. All of the standard fittings of the Benyi Miracle One are of relatively high quality.
Design
The Benyi Miracle One has a stunning iPad-alike design, as this tablet features a 9.7 inch screen up front, pure white bezel and almost the same size as iPad2. The only difference you would notice is probably the blue sidelines around the bezel, and the absence of the famous home key.
Above the display, a 3.0 mega-pixels front facing camera sits in the right corner ready for our video chatting needs of self-portrait.
Flipping over to its backside, you will find more differences from the iPad2. The surface of the Dolphin’s backside is ABS engineering plastic, which feels very smooth, while the iPad2’s backside surface is made of magnalium alloy, which gives the device more of a frosted feeling. The Dolphin is also treated to a respectable 5.0 mega-pixels auto-focus camera, which can shoot relatively sharp images to share on Twitter and Facebook. The triple speaker gates can be found at the lower left, right near the bottom edge, this could prevent sound blocking while you put the tablet on a flat surface. You could also find Benyi’s Logo and some other information about the device on the lower middle of the tablet’s backside.
Just like the iPad2 and some Samsung tablets, Benyi has taken the minimalist approach, opting for just power/standby, screen rotation lock and volume buttons as the only physical controls and Micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack as the only connectors on the device which means, somewhat disappointingly, that there’s no sign of HDMI or SD card ports.
At 680g, it’s over 200g heavier than the Samsung Galaxy Tab8.9, and measures in at 11mm in thickness which as a result, makes it extremely uncomfortable to hold in one hand. Benyi has claimed that the extra thickness is for the 12,000 mAh battery, so how can I not forgive them for not making the device a little slimmer?
Whether you find the design of the Miracle One good-looking is more of a personal taste. For me, I would say I probably prefer tablets like the PIPO M8 or the Motorola XOOM which represent the essence of black technology. But I do adore the overall clean appearance of the Miracle One. As it is manufactured by a famous OEM (FOXCONN), its build quality can also be guaranteed.
Display
We’ve seen plenty of Chinese tablets utilizing IPS displays of some sort, like the Ainol Hero and the PIPO M8. As a higher-end device, the Miracle One hasn’t gone beyond any of them by featuring a normal 9.7 inch 1024*768 pixels IPS display. This is still a decent choice since no android tablet with an FHD or retina display works fine enough to kick XGA screens out of the scene.
However, I would not suggest you to expect its quality to be as good as the Super IPS+ displays featured on those market-leading tablets such as ASUS Transformer Prime. Even though it has great viewing angles and color saturations like all IPS screens do, its brightness is not strong enough to support outdoor use.
The brightness of the Miracle One’s Display is not as good as the One featured by PIPO M8
Hardware
In terms of SoC, Benyi has chosen the impeccable Samsung Exynos 4412 quad core chipset, based on Cortex A9-frame and used 32nm workmanship. The main frequency of each core can reach 1.4GHz, and it is also powered by a quad-core Mali 400 GPU @44oMHZ, which proves to be more than adequate in my test of running some graphically intense games. 1GB of LPDDR2 ram only helps the tablet run various applications simultaneously, but also incurs lower power consumption than the DDR3 ram used in other Chinese tablets.
In terms of raw processing potential, Exynos 4412 leads the other chipsets used on android tabs by a large margin. Software optimizations and clock rates aside, increased parallelization allows this SoC to work on more data concurrently. Similar to the desktop space, adding cores doesn't turn out to have a multiplicative effect on most real-world applications. But an enhanced ability to multitask is nice, especially as resource-hungry background tasks pile up.
Here are some benchmark scores and comparison to the scores of other tablets:
Here are some screenshots of gaming on the Dolphin:
Interface
The tablet is running Miracle OS, an extensively customized operating system based on Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich.
Benyi has transplanted almost the entire iOS interface onto an Android tablet. You would easily mistake it for an Apple iPad since the tablet has no ICS status bar, which also means that the famous software controls for “Back”, “home” and “task switcher” are nowhere to be found. Benyi has smartly designed a floating software key, which imitates the famous home button on the Apple iPad, both in appearance and functionalities. When you press the key once, it exits from the current screen to the previous one, just like the back button in the status bar on other Android tablets. But when you press the soft key for over 1 second, you would go back to the main screen. And if you press the key twice in a row, the customized task switcher would come out from the button of the screen, just like the one on iOS.
Several spots along the corner of the screen are reserved for you to place the floating soft key, but I sometimes find its presence quite annoying, especially when I am playing games or watching some video clips. For me, any customization done to the stock ICS UI is unnecessary, let alone a complete change just like the Miracle One brings.
Internet and Connectivity​
We’ve always been favorable with the web browsing experience on most ICS flavored tablets, but for some, the experience is marred by choppiness and sluggishness. Well folks, that’s not the case with the almighty Benyi Miracle One, as it represents what a flawless web browsing experience should be like. Not only is it able to load complex web pages very fast and accurately, it doesn’t flinch whatsoever when pages littered with heavy Flash content. All in all, it maintains its steady responsiveness and fluidity with various navigational controls to make it such a joy traversing through content heavy web pages. Seriously, I sometimes find myself getting lost in perusing a variety of pages for the simple reason that its performance is near perfect.
Connected to a Wi-Fi network, the tablet is able to establish a solid connection with very little evidence of fluctuation – and more importantly, it’s still able to connect perfectly at 10 meters away. However, the absence of Bluetooth is quite a letdown for such a high-end device.
Camera​
Turning our attention to its camera interface, Benyi again manages to give it a complete iOS feeling, sporting only a large viewfinder, a front/rear camera switcher, and a photo/video taking switch. The simpleness certainly makes it easier to use, but for a tablet featuring a 5.0 Mega-pixels AF camera, I would have expected more controls. Lastly, it takes less than one second to snap an image, which is extremely fast.
Photoes taken by the rear 5.0 Mega-pixels Camera​
Taking into account the kind of camera it’s packing on, there’s naturally some high expectations attached to it, since it carries something that’s beefier than most other tablets. As a whole, its quality is good enough to accept for the majority, but not great to put in in good light with the quality exhibited by some smartphones. Details are average looking, but for some odd reason, outdoor shots and indoors under florescent lighting tend to have a cooler looking color production – thus, casting a distinctive bluish/greenish hue to our photos. However, I am sorely disappointed that its quality tanks in extremely low lighting situations. Plainly, it’s diminished by its poor details, pervasive digital noise, and inability to handle dynamic range. Also, the absence of LED flash makes it impossible to take photos in a dark environment.
Photoes taken by front-facing camera​
For me, the 3.0 mega-pixels front facing camera is the real plus here, serving us with optimized online video-chatting experiences, much better than what the Galaxy Tab brings.
Multimedia
Not surprisingly, the interface of the music player on the Benyi Miracle One also imitates the one on the iOS. In fact, it’s the same exact one I am familiar with as I have received an iPad2 as a gift from my company! Well, at least it’s still an attractive looking one thanks to the clean feel to it. And the triple speakers packed on the tablet produce a good amount of intensity with its output – with no evidence of crackling during my usage. Additionally, there are various equalizer settings, even manual ones too, that fine-tunes the quality for each specific genre of music.
Do you need a traveling companion that’s worthy enough to play many hours of movies or music videos on the road? Well, the Benyi Miracle One is easily the number one candidate with its gorgeous looking display and indomitable quad-core processor. With my test videos encoded in H264 1920 x 1080 or 1280 x 720 resolutions, it’s simply a joy to watch them on the Dolphin thanks to its smooth playback, realistic colors, and sharp details.

Software
​
Interestingly, the tablet isn’t bogged down out of the box by bloatware, and in fact, preloaded third party apps are kept to a minimum. Specifically, it’s preinstalled with only a free app market, a WPS office, a VIVA HD magazine reader which only offers Chinese magazines, and some Google applications (Google Maps, Google Talk and Google Play).
Battery Life​
The Dolphin features three Li-Po rechargeable batteries of 4,000 mAh, which add up to an ass-kicking 12,000mAh of power, offering more than 10 hours of intense usage. During my 720P video-playback test, the Miracle One (with 30% display brightness and 50% of speaker volume) lasted 12 hours and 40 minutes, which is by far the best result I have had testing any tablet.
But here’s also another annoying issue, the tablet cannot be charged under a shutdown state, every time I plug in the charging cable, the tablet automatically boots itself. A full charge can take up to 7.5 hours with the bundled 5V-2A charger. What should also be noted here is that the tablet is charged via the Micro USB port, not the 2.5mm DC port we have seen on almost all Chinese tablets.
Verdict​
The Good:
1.4 GHz Exynos4412 Quad-Core Processor
Adorable industrial design
1GB LPDDR2 RAM
12,000 mAh Lithium battery.
5MP rear camera
3MP front camera (webcam)
Stereo Speakers
The bad:
No Bluetooth
No Micro SD card slot
No HDMI
Excessively Customized user interface
Incapability of charging under a shutdown state
Unquestionably, this is the tablet to own right now if you’re in the market of buying one, and trust me, you won’t be disappointed at all. First and foremost, we have to give Benyi credit in taking the opportunity in delivering such a high-caliber tablet that’s no doubt a benchmarker in many categories.
Ushering us into the age of quad-cores, the Benyi Miracle One screams remarkably in the processing department – making it the fastest and best performing Android tablet I’ve had the prestigious opportunity of checking out. For some time now, Android had this stigma of never achieving the fluidity and responsiveness found with iOS, but this seemingly breaks them down and shows the endless possibilities of an Ice Cream Sandwich powered device. To balance things out, I am also impressed that battery life isn’t compromised in the least bit, as it’s able to surprise me with its excellent performance.
When you think about its adorable industrial design, muscle power quad-core processor, impeccable battery life, and brilliant looking IPS display, and its choice of Foxconn as the OEM, you could easily assume that it should be quite costly. However, Benyi has somehow managed to keep its cost of ownership quite affordable. The 16GB version of the tablet, along with a very gorgeous protection case and a piece of high quality anti-friction screen cover, is priced at RMB1990 ($319). I would not say it’s the cheapest quad core android tablet you can get coz it’s not, but I would say it’s the best quad-core tablet you can get under RMB 2,000 ($320.00).
Here is the score I would give this device:

A31 Quad Core + Retina : the Onda V973 Hands-on Review

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For:
Fantastic display
Superb Build
Decent battery Life
Capable Cameras
Reasonable Price (USD229)
Against:
Recurrent lags & delays
Poor Wi-Fi reception
So-so internal speakers
Low screen brightness
I know Onda way before this tablet for its wonderful reputation in making high quality PC motherboards. In fact, the very first computer of mine featured an Onda motherboard, and it worked so fine that the computer stayed with me for quite a few years without having any issues. The V973 is the very first Onda tablet I laid my hands on, and I didn’t really know what to expect. Let’s start by learning the key features of this slate.
Key Features
◇9.7 inch 16M-color super IPS display at RETINA resolution (2048X1536 pixels), 264PPI
◇Allwinner A31 SoC., quad core 1.0GHZ Cortex-A7 processor, PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU, 2GB memory
◇Stock Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (Already upgraded to Android 4.2)
◇16GB of built-in-storage
◇2MP front facing camera, 5.0MP rear-facing AF camera
◇Stereo speakers
◇HDMI TV-out
◇USB host
◇MicroSD card slot
◇2160p video playback
◇8500mAh Li-Po rechargeable battery
Design
All 9.7 inch tablets look like the iPad to some extent, and the Onda V973 is not an exception. It is slightly larger than the iPad4, measuring 242.5*187.5mm across compared to the iPad4's 241.2 x185.7mm. But it's much thinner, just 8.5mm vs. 9.4mm for the Apple product. It’s also a lot lighter, at just 597grams compared to iPad4’s 652grams.
The front of the tablet is dominated by a 9.7 inch screen with relatively wide bezel. Inside the upper bezel of the display is a 2-megapixel camera.
There are very few physical connectors along the V973's edges. With that said, the ones Onda chooses to expose are both valuable and standardized, which I certainly appreciate.
The top of the tablet hosts almost all the hardware keys and connectors, including a Power/Standby button, a Home button, a Type-D Micro HDMI port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a Micro USB port for both charging and data transmission.
The left side plays host to a MicroSD card slot, which supports cards up to 32GB.
​
The rear-facing camera can be found on the top left of the aluminum back, while the speaker gates are located in the transition area between the back and the bottom edge, so it won’t be obstructed when you put it on a flat surface.
As exquisite as those speakers look, the sound they produce is of relatively low volume and poor quality.
Display
This 9.7-inch panel the V973 sports has an eye-watering 2,048 x 1,536 resolution -- the very same as the iPad4. It's one of the most impressive display I've seen on a tablet to date. And, indeed, things look fantastically sharp here. Text is rendered incredibly crisply and the UI looks better than ever. The first-party icons are all crisp and clean, though many third-party app icons do look like they could use a new, higher-resolution rendering. Thankfully, the apps themselves overwhelmingly look fine.
Remember when the new iPad shipped and everyone was scrambling to update their apps to support it? There's no need here. The way Android is structured, apps just natively support the higher resolution. I tried dozens of apps, including third-party browsers like UCWEB HD and lots of different random utilities and games, and I didn't spot a hint of blurry text.
The brightness of the display is fair, though not quite as searingly bright as the 500 nits the PIPO M9 can pump out. Colors are well-rendered and viewing angles are very good, but I was a bit disappointed by the contrast.
The color reproduction will also appeal to many, as it's pretty close to reality - it lacks the punch of the Super AMOLED Plus screens seen on the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 for instance, but it will depend on personal preference as to whether that's a good thing.
As I have mentioned many times in the other reviews I wrote, I am a huge fan of the vivid colors of AMOLED screens, but I know plenty of people that loathe them too. On the contrary, IPS displays are much more widely accepted.
System & Interface
Onda hasn’t as drastic changes to Android in the V973 as, say, Beneve has with its Miracle OS, but it has managed to leave its own mark with some customized widgets and applications.
Performance
The V973 centers on Allwinner's A31 Quad Core SoC. The chip quadruples four Cortex-A7 cores running at 1.0GHz with Imagination Technologies’ SGX544MP2 GPU.
I have discussed this quad core Cortex-A7 Soc. superficially in the review of the Ployer MOMO19 and the ICOO ICOU7GT, Benchmarked. Briefly, though, the A7 employs the ARMv7 instruction set, just like ARM's Cortex-A9 design. Technically, a cluster of four Cortex-A7 cores supports up to 2MB of L2 cache. But Allwinner only arms its A31 with 1MB.
The increase in display pixels does have taken a toll on the V973’s benchmark scores. On the Antutu Benchmark, the V973 scored 10401, much lower than the category average of quad core slates.
On the graphics-focused Nenamark2 test, the V973 only scored 40.8 FPS, much lower than the 59.1FPS reached by the ICOU7GT, which uses the same Allwinner A31 SoC. but a display at standard WXGA resolution.
Vellamo Benchmark is never friends with any of the A31 powered slates, an HTML5 score of 1035 and a METAL score of 348 is far below quad core average.
The Onda V973’s benchmark scores compared to those of some other quad core tablets
Unfortunately, the V973’s real world performance is more or less in accord with its Benchmark scores, depending on how you use it. While I was navigating the home screens, or browsing some image-heavy web pages, I did experience noticeable lags and delays every now and then. And sometimes the delays became so annoying that I would rather go back to my singular cored Samsung P1000 than spending one more minute with the V973.
Gaming on the V973 is a bitter sweet experience. Thanks to the incredibly powerful PowerVR SGX544MP2 GPU, even the most graphically intense games such as the “NFS: the Most Wanted” and “Grand the Auto” ran smoothly on the V973, although with less frame rate than running on standardized resolutions.
Yet, I did encounter some compatibility issues with games such as “Asphalt 7” and “Ironman 3”.
Video playback is quite a different story. In fact, most Chinese tablets are incredibly capable video players. And the V973 belongs to the best of the best. Even high bit-rate 2160P videos of different formats can be played smoothly on it, and you can also stream 4 clips of 1080P videos simultaneously by using the 4K player app developed specifically for A31 powered slates. And watching a 1080P video in its full pixels on this retina display is really a joyful experience.
Cameras
Onda has installed two cameras on the V973. The first is a front-facing 2MP camera that can be used with Skype or similar apps for video chatting with friends and family.
The second is a rear-facing 5MP camera that does a good job of matching typical smartphone snappers, although I still feel it looks slightly odd standing up and taking pictures with a 9.7 inch tablet.
Photo snapped by the front-facing camera
Photo snapped by the rear-facing camera
Nevertheless, I braved the puzzled stares of onlookers and tested out the functionality of the V973's lens, and the results were pleasantly surprising, much better than what I’ve got when testing other tablets with 5MP cameras.
Onda has given its users a large amount of options to use, the exposure and the white balance can also be adjusted to reach the perfect setting. There are also more universal shooting options, such as switching the ISO and focus mode. However, the absence of LED Flash is quite a shame.
Wi-Fi Reception
The Wi-Fi reception of this slate is really not good at all. I believe it’s due to the metal chassis it uses. In my actual test, transfer speed was crippled and unreliable while I was some meters and a wall away from the Wi-Fi router.
And while I compared the V973’s Wi-Fi reception to that of the PIPO M9, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 and the Ainol NOVO8 Dream by the reading of the Wi-Fi analyzer app, V973 did have the poorest performance among the 4!
Battery Life
The V973 is powered by a non-removable 8500mAh Lithium polymer battery. During my time testing the tablet I found that it offers excellent performance. Indeed, in between testing various apps, capturing screen grabs, watching HD movie content, loading and re-loading dozens (if not hundreds) of websites, playing games, using the camera and all other manner of applications I was easily able to get a full day’s use of the tablet on a single charge. Given the power that’s required to light up all those pixels on the V973’s high-resolution screen this is really quite an achievement on Onda’s behalf. And according to my actual test, the Onda lasted more than 8 hours single-looping a 720P video and 6 hand a half hours streaming an online tv sitcom.
Verdict
If you're looking for a 9.7-inch Android tablet then you're likely to be looking at Chinese brands, perhaps with Archos in mind. There's certainly no question the V973 has the look and the display to woo a number of buyers, but the A31 & Retina marriage doesn’t exactly result in satisfactory experiences.
The Good
The V973 sports a truly excellent screen that brings high definition media content to life.
The slate is only 8.5mm thick, making it one of the slimmest Chinese tablets in the market. Also, the metal chassis feels quite high-quality.
Taking the number of pixels its screen carries into account, the V973 actually has a pretty decent battery life. An average of 6-8 hours of onscreen use on a charge wouldn’t save you from charging the device on a daily basis, it does spare most of us from multiple-charges within one day.
The bad
The UI on the V973 continues to push me back to the other tablets once I’m done testing. It is quite clunky and sluggish. I have also experienced serious lags during E-booking reading and web-browsing.
The sound produced by the speakers is not ugly or distorted, but doesn't go loud enough and doesn't have much warmth or low-end presence - a bit thin.
Wi-Fi reception is hardly satisfactory, whoever using this tablet should consider buying a much stronger router.
Final Verdict
At RMB 1,399 (USD229 )，it is one of the cheapest choice you could have for a tablet with retina display. And the great build quality accomplished by Onda’s exquisite workmanship is going to be attractive to many. If the sluggishness could be alleviated by firmware optimization, the V973 is still a decent choice. However, I am not really too positive about that.

onda v973 remote desktop
thank you for the great review.you answered me a lot of questions about v973.i want 1 big favor though.can you check if it is combatible with splashtop remote desktop??because this is the main reason to purchase the tablet.i am waiting for your reply.thanks.

Thank you for the test

zapantis88 said:
thank you for the great review.you answered me a lot of questions about v973.i want 1 big favor though.can you check if it is combatible with splashtop remote desktop??because this is the main reason to purchase the tablet.i am waiting for your reply.thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will check that out tonight. Thanks for caring about my review

zapantis88 said:
thank you for the great review.you answered me a lot of questions about v973.i want 1 big favor though.can you check if it is combatible with splashtop remote desktop??because this is the main reason to purchase the tablet.i am waiting for your reply.thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sayou94 said:
Thank you for the test
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your support, I will keep writing honest reviews

gs1421 said:
Very nice information
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your support!

suprb.. Thanks

Goodjob
Sent from my Dream_D1 using xda app-developers app

I can't wait for your answer!!!i hope you check it as soon as possible... Thanks

thank you.

onda v973 remote desktop
So is it compatible with splashtop remote desktop 2 ???? the app is free!!!

zapantis88 said:
So is it compatible with splashtop remote desktop 2 ???? the app is free!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is compatible, but still very laggy...

kirtesh.k said:
suprb.. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jupiter2012 said:
It is compatible, but still very laggy...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks i will definetly buy the tablet.if you set lower resolution on splashtop like 1280x800 there is almost no lag...take care and keep reviewing....

Which pad ?
jupiter2012 said:
At RMB 1,399 (USD229 )，it is one of the cheapest choice you could have for a tablet with retina display. And the great build quality accomplished by Onda’s exquisite workmanship is going to be attractive to many. If the sluggishness could be alleviated by firmware optimization, the V973 is still a decent choice. However, I am not really too positive about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thank you for this interesting topic (and please excuse my english)
I knew xda forum because i have a MI-Two !
Now, I'm going to be offered a pad (of my choice) and i don't want a 500$ pad !! So here I am looking for the best chinese pad
The probleme is that you cas hardly find the perfect pad !!
All retina are good (chuwi, ainol, onda...) but there are issues with wifi and the chipset (allwinner)
In the other hand, there is the cube U30GT2 which is pretty good but not retina (+ i've seen some wifi issues in some forums)
I will mostly use the pad for internet and movies. I love the retina screen ... and play some 3D games from times to times
From the list above, which pad would you chose for your own ?
Thank's in advance for your answer

Hey people, I'm from Brazil and my English is not good, so I'm sorry by that. But I liked very much your forum and I have a question about chinese tablets.
I would like to buy a good chinese tablet and I really like to have one with retina screen. I've been reading a lot about it and I'm between two models, the first one is the ONDA V973 and the other one is the CUBE U33GT. Anyone knows which one would be the better choice for read e-books, watch movies and play 2d/3d games?
Thanks a lot!

Charge Problem
Hello,
I need your help!
Last night i was trying to charge my tablet with the cable
/charger that came with it and i notice that it was not charging and there was no indication on the tablet that it was charging.
I then plug the tablet to my PC with the USB cable that came with it and the PC didn´t detected it! also on the table no information about USB connection as usual.
Could it be a problem with the cable or the table?
Can you tell me where can i online purchase a compatible
cable/Charger for V973?
Thanks !

Hi
Good review. I was looking at getting this table as an upgrade to my momo speed. However, I'm very much into reading and browsing with maybe the odd game. This is why it concerns me that you experienced quite bad lag during your use. However you state in your post at the beginning that a firmware upgrade fixed all that. Can you please confirm if this is the case? I'm really liking this table but couldn't buy it if the lag is there. You would think with quad core it shouldn't be an issue. What is performance of google books like? My books and magazines are loaded there.
Thanks

i want buy some cheap tablet for gaming , browsing n for ebook whether these tablets perfect for me !!! but most importantly to play games
sorry bad english

Nice review.. I have enjoyed reading it...
But I noticed you updated the pros and cons of this tablet with the new firmware.... would it be possible to see it reflected in your review?
Because, I own the onda v813 and the lastest firmware has improved my user experience a lot with that tablet...

obeguin said:
Nice review.. I have enjoyed reading it...
But I noticed you updated the pros and cons of this tablet with the new firmware.... would it be possible to see it reflected in your review?
Because, I own the onda v813 and the lastest firmware has improved my user experience a lot with that tablet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is there still lags in UI with latest firmware?

Cube i6 hands-on review – A powerful Intel 3G tablet

Introduction
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Cube’s line of 3G tablets have always been a delightful bunch, not only for the affordable cost attached to them, but also for the fact that they’re normally very well-made. It all started with the original Talk 79 back in the summer of 2013, followed subsequently by the release of the Talk 5H, the Talk 9X. Each tablet, of course, proved that it didn’t require consumers to fork over huge sums of money to pick up and own a high-performing unit.
Cube isn’t one of the pioneering Chinese manufactures that produce Intel-powered Android tablets, although it enjoyed enormous success in marketing their Windows 8 tablets such as the Cube iWork 10 and the Cube iWork 8, which are, of course powered by Intel processors.
The Cube i6 is actually Cube’s first Android tablet ever to feature an Intel processor. Is it better than other ANTEL tablets currently on the market, let’s find out?
Cube i6 main specs:
• OS: Android 4.4
• Display: 9.7-inch IPS, 10-point multi-touch, IGZO
• Screen Resolution: 2048 x 1536 (4:3)
• CPU: Intel Atom Baytrail-T Z3735F Quad-core Processor
• CPU Frequency: 1.8GHz
• GPU:Intel HD Graphic
• RAM / Storage: 2GB / 32GB
• Function: WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, OTG, Miracast, FM Radio
• WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, WiFi hotspot
• 3G: WCDMA 900MHz, WCDMA 2100MHz
• 2G: Network Frequency: 900MHz, 1800MHz
• Camera: 5MP back camera , 2MP front camera
• Battery: 8000mAh
• Extend Port: TF Card Slot, SIM Card Slot, Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Earphones Port
• Weight & Size: 500 g / 237 x 170 x 8.8 mm
The package contains:
• Quick Reference Guide
• Product Warranty Brochure
• Micro USB cable
• SIM Tray Removal Tool – which is unnecessary
Design
First and foremost, the i6 is a 9.7-inch tablet. For those who are still not sure about the differences among tablet sizes, above is a photo to show you that.
The overall design of the i6 is simplistic, with strong resemblance to the more popular Cube Talk 9X. The i6 is obviously not made to stand out in the design department, with most attention being paid to the optimization of the Intel Z3735 processor inside. With that said, it does feel right at home in your hands.
The front of the i6 is simple and uncluttered, dominated by a 9.7-inch IPS retina display.
The slate also features a metallic rear which feels very smooth to the touch.
Along the sides you will find all the buttons and ports – a 3.5mm audio jack and a Micro USB port on the top side, and a power/standby key, a volume rocker, a SIM slot as well as a Micro SD card slot on the right side.
The tablet has an overall footprint of 237*170*8.8mm, pretty compact for a 10-incher, but still not as thin as the 7mm thick Talk 9X. As for the weight, the i6 weighs only 500g, even lighter than the 580g 9X.
Although it looks like a thicker version of the Talk 9X, there are still some other minor differences in the i6’s design. The SIM slot is a very meaningful upgrade from previous models. You can pull out the SIM tray by your own finger, without the need of an awkward removal tool.
You have all the sensors you would expect in a modern Android tablet, along with a 2MP front-facing camera on the business side, and a 5MP camera with auto-focus around back. They are both ordinary tablet cameras — so don't expect miracles. We'll talk more about the cameras in a separate section.
Overall there is nothing too exciting about the Cube i6’s design, it is neither very thin nor very light. The missing of an HDMI port or the support for MHL is quite a shame, so as the absence of an IR blaster, which we see more often now on some of the leading flagship Android tablets and smartphones. However, with Cube being the manufacturer, you can always rely on the great build quality and trustworthy after-sale support.
Display
I'll cut straight to the point: The Cube i6's display is gorgeous. Like the rest of the 9.7-inch tablets recently produced, the i6 boasts an impressive 2,048 x 1,536 resolution, topping out at an impressive 264 pixels per inch. Icons and images are so crisp and lifelike that they look painted on. Further, the i6 utilizes an IPS LCD, which results in natural colors and wonderful viewing angle.
This was especially apparent when we used the i6 to browse graphic-intense web pages or read PDF magazines. The tablet's 9.7-inch screen’s sharpness and clarity made it a downright pleasurable experience. However, watching movies or YouTube videos is not equally as pleasant, since most of the videos come in widescreen, there is a great percentage of unused area on the display. Also, most of Android applications are designed for a widescreen, using them on a 4:3 display may result in some awkward distortions. But as the all new Google Nexus 9 and the highly anticipated Nokia N1 both choose to feature a display at 4:3 aspect ratio, it is totally sensible to expect more tablet applications optimized for this aspect ratio.
But when we compare the i6’s display to the one on the more celebrated Talk 9X, we notice some differences. Color temperature of the i6’s display seems too warm compared to the more natural colors on the iPad Air panel used on the Talk 9X. Also the black on the i6 feels a little grey next to the real deep black shown on the Talk 9X.
Overall, the i6 has a very nice display, but certainly not the best we have seen on a Chinese tablet.
Sound
The i6 has dual rear-facing speakers, which are normal for a tablet, but we have to say we do prefer front-facing or side-facing speakers as the sound won’t be blocked it you lay the slate on a table. The i6’s speakers are quite average among Cube’s higher-end tablets, the sound is loud enough for videos and movies. To my non-audiophile ears, I also found them perfectly acceptable for listening to tracks from Spotify. I wouldn't replace your best Bluetooth speakers with them of course, but they'll do in a pinch.
System & UI
The Cube i6 runs stock Android 4.4.4 out of the box, bringing head to toe Android Kitkat experience to the users, whether it will receive the Android Lollipop upgrade remains unknown.
Performance
With a beastly Intel quad-core Z3735 processor and 2GB of RAM, the i6 theoretically offers plenty of power.
As you can see from the table above, the i6 stands up well to other flagship tablets in synthetic benchmark tests such as Geekbench, Quadrant, AnTuTu and CF-Bench, its 3D Mark score even trumped most of the high-end ARM-powered flagship tablets. Its Vellamo HTML5 score, meanwhile, though not the highest, was very respectable as well.
And after spending some serious quality time with the tablet, I have to agree. Swiping and flipping around the tablet's various apps and screens felt gloriously smooth for the most part, and launching most software took mere seconds. For example, in just under two seconds, I was able to launch the camera app and start taking photographs. Snapping pictures is practically instantaneous as well, which is great if you need to capture that perfect moment. The occasional lags and stutters we once found on the Talk 9X were almost absent from the i6.
Common applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Tweetdeck, and YouTube all ran without issue. But there are a very small percentage of applications not compatible with the X86 structure, and that didn’t go unnoticeable on the i6. “Minecraft: Pocket Edition” could not be opened, Mobo Player crushed every now and then. Fortunately, most of the previously incompatible apps now have optimized X86 versions. The 4:3 aspect ratio itself also presented some of the compatibility issues, even more noticeable than the problems with the X86 processor.
Despite some compatibility issues, gaming on the i6 was still a pleasant experience, as the extremely powerful Intel HD Graphics Gen7 GPU worked like a beast most of the time. “Call of Duty: Strike Team” ran smoothly. Frame rates of the “Crazy Cars” were higher than ever, and the i6 remained extremely responsive to my touch all the way through.
Battery
The Cube i6 has an 8,000mAh battery, which is a slightly smaller than the Talk 9X's 10,000mAh power pack. In our standard battery test where we play a 1080P video on loop with 50 percent brightness while having notifications for email, Facebook and Twitter turned on, the i6 lasted for seven hours and 13 minutes. That's substantially less than the Talk 9X and though it's about on par with the older Cube U30GT2, it fares much worse than the iPad Air or Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, both of which lasted well over 10 hours.
Based on what I'm seeing, things are working as designed. You have a big screen (both in size and pixels) and a power-hungry processor. When you let them eat as much delicious battery as they want, the plate empties fairly quickly. When you dish out the juice with a bit of sense, things last longer. This is also one of those things that will get better as the software matures and updates come along.
I'll call it a day-long battery, If you use your tablet like a tablet, by which I mean surfing the web, playing casual games, reading a book or comic, social media, etc. — and the battery life is not bad. With on-again, off-again use like this, the 8,000mAh battery will last you through a day, and likely well into another day. That's going to depend on how many hours you have the screen on.
Cameras
I don't like using a tablet as a camera, not even a little bit. But I realize that tablets aren't just made for me, and plenty of people want or need to do just that. I won't hate on them.
The good news is you have the very same Google Camera application that everyone seems to love installed on the Cube i6, complete with all the bells and whistles that come along with it. The bad news is that it's still an average tablet camera.
You'll get pictures you can use, and if the lighting is just right you'll get some great pictures. Just don't expect too much from a camera on a tablet. Here are a few examples:
Verdict
Long-time readers here at cngadget know I love the Cube brand. I like the bare feel of the stock Android OS, I like the significantly better build quality than products from other Chinese brands such as Onda, Vido or Teclast, and I like the fact that they do care about oversea markets.
I also like the i6, but I don’t love it as much as I love the Talk 9X, which remains as my favorite tablet from a Chinese brand to date.
The performance of the i6 is great, the display is good, and the battery life is okay. I like the future-proof internals such as the Intel processor and 32GB of built-in storage, and it is arguably the best Intel-powered Android tablet from a Chinese brand. I am just not a fan of the overall design, and I know there’re other products out there that suit me better.
With that said, I cannot really pinpoint one thing that I particularly dislike, though. Maybe I am just too caught up in comparing it to the Talk 9X, everything seems like a step back except for the performance.
I guess it is all going to come down to the dollar. If you don’t have a tablet yet or your tablet is more than 2 years old, $162 should be a worthy investment on the powerful and all-around Cube i6. On the other hand, if you have a Talk 9X or something like the LG G Pad 8.3, and have no glaring issues that make you want to get rid of it, your money could probably be better spent elsewhere.
Overall, the i6 is a very well-made tablet, definitely a much better product than high-profile but mediocre devices like the Teclast P98 Air. As I already own my Cube Talk 9X and love it, I would not buy the i6, although I do admit that I was constantly seduced by its stronger performance while testing it. Still, the unnecessary outweighs the necessary.

This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!

jupiter2012 said:
This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just received mine but it has wifi issue. The connection is slow and drops frequently. Unusable, I will send it back!

Could you please post androbench results? Many Chinese tablets have sloooow flash memory which hurts day to day use..

kzkz said:
I just received mine but it has wifi issue. The connection is slow and drops frequently. Unusable, I will send it back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had problem about wifi too, even if i claim for new one but still have problem.

Looks nicely, but can't understant why cube don't put hdmi in any their models

tamahos said:
I had problem about wifi too, even if i claim for new one but still have problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will report this issue to Cube, although I didn't experience any wifi issue during my time with it.

jupiter2012 said:
I will report this issue to Cube, although I didn't experience any wifi issue during my time with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now i'm using window 8.1 and don't have wifi problem anymore.

tamahos said:
now i'm using window 8.1 and don't have wifi problem anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you install Windows to Cube i6? Is everything working with it? 3g, GPS?
Thanks in advance!

kzkz said:
How do you install Windows to Cube i6? Is everything working with it? 3g, GPS?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All from this link http://bbs.51cube.com/thread-98624-1-1.html
Download all file from http://pan.baidu.com/share/init?shareid=1366428227&uk=288410357
password : ztyo
This is instruction including in downloaded file but i'm using google to translate it.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kgHgzqF1ZkCg1t0hbEKxZnTOsxWNvK3IBT7kYaBbf7Y/edit?usp=sharing

Do you have mirror link?
Because I'm unable to download image file, I cannot register to baidu, because I cannot type the chienese verification code

New dualOS firmware:
http://www.51cube.com/ch/DownShow.asp?ID=305
If you can download, please make a mirror, because I cannot register to baidu THX

kzkz said:
New dualOS firmware:
http://www.51cube.com/ch/DownShow.asp?ID=305
If you can download, please make a mirror, because I cannot register to baidu THX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Successfully updated to dualOS firmware, but the wifi is still bad. When I use windows the wifi is better that under android, but I think it's not only a software issue, because the reception is worse when I hold the tablet in my hands.

There are two antennas under the hood. One for GPS/WIFI and one for GSM. The wifi antenna is smaller. Maybe it is undersized...

Cube i6 1.05 and DualBoot
kzkz said:
Successfully updated to dualOS firmware, but the wifi is still bad. When I use windows the wifi is better that under android, but I think it's not only a software issue, because the reception is worse when I hold the tablet in my hands.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here it is -
yadi.sk/d/QxwQ8x3ueP3hk

Working (but not easy) root method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55099649&postcount=265

Root is Easy !
kzkz said:
Working (but not easy) root method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=55099649&postcount=265
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For Root you just need adb drivers and next step install Kingo Android Root on PC
thats all, just confirm some options in kingo.

HDMI
jupiter2012 said:
This is a real powerhouse tablet, have used it for days and it has been amazing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
does it support MHL?

I'm considering buying one of these with the sale on, but would people say the WiFI issue is so bad it's not worth it?
Also, has anyone tried USB OTG yet?

rhx123 said:
I'm considering buying one of these with the sale on, but would people say the WiFI issue is so bad it's not worth it?
Also, has anyone tried USB OTG yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also interested to hear how bad the WiFi issue is.
A tablet without proper Wifi connectivity is pointless.
Thanks

The Cube T9 hands-on review - a great 4G tablet, but no longer a game changer

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Cube offers what can seem like a bewildering array of tablets, including the standard Wi-Fi only Android tablets, the business-oriented iWork series and the cellular and phone-equipped Talk ranges. The T9 and the T7 are the latest offerings from the Talk series, although Cube did simplify their communication names. The 9.7-inch T9 reviewed here delivers a strong set of features and is a serious competitor for the Xiaomi M1 Pad and the Samsung Tab Pro 10.5. With 32GB of internal storage and full phone functionalities, the T9 costs only RMB1,499 ($244).
Cube T9 main specs:
 OS: Android 4.4
 Display: 9.7-inch IPS, 10-point multi-touch, IGZO
 Screen Resolution: 2048 x 1536 (4:3)
 CPU: MediaTek MT8752 octa-core processor (8 cores of 64-bit Cortex-A53)
 CPU Frequency: 2.0GHz
 GPU: ARM Mali-760MP2
 RAM / Storage: 2GB / 32GB
 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, 2MP front camera
 Battery: 10,000mAh
 Ports: TF Card Slot, SIM Card Slot, Micro USB Port, 3.5mm Headphone Jack
 Weight & Size: 610 g / 237 x 170 x 8.9 mm
Design
The Cube T9 isn’t exceptionally thin and light, measuring 8.9mm thick and weighing 610g, it is much thicker and heavier than its predecessor – the Cube Talk 9X, which measures at 7mm and weighs only 560g. This certainly doesn’t give the T9 an immediate appeal, if you're making comparisons on these grounds. The reason why the T9 is so thick and heavy is that Cube uses both die casting roll cage and metal anti-roll frame, which are designed to protect the internals of the tablets from collision and impact.
The screen sits in a relatively thin bezel, which can result in unintended selections when holding the tablet in portrait mode. But while you hold it in landscape mode, there is enough bezel to rest your fingers on. The 2MP front-facing camera is located above the display, along with a tiny light sensor to help auto-adjust the brightness of the display.
The edges of T9 are silver-colored, which looks unappealing on our black review sample. In portrait mode, the top edge is home to the 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro SD card slot. The power button, the volume rocker slot are located on the top of the right edge of the slate, while the SIM tray is located on the bottom of the right edge.
The side-facing speakers are located on the right end of the bottom edge, which is pretty smart design as the speaker gates won’t be easily blocked by your hands however you hold the tablet.
The stippled plastic rear, which looks exactly like the back of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S, does the T9 no great favors, either. Although Cube insists that this design is inspired by the surface of a golf ball, and improves the grip of the tablet, still, we are not impressed.
The 13MP camera and an LED flash is located on the upper left corner of the rear side.
Overall, the T9 lacks the premium appeal the Cube Talk 9X was once famous for.
Display
The 9.7-inch IPS LCD screen is the same 2,048-by-1,536 resolution with 264ppi as the iPad Air, we can’t say we are astonished with this amount of pixel offering anymore as we have already seen lots of tablets from China with 9.7-inch Retina displays by now, and there are also lots of tablets with much higher pixel density on the market at the moment.
Unfortunately, the quality of the T9’s display isn’t as amazing as Cube advertised. The contrast ratio doesn’t match it is on the super clear PLS display on my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 and, with an explosion-proof film on top of the touchscreen, the display looks annoyingly grainy at times, especially when you are viewing a web page with white background color.
With that said, it is far from being a terrible display. Colors are a lot more relaxed than those seen on some of Samsung’s AMOLED devices, and viewing angles are also quite amazing.
The T9’s screen is fairly bright that we only need the brightness slider set at 30% or lower most of the time, the auto-brightness option works well too.
Sound
The side-facing stereo speakers are one area where the T9 under-delivers. They are quite loud, but the sound quality is disappointing, especially when compared to the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro or the iPad Air. This is a pity as it means the tablet isn't really up to delivering music and movies without the help from an external audio system.
System and apps
The Cube T9 runs stock Android 4.4.4 Kitkat OS, with limited customizations made to the icons. Preinstalled applications are kept to the minimum as well.
App selection is the biggest reason to hesitate about the T9. It isn't bad by any means, and is no better or worse than any other Android tablets, with the Google Play Store's solid selection on board. It's just that when you compare it to the iPad's App Store, you'll see that the Play Store's tablet selection still has some catching up to do. Unlike those 7-inch tablets, which still works and looks perfectly fine running smartphone apps, The T9’s spacious 4:3 display can make some applications look distorted and unappealing.
Performance
Inside the Cube T9, there're a 1.7GHz, 64-bit MediaTek MT8752 octa-core processor and 2 full GB of RAM. Although it by no means the most cutting-edge design, it is still a very beefy set-up.
Benchmarks tell the story. The T9 scored 40,272 on the Antutu system benchmark and 3,401 on the Geekbench3 processor benchmark, as compared with around 30,000 and 2,117 for the Cube i6, and 34,810 and 2,296 for the Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4.
On the Vellamo HTML5 benchmark test, the tablet scored an impressive 2231, which is in the same class as the even the highest end of Android devices.
In the 3DMark Ice Storm graphics benchmark, the T9 scored 8,768 points, clearly no match for the MAXED OUT performance the Intel powered Cube i6 presented. This did tell the true story that the Mali-760MP2 GPU didn’t compare to the cutting-edge offerings such as the Qualcomm Adreno 330 or the Imagination PowerVR 6xxx series, but it was still a great improvement over the Mali-450MP4 GPU used in the last generation of MediaTek octa-core chipsets.
Tablets and phones that run stock Android often provide day-to-day performance that’s better than the devices with heavily customized interfaces. The slate performs like a champ most of the time -- as long as there are lot too many apps running in the background. There are some minor, intermittent pauses before the contents of menus pop up, but little-to-none of the very basic interface scroll lag we’ve seen in those entry-level tablets and smartphones. It does take a while to come out of standby at times, though, which can get annoying.
During mass auto-updates, updates would freeze mid-download like frozen apps mid-download. Even though it has a zippy octa-core CPU and 2GB of RAM, it is still easily overwhelmed when pushing its performance to maximum. But it is more of a problem of the multi-tasking enhanced Android operating system rather than a defect of the Cube T9.
Reading and browsing
The squarer 9.7-inch display is perfect size for browsing content-heavy webpages and reading E-magazines, and the capable MT8752 processor doesn’t disappoint. Loading graphic-intense web-pages happens fairly quickly, dragging and zooming the page itself feels as smooth as silk, There are little to none lags in turning pages of even the most gigantic PDF file.
Gaming
As long as we kept background apps to a minimum, gaming performance was fast and smooth. Large games like NFS 17 opened quickly and levels loaded within a few seconds. While playing Riptide, the tablet reacted quickly, making tight turns and sharp movements in real time.
Video Playback
A screen with 4:3 aspect ratio isn’t really ideal for video playback, as most video files come in widescreen, which result in a lot of wasted screen real estate when we play 1080P videos on the T9. Fortunately, with Cube’s rich experience in making MP4 players, the T9 has incredible video codec support.
Almost all media files with basic video codecs (i.e. DivX). MKV, AVI (XviD) and MP4 videos play smoothly through T9’s video player. You can change the zoom mode (100% or fit to screen with and without affecting the video's aspect ratio) and there's a pinch zoom too, in case you want to get close up on a specific part of the action.
If subtitles are available, the video player will automatically find and load them. You can also manually load subtitles, if the video and subtitle file names don't match.
Connectivity
The T9 features dual 4G support (FD-LTE & TD-LTE), which means you get up to 150Mbps of downlink and up to 50Mbps of uplink speeds. It also covers dual 3G (WCDMA & TD-SCDMA) and 4 bands of GSM.
It also features Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac support, with 2.4GHz and 5GHz band compatibility. Wi-Fi Direct and DLNA support are also available as well as GPS and FM Radio. Bluetooth 4.0 is available for local data transfer, too.
There is a micro SD card slot as well, on top of the 32GB of internal storage.
The T9 naturally supports USB-on-the-go, but you will need to buy an additional adapter for that. The tablet can work with USB storage, USB mice and keyboards. Of course, you can always hook up a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard to the slate without relying on the cable connection.
You can also mirror your tablet screen on the bigger HDTV via Wi-Fi Direct and the widely supported Miracast protocol - that would even allow you to play mobile games on the biggest screen in your living room.
Just like the T7, the T9 supports OTA firmware upgrade, you will receive the notification whenever an update is available.
Battery life
First and foremost, the T9 is a brilliant tablet for battery life with a very large 10,000mAh capacity inside, full stop.
Untouched, the device will last a really long time as it holds its charge extremely well. When you do use it, it doesn't jump off a cliff like a brainless lemming either. You'll get about 9 hours of screen time. This is an average, as it depends on how bright you set that super high-res screen. You'll get less if you ramp it up but even more at lower levels.
Either way, it's a great performer in this area and means the T9 is a good choice for those wanting to travel without their tablet dying on them half way through a flight or a car journey where the tablet is entertaining kids in the back.
In our standard cngadget battery test, where we play a 1080P video on loop with 30 percent brightness while having notifications for email turned on, the T9 lasted 9 hours and 5 minutes, which is almost on par with the longevity the Talk 9X could deliver. Neither tablet can come anywhere near the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5, though, which gives you two more hours of screen use between charges.
Cameras
The T9 has two cameras, the norm for any high-quality tablet. It uses a 13-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera.
We think a tablet like this is much too big to be used as an everyday camera, but otherwise it offers pretty good shooting. There’s very little shutter lag, focusing is snappy and you get a few additional modes. There’s HDR, panorama, beauty face and object tracking.
While not up with the best smartphones in terms of image quality, they're much better than the tablet average. Here are a few samples:
The T9 also has an LED flash, which some tablets lack. The T9’s front camera isn’t too bad either – you don’t need more for standard video chat, although some phones are starting to use higher-resolution 5-megapixel front cameras for better selfies.
Conclusions
There is no doubt that T9 is one of Cube's best tablets yet, and, though it is not so stylish and record-breaking as its predecessor – the Cube Talk 9X, it's still a great slate with solid specs and excellent build quality.
Back in 2012 when Rockchip’s RK3066 dual-core A9 processor dominated the tablet industry in China, a few tablet makers already began to sell tablets with 9.7-inch retina display. The struggling performance and recurrent lags from those offerings lead to a generally negative impression of Chinese tablets with a high-resolution display. But powered by enhanced processors coming out in 2013 and 2014, high-res tablets are finally good.
With dozens of tablets released this year, Cube certainly hasn't made choosing a tablet easy. Is the T9 enough to make Talk 9X or i6 users to switch? Certainly not. However, unless you've already bought a tablet in 2014, the T9 will give you plenty of reasons to go for it and the beefy processor is just one of them.
If you like the T9’s specs but not the size and weight, you can also go smaller with the Cube T7, which has almost identical internal set-ups, aside from a smaller 7-inch screen and significantly smaller battery to fit into the tinier body.
The good
Solid build quality.
Amazing battery life.
Smooth performance delivered by the beefy processor and 2GB RAM.
32GB internal storage with Micro SD card support.
A nice rear-facing 13MP camera.
OTA upgrade.
The Bad
Not slim or light by today’s standards.
No HDMI on board.
The explosion-proof film on top of the touchscreen makes the display look annoyingly grainy.

Hi, but the Cube T9 4G tablet support LED flash?

Annie Y said:
Hi, but the Cube T9 4G tablet support LED flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cube T9 support LED flash, you can look here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y93zqo0sJo

man!
got this one today, but can't root it!
even drivers for windows (debug mode) aren't available...
anyone any ideas?

Cant root t7 either
Tried oneclickroot
Root genius
iroot formerly vroot
Kingo root too
Doomlord please help I'll send ya my tablet to root if you fancy a challenge
Sent from my GT-I9305 using XDA Free mobile app

Yo dude!
I've just rooted it with vroot (iroot)
Just get google debug drivers and install them manualy
And itoot will do the rest
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

awesome

Does it play Hearthstone?

root cube t 9 4g
Hi,
you got it!! nice one.
could you explain how you did it?
filiphch said:
Yo dude!
I've just rooted it with vroot (iroot)
Just get google debug drivers and install them manualy
And itoot will do the rest
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

My contribution:
The good
Battery
Smooth performance
OTA upgrade
4G
The Bad
The screen lacks much precision !!!! may be due to proof film ???
Only 2 Go allowed to internal storage (system and app) can't install app on the rest or on sd card ::> http://forum.zopomobileshop.com/thread-1412-1-1.html ????
bug
Reboot alone

Seems great
This tablet seems great for my use, however the screen precision mentioned in this threat, worries me a bit. Could you confirm it?
The battery life is really a selling point for me.

ferdyfist said:
This tablet seems great for my use, however the screen precision mentioned in this threat, worries me a bit. Could you confirm it?
The battery life is really a selling point for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got totaly no problem with precision
i can click any small detail on screen without error
realy nice tablet
just be aware of 2gb limit of app space
otherwise tablet is super!

So no screen issue? All clear and such?
Can you confirm the battery life as well?
And the small app storage should be able to be repartitioned, I hope.
I btw saw somewhere, that this was able to record in 4k? Not that I believe it, but is the camera good, both for video and photos?

ferdyfist said:
So no screen issue? All clear and such?
Can you confirm the battery life as well?
And the small app storage should be able to be repartitioned, I hope.
I btw saw somewhere, that this was able to record in 4k? Not that I believe it, but is the camera good, both for video and photos?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope -> I <- have got totaly no issues with the screen...
My previous tablet was Onda v975m, and the battery life is a tyni bit longer now
Let's hope together then for repartitioning
4k? Nah...
Camera is realy wierd... only default camera software gave me the ''full hd'' video... android camera could do it only in low res.
Photos of front camera are the same as other chinese tablets
I wouldn't buy it for camera xD
But if you need to take a photo outside in bright daylight, it will be ok with hdr turned on
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

Just read
http://www.freaktab.com/showthread.php?20643-Cube-T9-64bit-octacore-A53-4G-beast

Deleted.

I have mine for about a week now and all is working great..no screen issues at all and no inner film as some have reported and the screen just looks very clear and detailed..no graininess at all..i have not tried a sim card in it yet to try the phone part, but this is a real nice tablet and fast.

I have had mine for 2 week's now and it's been very good. Had a few dramas earlier with trying to upgrade firmware. The only real problem for me is the 5ghz WiFi band. It's really unreliable and keeps dropping out, the 2ghz band is reliable. Hopefully it's just software related and they fix it. Has anyone had the 4g signal working. I tried my mobile 4g sim and was only picking up 3g

Mine 5GHZ wifi is stable...
Maybe you should check your router?

Amazing Review
Thankyou for posting such an extensive review.. This seems to be a nice device to carry.. But I wonder about the explosion proof film. They could have done better I suppose.