The GSMArena tablet buyer's guide: February 2015

February 2015

GSMArena team, 16 February 2015.

Compact tablets

In the segment containing the smallest of tablets - 7" in screen diagonal - we'll be working our way from the ground up. Starting from the cheapest found currently on the market (cross-referenced between multiple retailers). Keep in mind that we factor in prices from authorized resellers and not the makers themselves, as they tend to have the best prices.

This guide marks the departure of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite 7.0 as our basement-price offer. This time we have the HP Slate7 Plus, which is both more powerful and cheaper than the Samsung offering. The HP Slate7 Plus boasts a 1280 x 800px 7" display (up from the 1024 x 600px) a Tegra 3 chipset with quad-core processor, 5MP main camera, VGA front-facing one, 8GB of expandable storage and a very low price at the moment.

The only weakness here is the lack of a cellular option for the HP Slate7 Plus but at this price we doubt many would splurge on a separate data plan.


HP Slate7 Plus
Pros Cons
  • Cheapest 7" tablet
  • High-res display
  • Quad-core chipset
  • 5MP camera
  • 8GB storage built-in
  • No 3G variant

The next entry on the list is another newcomer - the Lenovo A7-50 A3500. It's a bit more expensive but not by much and is more or less the same hardware. The difference here is that the Lenovo A7-50 uses a Mediatek MT8382 chpset with a quad-core processor that uses Cortex-A7 instead of the Cortex-A9 cores found in the Slate7 Plus.

Lenovo's A7-50 also features a 3G version. The price difference is close to nothing meaning you could get a 3G-enabled tablet without spending extra money.


Lenovo A7-50 A3500
Pros Cons
  • Inexpensive
  • IPS LCD of good resolution
  • Quad-core chipset
  • 5MP camera
  • 3G variant available for almost the same price
  • Uninspiring design
  • Questionable future software support

Moving the threshold to about €100/$85 is the Acer Iconia One 7 B1. On tap it has a great IPS 7" display of 800 x 1280 pixel resolution, 5MP camera, stereo speakers and a dual-core 1.6GHz processor packed into an Intel Atom chipset.

There's no cellular option here so if on the go data is important to you we suggest you look elsewhere. If not this might be the best compact tablet on a budget you can buy right now.


Acer Iconia One 7 B1-730
Pros Cons
  • Low price
  • Good screen resolution
  • Intel Atom chipset
  • 5MP camera
  • Stereo speakers
  • IPS display
  • No 3G/LTE version

The Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C is a regular already in our buyer's guide. It's around 20% more than the aforementioned Acer tablet but adds an Intel Atom Z3745 chip with quad-core chipset clocked at 1.86GHz.

The bump to the next best Intel Atom chipset is the only thing that could sway users toward Asus' offering instead of Acer's. If both fit the bill for you, specs-wise, we suggest you decide if you need the beefier chipset.


Asus Memo Pad 7 ME176C
Pros Cons
  • IPS screen of 1280 x 800px resolution
  • 5MP camera
  • Great quad-core Intel Atom chipset
  • Stereo speakers
  • 1080p video
  • GPS on board
  • Price has gone up
  • No 3G/LTE version
Review

For the third time running we have the Asus FonePad 7 ME175CG. This isn't the 2014 Fonepad 7, which we recently reviewed but the model prior to it. The reason behind us using an older iteration is because it's both better and at an almost exact same price.

The FonePad 7 ME175CG has a higher-res display over its successor, while still offering an Intel Atom chipset, 5MP camera and built-in 3G/LTE.


Asus FonePad 7 ME175CG
Pros Cons
  • IPS display of good 1280 x 800px resolution
  • Capable Intel Atom chipset
  • 5MP camera
  • 3G/LTE built-in
  • A year and a half old now
  • Price has gone up a little
Hands-on

The last time we saw the 7" Amazon Kindle Fire HDX in our buyer's guide it was cheaper. Since then its price has gone slightly up but it isn't so high as to take the slate out of the running. The Kindle Fire HDX marks the move toward higher-specced tablets with a 1200 x 1920px display, Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM, LTE version and storage options ranging from 16GB to 64GB.

The bit about storage options is important as the Kindle Fire HDX has no card slot and you'll need to keep in mind that when buying it. Another thing to keep in mind is the forked Android version on board - it isn't compatible with Google Play Services and won't bring you the same Android experience as all the droid slates in this guide. The Kindle Fire HDX is basically a window into Amazon's world of retail and that's the reason Amazon sells its hardware on a lower price note.


Amazon Kindle Fire HDX
Pros Cons
  • FullHD IPS display
  • Good Snapdragon 800 chipset, 2GB of RAM
  • Very low price for the hardware
  • Stereo speakers
  • LTE model
  • Amazon-built Android with no Google Play
  • Low-res 1.3MP camera
  • No microSD card slot

Finally we've enrolled the Huawei MediaPad X1. It lacks the superior chipset of the Kindle Fire HDX and uses a Hisilicon Kirin 910 with a Cortex-A9 quad-core processor but relies on a good Mali-450MP4 GPU. Otherwise the MediaPad X1 is a svelte slate made out of premium glass, plastic and aluminum, has a 7" 1200p screen that's also IPS, a 13MP main camera and comes as standard with a SIM slot and ability to make calls.

The price of the MediaPad X1 is a little steep but it backs it up with a solid feature-pack. It could be hard to come by, though, and is worth looking up if you want to get a premium compact tablet.


Huawei MediaPad X1
Pros Cons
  • FullHD IPS display
  • 5MP camera
  • LTE-only
  • 13MP camera on the back, 5MP on the front
  • Low weight
  • Not the cheapest
  • Chipset isn't up to similarly-priced competition

Reader comments

  • AnonD-115937
  • 17 Jul 2015
  • 04@

lest you forget, dell venue7 4G.

  • Anonymous
  • 01 Mar 2015
  • HIH

Where is tf303cl in the list ? I see many old Asus devices but no tf303cl !

  • AnonD-366692
  • 24 Feb 2015
  • 0YD

Generally I like Dell. Now that Michael Dell bought back his own company and he is the boss again, I believe Dell is going to be more innovative. Matter of fact my eyes is on their new Venue 8 7000 with 3G/LTE tablet that is just coming out. As far a...