Asus MeMO Pad 8 machine tablet reconsider
The Asus MeMO Pad 8 ME181C is an machine laptop battery tablet with an 8 shuffle put on view, an Intel Atom Bay Trail mainframe, and a $199 fee tag.
It’s besides a surprisingly powerful system on behalf of the fee. Or else maybe with the aim of shouldn’t take place a shock: Following all the tablet has the same mainframe the same as the Asus Transformer Pad T100 – a 10 shuffle Windows tablet with the aim of can basically exchange a laptop.
Still, the MeMO Pad ME181 feels zippy, has rebuff delinquent running one app I’ve thrown by the side of it, and overheads a smaller amount than a Google Nexus 7 or else Amazon Kindle HDX.
Does with the aim of progress to the Asus MeMO Pad a must-buy? With the aim of depends. Particular individuals could take place underwhelmed by the screen tenacity, amount of RAM, or else other specs. The ZenUI software Asus piles on top of Google machine may well besides take place a turn-off on behalf of particular, although it does add a hardly any nearby skin texture. Asus besides offers a 7 shuffle exemplary with akin specs on behalf of $50 a smaller amount.
Still, there’s a group to like in this area the Asus MeMO Pad 8, and I’ve enjoyed using it on behalf of the elapsed hardly any weeks while working on this reconsider.
Overview
Asus has been making machine medication on behalf of years and even designed the Nexus 7 medication with Google clothed in 2012 and 2013. Up until recently nearly everyone of the company’s medication take part in been powered by ARM-based processors.
Clothed in mid-2014 Asus launched a run of medication with Intel Atom Bay Trail-T processors together with the MeMO Pad 7, MeMO Pad 8, and Transformer Pad TF103. These are all priced the same as mid-range medication and they lack particular of the skin texture you’ll get back clothed in other expensive models such the same as bursting HD displays. But based on my tests, Intel’s quad-core Atom memory chip is other than fast sufficient to run precisely in this area no matter which you can lob by the side of it. We’ll examine into a crumb other order clothed in the performance section not more than.
The Asus MeMO Pad 8 has a 1280 x 800 pixel, 400 bug IPS put on view with large viewing angles, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of luggage compartment, and a microSD tag slot.
It has a 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and support on behalf of Miracast wireless put on view support, and machine 4.4 KitKat software with the Asus ZenUI user interface and suite of apps.
Design
The tablet comes clothed in black or else ashen, and the situation skin texture rounded corners, relatively slender bezels on the sides of the screen and somewhat thicker bezels by the side of the top and laptop battery floor.
It measures 8.5″ x 5.4″ x 0.33″ and weighs in this area 0.7 ounces. It’s not quite the same as pocket-sized the same as particular 7 shuffle medication, but agreed the fair team up of jeans you can probably stuff the tablet clothed in your back compact while you hike around the take in (I wouldn’t advocate leaving the take in with the tablet clothed in with the aim of pocket… or else sitting down with it near, on behalf of with the aim of matter).
Front
The tablet has stereo speakers which are practically loud on behalf of a device this minute. But both speakers are positioned along single brink which channel with the aim of you’ll take place severe short of to notice a stereo effect if you’re holding the tablet clothed in landscape mode. The speakers besides realize the back of the tablet, so you could last part up cover them with your furnish while holding the device.
On the fair trait of the tablet you’ll get back power and volume buttons. The power button is not more than the volume keys, which I get back a not enough disconcerting since I’m used to the Nexus 7 which has a power button on top. But assuming you don’t diagram on using a in one piece bunch of medication clothed in your household you ought to take part in rebuff delinquent getting used to the button landscape.
There’s a microSD tag slot on the other trait of the tablet and the headset and microUSB charging ports are by the side of the top.
Buttons
Near are cameras on the back and front of the tablet, and the rear camera skin texture auto-focus support. But neither camera has an LED instant.
Single unsophisticated figure that’s missing from the MeMO Pad 8 is an ambient light sensor. You can adjust the brightness manually by using a slider clothed in the Quick Settings panel, but it’s a crumb disconcerting to come across machine apps like the Amazon Kindle app which take part in a check-box on behalf of “auto brightness” on a device which can’t in point of fact support the figure.
Asus memo pad 8 release
Software
Asus ships the MeMO Pad 8 with machine 4.4 KitKat and it comes with the Google play a part storeroom. You’ll take place severe short of to get back one machine apps with the aim of won’t run on this tablet.
But it besides skin texture the Asus ZenUI experience which channel with the aim of it has a custom app launcher, settings menu, Quick Setting and Notification panels, and a hardly any custom apps. Particular of folks skin texture are handy. Others… not so much.
M8 settings
I’m not in the main a fan of custom skins on behalf of machine since they take part in a routine of creating an up-and-down user experience the same as you flip sandwiched between apps with the aim of were designed to match Google’s design guidelines and apps and menus with the aim of were residential by Asus (or HTC, or else Samsung, or else whoever). But near are a hardly any things to like in this area ZenUI.
M8 quick settings_02For single point, the Quick Settings pull-down panel is customizable. Don’t need to toggle auto-sync or else auto-rotate very often? Precisely uncheck their boxes from the Quick Settings options. Unfortunately there’s rebuff way to exchange the tilt of always-present apps clothed in the panel which channel you’ll permanently witness Camera, Calculator, Quick Memo, and Sound Recorder icons… whether you expenditure these apps or else not.
M8 apps
The Asus app launcher is besides kind of fussy. It looks a group like the domestic animals machine app launcher, but near are tabs on behalf of All apps, Downloaded apps (which you’ve installed yourself), and Frequent on behalf of the apps you expenditure nearly everyone often.
M8 grand piano
The tablet includes an Asus grand piano app as a substitute of Google’s grand piano. It has a dyed-in-the-wool row of statisticsics over the note keys, auto-suggests lexis the same as you type, and mechanism practically well on behalf of entering text. If you’d desire an alternate grand piano such the same as Swype, SwiftKey, or else even the Google Kelyboard you can permanently install single from the Google play a part storeroom.
Asus includes a camera app with the aim of has a hardly any fussy skin texture together with an anti-shake option. But the front and rear cameras on the MeMO Pad 8 aren’t all with the aim of good… and rebuff software’s vacant to exchange with the aim of. Don’t lob dazed your DSLR precisely yet.
M8 asus apps
Other apps include a custom calculator, a Power Saver app, an Asus jungle browser (the tablet besides comes with Google Chrome) and third-party apps together with Zinio, Flipboard, Amazon Kindle, and eMusic… for the reason that who doesn’t dear a not enough bloatware?
Sadly, there’s rebuff way to remove apps with the aim of happen pre-loaded on the tablet save you cause your device, but by the side of smallest amount you can disable them so they won’t county show up clothed in your app launcher.
Performance
A hardly any years before near were many apps with the aim of simply wouldn’t run on an machine tablet with an Intel mainframe. These days a tablet like the MeMO Pad 8 can run the vast majority of machine apps — even folks with the aim of weren’t originally designed on behalf of x86 chips. While apps with the laptop battery aim of take part in to take place translated could run a bit slower and expenditure a not enough other battery life, the difference is negligible — and the nearly everyone principal point is with the aim of you’d take part in to look pretty severe to get back an app with the aim of you can’t run on this tablet. I didn’t come across one by the side of all throughout my tests.
