For bob and any other gadget freaks out there....
http://www.dracotek.com/ainol-novo7...s-tablet-pc-8gb-camera-1gb-ddr3-ram-hdmi.html
After a lot of research a few local guys inc myself decided to try this range, one got the Ainol (Oi, No snigggering at the back!, pronounced Inol,) Novo7 elf, another the novo 7 palladin and I have got the Novo 7 Aurora. All three are similar spec but the Aurora has the vivid IPS screen and less important but handy hardware volume buttons (sounds daft but is easier having rocker volume switch on the side rather than having to use the touch screen if in the middle of a program).
The Aurora is the more expensive out of the three (all being 7 inch diagonal displays, smaller than ipad etc which makes this very easy to carry about and use). I went for the white backed one as it is for my eldest daughter (8). If I was to get one for myself, perhaps the less lairy Anthracite would suit better.
Build quality, pretty good, no rattles or flimsy plastics here. The fit and finish is certainly worth the £130 pricetag and as this isnt the first model from this company it does feel like there has been a decent amount of R&D involved. It isnt quite up there with the iPad/Galaxy tab in the precision department but its still very good.
Touch screen, very good, I am still using it with the factory screen cover and it is lovely and responsive and can take multiple touch gestures at the same time. The colours are very sharp and the level of detail is excellent, certainly as good as the current ipads out there.
Battery life, 6-7 hours should be the norm when used for movies, apps and games. Obviously this will decrease with heavy usage of wifi or screen brightness up full and will last a lot longer on standby using only a couple of percent per hour.
From stock, the aurora comes with english language setup but does contain some apps which are chinese market only. Downloading the latest version of the software from uplaytablets website upgrades to the very latest version of Android 4.03 (from 4.01 factory install) and gives access to the android market where you can find millions of apps.
Downsides.
Onboard camera is 2mp which actually isnt bad but not quite up there with Samsung/apples efforts and is user facing rather than mounted on the back, no deal breaker for me though.
This model was initially released for chinese market only so does work better with the updated english rom (software).
Ipad mini due this year which will have a slightly better build quality but will also be more expensive but also ties you down to itunes.
Upsides.
£130 delivered .... how can you argue with that?
Latest version of Android OS, most 400 phones dont even have it yet.
Its not apple, let me explain. As good as apple is, it still ties you down to using itunes for music etc and historically you cannot push files onto the device to carry about, with android you can and this device will come with either 8 or 16gb storage and has the micro sd card slot so you can add another 16gb if you want.
IPS screen, it is so easy on the eye.
Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich, quite user friendly and with live wallpapers etc, it is a joy to use.
HDMI 2160 output, high quality default ability to output onto HD tvs etc natively and watch movies etc via your hdmi cable (included in the box amazingly, again, price for the whole boxed kit is excellent).
I bought mine from Dracotek but via their amazon presence rather than direct (just for peace of mind with delivery etc, neednt have worried really). Delivered in 6 days. They seem to deliver from china to a uk address then forward via parcel force from there.
It is also available from the likes of Gadgetfreakz and uplaytablets (who flash the full uk update for you iirc).
http://www.dracotek.com/ainol-novo7...s-tablet-pc-8gb-camera-1gb-ddr3-ram-hdmi.html
After a lot of research a few local guys inc myself decided to try this range, one got the Ainol (Oi, No snigggering at the back!, pronounced Inol,) Novo7 elf, another the novo 7 palladin and I have got the Novo 7 Aurora. All three are similar spec but the Aurora has the vivid IPS screen and less important but handy hardware volume buttons (sounds daft but is easier having rocker volume switch on the side rather than having to use the touch screen if in the middle of a program).
The Aurora is the more expensive out of the three (all being 7 inch diagonal displays, smaller than ipad etc which makes this very easy to carry about and use). I went for the white backed one as it is for my eldest daughter (8). If I was to get one for myself, perhaps the less lairy Anthracite would suit better.
Build quality, pretty good, no rattles or flimsy plastics here. The fit and finish is certainly worth the £130 pricetag and as this isnt the first model from this company it does feel like there has been a decent amount of R&D involved. It isnt quite up there with the iPad/Galaxy tab in the precision department but its still very good.
Touch screen, very good, I am still using it with the factory screen cover and it is lovely and responsive and can take multiple touch gestures at the same time. The colours are very sharp and the level of detail is excellent, certainly as good as the current ipads out there.
Battery life, 6-7 hours should be the norm when used for movies, apps and games. Obviously this will decrease with heavy usage of wifi or screen brightness up full and will last a lot longer on standby using only a couple of percent per hour.
From stock, the aurora comes with english language setup but does contain some apps which are chinese market only. Downloading the latest version of the software from uplaytablets website upgrades to the very latest version of Android 4.03 (from 4.01 factory install) and gives access to the android market where you can find millions of apps.
Downsides.
Onboard camera is 2mp which actually isnt bad but not quite up there with Samsung/apples efforts and is user facing rather than mounted on the back, no deal breaker for me though.
This model was initially released for chinese market only so does work better with the updated english rom (software).
Ipad mini due this year which will have a slightly better build quality but will also be more expensive but also ties you down to itunes.
Upsides.
£130 delivered .... how can you argue with that?
Latest version of Android OS, most 400 phones dont even have it yet.
Its not apple, let me explain. As good as apple is, it still ties you down to using itunes for music etc and historically you cannot push files onto the device to carry about, with android you can and this device will come with either 8 or 16gb storage and has the micro sd card slot so you can add another 16gb if you want.
IPS screen, it is so easy on the eye.
Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich, quite user friendly and with live wallpapers etc, it is a joy to use.
HDMI 2160 output, high quality default ability to output onto HD tvs etc natively and watch movies etc via your hdmi cable (included in the box amazingly, again, price for the whole boxed kit is excellent).
I bought mine from Dracotek but via their amazon presence rather than direct (just for peace of mind with delivery etc, neednt have worried really). Delivered in 6 days. They seem to deliver from china to a uk address then forward via parcel force from there.
It is also available from the likes of Gadgetfreakz and uplaytablets (who flash the full uk update for you iirc).
if not I'll have to stick with wired PS3 and Xbox controllers.
