I love my Nexus 7, but needed to replace it because it hasn't allowed the OS or firmware to be updated in years, and various apps I really needed to use would no longer run because they required updates. There aren't a lot of choices out there anymore for tablets that are 5" or smaller across, as phone have been getting much larger since the Nexus 7 was released.
Lenovo Tab One
Opening the box, there is a 2 page quick start guide pointing out the buttons. But no general instructions about using Android. I found a meter long cable, but was disappointed that there was no charging plug. It came 60% charged, and it seems to charge about 1% every 1.5 minutes. I suspect it could go faster, if it was powered off as with my initial charge I didn't go into airplane mode, and had a clock app running as a timer. (I also realized right before making this that the charger I used might only be 7 watt max, and the charger they recommend on the Lenovo site is 20 watt.) Battery life seems great so far. (It advertises 12.5 hours of steady youtube usage on a full charge. I did not test this out.)
It came with Android version 14, but updated to version 15 right away. Lenovo ZUI 17. It said it would take 1 hour to update, but seemed to only take 11 minutes before it asked to restart.
I had 46.5 GB free (out of 64 GB) after initial setup. I don't need to use the MicroSD slot yet, but it's easily accessible if I do.
Reviews all said the device came with bloatware. I didn't really notice any I didn't ask for, besides Fitbit (97mb), FM radio, wps office (280mb), tide (117mb)(the sleep and meditation app), yt kids (56mb), candy crush (188mb). I think the complaints came because during setup, it suggests a few dozen common apps to install, and some are checked on automatically, and someone swiping through the screens quickly probably didn't catch to toggle those off. I'd be very annoyed if I was tricked into installing stuff I immediately wanted to uninstall.
During set up, offered to let me transfer everything over from old device, but my Nexus 7 doesn't have Android 10 which appears to be the minimum required. I even had a cable to connect both tablets, but the Nexus wouldn't display the screen where I'd input the code to start the transfer.
Going through setup, I was surprised I had to choose between gesture navigation or 3-button navigation, as I would think both could be working at the same time. It identified my location right away, but oddly the weather app was Celsius by default. Which is a surprise. And default setting was how the tablet let me send a randomized MAC address, which was the first time I've ever seen this. I have my home router set to assign a specific IP to every device I regularly use, so I turned this off.
The camera works well. Recorded some video and photos. It likes well lit shots better than dark, which I'd expect. People I showed the tablet too commented on how good some of the outdoor photos look.
So far it's playing games rather fast. I know it won't play the newest most demanding games, as it has a weak processor, but it's fine with everything I've thrown at it, including some fast racing games.
Some complaints:
- Hard to get the packaging open, or at least to figure out how the box slid open.
- The auto rotate seems more sensitive than I like. I think it really wants to be horizontal more than vertical.
- Screen seemed to smudge easier than I'd like.
After a week's use, I will say one thing I am disappointed by is the camera. A 5 year old Samsung Note phone seems to take better photos. It handles low light better (less noise) and blurs less when subjects are moving. There is no flash, so maybe that's an issue for some.
I'm struggling to find any reason to have an E-reader when this tab is so cheap. Almost cheaper than all the kindles.
I'm going to keep using it, and will update if I find any problems, or anything else particularly great with it.
