Finally,
an entry level Android tablet that actually makes sense
Catch a glimpse of the Disgo 7000 (£75 inc. VAT) and youd be
forgiven for thinking that Apple had discovered yet another form-factor and
wedged a product into that gap. It looks like a Kindle-esque, novel-sized tab
squeezed inbetween the iPhone and iPad. Given the company’s impeccable sense of
style, that a sub-£lOO Android tablet could be mentioned in the same breath is
quite a compliment to Disgo’s budget gadget.
The
resemblance is undeniable, though. Sitting idle it has the same
seamless black bevel and
glossy, fingerprint-attracting sheen as Apple’s touchscreen devices. It’s only
when you flip the 7000 over to reveal the matt plastic reverse side that the disparity
in manufacturing cost is revealed.
This
is a handsome piece of kit that unashamedly imitates more expensive technology.
It’s
also a convenient size - at 10.5mm thick it’s slimmer than the majority of
budget clunkers we’ve seen so far. The modest proportions mean it’s more like
an e-book reader than an iPad, but that makes it comfortable to hold,
convenient for reading and easy to stow in a bag. It’s also flattering to the
800 x 480 pixel screen which much lower resolution for a 7” tablet, and most
have a 1024 x 600 panel.
Of
course it doesn’t leave a great deal of space for physical buttons.
The
back button is front and centre below the screen, but the power, home, menu and
volume buttons are arranged along the narrow right-hand side of the device as
you hold it in portrait, which can lead to the odd accidental press as you’re
getting to grips with the device.
Battery life is also unspectacular, though not atrocious, finally
giving up the ghost after three hours of video at full brightness.
Making
a connection
Connectivity
is generous. There’s a MicroSD port to bolster the tiny 4GB of internal storage
(a card is all but essential if you want to add music and videos to the device)
and mini HDMI to allow you to watch videos on an attached TV.
The
most surprising feature is that there is not just one mini USB port but two at
the base of the device. The one positioned in the centre is a standard
connector, for plugging the tablet into a computer. The second one, offset to
the right, is a USB host controller and works with an adaptor included in the box.
The dongle turns it into a USB port like
you’d find on a laptop. This means if you have media stored on a standard USB
stick you can view it on the tablet and if you tire of typing on a touchscreen,
you can plug in a USB keyboard to ease the pain.
It’s a
thoughtful addition that makes the device far more flexible for the newcomers
that tablets in this price range will surely attract.
“USB host controller
- Exactly the same technology you'd find in a
laptop. Rather than just having the tablet detected by a PC, having a host
controller allows the device to detect USB gear for itself”
At
that price there are always going to be sacrifices though, and the two biggest
ones are par for the course when it comes to tablets in this class.
The
first is a hardware limitation: the Disgo 7000 has a resistive rather than
capacitive touchscreen. What this means that you can only press in one place at
a time, meaning no multi-touch trickery like pinching to zoom, and it does make
typing much more laborious. As for the 7000’s own performance, it’s relatively
accurate, meaning you’ll rarely hit the wrong letter on the on-screen keyboard,
but you do have to press quite hard to get a response at all, which is very frustrating.
You’ll often see that unnerving LCD discolouration as you push down on the
display and typing anything more than quick notes is likely to become pretty
tiresome.
“Resistive - Older
touchscreen technology relies on you exerting actual pressure on a softer
surface. Unlike capacitive screens, resistive ones will respond to a regular
plastic stylus as well as fingers”
The
second problem is one of software, as the Disgo 7000 features the ageing
Android 2.3 ‘Gingerbread’ OS. While it remains functional for straightforward
things like web browsing, email and media (and is an improvement on Android 2.2
which stinks up many of the other budget tabs), it’s still old technology.
More
worrying is the lack of the Android Marketplace - owing to licensing costs, you
won’t find a sub-£100 Android tab that has Marketplace support and that
seriously limits your options. It’s by no means the end of apps - Disgo
attempts to mitigate the loss of Marketplace by including the GetJar downloader
which features many of the more popular apps such as Facebook, Twitter and
Skype. But there’s no denying that the vast majority of Android apps,
particularly the paid ones, simply can’t be downloaded.
This
means no Angry Birds, no BBC iPlayer and certainly no Cut The Rope.
If
you’re yet to be convinced by the tablet revolution and unsure of whether you
need something that sits between a smartphone and a laptop in your life, the
Disgo 7000 presents an ideal way to dip your toe in. For around £75 you’re getting
a tablet that not only performs the basic functions you’d hope for, but also
one that you wouldn’t be ashamed to leave sitting on the coffee table when a
friend dropped by.
Admittedly,
you’re sacrificing performance and features, but you’re talking about a device
that costs around a sixth of the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Don’t expect it to compete with an iPad or
the Samsung Galaxy, but if you’re terrified by the price tags attached to bijou
technology, the Disgo 7000 is a modest but desirable tablet that punches well
above its weight.
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