Asus MeMO Pad HD 7" 16GB Android Tablet

So, I've been putting off a new tablet purchase for quite awhile. I've been suffering with an Acer Iconia Tab A100 for awhile now, and while it was nice when it came out it simply doesn't cut it anymore. But I am cheap. A year ago, had someone said that I would be able to get a tablet with a quad core 1.2 GHz processor, 16GB internal storage, Cameras, GPS, and micro SD slot with a gorgeous 1280x800 IPS screen, and that it would be running Android 4.2.1 Jellybean - all for $150 - I wouldn't have believed them. I had known for awhile that at some point prices would come down enough and hardware and software would catch up, and was waiting for the right moment. It came today. Most of the reviews I've read on this tablet have essentially said that it's a solid tablet functionally, but that its construction is weak and it feels cheap. Honestly, I don't see it. While it doesn't have the same ultra-solid feel that the high-end (expensive) tablets have, it doesn't in the least feel cheap to me at all. The back panel, while plastic, doesn't feel flimsy to me. The screen looks and feels high end to me. There's alot made about the newer resolutions like the new Nexus 7's 1920x1200 display, but my eyes can't really tell the difference in most situations. I will say that if you are planning on using this outside on a sunny day, forget about it - it's almost impossible to see the screen under direct sunlight. But indoors it is great, and it has great viewing angles as well. Some reviews complained about the button placement but it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Some reviews also made a big deal about the back panel extruding slightly past the top screen panel, but I don't feel it's uncomfortable or in the least bit bad looking. The tablet is fairly light and thin, certainly not a burden to hold in one hand for extended periods. The tab comes with Jellybean 4.2.1 and has a build update that will likely launch as soon as you power on and sign in. Engadget reports that it will get a 4.3 upgrade in the "near future". The OS is thankfully pretty vanilla, with only a few unobtrusive bloatware apps thrown in. Asus has a skin that IMHO is barely detectable; it's there if you want to use it but you can pretty much ignore it if you want to. This is a fairly lean implementation of Android and I for one appreciate that. Performance seems to be very good so far in my limited testing. I've seen very little lag or stutter, definitely nothing that I find annoying. The screen is very responsive and looks great. The browser (Chrome, I am a Chrome user, and it pays off to be able to sync across devices) seems to run surprisingly fast. I did try a few games on it including Order and Chaos, Shadowgun, Dungeon Hunter 4, Anomaly HD, and Modern Combat 3; all played nearly flawlessly with only the occasional slight stutter, barely noticeable. I'd say this is a perfectly capable gaming tablet, even if not the highest-end, it plays everything I've thrown at it so far. I did experience some slightly long loading times with the games but that doesn't really bother me; waiting an extra 5 seconds to play a level is not a big deal to me. ETA: I just downloaded and played N.O.V.A. 3 on the tab and was surprised at how well it did. I had read that it was nearly unplayable on the MeMo, that is not true. It DID take a very long time to load the first level (a little over 2 minutes), but once loaded it played pretty well. I could notice a little stutter here and there but it's definitely playable. If it'll play that then it'll play anything I am likely to throw at it. Battery life is quite good. With normal usage I can easily go all day long without having to plug it in, and still have some juice left over at the end of the day. I just got done playing Dungeon Hunter 4 for about 4.5 hours and saw battery life was still at 47%. That is pretty amazing. The battery also recharges very quickly, in my experience about 4-5 hours from a dead battery. The camera is adequate. It's not bad, just nothing to write home about. It works, but it's not a reason to buy this tablet. Same goes with the forward facing camera - it works, but it's nothing special. If you want a great camera you should probably be looking at camera reviews, not tablet reviews. I can confirm that the tablet does have its own standalone GPS and does not require a wireless connection to function (although Google Maps and Earth do). Turning off wifi and turning on GPS, I was unable to get a lock indoors, but at my house that has always been a problem (something in the walls or roof); as soon as I walk outside on the balcony GPS Status app tells me I've locked to 7 satellites, not bad. With an offline mapping app like Mapdroyd this will work great as a GPS unit in your vehicle. The wifi seems to run very fast. I ran a couple of Speedtest trials on it and consistently got over 22-24 mbps speeds, which for my network is very fast, far better than my other devices. I am finding the floating apps feature to be pretty useful. I can open up a calendar, calculator, video player, internet browser, and a few other "mini-apps" in a window with the touch of a button without exiting what I am doing. Very convenient for a quick check on something, great for multitasking. I recently bought the Hisense Sero 7 Pro for my son for gaming, and while that is a great device for the money this one feels more solid, and more smooth in operation. Also, the extra internal storage is going to be tremendously important. I trust Asus to have better support for the MeMo Pad HD 7 than Hisense, as well. I would say that if you are really into gaming but don't need a bunch of games on your tablet at once then go with the Hisense, but for everyone else the MeMo is superior. The 8GB internal storage on the Hisense really is limiting. I thought about going with the new Nexus 7, but two things broke it for me: 1) cost (obviously, paying less is better), and 2) the new Nexus 7 STILL doesn't have a microSD card slot. I have a large collection of music and offline movie files and don't like having to constantly load and unload stuff, so a microSD card slot is a requirement for me. I need that internal storage for apps, and I want an external card for everything else. Maybe the next Nexus 7... I had wanted a black tablet, but the closest they have is blue. It's a very dark blue and in most light appears black. I got a black TransCover (very nice cover, BTW - makes it look and feel like a premium tablet, worth the money IMHO) for it and it looks for all intents and purposes like a black tablet now, which makes me happy. My initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive. The more I use the tablet the more amazed I am that something at this price point can be so capable. Generally the old axiom that you get what you pay for is true, but in this case you're getting nearly everything you are going to get with a premium high-end tablet in a slightly downgraded package for ALOT less money. This one gets 5 stars from me not because it is the best tablet out there but because it is a solid tablet AND it's the best value out there in terms of capabilities versus price that you are likely to find. For the price I don't think it has any real competition. ETA: 09/04/13 - today I tried to play NOVA 3 multiplayer over Wifi. It didn't work. I think I've found the tab's limit. My son's Hisense would load fine, but my MeMo was unable to join without losing the connection... It'll play solo - though it takes a long time to load - but it won't do multiplayer. I am, of course, trying to push it to the extreme; NOVA 3 is currently a benchmark game for Android. The Hisense is definitely a better gaming tablet. But it still suffers from small storage and lack of support. It took an hour to load NOVA 3 on the Hisense and I had to remove half of my son's games just to get it on there. Again, the 8GB storage on the Hisense really is limiting. So, if you are looking for a powerful gaming tablet, this is not it. It will do everything short of powerful gaming very well, though. I have absolutely no complaints beyond the fact that it won't do networked play for the most graphically intensive Android game out right now... :) ETA: 10/03/13 - Today a firmware update was pushed out by Asus which fixes issues people were having with Netflix among other things. It always ran fine on mine but apparently some people were having problems with it. But this is one of the reasons I went with this over the Hisense or other tablets; I trust Asus to support the device. It has apparently been listening to users' issues and is responding. The fact that the tab already got a firmware update so soon after launch to address issues is a very good sign for support in the future. I am still very happy with mine.