Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Memo Pad 7 is a great budget when you compare the price with what you get for it. Firstly, this 2014 model of the Asus MeMo Pad 7 has some minor differences form its predecessors, specifically from the 2013 model. The first change is the back material used for the tablet, previous MeMo Pads used a smooth glossy type material but this model comes with a matte type yet smooth plastic material. The camera is also a step down with this model featuring a 2MP rear camera versus a 5MP camera in the previous model. Design The device is beautifully designed and is very ergonomic. The tablet feels very nice to hold and does not become uncomfortable after holding for extended periods of time. It is light weight but doesn’t feel cheap at all, it is just short of feeling like a premium build. The edges are smooth and the borders are slim and device has a very futuristic look to it. I do not like the faux silver trim around the outer edge of the device, these tend to rub off after a while from abrasion and constant touching leaving an ugly appearance. On an overall all basis, the device definitely looks like a tablet from 2014 and unlike some other tabs that have 2014 internal components but outdated designs. My only gripe is that I am not a fan of the coloured models. The white and black are nice opposites of the colour spectrum but black front and red or yellow backs models are just plain ugly to me. Hardware It runs and Intel Atom Bay Trail processor. This is something that got me really excited, and for good reason. Asus made a big win by doing this. If you hate slow devices then this is the tablet for you. This tablet is above all as the fastest I have ever owned and/or used. Some big negatives are is very poor camera quality and the lack of an ambient light sensor. The cameras are grainy in anything other than perfect lighting conditions, this is not a big deal as for most people their tablet is not intended to be their main camera. The lack of an ambient light sensor is a bit annoying though as I constantly have to adjust the screen brightness. This is something has been taken for granted in the past until you don’t have it. Software Android 4.4 Kitkat has introduced a lot of performance improvements and matches well with Asus on top Zen UI. The Zen UI this time around has been improved in the way it looks and feels. The Do It Later feature and What’s Next are nice additions, they do things that many other apps already do but it’s nice to have them included. I personally like the What’s Next feature to see my schedule at a glance. Asus Shady Business Practices I am a big fan of Asus as a technology company, as I do own many Asus products however I have noticed many subtle acts of deception on their part in the marketing of this tablet in particular. 1. On their website, Asus lists the official specs for the camera as “2 MP Front Camera / 5 MP Rear Camera with Auto focus( 1080p Video Recording )”, however Amazon’s listing states “Rear : 2MP; Front : 0.3MP”. Seeing this I thought that Amazon probably made and error as I doubted and wished that Asus would not uses such a low resolution camera from what is considered standard today. 2. Asus claims that the tablet comes with “over $270 worth of content and services”, namely eMusic, Zinio and ASUS WebStorage. I was expecting to open the box and see coupons for these, however none were included. So I checked the apps as I assumed that the offers would already be available, that turned out to not be so either. After some digging I realized that the offers for eMusic and Zinio are offers that are open to all users of the app and are in no way exclusive or part of any agreement with Asus. It was all a clever marketing trick to make customers think they are getting more than what they pay for. Overall the Asus ME176C is a great tablet and I would recommend it as a main tablet for anyone looking for a 7 inch portable tablet for daily use. It delivers on all grounds, hardware, software and performance.