Review: Ainol Novo 9 Spark II / Firewire II Android Tablet
The Ainol Novo 9 Spark II (also known as the Ainol Novo 9 Firewire II) is of course the successor to the popular Ainol Novo 9 Spark. I gave the original Novo 9 Spark a very respectable score of 4 out of 5 stars. Looks wise, the Spark II looks very much like the original Spark which also means that its looks are “inspired” by the Apple iPad. However, the buttons placement has changed. It is available in both white and black versions. The main difference between the 2 versions of the Spark are in its internals, specifically the SoC. The original Ainol Novo 9 Spark features the Allwinner A31 SoC while its successor comes with the brand new ATM7039 quad-core SoC from Actions. In fact, the Spark II is the first tablet PC to feature the new ATM7039. Actions is better known for its low cost and low powered chips. Unfortunately, their line of chipsets perform poorly when compared to similar chipsets from other Chinese manufacturers like Rockchip and Allwinner. The ATM7039 is Action’s latest quad-core chip and its fastest yet but how does it compare to Rockchip’s highly popular RK3188 and Allwinner’s A31? This and other questions will be answered in my review of the Ainol Novo 9 Spark II. DinoDirect AliExpress Merimobiles Buy Ainol Novo 9 Spark II from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable price, worldwide free shipping and superior 7×24 customer service. Buy from DinoDirect Buy Ainol Novo 9 Spark II from AliExpress AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Ainol Novo 9 Spark II at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Buy from AliExpress Buy Ainol Novo 9 Spark II from Merimobiles Ainol NOVO 9 II 9.7 Inch 2048*1536P ATM7039 Quad Core 1.6GHZ Android 4.2 Tablet PC Merimobiles.com is a Canadian company with over 7 years’ experience in the telecommunication industry as well as customer service. Buy from Merimobiles First Impressions Build quality wise, the Ainol Novo 9 Spark II is well built and the use of a metal shell enhances this. For some reason, Ainol has decided to switch the button placement around a bit. However, in my opinion, the new button layout isn’t much of an improvement over the old layout. The Home and Power buttons are now located on the left and right ends of the bottom edge, with the ports in between them. The volume rocker button...
Review: Cube U39GT Android Tablet
I have reviewed a couple of Cube Android tablets in the past. I was quite impressed with the Cube U30GT2 but less so with the U25GT. However, Cube is one of the better known tablet producing companies from China and their range of products is wide and popular. The Cube U39GT is more of a 9 inch screen and slightly updated version of the Cube U30GT2. It has a similar screen resolution but the panel is a Samsung PLS display. The slightly smaller screen brings the added benefit of a significantly lighter tablet. Other than this, there aren’t any major or significant differences between the Cube U30GT2 and the Cube U39GT. DinoDirect Amazon.com AliExpress Deal Extreme Merimobiles Buy Cube U39GT from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable price, worldwide free shipping and superior 7×24 customer service. Buy from DinoDirect Buy Cube U39GT from Amazon.com Cube U39GT RK31 Quad Core Tablet, 9 inch PLS 1920×1280, Android 4.2.2, Dual Camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, HDMI, 2G RAM, 16G ROM Buy from Amazon.com Buy Cube U39GT from AliExpress AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Cube U39GT at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Buy from AliExpress Buy Cube U39GT from Deal Extreme Cube U39GT 9″ FHD PLS Screen Android 4.2 Quad Core Tablet PC w/ 2GB RAM, 16GB ROM, HDMI, Bluetooth DX offers free world wide shipping on all items! DX is the first and only retailer in the industry to establish multiple international warehouses. Currently serving more than 30 countries, items shipped from one of the three international warehouses are typically delivered in 3-7 business days. Buy from Deal Extreme Buy Cube U39GT from Merimobiles Cube U39GT RK3188 Quad Core 1.8GHz Android 4.2.2 9.0 Inch PLS Screen 1920*1280 Bluetooth HDMI Tablet PC Merimobiles.com is a Canadian company with over 7 years’ experience in the telecommunication industry as well as customer service. Buy from Merimobiles First Impressions As mentioned above, the first impression I got was how much lighter the Cube U39GT feels, compared to the U30GT2. A quick check on the specs reveals that the Cube U39GT is 480g while the U30GT2 is 665g. The U30GT2 is almost 40% heavier. This makes the U39GT much more comfortable to hold for longer periods. There is a slight sacrifice in screen size of course but since both tablets has the same resolution, it is a compromise that I am willing to accept. The...
Review: Pipo M8 Pro Android Tablet
Android tablet PCs from China usually draw their hardware and design inspiration from popular tablets like the Apple iPad, iPad mini, Google Nexus tablets and Samsung tablets. You can almost always tell which popular tablet that the China tablet is “inspired” by. Therefore, it is quite refreshing to come across the Pipo M8 Pro Android tablet. Most of the tablets in Pipo’s current tablet line-up don’t have the obvious clone look but the Pipo M8 Pro look rather different from the rest of its brethren. If I have to pick a popular brand that the Pipo M8 Pro resemble closest to, I would pick Sony. Come to think of it, Sony does come up with rather nice designs for their tablets and I am surprised that it has taken this long for a Sony-like clone to come along. Besides the rather “unique” design, the Pipo M8 Pro also has another distinctive feature. It has a 9.4 inch display with 1280 x 800 resolution. The only other tablet that I have come across that has a similar 9.4 inch display is the Ramos W42. It is obvious that most China tablet manufacturers are cashing in on the popularity of the top-selling iOS and Android tablets. They are targeted at users who are not willing to pay top dollar for the originals and are willing to make compromises. However, the Pipo M8 Pro is rather unique as I found it to be a rather good tablet in its own rights and not because it is a rather good clone. DinoDirect Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk AliExpress Deal Extreme Merimobiles Buy Pipo M8 Pro from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable price, worldwide free shipping and superior 7×24 customer service. Buy from DinoDirect Buy Pipo M8 Pro from Amazon.com PIPO MAX M8 Pro Q940 Tablet PC RK3188 QUAD CORE 1.8GHz 9.4 Inch IPS Touch Screen Android 4.2 WiFi HDMI Dual Camera 2GB RAM 16GB Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.com Buy from Amazon.com Buy Pipo M8 Pro from Amazon.co.uk 9.4" PIPO M8 tablet PC IPS RK3066 dual core 1.6Ghz 16GB 5.0MP Camera Bluetooth HDMI Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.co.uk Buy from Amazon.co.uk Buy Pipo M8 Pro from AliExpress AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Pipo M8 Pro at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Buy from AliExpress Buy Pipo M8 Pro from Deal Extreme...
Review: Pipo U8 Android Tablet
The iPad Mini form factor is probably one of the most popular form factors among the Chinese tablet manufacturers. Almost every single manufacturer has their own version of it including Pipo. The Pipo U8 is Pipo’s take on the iPad Mini form factor. I consider Pipo as one of the “branded” China Android tablet PC manufacturers. I have generally been impressed with their line of tablet PCs especially the Pipo M9 Pro and the Pipo M6. Pipo Android tablet PCs do cost more than the other brands but they always do come with a few extras that the competition are lacking. This review of the Pipo U8 will have comparisons with the other iPad Mini clones that I have reviewed so far, specifically the highly impressive Chuwi V88 that scored a full 5 stars from this site. Does the Pipo U8 have what it takes to knock the Chuwi V88 off the throne as the best iPad Mini clone? DinoDirect Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk AliExpress Deal Extreme Merimobiles Buy Pipo U8 from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable price, worldwide free shipping and superior 7×24 customer service. Buy from DinoDirect Buy Pipo U8 from Amazon.com PIPO U8 QUAD CORE Tablet PC 7.85 Inch (same as iPad Mini) IPS Touch Screen RK3188 Quad Core 1.6GHz Android 4.2 WiFI HDMI Dual Camera 2GB RAM 16GB Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.com Buy from Amazon.com Buy Pipo U8 from Amazon.co.uk PIPO Ultra-U8 MID Tablet PC RK3188 Quad core 7.85 Inch Bluetooth Android 4.2.2 IPS Screen Dual Camera Color Black Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.co.uk Buy from Amazon.co.uk Buy Pipo U8 from AliExpress AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Pipo U8 at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Buy from AliExpress Buy Pipo U8 from Deal Extreme PIPO U8 7.85" IPS Quad Core Android 4.2.2 Tablet PC w/ 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM, HDMI, Wi-Fi - Black + Grey DX offers free world wide shipping on all items! DX is the first and only retailer in the industry to establish multiple international warehouses. Currently serving more than 30 countries, items shipped from one of the three international warehouses are typically delivered in 3-7 business days. Buy from Deal Extreme Buy Pipo U8 from Merimobiles PiPo U8 RK3188 Quad Core Android 4.2 7.85 Inch IPS 1024*768 Tablet PC Merimobiles.com is a Canadian company with over 7 years'...
Review: ifive X2 Android Tablet
Five Technology is a newcomer to the Chinese Android tablet market. However, they have come up with a handful of models that are rather popular. This is a review of one of their newer products, the ifive X2 Android Tablet. My first impression was that the ifive X2 is an updated version of their earlier model, the ifive X. The original ifive X is a dual-core RK3066 based tablet with a 9.7 inch 1024 x 768 display. The new ifive X2 Android tablet has an updated quad-core RK3188 chipset and a 8.9 inch 1920 x 1200 resolution retina display. While the two models do share some design similarities but I believe the ifive X2 is more of an expansion of Five Technology’s product line rather than a replacement of the ifive X. DinoDirect Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk AliExpress Buy ifive X2 from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable price, worldwide free shipping and superior 7×24 customer service. Buy from DinoDirect Buy ifive X2 from Amazon.com FNF ifive X2 Quad Core 1.8GHz 8.9 Inch IPS Android 4.2 Tablet Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.com Buy from Amazon.com Buy ifive X2 from Amazon.co.uk 8.9-Inch FNF Ifive X2 16GB Tablet PC IPS Retina Screen 1920x1200 RK3188 Quadcore 1.8GHz 2GB RAM Android 4.1 MID with Bluetooth Dual Cameras and 7000mAh Battery Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.co.uk Buy from Amazon.co.uk Buy ifive X2 from AliExpress AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the ifive X2 at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Buy from AliExpress First Impressions The ifive X2 came in a rather colorful box that is rather different form the usual mostly black or white boxes that the Chinese tablet manufacturers seem to prefer. The tablet even comes with a thin but full color starter guide but it is in Chinese. The build quality and overall design of the ifive X2 is quite impressive. The housing is made from Aluminum which adds a bit of heft to the tablet. While many China tablets basically just copy the design of an iPad, the ifive X5 does not. In fact, the styling of the tablet reminds me a bit of the Pipo M7 pro design. Held in landscape mode, there is a front facing camera at the top and right next to it is a ambient light sensor. There aren’t many China tablets that come with a light sensor....
Review: Ainol Novo 8 Discovery Android Tablet
The proper model name of the Ainol Novo 8 Discovery is actually the Ainol Novo 8 Discover. However, the Discovery name seems to be the more popular name for it. Therefore both retailers and users generally refer to this Android tablet as such. Therefore I have decided to use the more popular Discovery name to reference this tablet as well. The Ainol Novo 8 Discovery is also officially known as the Ainol Novo 8 Find as well. The Ainol Novo 8 Discovery Android Tablet is an 8 inch quad-core tablet from tablet manufacturer, Ainol. Ainol has a very wider range of tablets and the Novo 8 Discovery is their version of the iPad Mini clone. The screen size is advertised as 8 inch instead of the usual 7.9 inch as used by other iPad Mini clones. The rest of the design and styling of the Ainol Novo 8 Discovery leaves no doubt that this is indeed an iPad Mini clone. It has the same brushed metal aluminum back cover with the slight tapering around the edges of the tablet. The rear camera is located at the top center instead of at the top corner of the iPad Mini and of course there is no Apple logo. The front bezel is white and except for the missing Home button and a front facing camera that is slightly off centered, the Ainol Novo 8 Discovery is a very good imitation of the Apple Mini. Besides the looks, comparing the Discovery with the Apple Mini will be like comparing apples to oranges (pun not intended) because of the difference in OS. However, if you like the iPad Mini’s form factor and design without paying Apple’s premium pricing, the Android clones are a good alternative. The clones are much cheaper but there are notable differences in hardware specifications and quality. The secret to saving money with clones is knowing which features you need and paying for those while compromising on those which you don’t. In this review of the Ainol Novo 8 Discovery, we shall look at how the Android tablet performs as an iPad Mini clone as well as an Android tablet. The Ainol Novo 8 Discovery is also an updated version of the Ainol Novo 8 Dream. Improvements include a higher resolution display, double the RAM and a slightly smaller form factor. DinoDirect Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk AliExpress Buy Ainol Novo 8 Discovery from Dino Direct DinoDirect.com is a world’s leading cross-border online store with millions of active customers from more than 200 countries. DinoDirect is committed to becoming the best reliable marketplace on the net by offering high quality products with the widest selections, reasonable...