Cube is a relatively new brand in the China tablet market. Like many of the other China brands, they started out as OEM manufacturers before branching out into their own brand. Cube had a really successful product with the original Cube U30GT and they have followed up with its high resolution successor, the Cube U30GT2 Android tablet.
However, the market is a whole lot more crowded than when the original U30GT first came out. There are a lot more players in the market going after the lucrative Android tablet pie. The U30GT was a relatively high-end model with good specs and at an attractive price. Everybody seems to be coming out with high-end quad-core Android tablets with high resolution displays nowadays so the Cube U30GT2 has much more competition this time.
Buy Cube U30GT2 from Amazon.co.uk
 | Cube U30GT 2 - 10.1 inch HD (1280*800) Capacitive IPS display 1.8GHz quad core CPU quad core GPU RK3188 android 4.1 jelly bean Tablet Bluetooth, WIFI 1GB DDR3 16GB Storage.
Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.co.uk |
Buy Cube U30GT2 from AliExpress
| AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Cube U30GT2 at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Multiple choices available including leather and keyboard cases with your purchase. |
Buy Cube U30GT2 from Deal Extreme
| CUBE U30GT2 10.1" Capacitive Screen Android 4.1 Quad Core Tablet PC w/ TF / Wi-Fi / Camera - White
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 Cube U30GT2 from Merimobiles
| Cube U30GT II RK3188 Quad Core 10.1 inch 1920*1200 with Android 4.1 OS Dual Camera HDMI Bluetooth 32GB 1.8GHz.
Merimobiles.com is a Canadian company with over 7 years' experience in the telecommunication industry as well as customer service. |
First Impressions
The Cube U30GT2 design and quality is quite good and not just for a Chinese branded tablet. It actually has a metal band that goes around the edge which gives it an iPhone kinda look. The back cover is not metal however but that probably helped reduced its cost and weight. It does have a clear coating that helps prevent scratches on the surface.
Overall, the construction is good and the tablet does look like an expensive device with quite a lot of heft in it. A quick check on the specification sheet shows that the weight is 665 g (1.4 lbs). This makes the U30GT2 one of the heaviest tablets that I have come across. You probably wouldn’t want to hold this single-handedly for long periods of time. The U30GT2 measures 260 x 170 x 9.6mm (10.2 x 6.7 x 0.38″).
Refer to our Top China Tablets Full Guide comparison matrix with over 40 tablets.
Cube U30GT2 Specifications
| Brand | Cube |
| Model | U30GT2 |
| CPU | Rockchip RK3188 Quad-core ARM Cortex A9 |
| RAM | 2 GB DDR3 |
| ROM | 32 GB Nand Flash |
| Camera | Front 2MP, Rear 5MP |
| Screen Size | 10.1 inch |
| Screen Type | IPS |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n |
| 3G | No |
| Bluetooth | v4.0 |
| GPS | No |
| Battery Type | 7600 mAh |
| Size | 260 x 170 x 9.6mm |
| Weight | 665 g |
| Operating System | Android 4.1 |
Cube has loaded all the bells and whistles on the U30GT2 including a retina class 1920 x 1200 pixel 10.1 inch IPS display and pairing it with a Rockchip RK3188 quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU and quad-core Mali-400MP GPU. The RK3188 is probably the best China branded quad-core SoC currently and it is reasonably priced. Therefore, it is a very popular choice.
It also comes with 2 GB of DDR3 RAM and 32 GB of storage ROM. The U30GT2 seems to be available with a 16 GB ROM configuration as well. Additional storage can be added by inserting a microSD memory card. It can support up to 32 GB memory cards. Most of the China tablets come with microSD slot which allows for a cheap method to add additional storage. Many of the branded popular tablets like the Nexus 7 or even the iPad does not, forcing the user to pay premium prices for models with more built-in storage.
The Cube U30GT2 comes with both front and rear facing cameras. The rear camera is 5 MP while the front one is 2 MP. The rear camera also comes with an LED flash for low light shots.
The tablet has WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth for wireless communication but it does not come with GPS. The battery is 7600 mAh.
Cube U30GT2 Performance
The 1920 x 1200 pixel screen and the RK3188 CPU seems to be the closest thing to an ideal pairing for high resolution or retina displays. I have tested 2048×1536 pixel displays with the RK3188 and the processor seems to struggle just a little. On devices with the 1900 x 1200 screen including the Cube U30GT2, it seems to run smoothly most of the time.
The U30Gt2 has the same problem as the other high-res tablets. Things get a little ugly when it comes to 3D intensive games. For normal 2D games and even light 3D games like Temple Run 2, it runs well and the graphics look gorgeous. For 3D intensive games, performance range from a little jerky to unplayable. If you are a hard-core gamer, this tablet and for that matter, all the retina display with RK318 CPUs is not for you.
For most other applications including video playback, the RK3188 does adequately power the tablet. The IPS display is sharp and crisp with very good color saturation and contrast. Using the tablet outdoors on a bright day poses a challenge though.
WiFi on the Cube U30GT2 is actually among one of the best I have experienced so far. I did not encounter any dropped connections anywhere around my house which is more than I can say for the other tablets I have reviewed. Kudos to Cube for resolving the problem of weak WiFi on many China tablets.
The sound from the single speaker on the front right of the tablet is loud and relatively clear even at maximum volume. However, the placement of the speaker is bad and my hand tend to cover the speaker when I am holding the tablet in my hands.
I have yet to find a really good camera on a China tablet and unfortunately, the search does not end with the Cube U30GT2. The picture quality on the 5MP rear camera is slightly grainy both indoors and outdoors. The color saturation is a little better compared to other cameras I have used so far so I would rate the rear camera as slightly above average as far as China tablets go.
The front camera works adequately for video conferencing but again it is grainy and does not work really well under poor lighting conditions.
Like the Pipo M9pro, the U30GT2 comes with a light sensor for automatically adjusting the brightness level of the display. However, it doesn’t seem to be working very well and I normally just switched it off.
Battery life is actually quite good on the U30GT2. The 7600 mAh battery seems to be quite standard and most other tablets with similar specifications uses the same capacity battery. On the U30GT2, it delivered more than 8 hours of use under standard conditions which means with WiFi turned on and mostly web browsing and a little gaming.
Conclusion
The Cube U30GT2 is a significant improvement over the U30GT. Unfortunately, with the fast pace of technology, the improvements alone might not be enough to ensure that the U30GT2 emulates its predecessor’s success. The specs on the U30GT2 are good but there are other competitors with similar or better specs. For example, the M9pro has very similar specs but it comes with GPS which the U30GT2 lacks.
The Cube U30GT2 does have some strong points including good design and quality. The battery life is also a little better compared to other tablets in its class. It is still a very strong product but selecting the Cube U30GT2 over its competitors is not so clear cut or such an easy decision to make now. It is more of a matter of preference.
Where to Buy Cube U30GT2
Buy Cube U30GT2 from Amazon.co.uk
| Cube U30GT 2 - 10.1 inch HD (1280*800) Capacitive IPS display 1.8GHz quad core CPU quad core GPU RK3188 android 4.1 jelly bean Tablet Bluetooth, WIFI 1GB DDR3 16GB Storage.
Click Here for Pricing, Pictures and Reviews on Amazon.co.uk |
Buy Cube U30GT2 from AliExpress
| AliExpress has numerous retailers that are offering the Cube U30GT2 at a great price and some even have free international shipping thrown in. Multiple choices available including leather and keyboard cases with your purchase. |
Buy Cube U30GT2 from Deal Extreme
| CUBE U30GT2 10.1" Capacitive Screen Android 4.1 Quad Core Tablet PC w/ TF / Wi-Fi / Camera - White
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 Cube U30GT2 from Merimobiles
| Cube U30GT II RK3188 Quad Core 10.1 inch 1920*1200 with Android 4.1 OS Dual Camera HDMI Bluetooth 32GB 1.8GHz.
Merimobiles.com is a Canadian company with over 7 years' experience in the telecommunication industry as well as customer service. |
Our Rating
Your Rating
Recommended Posts
Roy Yap is the administrator of TopChinaTablets.com. Roy has been writing both online and for print magazines for many years. He writes mostly technology related articles, particularly on consumer electronics and gadget reviews.
May 2, 2014
Nice article and topic, I bought a 9.7 inch Chinese tablet which I was very impressed by it’s quality and the speed and best of all they offered free shipping. I bought it at http://www.lightboxdeals.com. Here is the actual link of the product:
http://lightboxdeals.com/default/tablet-pc-and-accessories/android-tablet-pc/9-inch-android-tablet-pc/9-7-inch-rk3066-dual-core-tablet-pc-with-bluetooth.html
I don’t know why people think Chinese goods are of lesser quality, I personally didn’t want to have to pay for an IPad especially for my children, who are very abuse and this tablet really survived being dropped and stepped on.. Anyway, that’s my opinion..
August 13, 2014
Hello. Can you PLEASE let me know what image format the camera photographs are saved in.
September 3, 2014
Photos are saved in JPEG format.