AOC Breezetab MW0738
We are getting to the point in our tech lives where a smartphone just isn’t enough. It might be because the wealth of information available to us just won’t fit in small mobile phone screens, or it might be because tablets can do just a little more than their smaller kin. The need to be contacted still has us tethered to our mobiles though, leading many people to carry both a tablet and one, maybe two mobile phones. It’s a hard life. Fortunately, AOC knows your pain. The Breeze Tablet G7 is a device with a large seven inch screen, and the ability to make calls and send messages from not just one, but two lines, thanks to dual SIM capability. Is it the answer we’ve been waiting for?
Design: 3.5/5
The Breeze Tablet is a simple device with no fancy frills to drive up its retail price. It’s just a bit smaller all around than a sheet of letter paper, and is a third of a kilogram. The back is a shiny plastic, with a removable top edge that hides both SIM slots and a microSD slot. Off to one side is the main, 2MP camera. The top edge of the tablet is home to the microUSB port and headphone jack. Power and volume buttons are found on the right edge of the tablet, within easy reach in both landscape and portrait mode.
Its configuration makes it appear much slimmer than it is tall, so it looks smaller than it actually is. The bezels around the screen are acceptable, though a little on the thick side at the top and bottom, where the speaker grilles are located. Interestingly enough, you can hold the tablet up to your ear to take a call, though we might suggest finding a nice Bluetooth headset instead.
Hardware: 3.0/5
Tablets are all about the screen. The breeze has a capacitive 1024×600 that measures seven inches on the diagonal, which might be a bit low on paper, but works well enough in practice. It has 1GB of RAM paired with a 1.3GHz dual-core processor and 8GB of internal storage. That may sound middling, but what makes this tablet unique, however, is mobile connectivity on two lines.
Aside from the usual Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, the Breeze is capable of HSPA+ connectivity, leaving all other tablets behind once the Wi-Fi signals go flat. It also allows you to make calls or send and receive text messages, allowing you the convenience of leaving your mobile phone at home.
User Experience: 3.5/5
The Breeze performs solidly as an Android tablet. Though the specifications might look a little behind on paper, the tablet performs smoothly under reasonable load. The system UI on vanilla Android Jelly Bean, usually the first indicator of an underpowered machine, flows smoothly, with no real delay before launching an application. Web browsing, one of the primary purposes of using a tablet instead of a mobile, is equally smooth, the dual core processor providing enough zip to smoothly render and scroll through webpages. I was honestly expecting it to have a difficult time here, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case.
The 3,000 mAh battery on the device, coupled with the tame 1.6GHz processor and screen resolution makes up for the two cellular antennas on the tablet. Even with both lines live, and moderate use, including a few calls with a headset, regular internet browsing, and music playing in the background, I managed well over a whole workday of uptime.
My main complaint with the tablet is the screen. For a manufacturer that makes great displays, the screen on the Breeze Tablet is a little wanting. The colors are washed out and muted, and the resolution makes it so that the edges are not as fine as I have come to be used to with other devices. Brightness isn’t so much a problem, thankfully, and it takes bright lights before the screen is overcome by glare and weak screen.
Value: 4/5
Here’s where the Breeze Tablet comes back. At a price under PHP 6000, the tablet gives you great value, particularly considering it’s also a phone. Sure, at this SRP, some corners will have to be cut, but overall, it’s not a bad deal. If you’re not the kind who needs cutting-edge specs, or top of the line features, this is a little tablet that will get the job done happily.
What’s hot:
Dual-SIM
Large battery
Handy size
What’s not:
Screen is a little lacking
Bottomline: Sick of bringing along a tablet and two phones? Have a look at the AOC Breeze Tablet G7.
Specs:
Screen: 7 inches, 1024×600
OS: Android 4.2.2 JellyBean
Processor: 1.6GHz Dual Core
Memory: 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage, microSD
OTG compatible
Battery: 3,000mAh
Connectivity: HSPA+, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS