August 2, 2013 at 11:57IconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX tablet review: small and nimble
I like the mobile industry because it can surprise at any given time. It would seem that something new can be invented in the tablet form factor? All diagonals are studied, it remains only to vary the "oversized" characteristics. But no, in 2012 Apple showed the iPad mini with a 7.9-inch diagonal. And, after some time, the model pushed brands from the Android camp to master the “unexpectedly” opened eight-inch niche.
Frankly, I was very skeptical about mini-like tablets. Earlier, I had several seven-inch tablets at my disposal, which left behind nothing but a sense of uncertainty. Now I got an eight-inch iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, which radically changed my mind about small tablets.
For me, the model has become in some ways “inconvenient”, since it is highly likely to bring troubles to sell the current 10-inch home tablet. And, accordingly, buying a new one. Because, as it seems to me, the ratio of qualities of iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX and its price tag of about 7,000 rubles does not cause any thoughts about the justification of the purchase. Why? About this and, as they say, not only - further.
This is not the first tablet of the brand that has come to me recently. And again, iconBIT has colored pencils right on the box, thereby “unobtrusively” attracting attention to the advantages of the display. And it’s not at all unfounded. As expected, on the front side we get acquainted with the features of the model, and from the end we “go over” the characteristics. Among which, the processor frequency is immediately noticeable - 1.8 GHz, and even the Cortex A9.
The box contains brief instructions, a USB OTG cable, a microUSB wire and, which is extremely rare in tablets, headphones. Charging unit included. By the way, the model does not know how to charge through the microUSB port.
As a rule, the “main” opinion about the device is formed without its inclusion - purely in terms of external perception. SKAT RX does not apply to such cases, the device more interested me just after the "activation". Be that as it may, the form factor of the 7.85-inch tablet in the hands seems almost ideal in the balance between the home and "street" device. In this case, the tablet is quite convenient to hold with one hand, which does not work with 9.7 and 10.1-inch "tablets." NETTAB weighs 335 grams, this is not the smallest indicator, but subjectively you can’t call it heavy either. Undoubtedly, there would be a plastic (rather than metal) lid, a tablet would be 50 grams lighter than that.
In terms of length, width and thickness, the model is almost no different from the iPad mini - 202 x 136 x 8.6 mm. The device is thin, visually the thickness is further reduced by the “falling” edges of the lid.
The assembly turned out to be a solid "five". Earlier, my experience with “metal” tablets was accompanied by significant crackling of the cases. Here you can see that the parts fit tightly. The material on the back and ends is metal in silver. The surface is non-marking, but tactile - strongly for an amateur.
A few words about color - the tablet comes in white and black versions of the case. I will not judge which one looks more attractive, since I only had a white tablet. And, as practice shows, the effectiveness of the device in one color or another can vary greatly in the picture and live.
Let's move on to the button - connectors - elements on the case. There are no buttons from the front, Android 4.1 makes itself felt. From above, a camera was located exactly in the center, and right below it ... Honestly, I did not immediately realize that it was a light sensor.
An end face is located directly above the camera, on which there are all, without exception, buttons and connectors. An interesting and, it seems to me, a convenient option. We observe a memory card slot, an audio output of 3.5 mm, a charging connector, microHDMI, microUSB, a volume rocker and a power button. In the last two cases, the key assignment is directly engraved on them. When holding the tablet in portrait orientation, the index finger of the right hand without difficulty covers both keys, and in landscape orientation the elements are right under the thumb.
The speakers (or speaker) are mounted at the end under the screen and are protected by a neat grille. No matter how I hold the tablet, the sound does not overlap with the palm of my hand. The volume itself is average, and that’s understandable - in a thin case, you don’t really get around with the speaker.
You won’t talk much about the back side - the camera, an indication of the model and serial number, and more.
To be honest, this is the most walk-through section in the tablet review. From the rear - the usual 2 megapixels, from the front - the minimalist 0.3 megapixels. With the rear camera we take “simple” everyday shots, and with the help of the front “eye” we take part in video chats. Cameras cope with these tasks, but more is not required.
One of the strongest points of the tablet. IPS matrix, resolution 1024 x 768 pixels - these parameters are predictable. But it was precisely after working with this tablet that I first wanted to face-to-face comparison of a “third-party” model with my home 10-inch friend. Color reproduction and other parameters of the picture are at an excellent level - without reservation. As far as I know, iPad mini matrices are by no means exclusive to Apple. I do not know if iconBIT managed to get the same display, but a decent image quality is a fact.
At the top is the iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, at the bottom is my 10-inch IPS-based tablet.
Speaking about the IPS-matrix, it is customary to mean wide viewing angles. But in most cases, when I sit down in the kitchen to eat and put the test tablet on the table, a large angle of deviation leads to some subtle, but annoying "veil." In the case of SKAT RX, the image only darkens a little, but I did not have to put the tablet against the wall.
The surface of the screen is glass. The sensitivity is not satisfactory, the display regularly responded to clicks.
In the sun, the screen fades, even at maximum brightness. Of course, some kind of readability is preserved, but it is far from desired. Disadvantage? I think no. I can’t recall a tablet that would maintain excellent “visibility” of the display in clear weather. In “normal” lighting, I did not set more than 30% of the maximum brightness. I am particularly impressed by the fact that, unlike some IPS displays, setting it to 100% does not lead to overt display of the image.
It’s embarrassing for me to write this, because “nothing boded ill.” But iconBIT SKAT RX is almost the only tablet in a very, very long time that has worked out Android stability and performance perfectly. I don’t know what the role of hardware or optimization is directly in this, but the brakes and lags have bypassed the model a little more than completely. The responsiveness of the system interface, switching between tasks, web surfing with watching videos on sites, and more - my respect. And that point, because of which with high probability this device claims to replace my current tablet.
From impressions to numbers. The processor is a 4-core Rockchip RK3188 (ARM Cortex-A9) with a frequency of 1.8 GHz, the graphics chip is a Mali-400 MP in a 4-core version. Completes the picture of 1 GB of RAM. I note that Quadrant and Antutu questioned some of the characteristics of the tablet, pointing to a frequency of 1.6 GHz and ARMv7. If the tablet worked with flaws, I would undoubtedly find fault with this place, but due to the lack of reasons for complaints I will not ask questions.
Antutu does not like to be so kind as not to compare the devices of past seasons. 16 846 points - again a decent achievement. Separately, I give a detailed comparison of Google Nexus 7, which turned out to be not at all a favorite in the synthetic test.
In the ruthless Vellamo, the tablet also did not save, having earned 1,631 points in HTML5 and 541 points in the "Metal" section.
Perhaps I'll start with the opening scene of FRONTLINE COMMANDO: NORMANDY. The landing on the shader water of Normandy took place without excesses, which not everyone succeeds.
In Real Racing 3, I still expected a bit more. The gameplay was smooth (or, more correctly, stable), but FPS clearly did not go beyond 25-30 units. But in Dead Trigger, the game showed speed, which the title likes to demonstrate only on the top configuration. Naturally, the graphics settings were set to the maximum. In the end, Eternity Warriors 2 and SG: Dead Zone were tested, everything is fine.
Actually, what I liked most about games. There are many tablets with excellent features. And the games on them are "played" quite for themselves. But here we shot in an exploding barrel or some other “resource-intensive” moment was coming up with the advent of new objects. And the delay works, microlag. The tablet “freezes” the picture for a split second. Even if it is found infrequently, but the eye "catches" and annoys. In iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX there were no such micrologs.
I somehow got tired of traditionally throwing a random selection of clips / films into the tablet’s memory, and compiling my own test mega-collection was not mature enough. Therefore, I honestly borrowed the “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 ”by IXBT, since the site freely provides its video for download. Results:
The built-in player immediately in the preview window told which videos he refuses to play. Installed RockPlayer did not affect the situation. But, if the tablet was playing the video, then it was exclusively “excellent”.
The tablet turns on quickly, after 22-23 seconds it is completely ready for work. Android 4.1 installed. Yes, who knows - will there be an upgrade to Android 4.2 or even more other older versions. But taking into account the stability and speed of the tablet, I would think about it last.
There is practically nothing to talk about the system. Seriously. 19 shortcuts, just a couple of add-ons (video player, file manager, ApkInstaller) - even on one screen the list wasn’t enough. But of the total 16 GB, a total of 14.346 GB is available to us (696 MB of internal memory and 11.65 GB of NAND).
4000 mAh of internal battery - a moderate indicator, close to the given value is observed more likely in 7-inch rather than 10-inch tablets. Playing video iconBIT NETTAB pleased me for 4 hours 10 minutes at 80% sound volume and 50% screen brightness. For viewing, we used "typical" DVDrip with a volume of 1.36 GB.
My general conclusion on the tablet has already been mentioned in the review, but I will say it again for readers “diagonally” - either specifically the iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, or a similar model are the primary bidders for my purchase in the near future. Although, frankly, the wife does not want to part with our home 10-inch tablet. But even with a spending of 7,000 rubles, it doesn’t really argue for the amount is moderate - this is talking about the iconBIT price tag as such.
As far as I can see on Yandex.Market, there are very few models of the same diagonal - 17 pieces, including 6 varieties of iPad mini at a price of 11 150 rubles. For other models, the price tag is in the range of 7-8 thousand rubles, that is, financial requests iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX are quite competitive.
PS Films shot immediately after the review.
Frankly, I was very skeptical about mini-like tablets. Earlier, I had several seven-inch tablets at my disposal, which left behind nothing but a sense of uncertainty. Now I got an eight-inch iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, which radically changed my mind about small tablets.
For me, the model has become in some ways “inconvenient”, since it is highly likely to bring troubles to sell the current 10-inch home tablet. And, accordingly, buying a new one. Because, as it seems to me, the ratio of qualities of iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX and its price tag of about 7,000 rubles does not cause any thoughts about the justification of the purchase. Why? About this and, as they say, not only - further.
Packaging and equipment
This is not the first tablet of the brand that has come to me recently. And again, iconBIT has colored pencils right on the box, thereby “unobtrusively” attracting attention to the advantages of the display. And it’s not at all unfounded. As expected, on the front side we get acquainted with the features of the model, and from the end we “go over” the characteristics. Among which, the processor frequency is immediately noticeable - 1.8 GHz, and even the Cortex A9.
The box contains brief instructions, a USB OTG cable, a microUSB wire and, which is extremely rare in tablets, headphones. Charging unit included. By the way, the model does not know how to charge through the microUSB port.
Design and controls
As a rule, the “main” opinion about the device is formed without its inclusion - purely in terms of external perception. SKAT RX does not apply to such cases, the device more interested me just after the "activation". Be that as it may, the form factor of the 7.85-inch tablet in the hands seems almost ideal in the balance between the home and "street" device. In this case, the tablet is quite convenient to hold with one hand, which does not work with 9.7 and 10.1-inch "tablets." NETTAB weighs 335 grams, this is not the smallest indicator, but subjectively you can’t call it heavy either. Undoubtedly, there would be a plastic (rather than metal) lid, a tablet would be 50 grams lighter than that.
In terms of length, width and thickness, the model is almost no different from the iPad mini - 202 x 136 x 8.6 mm. The device is thin, visually the thickness is further reduced by the “falling” edges of the lid.
The assembly turned out to be a solid "five". Earlier, my experience with “metal” tablets was accompanied by significant crackling of the cases. Here you can see that the parts fit tightly. The material on the back and ends is metal in silver. The surface is non-marking, but tactile - strongly for an amateur.
A few words about color - the tablet comes in white and black versions of the case. I will not judge which one looks more attractive, since I only had a white tablet. And, as practice shows, the effectiveness of the device in one color or another can vary greatly in the picture and live.
Let's move on to the button - connectors - elements on the case. There are no buttons from the front, Android 4.1 makes itself felt. From above, a camera was located exactly in the center, and right below it ... Honestly, I did not immediately realize that it was a light sensor.
An end face is located directly above the camera, on which there are all, without exception, buttons and connectors. An interesting and, it seems to me, a convenient option. We observe a memory card slot, an audio output of 3.5 mm, a charging connector, microHDMI, microUSB, a volume rocker and a power button. In the last two cases, the key assignment is directly engraved on them. When holding the tablet in portrait orientation, the index finger of the right hand without difficulty covers both keys, and in landscape orientation the elements are right under the thumb.
The speakers (or speaker) are mounted at the end under the screen and are protected by a neat grille. No matter how I hold the tablet, the sound does not overlap with the palm of my hand. The volume itself is average, and that’s understandable - in a thin case, you don’t really get around with the speaker.
You won’t talk much about the back side - the camera, an indication of the model and serial number, and more.
Camera
To be honest, this is the most walk-through section in the tablet review. From the rear - the usual 2 megapixels, from the front - the minimalist 0.3 megapixels. With the rear camera we take “simple” everyday shots, and with the help of the front “eye” we take part in video chats. Cameras cope with these tasks, but more is not required.
Screen
One of the strongest points of the tablet. IPS matrix, resolution 1024 x 768 pixels - these parameters are predictable. But it was precisely after working with this tablet that I first wanted to face-to-face comparison of a “third-party” model with my home 10-inch friend. Color reproduction and other parameters of the picture are at an excellent level - without reservation. As far as I know, iPad mini matrices are by no means exclusive to Apple. I do not know if iconBIT managed to get the same display, but a decent image quality is a fact.
At the top is the iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, at the bottom is my 10-inch IPS-based tablet.
Speaking about the IPS-matrix, it is customary to mean wide viewing angles. But in most cases, when I sit down in the kitchen to eat and put the test tablet on the table, a large angle of deviation leads to some subtle, but annoying "veil." In the case of SKAT RX, the image only darkens a little, but I did not have to put the tablet against the wall.
The surface of the screen is glass. The sensitivity is not satisfactory, the display regularly responded to clicks.
In the sun, the screen fades, even at maximum brightness. Of course, some kind of readability is preserved, but it is far from desired. Disadvantage? I think no. I can’t recall a tablet that would maintain excellent “visibility” of the display in clear weather. In “normal” lighting, I did not set more than 30% of the maximum brightness. I am particularly impressed by the fact that, unlike some IPS displays, setting it to 100% does not lead to overt display of the image.
Performance
It’s embarrassing for me to write this, because “nothing boded ill.” But iconBIT SKAT RX is almost the only tablet in a very, very long time that has worked out Android stability and performance perfectly. I don’t know what the role of hardware or optimization is directly in this, but the brakes and lags have bypassed the model a little more than completely. The responsiveness of the system interface, switching between tasks, web surfing with watching videos on sites, and more - my respect. And that point, because of which with high probability this device claims to replace my current tablet.
From impressions to numbers. The processor is a 4-core Rockchip RK3188 (ARM Cortex-A9) with a frequency of 1.8 GHz, the graphics chip is a Mali-400 MP in a 4-core version. Completes the picture of 1 GB of RAM. I note that Quadrant and Antutu questioned some of the characteristics of the tablet, pointing to a frequency of 1.6 GHz and ARMv7. If the tablet worked with flaws, I would undoubtedly find fault with this place, but due to the lack of reasons for complaints I will not ask questions.
Antutu does not like to be so kind as not to compare the devices of past seasons. 16 846 points - again a decent achievement. Separately, I give a detailed comparison of Google Nexus 7, which turned out to be not at all a favorite in the synthetic test.
In the ruthless Vellamo, the tablet also did not save, having earned 1,631 points in HTML5 and 541 points in the "Metal" section.
Games
Perhaps I'll start with the opening scene of FRONTLINE COMMANDO: NORMANDY. The landing on the shader water of Normandy took place without excesses, which not everyone succeeds.
In Real Racing 3, I still expected a bit more. The gameplay was smooth (or, more correctly, stable), but FPS clearly did not go beyond 25-30 units. But in Dead Trigger, the game showed speed, which the title likes to demonstrate only on the top configuration. Naturally, the graphics settings were set to the maximum. In the end, Eternity Warriors 2 and SG: Dead Zone were tested, everything is fine.
Actually, what I liked most about games. There are many tablets with excellent features. And the games on them are "played" quite for themselves. But here we shot in an exploding barrel or some other “resource-intensive” moment was coming up with the advent of new objects. And the delay works, microlag. The tablet “freezes” the picture for a split second. Even if it is found infrequently, but the eye "catches" and annoys. In iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX there were no such micrologs.
Video
I somehow got tired of traditionally throwing a random selection of clips / films into the tablet’s memory, and compiling my own test mega-collection was not mature enough. Therefore, I honestly borrowed the “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 ”by IXBT, since the site freely provides its video for download. Results:
- watch-1920x1080-60p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1920x1080-50p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1920x1080-30p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1920x1080-25p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1920x1080-24p.mp4 - cannot play
- watch-1280x720-60p.mp4 - cannot play
- watch-1280x720-50p.mp4 - cannot play
- watch-1280x720-30p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1280x720-25p.mp4 - excellent
- watch-1280x720-24p.mp4 - excellent
The built-in player immediately in the preview window told which videos he refuses to play. Installed RockPlayer did not affect the situation. But, if the tablet was playing the video, then it was exclusively “excellent”.
System
The tablet turns on quickly, after 22-23 seconds it is completely ready for work. Android 4.1 installed. Yes, who knows - will there be an upgrade to Android 4.2 or even more other older versions. But taking into account the stability and speed of the tablet, I would think about it last.
There is practically nothing to talk about the system. Seriously. 19 shortcuts, just a couple of add-ons (video player, file manager, ApkInstaller) - even on one screen the list wasn’t enough. But of the total 16 GB, a total of 14.346 GB is available to us (696 MB of internal memory and 11.65 GB of NAND).
Battery
4000 mAh of internal battery - a moderate indicator, close to the given value is observed more likely in 7-inch rather than 10-inch tablets. Playing video iconBIT NETTAB pleased me for 4 hours 10 minutes at 80% sound volume and 50% screen brightness. For viewing, we used "typical" DVDrip with a volume of 1.36 GB.
Conclusion
My general conclusion on the tablet has already been mentioned in the review, but I will say it again for readers “diagonally” - either specifically the iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX, or a similar model are the primary bidders for my purchase in the near future. Although, frankly, the wife does not want to part with our home 10-inch tablet. But even with a spending of 7,000 rubles, it doesn’t really argue for the amount is moderate - this is talking about the iconBIT price tag as such.
As far as I can see on Yandex.Market, there are very few models of the same diagonal - 17 pieces, including 6 varieties of iPad mini at a price of 11 150 rubles. For other models, the price tag is in the range of 7-8 thousand rubles, that is, financial requests iconBIT NETTAB SKAT RX are quite competitive.
- Cons ... Probably, I would like to see a slightly larger supply of battery life. Yes, and a metal cover is not necessary at all, replacing it with plastic would give tangible weight relief.
- Pros - a good (I say without irony) screen, good build and excellent (this is generally from a number of fiction) speed and stability of Android.
PS Films shot immediately after the review.
