Review ASUS ZenPad 8.0 tablet



    Gone are the days when computers, home electronics and gadgets looked angular, ugly, were made of black or gray plastic and did not indulge in design at all. And that was normal, taken for granted. But this is already in the past, and today the design of gadgets is almost the key factor affecting the popularity of a particular model. It’s a completely natural process, because all kinds of smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearable electronics have become the most important - for many, inalienable - part of life. They are constantly in the hands, constantly in sight. And I want your devices to not look alien, like an adjustable wrench in the hands of a minister. These aspirations are well matched by the 8-inch ASUS ZenPad 8.0 tablet, whose back cover makes it look more like a stylish accessory.

    Technical characteristics (those that correspond to the considered sample are emphasized)


    Operating system : Android 5.0 (Lollipop)
    Display : 8 "LED WXGA (1280x800), IPS
    Multi-touch with support for 10 simultaneous touches
    Corning Gorilla Glass protective glass
    Oleophobic coating
    Support for ASUS Tru2Life technology
    Processor : Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, 64 bit
    RAM : 1 GB / 2 GB
    Data storage : 12 GB
    Graphics : Adreno 306
    Wireless data transmission :
    WLAN802.11 b / g / n
    Bluetooth V4.0
    Support Miracast
    Camera :
    0.3 megapixel front
    2 megapixel front 5 megapixel front
    5 megapixel main, with autofocus
    2 megapixel main
    Sound : mono, with support for DTS HD Premium Sound
    Connectors :
    1 x Micro USB
    1 × audio 2-in-1
    1 x Micro SD card reader, up to 64 GB SDXC
    Sensors :
    Accelerometer
    Compass
    Hall
    sensor Light sensor
    Battery : 15 , 2 W * h, Li-polymer
    Navigation : GPS & GLONASS
    Color : black, white, metallic Aurora
    Dimensions : 209 x 123 x 8.5 mm (L x W x H)
    Weight : 350 gr

    AnTuTu Specifications




    Appearance


    ZenPad 8.0 comes in one of three designs: black, white and light metallic. Just the last option and got me a review.



    Above is a long speaker gap, covered with a silver mesh. An elongated window hides the light sensor, and a round “peephole” is a front camera lens.



    The left end of the tablet is pristine and does not contain any connectors or controls.



    On the right side are the power button (in the middle) and volume control, and a recess is made at the bottom to remove the back cover.



    At the bottom there is only a lone microphone hole.



    On top are a micro USB jack and an audio jack.



    I must say that the definitions of the ends as “upper”, “lower”, etc. Valid only as long as you hold the tablet facing you. The back cover is not framed in portrait but in landscape orientation, and therefore the “top” end is the one on which the power and volume buttons are located.



    The back cover is made of plastic, like the entire case, but the surface texture is made of embossed leather. And thanks to metallic color coatings, the tablet shimmers beautifully in the rays of light. At the same time, ZenPad 8.0 looks more like an accessory than an electronic device.





    The decorative cover is easy to remove, and under it there are micro SIM and micro SD card slots.





    Display


    First, a little explanation. The ZenPad range of tablets is presented in several models, with a diagonal of 7, 8 and 10 inches. And there are two 8-inch models: ZenPad 8.0 ZenPad S 8.0. They differ significantly not only in the filling, but also in the displays: the first resolution is 1280 x 800, the second resolution is 2048 x 1536.

    An IPS panel with a pixel density of 213 dpi, protected by Gorilla Glass, is used here as a matrix. There are no complaints about image quality, color reproduction is good, moderate. ZenPad 8.0 uses proprietary True2Life technology, which improves contrast and saturation. Also, when playing a video, the frame rate increases to remove possible blurring of objects.

    The viewing angles are large, as befits an IPS. A multi-touch with support for 10 simultaneous touches allows you to play the virtual piano if you wish. An oleophobic coating is also present.

    Cameras


    The front camera uses a 2-megapixel sensor, in the main - 5 megapixels. Unfortunately, the photosensitivity of the matrices is very low, and therefore in low light the image is very “noisy”.



    But in bright light the quality is quite tolerable. In general, the camera is intended for shooting momentary everyday plots, moments from life, videos in the style of "I am an eyewitness". For masterpieces it is better to take something else.

    Software


    Out of the box, the tablet runs on Android 5.0, but when a network is detected, it offers to upgrade to the current version. As a graphical shell, the proprietary ZenUI is used here, which I personally like more than the standard one.



    From the proprietary software, a standard set is pre-installed here: “social” Remote Link, Share Link and Party Link, SuperNote note-taking application, ASUS Splendid image customization utility.

    Wireless connection


    Everything is standard here: the tablet is equipped with WLAN802.11 b / g / n and Bluetooth V4.0 modules. ZenPad 8.0 can also work in LTE, WCDMA and EDGE / GSM cellular networks, for this you need to insert a micro SIM card into it. As a tribute to the tradition, the shortcuts for voice communication and sending SMS on the desktop look like, after all, on an 8-inch tablet, to put it mildly, this is far from the most popular functionality. Unless, as a fallback, in case of unexpected discharge of the smartphone in the absence of access to an outlet.

    From navigation systems, GPS and GLONASS are supported.

    Performance


    The heart of the tablet is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 64-bit quad-core processor with an integrated Adreno 306 graphics chip. The processor clock speed reaches 1.2 GHz. The amount of RAM is 1 GB (there is a version with 2 GB of RAM on sale), 12 GB is used for data storage. In addition, you can install a micro SD memory card up to 64 GB.

    At the usual, “everyday” level, the tablet works flawlessly: applications opened quickly, playing music and video in HD did not slow down. Most casual games also worked without a hitch. But quite "heavy" in the graphic plan of the game periodically turned out to be too tough.

    Benchmark results
    Geekbench 3







    3D Mark



    AnTuTu 5.7.1



    Vellamo





    Duration of work


    ZenPad 8.0 is equipped with a 15.2 W * h Li-Po battery. In the automatic brightness adjustment mode of the display when surfing the net, the charge lasted 8.5 hours, and games and benchmarks managed to land the battery in 3 hours 20 minutes.

    Conclusion


    The main "trick" ZenPad 8.0 - its appearance. This is a pleasant tablet both externally and tactilely, good lying in the hand. And you will not look like you can not part with the gadget or you have nowhere to put it. Narrow side frames and silver edging on the display also give the tablet an elegant touch when looking at the screen.

    Its productivity is low, but for the vast majority of tasks it is enough: go to the Internet, go over your favorite sites, watch a movie, listen to music, chat on social networks and show friends photos from vacation. Moreover, the tablet will be equally appropriate to look both on the beach and in the negotiations of the leaders.

    Recommended retail price: from 9 990 rub.

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