Hyundai and Kia are currently listed at spot number five in the list of top auto sales for 2012. Whether you like their cars or not, that’s a pretty impressive feat. Although, you’re probably wondering why the hell I would bring up Hyundai and Kia in an Android Headlines report?
Hyundai has actually moved into the Android market, by releasing an affordable ICS (Android 4.0) tablet. That’s right, the South Korean automaker is now in the Android business!
The T7 is a relatively cheap Android tablet that has a couple of things going for it.
First, it’s been slapped with an affordable $165.99 price tag and is available now at PandaWill. At that price, it’s cheaper than Google’s Nexus 7, and right around the same price as Amazon’s Kindle Fire.
Second, and this is the kicker, it’s sporting a quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 CPU. In case you don’t recognize the processor, it’s the same type that’s inside the Samsung Galaxy S3. It goes without saying, it’s a much faster unit than the Nexus 7’s Tegra 3.
It’s not all guts and glory for the Hyundai T7, though. There are some pretty hefty drawbacks, especially if you’re a serious tech geek with a desire for the latest and greatest.
The frame of the T7 is composed entirely of plastic, which is usually an indicator that the build quality is sub-par. No, I’m not saying that the build quality is undeniably inferior, I’m just saying not to expect much. Alternatively, the Hyundai T7 is lighter than other tablets, weighing in at just 303 grams, but it’s also thicker at 10.9mm.
Let’s not even get started on that design, which looks daringly similar to the Galaxy S3.
Other drawbacks include only 8GB of internal storage, a small 3,300 mAh battery with a rated life of up to five hours, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Some would consider ICS a fair trade-off, yet it’s not the newest version of Android, so I think that it belongs on this list.
Still, it’s hard to dismiss all of the added features of the T7, especially when you consider that it has front, and rear, facing cameras when most other budget tablets don’t. The limited storage shouldn’t be a problem though, because you can always extend your options with the MicroSD expansion slot.
I’m genuinely concerned about that battery, which already has a pretty short usage rating. Hyundai estimates 5 hours of continuous use, which means realistically it will probably last about three to four hours in the wild. I don’t know about you, but I want my devices to be charger-free for a little more than four hours at a time.
For reference, the complete specs of the Hyundai T7 are as follows:
- 7-inch IPS capacitive touchscreen
- 1280 x 800 maximum resolution
- 1.4GHz Samsung Exynos 4412 quad-core processor (Cortex A9)
- Mali 400 MP4 GPU
- 1GB (DDR3) of installed RAM
- 8GB internal storage
- TF (TransFlash) card slot, also known as MicroSD, up to 32GB
- Integrated Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
- 0.3 megapixel front facing camera, 2.0 megapixel rear facing camera with flash
- HDMI output
- 3,300mAh battery supports up to 5 hours of continuous use
- Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
When all is said and done, this is certainly not a poor attempt by Hyundai, especially for their first entry into the Android market. On the contrary, it’s a rather attractive tablet, albeit with some alarming setbacks. If Hyundai can come up with a better device next time, that addresses some of the problems which seem to plague the T7, then they may yet have a shot at making some money.
What do you think fellow Android lovers? Are you going to order one of these?
Via: Android Authority