ePad - Android 2.2 Tablet with 7 Inch Touchscreen + Wifi + 3G Capability

I wanted to wait until the new toy feeling had worn off before reviewing to give an honest review.

So first impressions:
Pro - Price I paid £59 for mine (yes I know it is cheaper now damn it!) and to be honest for the price you would struggle to get a halfway decent MP3 player let alone a wifi enabled multimedia device.

Pro - The unit is made out of matt black plastic which I actually like because the glossy tablets show up every finger print and smudge.

Pro - It is solidly built, I was concerned at the price it would be on the fragile cheap side, but the design feels sturdy enough for me to not be too concerned with my accident prone children touching this.

Pro - Capacitive screen very responsive and works with the lightest of touches.

Pro - Very light, reading books and watching films is fine on this device.

Pro - Big pro the seller Tabtronics has set it up for UK users already. So no Chinese apps which you have no idea what they do.

Pro - Micro SD slot for expanding the memory tested with a 16gb card worked first time no reformating etc Note a certain fruit based unit roughly 8x the price can not do this.

Pro - Copes with pretty much all the apps I wanted.

Pro - Sound! for a cheap unit the inbuilt speaker is good and when using with head phones I rarely have the volume above 5.

Pro - Flash compatibility this unit can cope with BBC iplayer Youtube etc. (note not all cheap tablets can do this always check before you buy) Note a fruit based product 8x the price can not do this.

Pro - standby the screen defaults to off when not in use so the battery takes a while to discharge. just remember to have Wifi off unless you need it.

Pro - The battery doesn't have a huge capacity however it fully charges just under an hour so good for last minute prep etc.

Con - The processor it has is very capable but just can not cope with full 3d gaming eg GTA IV & 6 guns.

Con - No HDMI out - The processor was never designed do this if you want this feature a A10 chip will do this.

Con - The battery lasts about 3hrs on low demand. Fire up the wifi and start surfing the web or play high demand games and this rapidly depletes. For example on full screen brightness and headphones I pretty much wiped out the battery with one 1hr 30min film. But if you reduce the screen brightness you can double this time watching films (I have watched 3hrs of video on one charge with low brightness mx player has good control for this)

Con - Heat, when playing high demand games (3d etc) this unit will heat up. Not catch fire hot but hot enough to be concerned about what is happening inside.

Con - standard browser for the internet is not very responsive (I have fibre optic so not my net connection) Switch to dolphin which works really well with this device.

To be fair for the price, the cons are minor for the pro's. I brought this device for a mix of work and play. I needed to review so video tutorials on an android device for work and this unit more than coped with the task, no stuttering and a clear picture.

Do I regret my purchase? Absolutely not! it is an excellent bit of equipment and does so much more than I had originally planned to use it for. Also Tabtronics is an excellent seller every question I asked he/she responded very promptly, please bear in mind i am an electronic engineer so there were many many questions.

The apps I use regularly with this unit are (note all are free on the market):

Skype - Front facing camera so tested video chat worked fine.
Pulse - a stream based magazine thing works like a charm. No more doom and gloom papers!!
MXPlayer - Plays all video formats. Tested with MKV, MP4 & AVI.
UBReader - Ebook reader nice page turn interface etc
Adobe reader - work PDF's work fine (600 pages plus)
OliveOffice Pro & Kingsoft Office
Dolphin Browser Lite
Angry Birds (all of them)
Fruit ninja (installed when received)
Wheres my water (installed when received)
Cartoon wars 1-3
Fragger
Siege Hero
Radiant Defense - neon defense game looks great on the screen.
World of Goo - Paid app but very addictive.
Recipes app - this is like the ultimate cook book but need wifi on the view.

I brought this device for my 6 year old son so that he could watch CBBC on the iPlayer and watch the movies he wants to watch not the ones his little brother and sister want to.

The first thing to remember is this cost £50 not £500. If you unpack it expecting an iPad then not only will you be very disappointed you will also be an idiot. So if you keep your expectations around the £50 mark you will be fine.

Build Quality....

Its made from Plastic all over but the quality of the moulding is very good and all the panels fit together nicely. The buttons work fine. Some might say they feel a little cheap but then you get what you pay for. The power socket seems a little fragile but if you are careful then it's fine. Micro SD slot is fine which is good as this will get a lot of use.

Screen....

Surprisingly good. Yes it's not a spot on the iPads but you can't really expect it to be. It's very clear. You have to be a little firm with the touch screen but thats fine when you get used to it. I have used a lot worse. Brightness is good but I would not have it set to high as this will have a major effect on the battery life I suspect.

Camera....

Only one front facing camera. For Skype it's great and works very well. Again I suppose it goes without saying that if you think this will replace you Digital SLR then you are the same idiot who thought this would be as good as an iPad.

OS....

It has an older version of the Android OS (2.2) but who cares it runs it just fine. Can feel a little sluggish at times but then it isn't the fastest machine and does't make out it is.

Speed....

It's OK, not at all the fastest and I wouldn't recommend this unit for professional use. Web surfing and watching video's this unit is fine. Just keep an eye on the running apps.

Battery Life....

About 2 hours of continual use. Don't leave home without the charger and get one for your car!

Conclusion....

It cost £50! My kid loves it! I love it! As long as you don't expect an iPad you wil be fine.

Value for Money 10/10
Build Quality 7/10
Ease of Use 8/10
Battery Life 5/10
Overall 8/10

We bought this for our 6 year old daughter as an alternative to buying a vtech Innotab. Her school have been asking if children have access to a computer and the internet at home and we do but don't really want her using our new laptop! This solves the problem. She can access cbeebies and other websites, play music, read ebooks, play games (educational of course!)watch and record video, take and view photos and it even has a mini version of microsoft office so she can practice word and excel. In addition it has the usual things you would expect like clock, calendar, calculator, alarm, weather, email. She is so excited about it. You can view the screen from any angle. The downsides are few. It's a little slow at times and I'm struggling to find accessories that fit but I'm sure they will be more readily available as these become more popular. The number of apps available in the market place are limited. The battery only holds power for a few hours but my daughter just uses it with the charger plugged in. If you are a technical minded adult then you may find this a bit limited (it would be fine for me!) but at this price it is ideal for children to start to learn how to use technology, and keep them occupied on long journeys. You just have to make sure you have a good cover/case for it (7" don't fit - you need 8") and I bought a soft-tipped pen as it could be damaged easier than the 'made for children' products. However, in my opinion it is cheaper and prepares children for the 'real world' more than those products. It also arrived within 2 days of me buying it. Perfect! (I just wish we could afford more as now I would like one too!)