Remember the TEGA Tablet V1? We have it a 5.5 out of 10 and there where a number of huge flaws with it. Now TegaTech have introduced a new tablet called the TEGA Tablet V2. It’s slimmer, faster and looks great.
Now with a capitative touch screen, you can use your fingers to navigate around Windows 7 and Android 1.6. TEGA even provide a stylus to do those precise movements.
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Score:
8.0 / 10
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The Good:
Capacitive Touch Screen, Dual boot OS, Solid design
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The Bad:
Android 1.6, battery could be better.
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Bottom Line:
Grab this if you don’t want an iPad.
As you may/may not have noticed, there aren’t many good Windows tablets on the markets. HP promised some a while ago but still nothing from them. The tablets that are currently dominating the market now is the iPad and now the Samsung Galaxy Tab. TegaTech have been a supplier of Windows/Android based tablets for a while but have entered the market with their own tablet (TEGA V1) and now have their newest addition.
Hardware
The tablet is configurable to what you want. It features an Intel Atom N455 processor, either 1GB or 2GB of DDR3 ram, 16/32/64GB of HDD Space, 10.1″ capacitive touch screen, your selection of OS (None, Windows 7 Home, Windows 7 Pro or Android) and a Lithium Polymer Battery. It also has 802.11 b/g and an optional 3G. It weighs 870 grams and it’s size is 243mm (L) x 190mm (W) x 14mm (H). In the box, you will get an AC adapter (which is quite small and handy to carry around), Manual, CD Driver, Screen Protector, VGA Cable, Simple Stand, Car Charger and Screen Cleaner.
The tablet is only 1 mm more thick than the 1st generation iPad and is about 140 grams more than the 1st generation iPad – this is a huge improvement and makes the TEGA Tablet a huge iPad competitor. Picking up the tablet, it feels great. The aluminum backing makes it feel much like the iPad, unlike many other windows tablets which have a very tacky plastic backing. The tablet is very thin so it can’t house a ethernet port, however, it has two USB 2.0 ports, a micro-sd port, mini vga port and a combined headphone/microphone port. The top of the tablet has a SIM card slot allowing you to insert a SIM card if you have ordered the built in 3G module.
The display is fantastic, it being a capacitive touch screen, means a gental swipe and soft pushing on the screen is all you need. However, this means the touch screen is prone to finger prints. TEGA sell their own screen cleaner, however, a simple wipe over with a cloth does the job. There is a built in accelerometer to easily change the orientation. There are three buttons on the side, a power button, a home button and the back button. In Windows, the home button hides all windows and presents the desktop and the back button acts as a WiFi/3G enabler.
The battery lasted for about 5 hours. I used the tablet on and off using both 3G and WiFi. It was used for general web browsing and I watched a couple of YouTube videos. I was impressed by the battery capacity.
Software
The tablet we received had Windows 7 Professional and Android 1.6 preinstalled. Windows 7 ran fantastically, so no problems there. However, the tablet did have Android 1.6 on it, which is a great addition. Unfortunately, 3G connectivity doesn’t work in Android as yet and WiFi is touch and go. It doesn’t have the Android Market and you need to use a 3rd party installer. However, Android was fast and responsive. TegaTech have said they are working on Android 2.2.
Conclusion
This tablet was fantastic. It is a huge improvement over the 1st generation tablet and the thing I loved the most, the fan exhaust is on top of the tablet! Way out of the road now. If your looking for a tablet and don’t want an iPad, grab this! We will update this post when they release an updated version of Android for the tablet (if it happens).