Memup SlidePad 700

Note from tester: this model is identical on several points to the 8-inch version, the SlidePad 800. You can find a more complete analysis on that page, particularly of the 'Interface & Navigation' and 'Multimedia' sections.

While 7-inch tablets are a practical size, they aren't yet all that numerous and the Memup SlidePad 700 does therefore stand out. A smaller version of the 8-inch version with a 4:3 aspect ratio, the SlidePad we have already tested, the SlidePad 700 is in a 16:10 format.


With its Telechip TCC8902 CPU clocked at 800 MHz and just 256 MB of RAM, the SlidePad 700 isn't targeting the heavyweights on the tablet market, but it still has enough under the bonnet to offer a comfortable user experience on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform. Its 4 GB storage capacity can be extended to 32 GB (microSD slot).
As always on an entry level product of this type, TN technology has been used for the display and the touchscreen is resistive. You can send video flow at 720p or 1080p to an HD TV using the mini-HDMI out.

Memup is clearly counting on hollowing out a niche for itself in the entry level touchscreen tablet segment and has positioned its product at £112.

Design & Handling

At first sight, the SlidePad 700 hides the fact that it's an entry level product rather well. The finish is very good, as good as certain other models that cost twice the price. Dense plastic has been used and you certainly won't feel as if you're holding an empty shell, nor will you experience any cracking sounds when you're handling it.


Two speakers have been placed on the back of the product and the connectors are perfectly built in to the shell. We're impressed, considering the positioning of the product.


As on the 8-inch version, the touch-sensitive buttons on the far side of either side (B for the Browser, Internet and access to a Google search) are too sensitive and are often activated accidentally. This is likely to exasperate you pretty quickly and means you're unlikely to feel entirely relaxed with the product in hand.


The SlidePad 700 weighs 380 grammes, which is as much as the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but isn't as thick, making the Memup product easier to hold in one hand.

Screen

It was slightly surprising to see that the average contrast is higher than on the other SlidePads (the 800 and the 10.1-inch 100 with its capacitive screen, which we'll be testing shortly). We measured the contrast ratio at 799:1, which gives the SlidePad 700 the edge over the iPad and several other high-end products.

The panel's TN technology means that the viewing angles are very narrow. Simply leaning the tablet forward or backwards slightly makes the image darken or lighten and this can make watching a video, uncomfortable especially as the limited scope for rotation (you can't rotate the tablet in all four directions) doesn't allow you to inverse the image for maximum flexibility.
Added to this, the brightness of the screen is extremely weak, a maximum of 99 cd/m2. This is as weak as we've seen on any tablet and makes it virtually pointless trying to use it outside (and sometimes inside too!).

The DeltaE of 8.2 doesn't guarantee colour accuracy either but the yellow and red aren't quite as crazy as some of the other tones in the spectrum. As is often the case, it tends towards blue and the ghosting is quite noticeable. At an average of 32ms, you can expect it to be visible during Internet browsing and on darker frames of videos.

Interface & Navigation

The SlidePad family runs on Android 2.2 Froyo across all models. This is a shame for tablets, especially as Android Honeycomb models have been around for a while now.
You can find our detailed remarks on the system on our page on the SlidePad 800.

Nothing has changed here apart from the odd slowdown in some menus that are no doubt due to the less powerful processor used on the SlidePad 700 and the fact that its RAM is just half the size of that used on the 8-inch model.

Multimedia

You can find our complete notes on the Multimedia part of the tablet (Internet, video player, audio, photo) on the SlidePad 800 page.

The only notable difference, as with the interface navigation, is down to the reduced power available here. Loading the library of files, whether photo, audio or video, can sometimes take a little time.
Internet navigation is generally slightly slow, especially with Flash heavy pages. Playback is impossible in portrait mode without the zoom.

Battery life

Like the SlidePad 800, the 700 will only give you an average battery life of 4h30. If you turn the wi-fi off, you may well get up to 5 hours of video playback.
As with the 8-inch model, it uses rather a lot of energy in standby mode: in fact, it's a sort of false standby as the device continues to consume energy, when it's supposed to be in sleep mode.