Lenovo Tab 2 A7-30 Quick Review

[oscar the grouch]

I picked this up during amazons prime days for 65 bucks and can say so far I am very happy with it overall.
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-A7-30-7-Inch-Tablet-Android/dp/B00TR05KZE
Standard non association disclosures apply :squint:


Obligatory Pics.
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr


Review:
I've had it for a few days and took it on one little exploring trip so far. Ill update this with a long term as I own it longer.
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr
It works quite well for navigation. I already have a TON of maps on it and several map apps and swapping between them with music running has not bogged down the processor enough to be annoying yet. The built in GPS unit is quite good and I never had an issue with accuracy inside the vehicle. I will not be looking for an external Bluetooth GPS for this tablet unless it becomes an issue down the road.
Occasionally I've had issues with the screen being unresponsive to a touch but touching a different spot then trying again seems to fix it. I haven't looked for a sensitivity setting but I will if it gets annoying. Multi touch does work but its not always immediately responsive. Pinch to zoom works well but anything 3+ fingers (giggity) is laggy.

The software is mostly bloat free. What is that's bloatware isn't a system app so you can uninstall the few bloats that are on it. The stock lenovo launcher is terrible so I replaced it with Nova Launcher(Highly Recommended) which allowed for some substantial improvements to the UI experience. The lenovo launcher doesn't have an app drawer so everything is on the home pages(yuck), luckily that is a very easy fix. The standard suite of google apps is installed already along with the play store and gmail.

The camera is terrible. REALLY terrible. Don't even bother taking pics with it, but that's not what I purchased it for so I'm not upset about it. Remember its a sub 80 dollar tablet.

Battery: Is pretty damn good actually. I ran the GPS solid for 5 hours with the screen on max but allowing it to sleep for a couple minutes here and there and was still over 40% when I was done fooling around for the day.

Things to note
Its a CHEAP tablet. so the screen resolution isnt amazing but its still useable. look at the screen shots and decide for yourself. The icons on the home screen are noticeably grainy but I see no other issues with the screen resolution.
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr

There is no ambient light sensor so you have to adjust the brightness yourself or download an app that uses the front camera for auto brightness(i havent had any luck with those).

The specs say it will take up to a 32 gig card but I have a 64 gig in there now and its working fine. Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr


Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr
Lenovo Tab a7-30 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr




Overall I am happy with the purchase. For a dedicated nav machine I believe it will work quite well. Soon as I get it mounted and running torque and my nav apps and streaming music we will see if the processor will hold up :beer::26_7_2:

 

[Ryanmb21]

Rad!

 

[Jeep or Tacoma]

those pics look great

so what is the screen resolution and if you wanted to spend more to get clearer shots like when you zoom in a lot what would you look for? screen wise? 65 bucks is way inexpensive/ How durable is it when you are on say a stutter bump endless desert road?

 

[Jeep or Tacoma]

minimum amount of storage

what is the minimum amount of storage for saving a lot of maps?

 

[oscar the grouch]

so what is the screen resolution and if you wanted to spend more to get clearer shots like when you zoom in a lot what would you look for? screen wise? 65 bucks is way inexpensive/ How durable is it when you are on say a stutter bump endless desert road?

Only time will tell on the durability and on the maps it looks good when I zoom in. A great screen will be quite a bit more cash.

16gig is a good size to start. Sat imagery takes the most space

 

[oscar the grouch]

finally finished the mount. since this isnt a main stream tablet mounts for it are rare. Trick is take a cheap case and use the ram mount setup and just bolt it to the ball adapter. works great.

Tablet hs been running perfect and the two apps i use most are 100% offline and working flawlessly.
for street nav HERE by nokia is great. turn by turn with voice. I would put this free app against any garmin nuvi style device.
for offroad I use My Trails love them.

tablet mount2 by Oscar Indy, on Flickr

tablet mount by Oscar Indy, on Flickr

 

[plh]

read your review and based a little on your advise I bought a Lenovo Tab 2 A8. A little more $$ ($120 out the door) Works fantastic! Using the app "HERE" for nav - offline. Pretty good too I'd say. Used it on a 2000 mile to NY and back this past week.

 

[oscar the grouch]

Nice. Here is great

 

[plh]

Photo of my Lenovo Tab 2 A8 setup using a RAM X mount