One of the best affordable tablets around, but it’s not perfect.A common trend among the tablets I've reviewed in the past few months is that they've used Intel's mobile SoCs rather than the ARM SoCs that you'll see in most tablets and smartphones. The ZenPad S 8.0 is far from perfect, with its custom ZenUI skin and out of date Android Lollipop operating system hamper its overall appeal.īut even with these flaws it is still great value for money and one of, if not the, best affordable tablets on the market.įor those on a budget the ZenPad S 8.0 is a great choice that offers solid build quality, a super crisp display and reasonable performance. There are currently woefully few decent affordable tablets available. The ZenPad S 8.0 targets a currently underserved segment of the tablet market. The Asus tablet’s price does in part make up for the lower battery life, but will be a cold comfort if the ZenPad S 8.0 runs out of juice while its owner is on a long flight. In general I’d expect a tablet to offer five-hours or more gaming time before dying – as both the Galaxy Tab S2 and Nexus 9 do. This again is slightly lower than I’d like. Playing Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition the tablet discharged between 20-25% of its charge per hour. Gaming put an even bigger strain on the ZenPad S 8.0’s battery. I generally expect an 8-inch tablet to make offer at least 8-10 hours video streaming. Streaming shows on Netflix with the screen brightness at 75% the tablet lost between 12-17% per hour and generally struggled to make it past six-eight hours. Heavier tasks have a much bigger impact on the ZenPad S 8.0’s battery than I expected. Watching a few episodes of my favourite series using a streaming service at lunch, sporadically browsing the internet and regularly checking my social media and email feeds. Light to moderate use entails reading a e-book on the way to and from work. With light to moderate use the tablet is capable of lasting two to three days off one charge. Using the ZenPad S 8.0 as my primary tablet I found the quoted life is slightly pessimistic. ZenPad S 8.0 Z580CA – Battery LifeĪsus quotes the ZenPad S 8.0’s 15.2Wh Li-polymer battery as offering eight hours mixed use. But considering the ZenPad S 8.0’s price this isn’t too much of an issue. The bass levels are a little weak for my liking, especially when compared to more expensive tablets, like the Galaxy Tab S2 or Nexus 9. Volume levels are adequate and the speaker’s don’t have the tinny quality plaguing most affordable tablets. The ZenPad S 8.0’s twin front speakers with DTS HD Premium Sound technology are equally competent, but far from remarkable. The auto-focus is also reasonably good, though on occasion I did need me to manually tap on my subject matter a few times. Though colours on cityscapes and wide shots generally look a little washed out Up close shots are good by tablet standards Images shot on the ZenPad S 8.0 are sharp enough for sharing on social media. Compared to the 2015 Motorola Moto G the ZenPad S 8.0’s sensor is pretty bad.īy tablet standards it is pretty good though and matches the performance of competing devices, like the Nexus 9 or Galaxy Tab S2 8.0. Photos taken on the ZenPad S 8.0 don’t look as vibrant, crisp or balanced as those taken on moderately priced smartphones. The ZenPad S 8.0’s 8MP rear and 5MP front cameras don’t change this trend. Camera, sound and battery ReviewĪsus ZenPad S 8.0 Z580CA – Camera and SoundĬamera tech is one area tablets have fallen woefully behind smartphones.
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