Lenovo Tab 7 Essential
By The Lenovo Tab 7 Essential is powered by 1.3GHz quad-core processor and it comes with 1GB of RAM. The tablet packs 16GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Lenovo Tab 7 Essential packs a 2-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 2-megapixel front shooter for selfies.
The Lenovo Tab 7 Essential runs Android 7.0 and is powered by a 3500mAh non removable battery. It measures 194.80 x 102.00 x 8.80 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 254.00 grams.
The Lenovo Tab 7 Essential is a single SIM (GSM) tablet that accepts a Nano-SIM. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, 3G and 4G. Sensors on the tablet include Proximity sensor, Accelerometer and Ambient light sensor.
Design & Build Quality
As you might expect at 80 dollars, the build quality of the Lenovo Tab7 Essential is not the best. It features a full plastic body. However, the design did improve compared to the previous version. While the predecessor really felt cheap, this one looks a bit nicer and feels just a bit higher-end. At the same time, it is thinner with 8.8mm and lighter with 254g than the Amazon Fire 7.
On
the right side, we get a power button and volume controls. All the way
on the top is a micro USB port and a 3.5-millimeter audio jack. On the
left side sits a microSD card slot and you can use microSD cards as
internal storage. I’ve got the LTE version and, in this case, the
nano-SIM slot is located at the same place. By the way, you can use the
4G version to make phone calls and send text messages.
Cameras & Speakers
We get one speaker which is located above the screen. While it’s nice that we get a front-facing speaker, it is just one. So, don’t expect to get any kind of stereo feeling. And the speaker is pretty small, and the audio quality is kind of bad.
It certainly cannot get loud enough to fill a big room. And at maximum volume especially voices sound a bit scratchy. The sound gets better if you turn down the volume a bit and then it’s fine for watching some YouTube. But overall, the speaker is not great at all.
Next to the single speaker, we get a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and the main camera on the back features the same resolution. Again, as you can expect at this price the picture quality is not that great. Don’t expect to take any nice selfies for Instagram. It is still usable for video chats over Skype though.
Display
Let’s take a look at the display of the Lenovo Tab7 Essential. In fact, this is one of the highlights of this tablet. It is a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. That sounds really bad but actually is still usable.
Don’t get me wrong, you certainly will see pixels and every smartphone has a much higher pixel density. However, the pixel density is similar to 10-inch tablets with an HD screen and that is alright if the price is right. And that certainly is the case here.
It is an IPS panel with good viewing angles and good colors. The screen is fully laminated so unlike the new iPad or the 7-inch Amazon Fire, there is no air gap between the IPS panel and the touchscreen. Overall, the screen is noticeably better than the one of the Fire.
One downside is that there does not seem to be any kind of coating to reduce fingerprints. And it is certainly not the brightest screen. It’s bright enough to use comfortably inside but even outside on a cloudy day, it is a bit dark.
Battery Life
Inside the Lenovo Tab7 Essential sits a battery with a capacity of 3500mAh. According to Lenovo, that should last up to 20 hours. I’m really not sure how Lenovo is measuring that. That might be possible under certain circumstances. Maybe in airplane mode. However, in my standard battery test, the tablet lasted for 10 hours. I’m looping an HD video at 50 percent brightness and activated WiFi for all my reviews.
Okay, the Tab7 Essential might not last 20 hours but the 10 hours from my battery test are actually very good for such a cheap device. Obviously, the runtime will be lower if you play games and higher if you just read E-Books. It always depends on what you are doing.
