Arnova 7 G2: Humbler Tablets As Good As Their More Pretentiously Priced Rivals

For the past couple of weeks, I have been using a low-caste tablet computer. It does not have the genes or a pedigree that its higher-priced counterparts from Apple and Samsung can lay claim to, no sirs.

Despite its low-end bearing, the Arnova 7 G2 tablet performs as capably as most other tablets.

Nor does it come with any pretentions at all. Unlike those quite popular tablets whose marketers have claimed are made in the land of milk and honey but are actually made in Taiwanese-owned factories in China, the Arnova 7 G2 makes no effort to hide its low-market intentions.

Features and Specs

This lowly tablet, however, comes with adequate muscle power to perform tasks as capably as the other tablets do. It has a 1GHz processor for its heart and a multi-touch screen. Although some might say it comes hobbled with a Jurassic version of the Android mobile operating system, the Arnova 7 G2 seems cool and dandy enough with the Gingerbread OS.

It has 8GB of built-in storage space, which is as large as those of the "more pricey" Android tablets, such as the entry-level versions of the Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. The Arnova 7 G2 offers expandability via a micro SDHC slot.

But what grabs most users' attention is the tablet's 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen, a TFT LCD capable of displaying up to 16 million colors. And while its 800 x 480 screen resolution is not the richest in its class, it can display photos, videos, and texts with more than enough clarity.

For connectivity interfaces, this Arnova tablet comes with a micro USB 2.0 and micro SD slots and connects to a network or the Internet via WiFi.

It plays back video files with various extensions including .avi, .mp4, .mkv, .mov, and .flv, using the H.264, MPEG-4, and Realvideo codecs. It also plays back audio files in the MP3, WAV, OGG, and FLAC formats, which makes the Arnova 7 G2 a virtual jack of all media.

This 12mm, 370gm tablet comes with an integrated kickstand, which lets users watch videos comfortably, and built-in speakers, microphone, and G-sensor.

Performance

Overall, my experience with the Arnova 7 G2 told me that it can perform tasks capably enough. Also, watching movies, listening to MP3 files, and playing Android games were pleasant enough most of the time. However, its being a budget-friendly tablet would sometimes get too obvious with how reluctant it seemed to launch apps, especially those graphics-heavy ones.

Worse, its screen is supposedly of the capacitive variety. Its performance, however, sometimes threw some doubts in the user's mind regarding the veracity of this assertion. There were instances when the screen seemed to ignore my forefinger's intention and "calls" for action and reaction.

There were occasions when I would think that the screen had failed to sense my finger's input, perhaps, I did not push or swipe hard enough. This would make me press or swipe again. Usually, such incidents would cause the tablet to "hang" or pause for a while, as if it was somebody gathering his wits after taking a bad fall.

Taking a fall the Arnova 7 G2 is not afraid, apparently. My unit emerged none the worse for taking a couple of unplanned plunges.

Overall, this Arnova tablet offers a low-cost tablet computing experience. It does most tasks as capably as the other tablets do most of the time. It might not be the sexiest and coolest tablet around, and it might not have that swagger that the pricier and higher-end tablets (and their owners) have, but it sure won't hurt your wallet.