Lenovo added some new Android tablets to their “A” series this past month with a “Tab 2” designation. There are two 7-inch models and a 10-inch model. An 8-inch model is coming soon as well.
The tablets seem to be flying under the radar lately as they haven’t been getting much press, but they look like good value picks on paper, especially the 8-inch and 10-inch models with high resolution 1920 x 1200 screens.
The Tab 2 tablets all have quad-core processors, microSD card slots, Bluetooth, and run Android 4.4 KitKat, with an update to Android 5.0 expected to come in July.
The 7-inch models, the A7-10 and A7-30, have lower resolution 1024 x 600 screens, but for under $100 it’s hard to argue too much considering the other specs.
The 7-inch Tab 2 models appear very similar. The one difference I see is the cheaper A7-10 model has a front 0.3MP camera and the A7-30 has a 0.3MP front camera and 2MP rear camera. Both have 8GB or 16GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, 8 hour battery life, and a 1.30GHz MTK 8127 quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor.
The 8GB Lenovo Tab 2 A7-30 is $99 on Amazon. Lenovo has the 16GB version on sale for $109 and the Tab 2 A7-10 for $89.
The 8-inch Tab 2 A8 isn’t available anywhere yet, but it’s expected to be released soon, and it should be pretty cheap considering the 10-inch model is $199 and the specs are similar between them. You can signup to be notified when it becomes available on the product page for the Tab 2 A8 on Lenovo’s website.
The 10-inch Lenovo Tab 2 A10 looks like a good large-screen budget tablet for $199 at Amazon and Lenovo. Most tablets in that price range have low resolution screens. The Tab 2 A10 with a 1920 x 1200 screen could make for a good reading tablet with 224 ppi.
The specs for the Tab 2 A10 are pretty solid too. It has a quad-core 1.7 GHz MT8165 processor, 16GB of storage space, 2GB of RAM, a microSD card slot, 10 hour battery life, 5MP front facing camera, 8MP rear camera, and it has a multi-speaker sound bar with Dolby Atmos 3D Cinema Sound. There’s also an optional Bluetooth keyboard case that doubles as a stand and cover, but it’s not available yet.
I was thinking about getting one of these tablets to review, but I’ll probably hold out for the 8-inch model. If you happen to get one of these tablets let us know what you think in the comments section.
Definitely interesting tablets, but I think the processors on these are from Mediatek and not Qualcomm. And by the way, how do you think the 8in tablet fares against the 10in one regarding reading comics. I’m interested in buying something primarily for that purpose. I thought BN nook HD+ would be a good buy but couldn’t find it. So these would be interesting alternatives…
You’re probably right. The listing at Amazon says 1.5GHZ Qualcomm for the 10-inch but Lenovo’s website says it has a 1.7 GHz MT8165 processor, so I changed it since the latter is more likely to be correct. Not sure about how the size with the 8-inch would compare. I haven’t had an 8-inch tablet before and that’s one of the main reason’s I want to get one, especially with the high resolution screen. Too bad it’s not available yet…
Thanks anyway. I may as well wait for you to give the 8 inch Lenovo a go before I decide :). Great blog by the way. You were the reason I bought nook simple touch that I still use today (although I may replace it relatively quickly)…
If you’re looking to replace your Nook ST, B and N will give you a $50 credit for it towards a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4. Which would let you pick up a new Tab 4 for about $100.
I checked out the 10 inch at Best Buy and it feels really nice to hold. Looked like there wasn’t much bloat-ware and performance seemed pretty good.
My one concern is it seems the screen smudges pretty easily.
I’m considering picking it up regardless… Seems like a good manga/comic reading tablet.
Not only is it great for eBooks, eComics because of the hd screen, but zippy fast when using different apps (2Gb RAM helps). 1080p Videos play smooth even when streaming within my home network. Previously owned first generation Nexus 7, but after the Lollipop update, I was hasty to downgrade and bricked it. This tablet should be up there with the Samsung Tab S, but much more affordable(without amoled screen, of course!)
I’m so tempted to get one, especially since the 8-inch model ended up having lower resolution. The only negative is there’s no HDMI port.