Asus has released a new Android tablet called the ASUS ZenPad Z500M, aka ZenPad 3S 10, that is similar to the Apple iPad Air in terms of specs and appearance, but it costs a fraction of the iPad’s price.
There are currently two versions of the ASUS ZenPad Z500M available on Amazon for $299. There’s a titanium grey model and a glacier silver version.
It’s pretty obvious that Asus went out of their way to make the ZenPad Z500M as iPad-like as possible.
It has a sleek aluminum body like the iPad and the overall dimensions are nearly identical. Plus it has a fingerprint sensor just like the iPad.
The screen size and resolution are the exact same as well at 9.7-inches with a resolution of 2048 x 1536 (264 ppi).
Other specs for the ZenPad Z500M include 8MP and 5MP cameras, it has 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage space, plus there’s a microSD card slot that supports cards up to 128GB. For wireless it supports WLAN802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2, and Miracast. It also has GPS.
The Asus ZenPad Z500M has an MTK MT8176 dual-core 2.1 GHz + a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor, with an IMG GX6250 graphics card. Battery life is rated at 10 hours. It has dual speakers, a headphone jack, and a type-C micro USB port. The screen has active pen support, along with the option for a bluelight filter.
They claim the audio is supposed to be exceptional, but we’ve all heard that before. The tablet runs Android 6.0 and comes with Google Play, of course.
Apparently it not only comes with “5GB Life Time ASUS Webstorage Space” but also “with an additional11 MB for 1 year(s)”
11 MBs. How generous.
And the UK sspc is lower than the rest of Europe with only 32GB of storage. Thank you Brexit and ASUS.
I wouldn’t trust their “Lifetime Webstorage service” Here’s the only email I got from them with no other warnings. Thank goodness I didn’t store anything there:
Service Termination Notice
ASUS WebStorage
1/21/15
to me
ASUS WebStorage Logo
Hi, bobdeloyd:
Your ASUS WebStorage service was not extended within 1 month (2014-12-21(GMT+8)~2015-01-21(GMT+8)) after the expiration date. Your ASUS WebStorage service has been terminated on 2015-01-21(GMT+8) and all your data has been deleted.
Thank you for using ASUS WebStorage!
ASUS WebStorage team
All of the previous models have 4 stars rating at Amazon. It is very strange. They have consistent level of reliability across different products. About 4 of 5 stars. (I wish to see more than 4 stars. Even if they provide warranty, it is pain to do a return/exchange when your tablet fails).
Believe it or not, Samsung tablets have a
higher level of reliability.
Frankly, I have been looking for an inexpensive tablet to replace those old tablets. I am looking for at least 2GB Ram and 32GB onboard memory. Ideally 8″. Price is $200 or less. Samsung Tab S2 8.0 is getting close, but not yet.
And this tablet has expandable storage, another reason this is a great buy.
I will never but a tablet that does not have expandable storage.