GoClever is new name in Android tablets and, like many companies, manufactures them in China. Oddly enough, the Tab A73 is the spitting image of the Kurio 7, albeit in a more demure grey livery and without the rubber bumper. See also Group test: what's the best cheap tablet PC?
In fact, it's the same tablet with the same 7in, 840x400 screen, the same mini USB and mini HDMI ports and the same 4GB of internal storage. One difference is the processor: it runs at 1GHz instead of 1.2GHz in the Kurio. There's also just 512MB of RAM, rather than the 1GB found in just about every other tablet today.
GoClever Tab A73: Performance
This corner cutting is understandable given the low price, but it does have a significant impact on performance. Although the A73 manages to scroll between the Android home screens smoothly, it's a different story when browsing the web. As with the Kurio 7, it's a frustrating experience waiting several seconds for Google Maps to redraw every time you scroll or zoom. The BBC website took an unacceptable 20 seconds to load.
The SunSpider JavaScript test reveals just how slow the A73 is: it took a foot-tapping 13,528ms to complete the benchmark, when Google's Nexus 7 is done in just 1,665ms. The Kurio 7 was considerably quicker with a result of 3,913ms, but was still very sluggish for browsing Google Maps.
Gaming performance is better, thanks to the Mali 400 graphics chip. This had no problems running Angry Birds, so it's fine for casual gaming.
GoClever Tab A73: Design and build
Build quality is decent, although it's all too easy to press the power button when you're holding the A73 as it's near the top-right corner. Similarly, the speaker is in the wrong place. At the bottom of the right-hand edge, your hand covers it when holding the tablet in landscape mode.
As well as 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth is built in, but there's no GPS receiver. Optionally, you can use the mini USB port for a 3G dongle. There's no rear camera, and the front-facing VGA camera is good only for video calls.
The screen suffers from the same narrow viewing angles as the Kurio's in portrait mode, and the low resolution is noticeable, with text appearing blocky or blurry next to the Nexus 7. Again, it's slightly more acceptable at this price, but in absolute terms, it's a poor screen.
GoClever Tab A73: Video and battery life
Videos, however, play flawlessly and look pretty good on the A73. Given that it weighs only 350g, it's comfortable to hold while watching a TV show on the train, for example. The only problem is the relatively dim and reflective screen. The tablet had no problems playing our 1080p H.264 video, and was happy to output this via HDMI to our full HD TV.
Battery life from the small-capacity 3200mAh battery was unsurprisingly short. It did, however, live up the GoClever's claims, lasting just over four hours when playing our looped 1080p video.
GoClever hasn't messed around with Android much, so you get a vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich interface and, importantly, access to the Google Play store. Google Maps, Gmail and Latitude are pre-installed.
Comments
Marie Brewis said: Sounds as though youll have to do a hard reset but you will lose any data on the tabletFollow the instructions herehttpwwwpcadvisorcoukhow
Hernandezapril_06 said: hi my husband bought me goclever tab A103 last october 2012 unfortunately somebody used it and try it to open but it has pasword now i cant use my tab because TOO MANY PATTERN appears in my tab and asking to sign me in google but i dont have any google acct even my hubby doesnt have google acct too i cant use it anymore even those tablet repairmen dont know how to solve it im hir in the philippines now can u help me goclever im very depressed because its my husband gift to me
Neil Smither said: HadtheA73for 2monthsPoweronlycomesonwhenitwantstocrashestoomuchappsselfdestructundernormalusesomeappslikemusicstopallowingorderofplayinplaylistarealpain
Noelbarry11 said: so
Xxx said: The official webpage says that the Goclever A73 does not have bluetooth