The fresher and more nimble tablet Lenovo IdeaTab A3000-H has become a replacement for the not entirely successful model of the previous generation A1000. The gadget looks very attractive due to its characteristics and, of course, the price segment.
So, the hero of today's review is the Lenovo IdeaTab A3000 tablet. Characteristics, design, management, advantages and disadvantages of the device will be discussed in detail in the article. Expert opinions will be taken into account along with reviews from ordinary gadget owners.
Design
The appearance of the tablet is very similar to its predecessor A1000, but the new model is slightly different from the old series, and for the better.
The design of the device has a pleasant outline, but does not claim to be unique or at least some difference from similar tablets from other brands. The back panel has a rough texture, so the gadget should not slip out of your hands.
The cover of the IdeaTab Lenovo A3000 is removable, and under it we will see a micro-SD memory card slot, two places for SIM cards and a batterybattery. At first glance, everything seems to be fine, but only the battery is fixed with countersunk bolts and sealed with a warranty seal. Such a move caused a storm of emotions in the reviews of tablet owners, who immediately got used to changing small-capacity batteries to more powerful ones. And in our case, it is impossible to do anything without losing the warranty.
As for the dimensions of the IdeaTab Lenovo A3000, they are standardized for a 7-inch form factor - 194x120x11 mm and weighs 340 grams.
The package bundle of the tablet is extremely scarce even for this segment. All we see in the box is the device itself, a charger (very handy) and a quick start guide. Unfortunately, there are no covers, headsets, adapters and other things here. The warranty period of service also has the usual date - 12 months.
Interfaces
The Lenovo IdeaTab A3000 tablet has 16 GB of internal memory on board, of which about 13 GB is provided to the user, the rest is reserved for system files and other needs of the gadget. Fortunately, you can expand the volume using the "omnivorous" micro-SD port, so there should be no problems with free space.
To synchronize with a computer and charge the battery, a standard micro-USB type 2.0 port is used (you can meet 3.0 only in the business segment of devices). But the gadget has a unique feature for this type of device - the presence of two built-in cellular network adapters, both of which easily support the UMTS standard.
Still Internet accesscarried out only from one SIM card specified by the user, while the other will receive calls and send SMS. Home craftsmen were able to overcome this barrier by writing special software for the Lenovo IdeaTab A3000-H (firmware A3000/A421/kupyxa4444/&/STUDENT3500/v1.4/final), but, of course, you can install it only at your own peril and risk.
Wireless Protocols
The gadget feels great in Wi-Fi networks using 802.11 b/g/n protocols. The only thing worth noting is that 3G networks are ignored when working with WiFi. It would also be useful to mention the range: the quality of the reception and transmission drops noticeably if you move more than 10 meters away from the router. User reviews are full of indignation about this: the connection seems to be good, but as soon as you move into the next room, the signal deteriorates noticeably. To transfer data over short distances, you can use the fourth version of wireless bluetooth.
Also, the Lenovo IdeaTab A3000-H has GPS protocols, and navigation is surprisingly fast. Reading accuracy fluctuated within reasonable limits even under adverse conditions (rain and block room).
Management
Regular power and volume control buttons on the device work as they should and are pressed without any additional effort. In addition to the standard micro-USB port, you can see the usual audio jack for using a headset or headphones alone (3.5 mm). Output sound quality is goodacceptable and does not cause serious complaints.
IdeaTab Lenovo A3000 is equipped with a good touch screen that does a great job with basic tasks, but a little "dull" with advanced functionality. As such, there are no problems with sensitivity - the response is almost instantaneous, but the gyroscope could function faster: horizontal and vertical orientation has too much delay (2-3 seconds), and there are no settings for this parameter.
Standard multi-touch gestures IdeaTab Lenovo A3000 understands well and supports up to five simultaneous touches. Some owners in their reviews complain about outdated gestures, citing Samsung and Asusa as an example, but Lenovo does not want to switch to advanced multi-touch control.
Camera
The device is equipped with a 0.3 MP front camera just above the display, as well as a 5 MP rear camera. You can take pictures from both eyes, and they practically do not differ from each other in quality - only in resolution.
It should be noted right away that the cameras are not the strongest side of the device. Even with perfect lighting, the vast majority of photos are blurry and overexposed with some kind of white haze (distorted shutter speed), and in general, all pictures come out with defects. To get at least one more or less normal frame, you need to take at least three or four shots. The reviews of the owners, of course, are filled with phrases of indignation about this, but still you need to understand that you have a tablet in your hands, and a budget one,not a camera.
Display
Infrequently in the market of mobile gadgets you can see devices with high-quality screens that support IPS-technologies. The vast majority of manufacturers in the budget segment use TN-type matrices, which significantly reduces the cost of the device.
Lenovo IdeaTab A3000 (price 6-7 thousand rubles) just refers to those devices that the company's greed did not affect. The tablet received a pretty good IPS-matrix.
Nevertheless, the developer made a gross mistake even where it should not have been. For a seven-inch diagonal, a resolution of 1024 by 600 pixels is extremely small. Even five-inch smartphones in the budget segment, albeit in the minority, have a scan of 1920 by 1080 pixels, which means that they have access to all the delights of FullHD technologies. In their reviews, the owners have repeatedly mentioned this gross defect of Lenovo, citing the similar gadget Nexus 7 as an example.
The backlight of the screen has a very good performance of 362.2 cd/m2. The contrast level can be compared with the result of most analogues - 812 to 1. All information on the display is easy to read, not only indoors, but in intense sunlight. Viewing angles are also pleasing, which means you can flip through photos or watch movies with friends.
Performance
Mediatek's quad-core MT8389 series processor, running on a 28-nanometer process technology, is responsible for the performance of the gadget. Each core is clocked at 1.2 GHz,which is pretty good. The PowerVR video chip is responsible for the graphics component - add 1 GB of RAM here and get a typical tablet for its segment.
Lenovo IdeaTab A3000 (factory firmware) on bench tests showed quite acceptable performance results, and in all benchmarks adhered to the average values for such devices. The only thing that significantly provokes a performance dip is the device's flash card, which is clearly slower than all competitors in this price segment.
In general, the performance of the model is fine. Overtakes the gadget in some characteristics only "Nexus 7", which costs exactly the same as the A3000.
Sound
The device is equipped with a very good sound system, and the sound is quite acceptable in terms of quality. Low frequencies, of course, are almost inaudible, but the highs and mids sound more or less natural.
What made the model happy was the volume. Even if you set the sound level to half of the maximum, the speaker system will easily drown out the 100% volume of other similar devices. True, you should not get carried away with this, because at 80% and above the sound begins to turn into a cacophony. But this level of volume is clearly excessive, even if you use the tablet outdoors.
Work offline
Without much load (viewing photos, reading books), the gadget will work for about 10 hours. If you use wireless protocols and go toInternet, the battery will last for about 7 hours. Maximum power consumption (video, web surfing, games) will drain the battery in 3-4 hours.
The battery life of the device is, in principle, satisfactory and comparable to similar gadgets in this price segment - nothing supernatural and outstanding, but you can work calmly, as they say, without a lace.
Summing up
Still, 6-7 thousand rubles for a tablet with such characteristics is too much. Of course, the gadget has many pros and few cons, but if you look at more attractive offers in terms of price, you can see an almost identical Oysters T7D 3G, which costs a third less.
Even if you choose specifically from this price category, the same Nexus 7 looks much more attractive with its high-resolution screen and excellent battery life.
If the model cost at least one thousand less, then such shortcomings as the lack of FullHD and the extremely meager completeness could be forgiven, but at the moment the device has too unbalanced value for money.
