Xolo Tegra Note 7 - My First impressions (mini Review)

[mikael_schiffer]

*i59.tinypic.com/v3nh1t.jpg

Yo folks, my Xele togre Neto just arrived this afternoon.
The packaging is pretty spartan.. just the charger , no earphone or extra stylus or screen wipe.



Impression so far
Build quality.. better than expected. I keep thinking its a Xolo product but its a full on nVidia product and the tablet feels pretty sturdy

I expected some Tegra 4 optimised games to be bundled , but all i got was Eden and Green which requires a pretty big update to run. Other countries get more games.

The tablet comes with OTA notification for 4.3 .I guess i will have to root it to get the 4.4 Kitkat which other countries are already enjoying.

The screen is very satisfactory, although i'm sure if the new Nexus 7 was next to it my thoughts would be different. Anyways, the fonts are crisp, colors are nice but whites are bit more yellowish than our iPad 2nd gen. But iPad 2 screen sucks in sharpness.There are 2 presets of Display Calibration, dunno why we are not allowed to make our custom calibration.
PRO TIP: Disable that nVidia PRISM thing, i dont know what its purpose is (no description given) but it makes the display dull and this is why many ppl on Youtube say the display quality is bad, i keep it Switched off, till sm1 explains as to me why PRISM exists

As for the speakers! WOW,BINDAAS.. i am sure there will be some FULL SIZED budget laptops which will shy away after hearing the sound from this tablet. Way above expectation.Our iPAD 2 is a joke in comaprison.

The stylus, well, it will take time to get used to. i have the same issue with Samsung Note 2. The gap between the screen and the actual tip of a stylus makes it uncomfortable to draw well.()This is no Wacom. Since most of the stylus tricks are software related, it will get time to get used to it(nVidia Why no OGS display?). For eg. the eraser to function from the thicker end was a bit tricky. Need some practice. So far excitement level isnt that much. Practical application in day-to-day life is low. Cant beat my good old pen and paper.
*i59.tinypic.com/2n6asdi.jpg
Notice the gap. The stylus is fully pressed on the screen.

The screen protector is a big hinderence to drawing/writing. owners of Samsung Galaxy Note will testify as to how badly the writing is affected due to that cheap plastic sheet that sits between ur display and stylus in da anme of protection.

The camera app , which seems like a nVidia sponsored 3rd party app, is feature rich. Too bad the camera sensor doesnt do justice to the software LOL... The shutter speed is too slow. However, this camera app can really beautify and enhance the "poor" 5mpx shots. On the bright side, its better than my Xperia M and on par with Moto G (but Moto G is better in low light)
The HDR part is good, as long as you can keep your hand steady. Being bulkier than phones, i had a hard time getting a blur- free HDR shot. There is too much delay for HDR shots, other phone cameras have delay issue with HDR but this tab is a bit too long, (for a tablet that claims to beat Snapdragon 800 in certain ..ahem.. benchmarks).
Sample shot , default mode- *i58.tinypic.com/1038oyu.jpg

Hmm what else...
I wish the side bezels were thinner. My hands have to stretch a bit beyond my confort zone.(i am 5'6" guy so small hands)
I wish there were more bloats. yea, im not kidding, this is where i would have loved some more stylus based features and apps like Galaxy Note 2. I wish these bloats were Office apps, reading apps and some Tegra 4 optimised games
Haven't played a single game yet.. im still occupied with getting this thing updated and filling it with my collection of games,videos,mp3s and ebooks
The USB port is too tight .. i dunno what kinda system it is.. It has some internal lock sort of thing, when i pull the wire there is this little notch thing that kinda keeps a strong grip on the inside.
The micro SD slot is fully exposed, like the card slot in laptops. Kinda weird for a portable device right?

Let me know if here is anything you guys wanna inquire about. PS. i am not that much of a techie so kindly keep queries whithin my technical boundaries hehehehe

- - - Updated - - -

Updating to 4.4.2 over the air. Nice job XOLO ..i mean.. nVIDIA ...
So far i've filled lots of games, all of them look awesome!

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HOLD YOUR HORSES
Dont upgrade to Kitkat. It removes Apps to SD support. Thank god the people at XDA gave the warning!

 

[rish1]

you misspelled the spelling in the title of this thread

 

[mikael_schiffer]

I dont wanna get banned

 

[powerhoney]

I dont wanna get banned

At least you can try!!!

 

[kkn13]

hows it compared to nexus 7? and is it easy to root and put a custom rom?

 

[mikael_schiffer]

Compared to N7 2013, the display is way inferior. I had a chance to see it and boy it is a huge difference. On website and photos it may not seem like it but the IPS Display from ASUS (prolly Toshiba unit) is awesome. Tegra Note is a bit yellowish in comparison.

The N7 2013 heats a LOT faster than Tegra Note. I can play GTA San Andreas in Maxed settings while N7 2013 stutters. The CPU of N7 is as powerful as Snapdragon 600 but the GPU is as good as Xperia SP. The N7 is Kitkat 4.4 so dont expect to have a collection of games and videos on your tablet. The Tegra Note 7 has Apps2Sd support and most games can be shifted to SD card, although it makes the SD card cluttered (its jut pasted on the SD card drive, no folder).
I havnt OWNED the N7 2013, just saw a friend playing GTA SA on it that's all. Actually hes not a friend, more like friend's friend
The N7 2013 is around Rs4000-5000 more expensive or lets say 25% more costly.
The N7 2012 is a Tegra 3 device :/ but try to get it for Rs8000 or less or maybe Rs 4000-5000 second hand. Nexus devices have VERY low resale value because people in India don't know **** about Asus.

However, if the N7 2013 cost the same as Xolo Tegra Note, i would have still gone for the tegra Note. Why? becuz games thats why. Play games like Riptide 2, Dead Trigger 2 and Eden to Green (all AAA High Rated games) on Tegra Note 7 or Nvidia Shield and then switch to Galaxy S4 or iphone 5s and you will never think of going back from Tegra. Sure some modern GPUs like Adreno 330-4 core are way superior technically, but whats the use of that when some graphical objects and special effects are NOT SUPPORTED BY THAT GPU ?? In Eden to Green, many 3D structures are COMPLETELY missing on non-tegra devices. Adreno 330 and PowerVR SGX545 MP4 can surely handle the graphics but i dunno why only Tegra devices gets to see the goodies..some nVIDIA marketing tactics !!
Unfair world, but its good to be in the winning side .

Secondly, the stylus thing. Love it more and more everyday.. It still makes me wonder (and tech reviewers) how nVidia managed to pull it off using a simple stick stylus. Its not practical for classroom usage but its just good fun. And playing some games using the stylus is good fun too.

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As for rooting, many people re doing it, check XDA forums. Mostly people who made the mistake of upgrading to KitKat.
Seriously Kitkat is a trap, takes away features (like Apps2SD and OTG) you had before and calls it an "upgrade" lol. However you can use Kitkat and bring back the missing JellyBean features if you are willing to void your warranty with rooting and stuffs