SKK Mobile SkyPad Ultra Review: Tablet in the Sky

The SkyPad Ultra is the newest addition to SKK Mobile tablets, the device packs a 7-inch capacitive IPS LCD display with HD resolution (1280x800). The tablet is powered by a 1.6GHz Dual Core A9 CPU, a Quad Core Mali400 GPU and coupled with 1GB of RAM.

To ensure adequate storage, it has an 8GB internal and further expandable up to 32GB via micro SD. Connectivity options includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and  Micro USB with OTG support.


Key Specs:

• 7-inch capacitive IPS HD (1280x800) LCD display, 5-point multi-touch
•  Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean
• 1.6GHz Cortex-A9 Dual Core CPU, Mali-400 MP4 GPU, RockChip SoC
• 1GB of RAM
• 8GB of internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via micro SD
• 2MP fixed-focus main camera
• VGA front camera
• Bluetooth 3.0
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n /
• Micro USB 2.0 with OTG and 3G Dongle Support
• HDMI port with 1080p Video Output
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Multimedia player with great codec support, floating video
• Great retail package

Main Disadvantages:

• No GPS
• Low resolution camera

UNBOXING:

One of the best qualities of SKK Mobile is providing its retail package with rich content which makes it stand out among competitor. The package includes the Unit, charger, USB cable, manual and warranty card. The USB OTG cable and screen protector comes as freebies, though I wish that the screen protector is already installed in the unit.

Retail Package

The front is mainly covered by its 7-inch HD display, there are no hardware or capacitive keys. The front camera is located in the center of the longer side above the display.

Front

At the top you will find the volume rocker and the power key at the far right.

Volume Rocket and Power Key at the Top

The left side has nothing on it while the right side is busy accommodating inputs and outputs. The DC port, 3.5 audio jack, microphone, HDMI port, micro USB, reset and micro SD slot are all located at the right side.

Right side is full of I/O

When we flip the tablet, we will find the SKK Mobile logo comfortably located at the center, down below it are the serial number and model branding. The right portion boasts a big speaker while the left part has I/O labels. The main camera can also be found at the back.

Back

The battery is not removable, and its rating is nowhere to be found on the box.


INTERFACE:

The SkyPad Ultra runs on Android 4.1.1 and it is using the stock version. The lockscreen has the usual lock icon, holding it and dragging right will unlock the device, while moving it left will launch the camera and swiping it up will direct you to Google app.

Lockscreen

If you notice in the above picture, there is an arrow pointer just above the unlock icon, this is because I tested its OTG function, using wireless mouse has no problem at all.

After unlocking the device, you will be directed at the homescreen. The homescreen can accommodate up to five pages of apps and widgets. The Google Now and Google Search icons can be found at the upper left corner of the screen while the app drawer is located at the upper right corner.

Homescreen

 
The Notification area can be found in the lower right portion of the screen where the time and battery icons are located. The back, home and app history on-screen buttons are located on the lower left corner.

Clicking on the app drawer will reveal the default apps installed, Angry Birds, Temple Run and Fruit Ninja come pre-installed. Facebook, Twitter, Skype and YouTube are also present. If you are using those it is a bonus since you don't need to download them, if not you can just easily uninstall them.

Default Apps

Default Widgets

Navigating thru apps and widgets are fluid, no hang ups or noticeable lags. If you want to add your favorite apps or widgets on the home screen you can simply hold and drag it to your desired location.


BENCHMARKS:

I run the benchmark apps I usually used to test the SkyPad Ultra's raw power. The device is running on Rockchip Soc with Dual Core CPU and Quad Core GPU.

Antutu, 10946

The Antutu score is quite impressive for a dual core device with HD screen. I believe that having a quad core GPU helps to attain it.

Quadrant, 3870

The 3870 score in quadrant proves that it is a capable device, the score is even higher than the SKK Mobile Silver which scores 3570 when I reviewed it.

NenaMark2, 57.4fps

The NenaMark2 score reach at 57.4 fps, which means that apps or games that uses OpenGL ES2.0 will run smoothly.

Vellamo, HTML 1290 & Metal 485

The Vellamo scores are also good, at par with Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Generally, benchmark scores are above average and even close to devices with quad core CPU.


PHONEBOOK:

The phonebook can hold virtually unlimited entries,  a single contact can contain multiple information. You can opt to choose which contact to display and even import/export it, if you have an online address book from the likes of Google or Yahoo it can sync with it flawlessly. You can create groups and mark your favorite for easy contact management.

Phonebook

EMAIL:

For the email department, it has a stock email client and Gmail app pre-installed. The generic email app can handle emails of any kind, adding an account is easy, you just need to enter your email address and password then hit next and it will automatically look for the correct email settings. You can attach any file you want and can include CC/BCC. You can also change the frequency of sync, include signature, always BCC yourself and change the notification sound.

The Gmail app will automatically sync the email you use it setting up the Play Store. Basically it has the same function with that of the generic email client.

Email

MULTIMEDIA:

Gallery:

The SkyPad Ultra uses the stock Android gallery, you can arrange it based on Albums, Locations, Times, People or Tags. The camera shortcut is always present at the upper right hand. The gallery also houses both pictures and videos.When you select a set of pictures, you have the option to play it on a slide show. You can also send thru email or share thru social apps a certain video or picture.

Gallery

Like most Android Jelly bean devices, it also comes with photo editor pre-installed. You can adjust its brightness, add effects, crop the pictures and much more.

Photo Editor

Music Player:

The music player will list all the music files on your tablet and you can view it either by Artist, Albums, Songs or Playlist. It has several options such as play all , party shuffle and shuffle all. While playing a music it will give the sound effects options which will bring you to the equalizer settings wherein you can select several presets like Normal, Classic, Flat, Rock etc, you can also turn it off if you prefer. When you minimize the music player you can go back to it via the notification area.

Music Player

Video Player:

The stock Android video player will scan all supported files on your Ultra and will list it accordingly. It can play all the files I threw at it from .3GP, .MP4, .AVI even .FLV and .MKV. It can play a whole Full HD video without any lag or issue. The BEST PART, you can float the video anywhere, meaning you can access your Facebook page, browse the web or do other things while watch video.

Video Interface

Camera/Video:

The camera and video share the same interface. The main camera can shoot up to 2MP still and VGA for video while the front camera can shoot only VGA both for still and video. For Camera, the only options available are white balance and scene mode while for Video the options are white balance and time lapse interval. There is nothing spectacular about it, but IT CAN RECORD VIDEO AND CAPTURE STILL IMAGE AT THE SAME TIME. This option is pretty rare even from top of the line offerings from competitor.

Sample Shots

Browsing:

The browser used is Chrome which is quite fast, it loads the web pages even those with many images pretty quickly. It has an incognito mode and can support multiple tabs (virtually unlimited number of tabs) and you can save a web page for offline reading or even share it to someone.
 

Browser

Gaming:

The SkyPad Ultra comes pre-installed with games namely Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Temple. Those games run smoothly and without any issue.

Angry Birds

Fruit Ninja

Temple Run 1

I installed some popular games in Play Store and  all of them works fine.

Candy Crush

Subway Surfers

Temple Run II

CONNECTIVITY:

The SkyPad Ultra has a built in Wi-Fi connectivity, if you do not have Wi-Fi at home you can use your regular Ethernet connection thru its micro USB port since it has OTG function or use your Broadband sticks when you are outside. The OTG functions are also compatible with other peripherals such as mouse and keyboard (both wired and wireless) as well as thumb drive.

Connectivity

If you love watching movies in your HDTV, you can also use the SkyPad Ultra as  your multimedia player since it supports 1080p output via HDMI. The 3.5mm audio jack completes its list of connectivity.


SENSORS:

The tablet is equipped with Accelorometer and Soud sensors.

Sensors

OTHERS:

The Ultra comes with extra software pre-installed, the most noticeable and useful is the Gesture Builder. You can create your own kind of gesture which could be a shortcut to certain app or command (similar to Samsung and Apple gesture controls).

Gesture Builder

Other apps installed are APK installer use to sideload apps and games, Explorer for browsing files, Sound Recorder to record audio, Calculator, Calendar and Movie Studio for creating or editing video clips.

APKInstaller

Explorer

Sound Recorder

Calculator

Calendar

Movie Studio

CONCLUSION:

The SKK Mobile SkyPad Ultra is a great and capable multimedia device, it can play Full HD videos and play it externally via HDMI out. It can float the video player anywhere allowing you to multitask. The camera may not be high resolution but it has its own tricks - it can record video and capture pictures at the same time (which is NOT common to other devices). Another addition is the Gesture Builder, which gives you the ability to create a shortcut via custom gestures at your own disposal.
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