Qube PhoneTab Preview And Initial Impression

Qube PhoneTab Preview And Initial Impression

INTRODUCTION:

Qube Asia is a manufacturer and distributor of electronic products ranging from computers, televisions, GPS tracking devices, CCTV systems, LED bulbs and many more. Recently, they also venture to the mobile industry and their first product is the Qube PhoneTab.

The PhoneTab is an 8-inch tablet with phone functionality powered by a MediaTek MT8389 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz each coupled with 1GB of RAM. The screen is a capacitive PLS panel made by Samsung with 1280x800 resolution.

CPU Z Info

As you can see on the above CPU Z info, the model number is 800P31C and the manufacturer indicated is KTC. I was curious whether Qube and KTC (since KTC is also known for electronic products like TV) are just one entity or not, so I did some research and found out that the KTC is in fact an ODM and they allow other companies to re-brand their products and this tablet is in fact on their website.


UNBOXING:

Retail Package

The retail package consists of the unit itself with installed screen protector, a charger with detachable USB cable, a wired headset, a manual and a free case worth 500 pesos.

Case

The case is a bit different, there is an adhesive on one portion which serves as the contact point in order for it to be installed on the tablet. With this kind of implementation, the right side, top and bottom parts are exposed.


HARDWARE:

Front

The front is mainly occupied by the high definition display, the left and right bezels are quite thin when compared to other tablets that we reviewed in the past. The space below the screen is empty while the one above holds the 2MP secondary camera, light sensor, proximity sensor and the earpiece grill.

Back

Main Camera

The back is made of brushed aluminum, giving it a premium look. The main camera (no LED flash) is located on the upper left corner.

Left

Right

SIM Tray

The left side has nothing on it while on the right side you can find the volume rocker and the micro SIM card tray.

Top

The power/lock key, 3.5mm audio jack, micro SD card slot and the micro USB port are all located at the top of the tablet.

Bottom

The bottom part of the tablet is made of plastic with several punctured holes on both ends that serves as the outlet of the loud speaker.

The overall design is nice and the device looks premium, they also pay good attention to the build quality, you will find no gaps and won't hear any creaks or cranks when using it.

Handling wise, it was designed to be used on portray mode, but you can also switch to landscape especially when watching movies. The narrow width still makes it possible to hold in one hand when calling, but when composing text messaging or email, two hands are still needed.


DISPLAY:

5-point touch

The screen has a resolution of 1280x800 pixels and made from Samsung IPS panel. The display renders realistic colors and has a wide viewing angle. It is good that there is a pre-installed screen protector because there is no protective glass of any kind. One more thing, it only supports 5-point touch as opposed to the 10-point indicated on its specifications.


SENSORS:

Sensors

The specifications as well as the CPU-Z and Android Sensor Box listed five sensors namely accelerometer, proximity, light, orientation and magnetic. However, like what we experienced in the past, only the first 3 are confirmed working.


BENCHMARKS:

Antutu 13341

HTML5 1530, Metal 426

NenaMark2 44.6 fps

Quadrant 4848

The MediaTek MT8389 has the 4 Cortex-A7 CPU cores clocked at 1.2GHz each and uses PowerVR SGX544 as its GPU. This combination is pretty much the same with another popular Mediatek chipset, the MT6589 and as expected the benchmark results are similar.


INITIAL VERDICT:

The Qube PhoneTab has a nice build quality, good display, nice sets of internal, good retail package and an affordable price. Qube got a solid device on their hand and a good contender to rival those offered by the local brands.


Specifications:

• Single micro SIM
• Quad Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, Dual Band HSPA+
• Dimensions: 213.88mm x 123.9mm x 8.7mm
• Weight: 350g
• 8" capacitive HD (1280x800) Samsung PLS touchscreen display, 5-point touch
• Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
• 1.2GHz Quad Core Cortex-A7 CPU, PowerVR SGX544 GPU, MediaTek MT8389 chipset
• 1GB of RAM
• 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via micro SD
• 5MP auto focus main camera
• 2MP secondary camera
• WiFi
• Bluetooth
• Micro USB 2.0 with OTG Support
• GPS
• 3.5 Audio Jack
• Stereo FM Radio
• Multimedia Player
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, Light
• Battery: 4200mAh
• Freebies: Leather case worth Php500
• Price: Php6,990