The Google Nexus 7 is arguably the best Android tablet you can buy for $199. It has a great screen, a speedy processor, and the latest version of Google’s operating system. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

SmartQ has introduced a new 7 inch tablet which looks a lot like a Nexus 7, but it has twice the RAM, HDMI output, and front and rear cameras. It’s called the SmartQ X7, and it’s available for $249.

SmartQ X7

The SmartQ X7 is powered by a 1.5 GHz TI OMAP 4470 dual core processor and PowerVR SGX544 graphics, while the Nexus 7 has a quad-core 1.2 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor. And the SmartQ tablet runs Google Android 4.1, while Google recently released Android 4.2 for the Nexus 7.

Otherwise, the SmartQ X7 looks great on paper. It has 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a microSD card for extra storage space — something the Nexus 7 lacks.

The SmartQ X7 has a 7 inch, 1280 x 800 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, a mini HDMI port, WiFi, Bluetooth, and 2MP cameras on the front and back of the tablet. It has a 4200mAh battery.

Specs aren’t everything, and I’d be curious to know more about the build quality and how the SmartQ X7 performs under real world conditions before spending any money on this tablet. But on paper, it looks like a pretty intriguing tablet.

The X7 isn’t the first intriguing tablet we’ve seen from SmartQ. The company also recently introduced the U7 tablet with a built-in 40 lumen projector.

thanks Lorne!

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5 replies on “SmartQ X7 tablet tries to one-up the Google Nexus 7”

  1. I am really confused by tablet PCs.

    The Nexus 7 feels good (I have tried one in a local store) but the lack of a SD/TF or any card slot, and the lack of paypal purchasing options (that I can find, without a massive premium at, phonetically, “d’ekks”) put me off.

    Does This SmartQ X7 have a SIM card slot? Not that I think I can use it in Japan but perhaps when I am in Hong Kong I can use it as a phone too.
    Answer: NO

    Is the Kindle app going to work on this? This is a really low level question but I started out thinking of purchasing a Kindle. Then it seemed that the Kindle is too passive.
    Answer: Not out of the box, but yes with Comod rom which is easily installed.

    Does the GPS work okay? I read some reviews of tablets (e.g. the dropad A8) where people claim that the GPS sucks. My second function is for a GPS when I go cycling so that I don’t get lost, and I can track my route.
    Answer: Not too well. A bit slow. Can fail to fix on lower battery power.

    How awful is the camera?
    Answer Fairly but not unusable
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihonbunka/8378854672/in/photostream/

    Gosh I am so confused.

    1. I bought it. A lot of apps did not work with the firmware installed upon arrival. I installed andropos’ “Comod” rom and then I was good to go.

      The X7 does not have a SIM card slot but with the new ROM, which was pretty painless to install, I have kindle and pdf book readers. I added brightness controller and an app to stop the display from rotating and now I can read ebooks in bed. It is very good.

      The GPS however is not all that great. It is great to be able to turn it on and see where I am. WHen there is WIFI I can see where I am on Google maps. When there is no WIFI then MAP Droyd and MapMyRide (to a lesser extent) can show me where I am even in Japan.

      But occasionally I can’t get a GPS fix.

  2. I thought the TI OMAP 4470 was the reference chip set for the windows 8 port, would be interesting if that was the case with this device.

  3. SmartQ quality is fine. They’ve long been positioned on the upper end of Chinese brands, especially price. Switching over to TI processors this year did help put the proverbial money where their mouth is, though. They’re also very good about pushing out regular bugfixes and firmware upgrades, which immediately sets them apart from the crowded jumble of China tabs. The X7 already has one, while their flagship T30 big screen tab (released in August) has three.

    1. Once upon a time they had a modder community. Maybe with the switch to OMAP that will come back a bit.

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