Introduction:
In the flooded market of budget tablets Zync recently introduced two powerful Quad Core based tablets named as Zync Quad 10.1 (INTERLINK REVIEW) and Zync Quad 8.0. If we understand properly their names itself tell us their highlighted specification (Processor and Screen Size). Today we have over thousand tablets under the price range of 10K to 15K, but with the launch of Quad Core CPU based Quad 8 tablet, Zync has changed the market contenders in terms of budget tablet. While with other tablets in price range of 10 to 15 thousand we get few devices good with display, few with other features, few of them having sim slots, and so on but one thing that all of these devices compromise is the performance. So far I have reviewed several budget tablets and smartphones but all of them gives us problems at some point. I guess keeping the same in mind, Zync has made the tablet with better configuration to provide the lag free performance. Let me remind you that after iBerry’s CoreX4 3G tablet with quad core processor and 2 GB of RAM, Zync is the first manufacturer to launch Quad Core Tabs.
Zync Quad 8 is powered with 1.5GHZ Quad Core processor and 2GB of RAM with Mali-400 MP4 GPU to offer smooth performance, better multitasking and even better gaming experience. But does it offers the same? We will find out in this review. In highlights if the tab, there is 8 inch 10 point multi-touch HD IPS LCD Capacitive Touch Screen, 5MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, 8GB Internal memory with expansion slot upto 32GB. It costs Rs. 12,990/- Before starting reviewing the Tablets, lets check have a look at its complete specification list:
- Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS
- 8-inch 10 point multi-touch display
- 1024 x 768 pixels Resolution
- 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
- 2GB of RAM
- Mali-400 MP4 GPU
- 5 Megapixel rear camera
- 2 Megapixel front-facing camera
- 8GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB
- 3G via USB dongle, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n , Micro USB port
- 5400 mAh battery
Design, Body and keys:
Since beginning itself Zync has followed the square shape of packaging in all their tablets, just like iPads. However this time with Quad 8.0 they have used brushed aluminium rear body instead of glossy plastic finishing like earlier tablets. The silver rear color with front black display looks attractive. With dimensions of 149mm x 215mm x 9.2mm and rounded edge corners provide better grip but may be slippery if you hold it with wet hands. Also it may be uncomfortable to hold for longer time because of its 471 grams weight. If we compare the tablet with its elder brother Quad 10.1 having over 10 inch display, surprisingly the weight is same 471 grams. Even if we compare it with Apple iPad mini having almost the same screen size (7.9 inch) it weighs just 312 grams. It is because of full metallic aluminium body of Zync Quad 8 making it so heavier but this could create problems for holding the tablet in one hand for longer time. If we keep the weight a side, the tablet looks decent and attractive with its design and silver aluminium rear panel.
As far as Keys and navigation is concerned, Zync has made some changes here too. This time they have put some keys for the left hand as well instead of putting them all together at the right side of the body like their earlier tabs as well as other brands do. Lets have a closer look. At the front we have a 8 inch 10 point multi-touch display with a 2 Megapixel front facing camera on the left of the screen. There are no physical buttons. With Quad Series of tablets Zync has made all on-screen keys like we have seen in Google Nexus 10 Tablet.
On the left of the body we have a 3.5mm headphone jack and Power key which is also used for Screen lock.
There is nothing on the bottom while on the top we have just Volume Up/Down keys which are easily accessible from your left hand finger.
On the right side of the body we have a Memory Card slot, Reset keyhole, HDMI Port, Micro USB port, Loud speaker and Charging port.
On the rear panel we have just 5 Megapixel camera with Zync logo.
Personally I feel the placement of Charging port and the speaker is placed at the wrong place because if the charger is plugged in it may be difficult to hold the tab in landscape mode. Same problem is with the headphone hack which is on the left side and the same with the loudspeakers. These stuffs will not conflict until you are holding the tab in Portrait Mode but what if you are watching a Movie and the charger or headphone is plugged in? Over clock, Charger, Headphone jack and Loud speaker is placed wrong.
Screen / Display:
Zync Quad 8 features a 8 inch HD IPS capacitive touch screen display offering 1024 x 768 pixels resolution at 160 ppi. Not the best but still its quiet better, brighter and sharper compared to other budget tablets around the market. The IPS panel offers very good viewing experience from all sides, no matter you are indoor or under direct sunlight. You will love watching movies, pictures or even playing games on such display. Just like Quad 10.1, Zync has also provided an option called “Smart Colour” under Display settings which if enabled makes the display offer best experience for Movies and Games by changing the brightness, colours, etc. Display is even good for reading text in ebooks, documents or websites. Each text appears crisp and clear. However I found the touch sensitivity below the mark. Rest all is fine.
OS, Processor, RAM:
Zync Quad 8 comes preloaded with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system without any enhancement or customization done from the manufacturer’s end. Though there is no announcement made from Zync whether this tablet will receive any further update or not but according to its better hardware and configuration and with the provided Update Centre app I feel Quad 8 will receive Android 4.2 JellyBean update in the near future. As of now it is all Stock ROM with default user interface and default applications. We have the same notification area at the right bottom of the screen and menu keys at the left bottom of the screen. Only stuff added by the manufacturer is a Screenshot shortcut button in the Menu bar like we have in several Samsung Tabs.
Apart from the JellyBean OS, the tablet is powered with 1.5 GHz quad core processor with 2 GB RAM. This is one of the most powerful tablets available in the market in the range of 8 inch screen. With such powerful CPU and 2GB RAM Quad 8 offers smooth and lag free performance with better multitasking options. We tested the performance with 10 apps running in the background but still we dint noticed a single lag or free. It also comes with 8 Core Mali-400 MP4 GPU that makes the tablet even better in Gaming Performance. We tried running several Video games on the tablet including Real Racing 3, Manuganu, and few more high end games, Quad 8 is capable to run all these games comfortably, without any hassle.
For FYI, the elder brother Quad 10.1 also comes with the same amount of Processor and RAM but we faced few lagging and freezing problems while multitasking which is not the case with Quad 8. The provided 2GB RAM do its work excellently and offers the best performance you can expect from a budget tablet at Rs. 12,990/- No matter you are playing any heavy HD Game, or Full HD video, there is no problem in performance. We even tried playing a 3080p video and surprisingly there was still no lag or sluggish behaviour. The same is while browsing. You can open as many Tabs as you want in the browser, there wont be any freezing issues. Zync Quad 8.0 is one of the best tablet today in 7 to 8 inch screen range at the said price. Lets see what the benchmarking test results say about the same.
Multimedia, Gaming and Web Browsing:
No matter you play 780p, 1080p or even a 3080p HD video (as we did), the playback remains smooth and lag free. We tried playing the videos in the default Android Video Player, the built-in 4K Video Player and MX Player, same performance in all video players, smooth playback. You can also watch videos while doing your work on the tablet using the Pop-Up player like we have seen in few Samsung Galaxy devices. Just double tap the video while playing in 4K Video Player and it will come up with a pop up window that can be resized and moved around the screen so that you can also carry out your other works. You even wont require any third party video player because the built-in player itself is capable to play almost all video formats including FLV, MP4, DivX, and XviD etc. The only problem is its sound. The Audio is not loud, in fact you may not hear some dialogues properly if you have kept the tablet at the distance of 2 to 3 feet. Hence you will need a headphone compulsorily while watching videos or for listening music.
Both Quad 10.1 and Quad 8 are so far the best tablets from the manufacturer in performance and Gaming. From SD to HD Games, all are compatible and run smoothly without and lag or freeze. We tested games like Dead Trigger, Real Racing 3, Manuganu, etc and none of them created any problem. Gameplay remained smooth throughout the game. The 8 Core Mali 400 MP4 GPU does its work as expected and offers complete fun of gaming on Quad 8. As far as browsing is concerned, no matter you use the default Android Browser, Chrome, Opera or any browser, you will get PC like browsing experience on the Tab. We tried loading several heavy websites and multiple tabs but again, no freezing or lagging problems. All sites loads fine, text appears clear with Zooming in/out. Overall Zync Quad 8.0 is the best 8 inch budget tablet with all your needs including Entertainment purpose, gaming or using Internet.
Camera:
Zync Quad 8 features dual Camera, a 5 Megapixel at the rear and 2 Megapixel on the front for making video calls. The rear camera comes with Auto Focus technology to offer you good quality image of the area you want. Though 5 Megapixel is quiet enough for smartphones but in Tablets, it doesn’t use to be so effective. The same is with Quad 8. You can get a quality picture with this camera but only in better environment. If you are capturing indoors, you will not like it at all. However you will surely like the embedded camera features with this device. You get several important features which I haven’t seen so far in any budget tablets like Continues Snap Modes which we have seen with different names in different smartphones such as HTC, BB Z10, Galaxy Smartphones. This mode allows you to capture burst shots of multiple pictures in one click and then you can choose the best of them. In this tablet, you get 2 options for Burst Mode. This is useful when you are capturing image of moving objects so that you wont miss any shot.
Furthermore there are other capturing modes such as Panorama Mode, Scene Mode, Face detection, White Balance, Self Timer and More. It also allows you to edit the captured images right away before saving it. You can change colours, add doodles, crop and do many other editing/enhancement in the pictures. The same is with the front facing 2 megapixel camera. Most of these features also work with the front camera. Though the front camera is 2 Megapixel but the quality I found with the same while using it with Skype or Tango video calling apps, it appeared like I am using a VGA camera. So the front camera quality is not so good. Over all to get a quality picture or Video you should be under better light environment or in sun light.
Built-in Apps:
As I said above Zync Quad 8 comes with the Stock Android ROM without any enhancement or Customization, there are no extra applications or games provided by Zync like we use to have with other tablets such as Micromax or Lava. Here we just have the apps we see with Stock ROM such as Google apps like YouTube, Gtalk, Gmail, Google Play Store, etc. But that is least concerned as you can download any and as many applications or games from Google Play because the tablet is powerful enough to run any of those available on the store.
Connectivity and Storage:
Zync Quad 8.0 seems not so good in connectivity as the only option to get online is via WiFi. It supports Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n where g network supports upto 54 Mbps and if you are on N network than it can go upto 300mbps. Apart from this the tablet lacks Bluetooth connectivity and for using 3G you will need to carry an external USB 3G dongle as there is no Sim Slot provided. Other than this we have USB 2.0 for transferring files and folders and HDMI port to enjoy the tablet content on larger screen.
As per storage Quad 8 comes with 8GB internal memory which is surely not enough for ok for storing 1000s of MP3, few videos and applications. However it has an expansion memory slot that can be expanded upto 32GB using MicroSD Card.
Battery:
The tablet is running on 5400 mAh battery. Compared Quad 10.1 that offers battery life of maximum 3 hours on continuous HD Video playback, Quad 8 was able to run upto 7.5 hours. That means we can watch atleast two full length bollywood movies in fully charged tablet. I also tested it as an average user for a day where I left it connected on WiFi and used the table for chatting on Gtalk and Facebook. Also listened some music, kept the rightness on 50%, and that’s it. The tablet came from 100 to 0 in about 11 hours. So according to our test, I can say the battery life of Zync Quad 8 is quiet impressive and worth to use it for official use like presentations, eBooks, etc. If using it for Gaming and Entertainment purpose, you can still get upto 7 to 8 hours of battery life.
Conclusion:
Zync Quad 8 can be one of the best choice if you are looking for a 7 to 8 inch tablet in price range of 10 to 15 thousand Rupees. With powerful configuration of 1.5GHZ processor and 2GB RAM the tablet offers excellent performance and multitasking experience without any freezing or lagging issue. Running games on this tab is just a fun. No matter which game you want to play, it is compatible with all. Powered with Mali 400 8 core GPU, we get great fun while gaming. And so is with Video play back. If the device is able run 3080p video without any problem, it can play any kind of video. Even we don’t need to worry about the battery life. Once charged 100%, you can use it hassle free for atleast 7 to 8 hours. Quad 8 was impressive in several stuffs but it disappointed us as well in few aspects such as the sound. You will regret to watch videos or listen music without headphones. Loud speaker Audio is very low, you will hardly listen the dialogues of a movie if the tablet is placed at small distance.
Second thing that disappoints me is its camera, infact both camera. Capturing or shooting indoor is really not a good idea. Video calling using the 2MP camera was feeling like I am using any VGA camera. And last drawback of Quad 8 is the missing Bluetooth. With such good configuration, manufacturers must have provided the Bluetooth. Overall, I will give 8 out of 10 rating to Zync Quad 8 in terms of performance and battery life. It can be best mate for entertainment, gaming and even official purpose. Though its bit heavy but it is easy to carry to office loaded with all important documents, your favourite movies and so on. At the price of Rs. 12990/- Zync Quad 8 is a worth 8 inch tablet
PROS :
- Excellent performance
- Good processing power
- Compatible with all games and apps
- Good battery life.
CONS :
- Little heavier
- Lack of Bluetooth
