There are those who love Apple, and those who'll never buy anything that comes from Infinite Loop. However, everyone can agree on one thing about the iPad: As wonderful as it is, it's rather expensive.
Cue the rush – just in time for Christmas – of Android-based tablets that aren't the iPad. There are loads to choose from: from the high-end, high-cost Samsung Galaxy Tab to the own-brand specials that are less than a hundred pounds.
Somewhere in between the two extremes, you'll be seeing a lot of this fellow, the seven-inch Linx Commtiva N700. We say that because it's also known as the Viewsonic Viewpad 7 or the Commtiva FM6, and several other retailers are known to be interesting in slapping their badge on an OEM version, too.
This is important, because the N700 is £100 cheaper than the Viewpad 7, despite being absolutely identical.
On top of that, the N700 comes with a 4GB microSD card where the Viewpad 7 features no storage in the box.
Even when faced with an obvious choice like that, however, bagging a bargain Android tablet still requires caution. That's partly because Google itself doesn't reckon the latest available version of the operating system is up to running on devices larger than a mobile phone.
As a result, implementation of the OS varies by manufacturer, and workarounds to get Android running on a tablet change from supplier to supplier. To say the quality is variable is like saying Philip Green has a patchy record on tax.
There's also the question of Market access. As essential as the Android Market is to a tablet or smartphone, it's far from guaranteed that you'll be able to use it.
Without it, you're reduced to sideloading applications onto a device, running an alternative firmware or relying on the kind of Market-redux that AppsLib run, which is almost identical to the real thing in every way except that it doesn't have most of the well-known apps in it.
Fortunately, from the perspective of a potential Android tablet buyer, the N700 gets all these basics right. It's running Froyo, the latest and fastest version of the operating system, and has access to the full Android Market.
What's more, it's relatively well built and has a capacitive, multi-touch screen. Throw in the fact that it also has a 3G modem and it's got pretty competitive feature list compared to the iPad. Does that make it the Android tablet to own?
The blocky design of the Commtiva N700 is much thicker than the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which also boasts a seven-inch screen but rivals the iPad for slimness.
The N700 is chunky, squat and uniformly deep. It looks and feels like a large notebook of the old-fashioned paper variety, an impression that isn't helped by the fact that it comes with a black folio binder to keep it in.
It's still not huge – compared to a netbook, it's tiny, and you could easily drop it in a bag or an overcoat pocket without noticing it's even there. Plus, it has Bluetooth on board, making it easy to hook up a wireless keyboard or headset, so it's a versatile companion that could quite easily double up as both a notebook and a phone (it can make standard calls).
One thing that's instantly noticeable is that there's not a lot else in the box. Syncing with a PC and charging the battery are both done over via a mini-USB port, so there's no separate power cable or docking lead to carry around with you.
When it comes to overall design, the Commtiva feels lesser quality than its more expensive rivals such as the Galaxy Tab, but not outrageously so. The worst observation is that the glossy black plastic cover on the back isn't particularly well milled, with the kind of rough edges you might expect on a school ITC project. But again, you have to look hard to spot them.
It's a nicer machine to hold than other budget tablets, such as the Advent Vega.
The Commtiva N700 has a seven-inch capacitive touchscreen with a pixel resolution of 800 x 480. Obviously, it won't rival the Galaxy Tab's 1024 x 600 screen for pixel density, but it's easily sharp enough for reading full-size web pages in landscape or portrait mode.
It's responsive to gesture-based commands too, although it does slow down noticeably if there are more than a couple running in the background.
Inside, there's an accelerometer, which automatically rotates the screen to the orientation you're using, with the exception of the Home page, which is frustratingly locked to landscape mode. What's more, there's a strip of on-screen controls for media and mail apps down the left-hand side that you can't remove for more space.
On the right-hand side of the Home page, however, things are much better. There are three buttons for the apps library, web browser and phone, while embedded in the black trim next to the glass there are four more soft buttons for Search, Home, Back and the contextual Settings menu.
It's a good layout, and the only controls that we accidentally caught more often than we'd like are the volume ones along the top of the tablet.
There's just 512MB of storage built into the N700, so you'll need a microSD card for any large apps or media libraries you want to carry with you. Commtiva supplies a 4GB card, which sits under a flap next to the SIM slot in the top of the device.
There are players for music and video, but the codec support for movie files is limited. Full Market access, however, means that it's easy enough to find an alternative that can handle the relatively common XviD or Matroska files for free.
It's worth pointing out that the built-in speakers aren't terrible either. You probably won't want to use them to listen to a violin concerto, but they're bearable if you're streaming online radio, for example.
A fair chunk of the available storage is taken up by a three month trial version of Co-Pilot's GPS navigation software. While upgrading to the full version is only £20, you could easily remove this for more space since Froyo's native turn-by-turn directions are almost as good as any dedicated sat-nav app, so long as you don't mind the fact they stream mobile data while you're driving.
Finally, the N700 comes armed with Swype's intuitive gesture-based on-screen keyboard. It won't be quite to everyone's liking, but can speed up one-handed typing of the non-euphemistic sort dramatically when you get the hang of it.
If the N700 was just the sum of all its parts, it would be exceptional value for money. For the most part, where there are flaws they aren't devastatingly bad ones. The screen doesn't have the wide viewing angles of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, but it does the job. You have to put the tablet down flat and lay down next to it before it becomes unreadable.
Likewise, you'll never use the N700 for professional photo editing – as you could just about get away with on the iPad. You do get some bland colours and a noticeable flicker while scrolling around images, but it actually isn't as distracting as you might imagine.
There's seamless integration with email, calendar and contact databases and plenty of messenger apps such as Fring and Skype in the Market.
There's no forward-facing camera, mind, which is a let down for video calling – although Android won't fully support that until the next release, and it's unlikely the N700 will be eligible for an upgrade to Android 2.3 Gingerbread because of the CPU used.
While it doesn't outright stink, there is something of an odour about the processor. It's an ARM 11-based Qualcomm MSM7227 running at 600MHz, which might be fine for a smartphone but is the root cause of any real problems you'll have with the N700.
Not only is it unlikely to meet the minimum specification for Gingerbread, Google has set a barrier of 800MHz as the least amount of power that a device must have before it's allowed to run the native Flash player.
As far as online video goes, that means you can watch YouTube using the pre-installed app, but any Adobe-based animations are out. So no iPlayer, no 4oD: no nuffink, guv. There's the Skyfire browser, which is a workaround for some sites, but iPlayer simply returns a 'phone not recognised' error when you try to access it in this way.
The problems don't end there, either, because it isn't just Flash and Google restrictions that hold the N700 back. The cheaper Advent Vega has a dual-core Tegra system-on-a-chip with dedicated video processing capability, but the CPU in the N700 really struggles with the moving image in all its various forms.
The default Android movie player chugs along and DVD rips quickly lose voice sync, and while there are some less resource-intensive players available in the Market that can just about keep up, they aren't without the occasional frame drop, or worse.
The slow processor also means some lock-ups and freezes when something is happening in the background, such as mail downloading.
In terms of battery life, the N700 exceeds expectations. In moderate use, with Wi-Fi and push mail left on, you can get several days' worth of life out of a single charge. And if you do need to top up, the standardised USB port for charging is a Godsend.
There had to be something that let the Commtiva N700 down. If you want a cheap Android tablet and envision yourself using a tablet to catch up with old episodes of Dr Who in bed, you'll want to look for something like the Advent Vega. Otherwise, the balance of judgement is generally in the N700's favour.
We liked:
It's small, good looking and exceptionally smart. Most of all, though, it's well-connected and cheap. Every type of wireless connection you could possibly need is on board, including a 3G modem and GPS receiver, and all for cheaper than a SIM-free smartphone!
The screen isn't the sharpest or most colourful around, but it's comfortable enough on the eyes for reading email, PDFs, web pages or eBooks, and full access to the Android Market gives you a decent range of games to play on it, too.
It's a lovely device for tuning in to online radio, and if you're feeling particularly brave, you could even use it as a phone – although we'd recommend a Bluetooth headset.
What's more, the battery life is good and there's a 4GB microSD card thrown in where more expensive rivals are memory-free.
We also like that it has the Swype keyboard pre-installed.
We disliked:
There's just one thing that lets down the N700, but it's a serious problem: the processor is too slow. It's not that you can't get around the tablet quickly, although it can feel sluggish if you don't close down apps carefully, but it limits what you can with video to, well, almost nothing.
Not being able to use the Android Flash player is bad, since that remains the Google operating system's biggest advantage (after cost) against the iPhone 4 and iPad. But the N700 struggles with local movie files too.
It's not that we wanted it to be an all-capable HD entertainment device, but not having the option to watch even basic DVD rips without some dirty workaround is a let down.
Verdict:
So much about the N700 fulfils our expectations of a low-cost iPad alternative that it's almost painful not to be able to fully recommend it. We don't mind that it lacks the sophisticated design of the Galaxy Tab or even that the screen could do with being a bit sharper: the crippled video capability is going to be a deal breaker for a lot of people.
Realistically, though, if you're going to pay £300 or less for a tablet, you're going to have to compromise, and you've got be honest about what you're prepared to give up.
If you want a large screen, the fastest performance and top notch video, then you should be looking at the Advent Vega. But you won't get a modem or GPS with that.
If it's a cloud-based workhorse that can connect from anywhere and has built in GPS, however, the N700 is a tablet with which you'll be practically pleased, rather than passionately possessed.
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