Review of Xolo Play Tegra Note Tablet

Xolo has launched new Tablet namely Xolo Play Tegra Note Tablet which is the fastest tablet in this price range. Xolo launched the Tablet at Rs. 17,999/- price. The same can be booked from Flipkart.com where advance booking is open for preorder. Flipkart is also offering one cover of Rs. 2499/- till stock lasts.

Lets see the features of Xolo Play Tegra Note tablet –

Hardware –

 Xolo Play Tegra Note run over Tegra chipset with cortex A15 1.8 GHz Quad Core Nvidia Tegra 4 processor and a 72 core GeForce GPU that is the fastest in this price band. The XOLO Play Tegra houses a 7 inch IPS screen with HD display of 1280×800 pixels resolution. There is 1GB RAM, 16GB storage and 64GB external card support. Other connectivity options are micro HDMI port, 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB port, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi (b/g/n). Xolo Play powered with 4100 mAh battery which is quite ok.

This tab also comes with 5MP rear camera without flash support and 0.3MP front camera. There is built in GPS receiver that works with Google maps and supports GLONASS. In addition there are stereo speakers placed on the front with bass reflex port and pure audio (NVIDIA) processing. Hardware wise Xolo Play Tegra Note is very impressive only Nexus 7 seems to be competitor for Xolo Tab. Even in Nexus 7 no option for external storage.

Software –

 Xolo Play Tegra run over Android 4.2.2 which is now started to upgraded to Android 4.3 (Source – NDTV). In terms of nature of the OS, it is very close to what one can call stock Android, only with a few extra apps and settings. This, in a way, is better as it does make up for many of the shortcomings of stock Android. For example, NVIDIA ships the Tegra Note with Camera Awesome app instead of the stock Android camera app, which is way better. NVIDIA has also added a power saving mode with three settings, with a frugal, balanced and performance mode. In the first, it limits the CPU to just two cores with clock speed clamped at 1.8GHz (which doesn’t make sense since the device only goes up to 1.8GHz). In balanced it removes the core and clock speed limit but limits app framerate to 60fps and in performance mode it removes the last restriction as well. All testing was done in the Performance mode.

In terms of overall performance, the XOLO Play Tegra Note was generally quite good. The UI within the core apps and most of the first party apps was quite smooth and fluid. Where it fails, and where many other Android devices fail, is performance in third party apps, which continues to be disappointing. Try scrolling in Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or several other apps and you’ll see how badly it stutters. This is a device that sets benchmark scores on fire (beating even the likes of Snapdragon 800 in several tests), plays 4K videos and excels at every game you throw at it and yet it can’t scroll smoothly in an app with VGA resolution images. Of course this is not really the device’s fault – it’s up to developers to optimize their applications and some are obviously doing a better job than others, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Stylus – 

NVIDIA has made a big deal out of the stylus functionality of the Tegra Note. Using what NVIDIA calls the DirectStylus technology, the stylus on the XOLO Play Tegra Note is actually a simple capacitive stylus but mimics most of the functionality and performance of an active digitizer. The stylus fits into a slot on the bottom and when pulled out, it launches the NVIDIA DirectStylus app, which is essentially a folder of apps that you’d want to use after you pull out the stylus. It has the basic Tegra Draw and Write apps already and you can add any app to the list.

Another thing that happens when you pull out the stylus is the appearance of two extra keys on the navigation bar at the bottom. The one on the left lets you disable all touchscreen inputs except those from the stylus, to prevent accidental touches from, say, your palm. It’s curious how NVIDIA manages to detect which input is from the stylus and which from your skin as the stylus is not active. Another button lets you select a portion of the screen or write on it, which can then be saved as an image.

Design and Build –

Xolo Tab having  placement of two speakers around the screen and the pattern on the back, is meant to be used primarily in landscape mode although it works perfectly fine in portrait as well.

Along the sides there is volume rocker and an open microSD card slot on the right, the stylus slot and a bass-reflex port for the loudspeaker on the bottom, a magnetic strip for holding the optional folding cover on the left and the power button and ports on top. The ports include the microUSB port, micro HDMI port and a headphone jack.

On the back of the device you’ll find a mix of glossy, matte and rubberized plastic, with the NVIDIA and XOLO logos. The lens for the 5-megapixel camera is also located on the top right corner.  Design of Xolo Play Tegra Note is not too bad but built quality can be some more better.

Final Words –

The new Nexus 7 and Nexus 7(2) is the only competitor for Xolo Play Tegra Note which has superior design and build compare to Tegra Note and also a much better display. Everywhere else, it’s either similar or better. The only real advantage the XOLO Play Tegra Note has is the stylus functionality and a microSD card slot.

Technical Specification of Xolo Tab from gsmarena.com –

Buy Xolo Play Tegra Note  from Flipkart.com –

Source – Gsmarena