Review of the tablet Xiaomi MiPad. Xiaomi MiPad: specifications, description and reviews

The market of tablet computers in relatively small time has reached unprecedented volumes. If even 7-9 years ago even no one knew about them, then today this device is as necessary as a mobile phone. For many, having a tablet computer is even more important.

Against the backdrop of such demand, there is nothing surprising in the volume of the offer of these devices. Many companies that manufacture telephones also manufacture computers, successfully combining these products into entire model lines for more effective promotion on the market.

"Chinese Apple"

We all heard about Xiaomi. This, as can be judged even by name, the Chinese concern engaged in the production of electronics: smartphones, tablets, various accessories and other gadgets. In the field of view of world media and fans of technology, this producer appeared relatively recently - approximately in 2011-2012. But the resonance that this corporation could cause around itself can not be compared with anything.

The developer dubbed attractive (externally and through their parameters) devices a "new Apple". At the same time, the cost of such devices is very modest, given the prices installed on similar devices from competing companies.

In the field of our review of the tablet market, we will focus on the product from this company. It's a question, as you guessed, about MiPad Xiaomi. This device, which took a serious position in the market of tablets running Android. It is to him that we will devote our today's article.

Concept

Everybody would like to have an optimal mobile device, which would be affordable and at the same time had the highest possible technical characteristics. This is the main goal of each buyer: to get the most functional device as cheap as possible. Xiaomi is guided by this requirement.

Do not confuse this developer with a string of Chinese companies that produce copies of well-known products.

The concept of the devices released by Xiaomi is unique. The company tries to adhere to the highest possible quality standards, use the most suitable components, pay attention to assembling all elements and optimizing all processes. All this is done in such a way that it remains an opportunity to offer the buyer the most favorable price for their product. And, of course, the device MiPad Xiaomi proves to us that such an approach can be beneficial. Its developers and respected in all versions of their tablet (and they went on sale two).

Set

Characteristics of the gadget (traditionally) we'll start with the idea of its bundle. After all, a big role is played by what we will see when we open the box with the goods. In this case, it's about simple packaging from rough cardboard, which uses Xiaomi for all of its products.

So, this company, unlike other Chinese suppliers, uses a minimum of resources to be able to offer the buyer the lowest price. This can be traced in the matter of product bundling.

The charger and instruction set are all we found under the cover of the MiPad Xiaomi box.

Of course, between these elements there is also a tablet, protected from all sides by a dense layer of cardboard. To tell you the truth, he looks even more eloquently and effectively against the background of rough material. Perhaps this is what the developers are trying to achieve.

Design

In the matter of appearance, Xiaomi can not be called so individual. Obviously, all the elements of appearance used on smartphones and tablets of this brand are borrowed from Apple itself. For example, on its device, the Xiaomi MiPad (16Gb) tablet resembles the iPad mini. Due to the rubberized glossy coating of the whole body, it can be concluded that the engineers from China turned their attention to the iPhone 5C. If you do not take into account some differences in the individual elements of the case, the MiPad Xiaomi can be called an increased 5C on the Android OS.

On the one hand, it is still a very good move, because the shiny plastic looks no less impressive than on its "apple" original. On the other hand - borrowing a successful design, Xiaomi adopted and less positive qualities of the other device, including the "brand" case.

It is expressed thus: in practice on Xiaomi MiPad (16Gb) all fingerprints of its user are visible. Because of this model in half an hour of operation does not look as attractive as in the picture in the store. However, this is not a critical moment - it is quite easy to wipe the computer surface.

Screen

Chinese engineers paid a lot of attention to the display device. It was equipped with an LCD-screen, which outperforms many of the presented on the market compact tablets with HD and FullHD-graphics. The resolution of Xiaomi MiPad (4pda contains more detailed information about this) is 1536 by 2048 points. With a size of 7.9 inches, this is an excellent indicator that makes the picture as clear and colorful as possible. This is confirmed by another parameter - the density of pixels. In the case of Xiaomi MiPad (which we are reviewing), this figure is 324 ppi, and it definitely can be called very high compared to similar devices.

Shell

Xiaomi's graphic interface has also matched its "apple" competitors in the electronics market. At least the MiUI shell, which is installed on the smartphones and tablets of this developer, clearly shows this.

To note the similarities is simple enough: gradients, rounded icons, colors - all this very much reminds everyone of the favorite iOS. And of course, on this love for "apple" gadgets, this developer also plays, attracting customers to MiPad Xiaomi.

At the heart of the interface is still the Android operating system, which is unchanged on gadgets from this developer (although one of the variations of the tablet is presented on Windows 10).

CPU

In the work of any device, performance is an important criterion for evaluation. How optimized processes on the tablet, how quickly it is able to respond to user commands, plays a very important role. Therefore, Xiaomi MiPad (16Gb) has a powerful NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz, adapted to play colorful games and work without a hiccup. Working with it is very simple due to the high speed response of the device. Plus, given the high computing power of the device, the tablet can work with "heavy" graphics.

A newer version of the tablet - Xiaomi MiPad 2 - contains an updated "stuffing", presented as an Intel Atom x5-z8500 processor, which will further raise the specifications and increase the gadget's capabilities.

Camera

Of course, in order to create pictures, nobody buys a tablet. This is clearly a secondary, additional option that developers include in the set of requirements.

On Xiaomi MiPad 7.9 the camera with the permission of a matrix in 8 megapixels (basic) and in 5 - additional is established. This, of course, is far from the ceiling for the mobile device market, nevertheless for the tablet of its price segment the device is able to show very good results. Pictures are processed at the software level, which makes them somewhat sharper and more saturated.

Battery

Another important point is the power source of the gadget. As far as the tablet is concerned, it is obvious that it consumes energy fast enough due to the large display and the many supported functions. Take at least an activated 3G / LTE connection or playback of a high quality video.

Therefore, on the first version, the developer installed a battery with a capacity of 6700 mAh, and for a newer one - 6100 mAh. Probably, the power consumption of the Xiaomi MiPad 2 will be more optimized. Perhaps, the fact that the manufacturer wants to change the dimensions of the device, having reduced them on the new model, played its role. Whatever it was, but the battery capacity of 6 thousand mAh - this is also a good indicator.

Versions

The differences in the first generation MiPad were concerned only with color combinations of devices. The user was given a choice of the color of the case of his Xiaomi MiPad. 4pda testifies that in the new generation the buyer will be able to choose even the operating system on which his computer will function. In particular, as already reported above, a version with Windows 10 will be available for sale. It will probably be developed a new graphical shell, which will repeat the mentioned MiUI.

Also there are rumors about the imminent release of a new version of the tablet - the third generation. True, what will be available to its owners, is still unclear.

Cost

The prices for devices from Xiaomi have always been famous for their availability. The manufacturer really does bet on the budget of its gadgets. And, as sales statistics show, this is a completely justified move.

So, the first tablet cost in the range of 240-280 dollars (depends on the amount of internal memory on the device); And the second - from 156 to 203 dollars (we mean the generation of out-of-date devices). Thus, it can be concluded that the final price of these devices is lower.

Moreover, the figures are presented as of the moment of release of the tablet. Obviously, after a certain period after their debut, the cost of devices will drop, which will make them even more accessible.

Reviews

During the writing of the article, we found numerous reviews describing Xiaomi MiPad. All of them are made up by the owners of the devices, by the way, most of them are positive. Many even appreciated the maximum quality of their tablet.

People who write comments about the device, note that the Xiaomi MiPad processor is able to show the best results not only in its price segment, but also in the category of compact tablets in general. This already gives an opportunity to talk about high performance and speed. Further, from a positive point of view, note (albeit copied) design. Gadget owners write that the rubberized plastic is well in the hands, does not slip, but looks great. They also note the quality materials from which the Xiaomi MiPad is assembled.

The review practically did not affect the battery life of the tablet - we just gave a description of its battery. Users emphasize that the device can work for a long enough period without recharging, which makes it ideal for use on the road or in the absence of a power source.

There are, however, negative reviews - they contain information about the gadget's shortcomings. For example, someone does not like the firmware installed on Xiaomi MiPad, as a result of which users want to update the tablet software, pre-install a new version of the OS on it. Among the most common problems of this nature are the "crash" of some applications (for example, the same Skype during communication) and the breakdown of the accelerometer, due to which you can not rotate the display as needed.

Some still have mechanical problems when the device starts to discharge too quickly or refuses to see the charger at all.

A number of users complain about the corpus corpus and fingerprints, which remain wherever possible. There are still complaints about the presence of Chinese applications, which are not so actively used by us, because of what they have to be removed and replaced by European programs.

We also managed to find complaints on the computer camera. Like, MiPad does not photograph accurately, the camera "makes noise" and "distorts" the color balance. Perhaps this is so, but do not compare the quality of shooting with a tablet that one can offer even a simple "camera phone", not to mention the camera.

In addition to the above, there are reports of heating the processor (located in the camera area), because of which it is not so comfortable to work with the phone. With a strong load, the temperature in this place of the body rises quite appreciably.

conclusions

The numerous problems that we described above (and others) are, of course, discomfort in the process of working with any gadget. But on the other hand, all these problems - nothing, if we talk about the ratio of the cost of the tablet and its capabilities. Screen flickering or heating of the case can be tolerated if the device does have such a display, a processor and a price tag. As do thousands of Xiaomi product buyers.

As for the software and the "launch" of applications, the developers of the company always work on these problems, releasing updates with fixed problems. On this occasion, you should not worry - and your problem will be solved in the same way.

In general, the result of our review can be summed up with a positive assessment of our "hero." After all, the tablet is really suitable for many tasks, inexpensive, it is collected qualitatively, reliable. What else can you demand from a budget Android gadget for this money?