Review of an Alldocube 10.5" Android tablet / phone
Mike Harding said
12:18 PM Oct 14, 2021
I purchased an Alldocube iPlay 30 Android tablet combined phone from Banggood recently for around A$250 (now A$235) including case, shipping and GST; it took about three weeks from Hong Kong to Melbourne and I've been using it for about two weeks, I bought it to replace a Lenovo whose screen developed a crack of its own accord at six months of age, Lenovo of course were not at all interested.
In a nutshell; it's a good tablet with no obvious issues. 6GB RAM, 128GB EPROM, 1980x1200 clear and IPS bright display, 4G with VoLTE and WiFi calling. The tablet feels well made, audio quality from the speakers is good and sufficiently loud for me. The card slot will accept two SIMs or one SIM and one SD card. I have one SIM and one 128GB card (non adopted) and all works well. Android 10 and I do hear Alldocube actually provide updates for a year or two. This is a basic version of Android with zero bloatware, thank Goodness.
The tablet is fast enough for me, no lag noticeable, and works OK with my secret vice... the game of Plants V Zombies :)
The pseudo leather case is not brilliant but it's OK and does its job.
Its 4G system includes coverage for the Telstra "long distance" 700MHz channel 28AB which some (many?) Chinese 4G tablets do not. I'm currently only 400m from a cell so will report on its bush coverage ability in a couple of weeks.
The GPS (important to me) receives GPS, Glonass and Beidou and gives good resolution but is sometimes slow to find any satellites, I have a suspicion this may be a power down/wake up issue? However once locked it works well.
At this two week mark I have no hesitation in recommending the tablet.
The Banggood website has been around for a while and accepts Paypal so your cash should be safe.
oldbloke said
05:01 PM Oct 14, 2021
Mmm, was just looking a Lenovo for the boss for Xmas. Her old Samsung is very tired. Yours sounds like much better value. Appreciate it you keep us posted. Might order one early November if your still happy.
-- Edited by oldbloke on Thursday 14th of October 2021 05:02:33 PM
Mike Harding said
12:37 PM Nov 2, 2021
GPS taking time to achieve lock and general update:
This still occurs sometimes but is less of an issue than previously. I am pretty sure it is something to do with AGPS data but cannot find a definitive pattern. It's seriousness level now falls into the category of occasional minor irritant.
Once locked the GPS produces excellent results and holds lock well, it is the only GPS I have used which frequently generates a position error estimate of 0m and seldom above 2 or 3m.
Also, I now have a Boost SIM fitted; the tablet's Tx/Rx ability is a little better than my ZTE phone handset which I always considered to be pretty good. Data throughput is excellent whether the tablet is being used with its own display or as a hotspot (or both) for my Windows notebook.
As a voice phone on hands-free it's fine but you do need to ensure the mic, which is on the side at the camera end, is pointing in the direction of your mouth. "Not as good as your phone but quite usable" was the voice quality report I received. I have used VoLTE but not WiFi calling.
Paradoxically with some text apps the high res. screen displays less information than my much lower res. Lenovo, this seems to be a limitation of Android however graphical apps (mapping and such) display more info as you would expect.
CPU capability is good; my test of calculating a long route using Osmand has this tablet doing it in about half the time of the Lenovo.
The display is brilliant, in all senses! In bright sunlight the Lenovo is all but unreadable but just push the Alldocube to 100% screen brightness (or less!) and you are rewarded with a clear, bright and sharp display. Indoors I normally run the display at 50% (25% after dark) and it's fine.
Bluetooth works well and sensitivity is at least as good as the Lenovo. My $15 e-bay Bluetooth keyboard works fine with it (set keyboard to Windows mode) as does my Victron solar controller.
Power consumption is good, I haven't measured it but it's never a problem. Battery charging time seems fine to me but I'm not familiar with the newer "fast" chargers.
Android "Settings" is a bit light on control of some aspects of the tablet but I haven't found any show-stoppers.
If I lost it or similar I'd buy another tomorrow
Buzz Lightbulb said
01:35 PM Nov 3, 2021
Mike,
Have you dual booted it with android's and WinDoze say? I'd like a tablet that could run VCDS.
PlanyVsZombies used to be my favorite time wasting game but then it stopped working without Google Services on my Android phone.
Mike Harding said
02:03 PM Nov 3, 2021
No, I won't do clever things with it unless there is a very good reason, I just want it to work :)
I purchased an Alldocube iPlay 30 Android tablet combined phone from Banggood recently for around A$250 (now A$235) including case, shipping and GST; it took about three weeks from Hong Kong to Melbourne and I've been using it for about two weeks, I bought it to replace a Lenovo whose screen developed a crack of its own accord at six months of age, Lenovo of course were not at all interested.
Alldocube tablet
In a nutshell; it's a good tablet with no obvious issues. 6GB RAM, 128GB EPROM, 1980x1200 clear and IPS bright display, 4G with VoLTE and WiFi calling. The tablet feels well made, audio quality from the speakers is good and sufficiently loud for me. The card slot will accept two SIMs or one SIM and one SD card. I have one SIM and one 128GB card (non adopted) and all works well. Android 10 and I do hear Alldocube actually provide updates for a year or two. This is a basic version of Android with zero bloatware, thank Goodness.
The tablet is fast enough for me, no lag noticeable, and works OK with my secret vice... the game of Plants V Zombies :)
The pseudo leather case is not brilliant but it's OK and does its job.
Its 4G system includes coverage for the Telstra "long distance" 700MHz channel 28AB which some (many?) Chinese 4G tablets do not. I'm currently only 400m from a cell so will report on its bush coverage ability in a couple of weeks.
The GPS (important to me) receives GPS, Glonass and Beidou and gives good resolution but is sometimes slow to find any satellites, I have a suspicion this may be a power down/wake up issue? However once locked it works well.
At this two week mark I have no hesitation in recommending the tablet.
The Banggood website has been around for a while and accepts Paypal so your cash should be safe.
Mmm, was just looking a Lenovo for the boss for Xmas. Her old Samsung is very tired. Yours sounds like much better value.
Appreciate it you keep us posted. Might order one early November if your still happy.
-- Edited by oldbloke on Thursday 14th of October 2021 05:02:33 PM
GPS taking time to achieve lock and general update:
This still occurs sometimes but is less of an issue than previously. I am pretty sure it is something to do with AGPS data but cannot find a definitive pattern. It's seriousness level now falls into the category of occasional minor irritant.
Once locked the GPS produces excellent results and holds lock well, it is the only GPS I have used which frequently generates a position error estimate of 0m and seldom above 2 or 3m.
Also, I now have a Boost SIM fitted; the tablet's Tx/Rx ability is a little better than my ZTE phone handset which I always considered to be pretty good. Data throughput is excellent whether the tablet is being used with its own display or as a hotspot (or both) for my Windows notebook.
As a voice phone on hands-free it's fine but you do need to ensure the mic, which is on the side at the camera end, is pointing in the direction of your mouth. "Not as good as your phone but quite usable" was the voice quality report I received. I have used VoLTE but not WiFi calling.
Paradoxically with some text apps the high res. screen displays less information than my much lower res. Lenovo, this seems to be a limitation of Android however graphical apps (mapping and such) display more info as you would expect.
CPU capability is good; my test of calculating a long route using Osmand has this tablet doing it in about half the time of the Lenovo.
The display is brilliant, in all senses! In bright sunlight the Lenovo is all but unreadable but just push the Alldocube to 100% screen brightness (or less!) and you are rewarded with a clear, bright and sharp display. Indoors I normally run the display at 50% (25% after dark) and it's fine.
Bluetooth works well and sensitivity is at least as good as the Lenovo. My $15 e-bay Bluetooth keyboard works fine with it (set keyboard to Windows mode) as does my Victron solar controller.
Power consumption is good, I haven't measured it but it's never a problem. Battery charging time seems fine to me but I'm not familiar with the newer "fast" chargers.
Android "Settings" is a bit light on control of some aspects of the tablet but I haven't found any show-stoppers.
If I lost it or similar I'd buy another tomorrow
Mike,
Have you dual booted it with android's and WinDoze say? I'd like a tablet that could run VCDS.
PlanyVsZombies used to be my favorite time wasting game but then it stopped working without Google Services on my Android phone.
No, I won't do clever things with it unless there is a very good reason, I just want it to work :)