ASUS ZenPad 7.0 – A Review

Just before Christmas, I received a mail from ASUS that they have been following my work since many days and that they want to send an ASUS ZenPad 7.0 (Z370CG) as they feel that it will improve my blogging experience and yes, it did improve my blogging experience. This was indeed a surprise gift from Santa.

When I opened the box, I was surprised to receive 2 boxes inside the main outer box. One box had the audio cover and a manual. The audio cover is an innovative product from ASUS. The second box had the ASUS ZenPad, charger, cable, warranty card and the manual. This ASUS ZenPad is the world’s first tablet to have interchangeable rear elements allowing you to add a longer lasting battery or an integrated speaker within a protective tablet cover.

The ZenPad which had Intel Atom x3-C3230 Quad Core Processor, is 7 inches long and from the front looks like any other tablet. The screen resolution is 1280 pixels by 800 pixels. The back side cover of the ASUS ZenPad is thick and had an embossed leather effect. It gives a good grip on the ZenPad and an ergonomic holding position. The tablet has Corning Gorilla glass, so I need not worry when I keep it in my bag along with other stuff like cosmetics or house and car keys. The edges are rounded and the tablet is 6.35 mm slim bezel. The device comes in 3 different colors – Leather black, Pearl white and Aurora metallic.

It measures 189.00 x 110.90 x 8.70 (height x width x thickness) and weighs 272.00 grams and so carrying it in a purse or hand bag is easy. It has 3G network compatibility and a high-definition screen with 72% viewing area.

It has multitouch, which means I can use all my 10 fingers together on it. The touch was very good and very responsive. This gives the best gaming experience. It has Android OS but ASUS has slightly customized it as it runs the ZenUI 2015 interface over the top of Android 5.0 lollipop operating system. The UI gives full customization options for full personalization. The ZenUI features 35 of its own apps. Using ZenMotion we can create shortcuts through Touch Gestures to instantly open apps when display is off. For example drawing a ‘c’ with your finger activates the Camera, ‘w’ launches the Browser and ‘e’ takes you to Email.

It was easy for me to fix the audio cover to the ZenPad by removing the original removable back cover. The audio cover can be charged too and has 6 hours battery life. I really loved the audio cover specially while watching recipe videos on YouTube. Thanks to ASUS VisualMaster, watching videos or movies on the ASUS ZenPad 7.0 Z370CG becomes a joy with stunningly detailed images, sharper contrasts and deep rich colors. The audio cover comfortably rests the tablet in portrait mode and you can browse or watch videos even while lying down. With the audio cover the tablet becomes a bit heavy to carry around. I love the audio cover only while watching videos or listening to music in a room. If I am on a move, I prefer carrying the tablet without the cover as I would love to simply blog, make notes and click some pictures which I can share on social media. ASUS ZenPad 7.0 features the world’s first integration of DTS-HD Premium Sound. This creates an immersive cinema-style experience with deep, rich bass.

The ASUS ZenPad 7.0 has Tru2Life technology which can detect different lighting conditions and automatically adjust the display to make it easy to view even when we are outdoors in bright sunlight.

The volume buttons are to the left and on the top there is a 3.5 mm audio jack. The memory card slot is present inside the ZenPad which can be expanded upto 64 GB.

Another thing that I liked is the ASUS Bluelight filter. Since I read a lot, I normally get eye fatigue and my eyes start becoming red. ASUS ZenPad 7.0 combats this by reducing the blue light emission by around 30% without disturbing the rest of color balance. We just need to use the pull down menu and click on Bluelight filter icon to activate it. The colors can be set from cool to warm using ASUS Splendid.

There is a small demonstration which goes on in the beginning, but it is easy to follow and use the tablet even without that demonstration. There is a kid’s mode where you can choose which apps the kid will use on the phone and password protect the rest. You can even set a time limit on their usage. When in Kids Mode, the browser can automatically prevent access to the likes of YouTube, pornography or eBay if these terms are searched for by a child.

The ZenPad has 8-megapixel auto-focus back/main camera and 2 megapixel, large aperture f/2.0 front facing camera. The camera was similar to that of any other popular tablet. I liked the picture quality from the camera in daylight. When I clicked during the night, the image was not very crisp.

You can access the camera, phone and messaging even from the lock screen. The Rear Camera has 15 effects modes to choose from while there are 8 on the Front Camera. These include Low-Light Mode, HDR (for better backlit images); Beautification (to improve portraits by adjusting the softness or brightness of the skin, eye size and cheek width); a Selfie mode with 140 degree Panorama if used with the front camera; Time Lapse; Time Rewind and Smart Remove, which deletes moving objects such as passers-by from the background of your shot. There are many apps on the ZenPad for editing the images.

There is a Mini Movie app where you can select pictures either from the device or from cloud, choose a template, choose background music to accompany the slideshow of images and MiniMovie creates the video for you.

The battery lasts for 8 hours, while browsing, playing games, etc. You can further extend the battery to 14 hours if you are using the protective ASUS power case.

You can make phone calls too by inserting a sim card in the slot beneath the cover. The voice and signal quality was very good.

Connect to your PC to share data or use Remote Link to turn the ASUS ZenPad 7.0 Z370CG into a PowerPoint or Windows Media Player controller.

There is a live 24/7 instant online chat with the support center. The power case and ASUS audio cover are available as bundle or also can be purchased separately as accessories.

Thanks to ASUS for sending me the ZenPad. I have listed only some of the specifications but there are plenty of good features in this tablet.

My  Verdict:
Definitely a good tablet with a great camera and battery in the price range of under Rs.15,000/-
The screen is scratch proof and the touch is very responsive even with gloves on my hands.
The sound quality was great too.
Overall this is a great tablet in the price range.
The addition of ASUS audio cover is a plus point and makes this tablet stand out from the entire range of tablets in the market.

I have started blogging on the go now and definitely as ASUS said it has enhanced my blogging experience. Stay tuned for the review of ASUS ZenFone 2 Laser on my blog.

Note: All the views and opinions expressed in the review are my own. This is not a paid review.