Verdict: While the ZTE Light Tab 2 does offer 3G support, the inferior audio quality and lack of access to Google Play for downloading apps are a real letdown
At first glance, the ZTE Light Tab 2 looks like your average low-cost tablet, running on Android Gingerbread and boasting a neat and chunky black frame. However, there is one issue that really lets it down. More of that later.
Turn on the device and you’ll be greeted by the colourful, rather cartoon-like ZTE Interface, which has been laid over the Android Gingerbread operating system. Under the hood, a 1.4Ghz chip makes sure everything runs well, and there are some really neat transition effects apparent as you browse through the customisable desktops and menus.
It may not boast the best of styling, but the Tab 2 feels good to hold thanks to its soft-touch reverse side; weighing in at 400g it has a chunky body that is sturdy enough to cope with a few knocks. Unusually for a tablet it is possible to prise the whole of the back cover off to get to the battery, which is removable, along with the SIM card port. Yes, you read that right, you can use the tablet for sending texts, making calls and browsing the web, if you have a working SIM card. Or you can use Wi-Fi. Recently, we have only seen one tablet that is 3G-enabled and that’s the Archos 101 G9, which has the option of a dongle.
At the base of the display you’ll find five shortcut buttons, which can be swapped as you see fit, along with a lock screen which offers speedy access to the dialler, text messages and snapper. ZTE has managed to give an enjoyable, nicely designed update to what is now a quite elderly operating system.
On the back of the tablet is a snapper – there is plenty to be tweaked, with the inclusion of ISO balance, saturation and exposure – but it all seems a bit much for a 3MP camera. It is also possible to take video (which comes out rather grainy), but it’s the front-facing snapper that will be of most use, should you wish to make Skype calls.
Onboard storage is minimal, but happily this can be expanded by up to 32Gb thanks to the microSD slot. If you’re watching films. They’ll look pretty good, but unfortunately the sound lets them down – it’s tinny to say the least if you listen through earphones. And obviously using the built-in speakers is not really an option if you’re on the train or bus – unless you’re happy to annoy your fellow travellers.
The online experience is far better – browsing the web proved speedy and smooth – even busy websites loaded quickly and looked good on the seven-inch display. There is no Flash video support in-browser – now normally we’d just say, no problem, just download an iPlayer or 4OD app – but unfortunately there is no access to Google Play.
So you’re going to miss out on the hundreds of thousands of Android games and apps – quite an omission when you’re looking at buying a tablet. There are some apps pre-installed – a take on Frogger for instance – and on our review model we found some of the apps had Chinese text, which made them rather hard to work out. We think that it might be preferable to look at the Tablo 7 inch model, which lacks 3G support but DOES offer access to Google Play – and it is less than half the price of the Light Tab 2.
While we’re impressed by the ZTE Light Tab 2’s build quality, and the fact that it offers the option of 3G browsing, the poor audio and the lack of Google Play access mean that it is hard to recommend unless you’re desperate for a device with 3G web for less than £200.
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Type of phone: |
N/A |
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Style: |
N/A |
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Size: |
202x122x12.6mm |
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Weight: |
402g |
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Display: |
N/A colours |
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Resolution: |
N/A |
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Camera: |
3 megapixels |
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Video recording: |
Yes |
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Video playback: |
Yes |
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Video calling: |
Yes |
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Video streaming: |
Yes |
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Music formats played: |
WAV, MP4, MP3 |
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3.5mm jack port: |
Yes |
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Handsfree speakerphone: |
N/A |
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Voice Control: |
N/A |
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Voice Dialling: |
N/A |
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Call records: |
N/A |
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Phonebook: |
N/A |
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Ringtones customization: |
N/A |
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Display description: |
1024x600 pixels |
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Website: |
ww.clove.co.uk |
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SAR: |
N/A |
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Portfolio: |
N/A |
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Standard color: |
N/A |
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Launch Status: |
N/A |
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Radio: |
Yes |
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Operating system: |
Android |
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Connectivity: |
MicroUSB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth |
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Announced date: |
N/A |
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What's in the Box: |
N/A |
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RAM: |
512MB |
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International launch date: |
N/A |
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Battery life when playing multimedia: |
6 hours video playback |
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CPU: |
1.4GHz Qualcomm chip |
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FM Radio Description: |
N/A |
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Internal memory: |
512MB RAM |
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Memory Card Slot: |
microSD |
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Messaging: |
SMS, Email |
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Internet Browser: |
HTML |
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E-mail client: |
Push email |
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GPS: |
A-GPS |
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Java: |
N/A |
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Games: |
N/A |
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Data speed: |
3G, GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA |
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Frequency: |
N/A |
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Talktime: |
N/A |
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Standby: |
N/A |
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Display size: |
7 inches |
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Keypad: |
N/A |
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Audio recording: |
N/A |
