Review: Gradient Tegra Note 7, the tablet gaming Nvidia – Tecnoblog (Blog)

Nvidia introduced in September 2013 a tablet reference returned for the public gamer equipped with the newly launched Tegra 4, a processor for mobile devices whose main gimmick graphics performance provided by the GPU GeForce 72 cores. Dubbed Tegra Note 7, the tablet was launched by EVGA in the United States and in Australia by Gigabyte. In Brazil, it takes the mark of the gradient.

Tegra Note 7 is exclusively distributed by Gradient in Brazil and it costs 999 reais in Brazilian company’s online store. Is he a good choice for those looking for a high performance tablet with Android? All the details are in the following paragraphs, but I can say yes.

Design and footprint

The tablet from Nvidia, although facing a gamer audience has a relatively conservative design without frills those found in notebooks from Alienware, for example. The only detail that deviates from other tablets is on the back, which has an area with rubberized texture. When holding the tablet in landscape mode, this helps make the texture more comfortable grip.

The frame around the screen is not the finest. Even with a 7-inch display, Tegra Note 7 has dimensions close the tablet from LG with 8.3 inch screen. Although not aesthetically pleasing, this is not a defect: with larger rims, you can hold the tablet comfortably without causing accidental screen taps

At one end of the tablet, there is a hole that keeps the pen. DirectStylus Nvidia to make drawings and handwritten notes. The pen does not work miracles, but it need changes the trait under pressure, has a minimum delay that is not enough to bother and certainly influence the purchase of people wanting to keep handwritten records.

On the other hand, there is a removable rod that hides the hole to insert the Slide Cover , sold separately by the not very attractive price of 145 reais. The operation of the protective cover of the Tegra Note 7 is similar to that of the Smart Cover for iPad: it can be folded in at least two positions, one for leaving the tablet upright, useful for watching videos, and another that lets the tablet parallel the table at a slight angle, making typing.

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Take the rod …

… snap the Slide Cover …

… and voila!

lie …

… or standing.

Maybe by having a symmetrical design and connectors very close, I had enough trouble finding the on / off button and volume control during the two weeks of using the Tegra Note 7: This is the same problem that we have to try USB dock cable and only get the third time. The buttons could be better located.

The buttons are not exactly well-located

Screen

In the United States, the tablet Nvidia competes for price and is selling for $ 199, even less than the Nexus 7, which costs $ 229 value. To save money, it is clear that some component would be affected. Apparently, in the case of the Tegra Note 7, the part most affected by cost cutting was the screen.

As the screen is quite reflective, the picture was washed – black is blacker than this (but could be better)

screen 7-inch Tegra Note 7 has resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels, which results in a setting of 216 pixels per inch below the average. For comparison, G Pad Nexus 8.3 and 7 have screens with a density of 272 ppi and 323 ppi, respectively. Even in normal usage distances, have good eyes can see individual pixels on the screen Tegra Note 7 in certain scenarios, especially when reading text.

But what bothered me most was the quality of the panel. Despite being IPS and has good viewing angles, the Tegra Note 7 displays little saturated colors, which results in images washed: shades of blue and red blue and red are less than they should be. The black, which looks like a dark gray, could be much deeper, and the contrast is just reasonable.

As the brightness is not the highest and the glass covering the panel is very reflective, it is very difficult see the screen Tegra Note 7 in places with enough lighting. And I’m not even referring to the sunshine:. Slightly stronger fluorescent lamps in the environment are enough to interfere with the tablet screen

Software

The first good news for those who abhor poorly optimized interfaces from manufacturers is that the Tegra Note 7 runs an almost pure Android very similar to the Nexus. The few interferences in the Nvidia software merely put the brand partner on the boot screen (in this case, Gradient) and few additional applications to take advantage of the differentials of the tablet:. Potent GPU and pen DirectStylus

TegraZone gives access to games optimized for Nvidia chip

addition to native Android applications and Google package, Tegra Note 7 brings five additional:

• the Tegra Zone games: free games list and paid optimized for Tegra chip 4
• Hitter DirectStylus: opens automatically when taking the DirectStylus hole and list applications defined by the user (by default, displays shortcuts for opening Tegra Draw and Write)
• Tegra Draw: nearly a Microsoft Paint; lets make drawings
• Write: virtual notebook with sheets of lined to manuscripts with DirectStylus
• Zen Pinball HD: game of pinball. There is a demo version (because it is free).

The second good news is that the Tegra Note 7 is constantly being updated by Nvidia. The model I tested came with Android 4.4.2 pre-installed, the latest version of KitKat unavailable. If you do not yet have a Nexus 7 for sale in Brazil, we have a tablet that offers an experience close to that of the Google tablet.

The audio and video players are the standard Google. Here, it is worth noting a positive point: the two speakers emit Tegra Note 7 tall and well defined sound. For a product to be used mainly for gaming and multimedia applications, it is good to know that Nvidia nailed this point.

Hardware and Performance

The absence of major changes in interface or doubtful usefulness factory-installed applications did very well for the hardware. I have not seen too much travadinhas on Android, and switch applications has always been quite fast. Even with 1 GB of RAM, which owns half of the G Pad 8.3, Tegra Note 7 gives a bath in the LG tablet when considering the fluidity factor.

This is just another example of how interference manufacturers of the software, though sometimes result in additional useful features, not infrequently end up worsening the user experience. It is also one of those cases which show in practice that hardware specs do not say hardly anything.

The gaming performance is great. You can play Real Racing 3 , 8 Asphalt : Airborne , Modern Combat 4 and FIFA 14 with great graphics. Dead Trigger 2 runs on Ultra High setting without the slightest sign of choking. Here, the relatively low Tegra Note 7 screen resolution turns out to be a plus:. Less pixels to be processed, the frame rate in games is very good

In the synthetic benchmarks, the Tegra Note 7 got good numbers. The score in HTML5 Vellamo test was affected probably by the new core rendering KitKat:. 5 Nexus smartphone also obtained lower results than competitors with the same hardware level

Camera

The pictures taken by the camera of 5 megapixels Tegra Note 7 are usable, but have a low level of details. Have the front camera is there because it would not be good a tablet come without front camera:. There you can use for video calls, but do not expect a lot of definition, since the resolution is only VGA

The camera application is competent and provides important resources such as ability to change the ISO, HDR capture and put a 3 × 3 grid or until golden ratio on the screen. It’s a shame that he has been so poorly translated: the interface, there are terms like “Tighten zoom”, “cloudy Files” and “Estabelizasão Photo” (sic) (‘) (‘). Google Translate do a much better job than that.

Battery

The 4,100 mAh battery is inside the middle of a 7-inch tablet. Rightfully so, the autonomy is only reasonable and not impress. According to Nvidia, Tegra Note 7 is able to play an HD video for up to 10 hours, but it was clear that this will occur only in fully favorable (and perhaps nonexistent) conditions.

With up to two hours of use per day, running light applications only, the battery should last Tegra Note 7 for a tablet expected: two to three days. Battery consumption while letting the tablet standby is not so high: in six hours, the level fell from 87% to 81%. If the processor is further required, autonomy drops considerably

In the battery test, watched The Godfather. Part II in loop on Netflix with brightness at maximum. All other applications running in the background were closed. The duration was 4 hours and 43 minutes. Not bad, but could be better, especially for a screen that does not have a high gloss.

Negatives

• might have better battery life.
• Screen dull, low saturation and much reflection of light.

Positives

• Speakers with above average quality.
• Good value for money, despite the higher price in Brazil.
• interface without unnecessary modifications and Android updated to the latest version.
• Great performance in use daily and in heavy gaming.

Conclusion

If the intent of Nvidia was to build a good tablet for gaming, the manufacturer could do the job very well. Although the previous Tegra chips have been criticized for promising too much and produce little, Tegra 4 CPU and GPU brings very competent, offering excellent performance, both in daily use as in applications that require more graphics processing.

The Tegra Note 7 has some negatives, like the screen, but the set is fairly balanced. The speakers are great, the almost pure Android collaborates with the fluidity of the tablet and the pen will be an interesting additional DirectStylus for several people. As the price in the U.S. is only $ 199, it could cost less than 999 reais charged in Brazil, but the value is as expected for Brazilian standards.

If you are looking for an Android tablet Finished top, prioritizes quality of the screen and do not mind occasional travadinhas (or do not mind venturing into an alternate ROM), G Pad 8.3 will be a better option: despite having been released for a higher price than the Tegra Note 7, the tablet from LG can now be found in promotions for about 800 or 900 dollars.

For the target audience of Tegra Note 7, therefore the tablet from Nvidia will be a good buy. For the rest, it is still hard to beat the cost-benefit of the LG G Pad 8.3

Technical Specs

• Battery:.. 4,100 mAh
• Camera:. 5 megapixel (rear) and VGA (front)
• Connectivity. 802.11n Wi-Fi, GPS, GLONASS and Bluetooth 4.0
• Dimensions: 190 x 120 x 9 . 4mm
• GPU: GeForce 72 cores
• Kit contains:.. Gradient tablet Tegra Note 7, DirectStylus pen, USB cable, charger, standards and guide user manual
• Internal Memory: 16 GB (12 GB user-available)
• External Memory:.. microSD card support up to 32GB
• RAM: 1 . GB
• . Weight: 320 grams
• Platform. KitKat Android 4.4.2
• Processor: Quad-core Nvidia Tegra 4 with nuclei Cortex-A15 1.8 GHz
• Sensors:. accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, lighting
• Screen:. 7-inch IPS LCD with resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels