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I know this will be a bit hidden in this MTK6589 backwater of Slatedroid, so I will cross-link from the RK3188 Chuwi forum.
Took delivery of this new version of Chuwi's v88 tablet a couple of days ago that's based on a different processor to the rest and, so far I'm really, really impressed. It cost around £100 plus £20 for fast delivery to the UK with fees+taxes. I reckon that's at least half the price of a 3G-capable 8in ipad mini form factor tablet from a bigger brand.
What's interesting is that while this is significantly less powerful than my original v88 (which has a cracked screen and dies intermittently after being dropped a few months ago), it runs extremely well. I believe the stock Adroid 4.2.1 firmware on this, for the MTK quad-core processor is really nicely done. The original v88 I have has 2GB RAM and the RK3188 processor runs at 1.6GHz - I believe - compared to 1.2GHz for the MTK6589 which also only sports 1GB RAM. As a result while I have seen Antutu scores of over 17,000 for the original v88, scores I've seen published for the v88 3G model are under 13,000 (I've not tested yet). But, as I say this runs very smoothly and solidly and I've yet to have any apps struggle (and BBC iPlayer does work).
It is, however, as thin and light as the original, if not lighter, and has a similarly beautiful IPS screen. The build is better. The back is still aluminium - but I suspect rather than solid in the original is coated plastic. Gone is the annoying sharp edge of the original. And the memory card now fits inside, in a compartment alongside the micro-SIM.
The other bugbear I had with the original - fond of it as I was - was the poor wifi, like many China-tabs. This seems a good deal better on the 3G version, I suspect due to the plastic window on the back, which I assume is there primarily to support the 3G antenna.
Unfortunately, the 3G performance is not stella, although in theory it should support very high-speeds since it is HPSA+ capable. With the same SIM in my mifi device I was getting speeds up to 10mbit/sec. But the best I've seen on the tablet (with a signal reported as H+) is around 3mbit/sec and it is more typically 1mbit. Still, I've found it quite usable and its nice not to have to keep charged and lug around another gadget.
HDMI is sadly missing - but has turned out to be very little used on all the other tabs I have. So, I doubt I will miss it.
It does charge via the microUSB socket - indeed it doesn't have a dedicated DC-in part.
So, in short - build wise: an improvement on an already good original; and the spec-shaving to keep the price down while including 3G has had minimal impact given the quality of the firmware. This is probably my favourite (of many) Android tabs I've bought yet and look forward to touting it with me everywhere.
Took delivery of this new version of Chuwi's v88 tablet a couple of days ago that's based on a different processor to the rest and, so far I'm really, really impressed. It cost around £100 plus £20 for fast delivery to the UK with fees+taxes. I reckon that's at least half the price of a 3G-capable 8in ipad mini form factor tablet from a bigger brand.
What's interesting is that while this is significantly less powerful than my original v88 (which has a cracked screen and dies intermittently after being dropped a few months ago), it runs extremely well. I believe the stock Adroid 4.2.1 firmware on this, for the MTK quad-core processor is really nicely done. The original v88 I have has 2GB RAM and the RK3188 processor runs at 1.6GHz - I believe - compared to 1.2GHz for the MTK6589 which also only sports 1GB RAM. As a result while I have seen Antutu scores of over 17,000 for the original v88, scores I've seen published for the v88 3G model are under 13,000 (I've not tested yet). But, as I say this runs very smoothly and solidly and I've yet to have any apps struggle (and BBC iPlayer does work).
It is, however, as thin and light as the original, if not lighter, and has a similarly beautiful IPS screen. The build is better. The back is still aluminium - but I suspect rather than solid in the original is coated plastic. Gone is the annoying sharp edge of the original. And the memory card now fits inside, in a compartment alongside the micro-SIM.
The other bugbear I had with the original - fond of it as I was - was the poor wifi, like many China-tabs. This seems a good deal better on the 3G version, I suspect due to the plastic window on the back, which I assume is there primarily to support the 3G antenna.
Unfortunately, the 3G performance is not stella, although in theory it should support very high-speeds since it is HPSA+ capable. With the same SIM in my mifi device I was getting speeds up to 10mbit/sec. But the best I've seen on the tablet (with a signal reported as H+) is around 3mbit/sec and it is more typically 1mbit. Still, I've found it quite usable and its nice not to have to keep charged and lug around another gadget.
HDMI is sadly missing - but has turned out to be very little used on all the other tabs I have. So, I doubt I will miss it.
It does charge via the microUSB socket - indeed it doesn't have a dedicated DC-in part.
So, in short - build wise: an improvement on an already good original; and the spec-shaving to keep the price down while including 3G has had minimal impact given the quality of the firmware. This is probably my favourite (of many) Android tabs I've bought yet and look forward to touting it with me everywhere.
Or screenshots of another tests, Antutu...
