iRULU X1S 10 Inch Android Tablet Review - Solar Pixels

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iRULU X1S 10 Inch Android Tablet Review

The iRULU X1S Tablet has a 10.1 Inch display and has Android version 5.1 Lollipop pre-installed. With Marshmallow now the talk of the town, this operating system could be considered as rather old for some, but it is still up there with the best of them. And it's very stable, so don't be put off by that.

Wherever you go to buy it will generally cost you around $100 Dollars, which could be considered as relatively cheap, so it competes with other bargain priced Android tablets being sold at the moment. The X1S has a Quad-Core 1.5 GHz MediaTek Processor along with the standard issue 1 GB of DDR3 RAM. There are various models that offer different amounts of storage space. Thankfully, all of them are expandable via a Micro SD card slot. The display itself isn't really that great though because it only has a 1024 x 600 resolution, so that's not a high level of PPI. But, for general everyday tasks, like surfing the Internet, reading a few books on the Kindle App, and watching some clips on Youtube, it will be good enough for most people. 

Comes complete with a mains wall charger, and you can also use the micro USB charger which also doubles up for syncing data with your computer / laptop. You also get a user guide and a free case. The case / cover is excellent. In most instances, the colour you receive is random. Don't expect the supreme quality aluminium finish like what the iPad's and Samsung's are made from. This model is made totally out of a plastic material so it does feel a little bit cheap in the hand. However I will say that it is quite solid in the sense that there are no obvious signs of potential areas of weakness when you're holding it. Nothing is hanging off!

Along the side of the device you have various hands-on controls. A power button, volume control, micro USB, charging connection, 3.5mm headphone jack, micro SD card slot, and a microphone for recording sounds and for skyping. Viewing angles are not be best. Looking in from the sides of the screen you can see the colours start washing out, and saturation does begin to decrease quite rapidly. With that being said, overall it's still a nice, bright screen, so in most conditions, when looking at the screen from straight ahead it is good for the price. Under ambient lighting it is at it's best. It looks quite "high-end", and I would say that the tablet definitely appears to be more expensive than what it can be bought for.



There are stereo speakers situated at the back of the device which, once you are holding it, fingers seem to sometimes cover one of the speakers so the sound can be suppressed. The actual material, or finish of the device seems prone to marks and blemishes. There are dual cameras in the iRULU X1S. One is a pretty low 2 mega pixel rear-facing camera and the other is a meager 0.3 mega pixel camera, mainly used for skype or similar. The bezels are OK and they are there to basically allow you to grip the tablet a slightly more easily without actually making constant contact with the screen.

The RAM is a little bit on the frugal side, and some of the built-in storage will be used up by the operating system, so an external memory card will be a must for most people. The touch screen isn't the most responsive to use. However, it does have multi touch. But you notice that some things take a few seconds to respond. This model has integrated GPS, so if you want to use it for navigational purposes (Sat-Nav etc) you can. Although the device, being a ten inch, is quite over sized for that purpose. Not at all impossible though.

I would say that all in all, even though it's not the best tablet out there, it does handle multitasking reasonably well as long as you're not pushing things too far by opening up a shed load of 3D games and fifty browser tabs at once and then deciding you want to do some heavy multitasking between programs and Apps. Issues like data usage and file storage can be separated. There's also the ability for you to go through and create separate account profiles for guests to use the tablet from fresh so to speak, so it removes, or at least partitions off some of the Apps that you've downloaded, and more importantly, any files you want to keep private etc.

Of course, there is also the benefit of Bluetooth, which allows you to use wireless speakers for listening to music, transferring of files, and watching movies on the move. Wi-Fi is of course present and works fairly well. I've encountered no problems with picking up a strong connection and keeping it.

Google Drive / cloud storage chrome comes as standard for Internet browsing. Some people will prefer this to the usual browser. With Android based tablets you get all the trimmings that are the bench marks of the operating system. It's a great operating system, very easy to use and very capable. And due the fact that millions of people use an Android based Smartphone, most of you will be completely fluent in using a tablet with the same framework / OS. Reviews for this model are quite impressive.

The screen is 10.1", so it's basically a widescreen @ 16:9 aspect ratio. It is pretty good for watching movies and watching clips on Youtube. The battery duration is so-so at around 5 - 6 hours from fully charged. This was under a moderate workload. And it will vary depending on how energy demanding you are. There is no HDMI port with the iRULU X1S. But all things considered, overall, it's not a bad device. However, at this price range there are many good tablets to choose from.

It's crowded out there. Some with IPS screens (In-plane switching), HDMI ports, and better Processors. So if you can pick up an X1S for really cheap, then go for it. If not, take a look around at the many options available and go from there. There are a lot worse tablets out there than this one. But It really depends on what you want to use for. For general usage this one is a good cheap buy. For heavy usage / gaming / developers, look elsewhere.

1 comment:

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