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PocketBook SURFpad 2 review

The PocketBook SurfPad 2 tablet PC is a very successful improvement of the PocketBook SurfPad model. The device, which will be discussed in this review, has a lot of advantages and has undergone very significant changes in comparison with its predecessor. It is worth considering at least the fact that the new model received an IPS display instead of the TN-Film matrix used in the PocketBook SurfPad.

To learn more about all the technical characteristics and functionality of PocketBook SurfPad 2, this review will help you.

# Equipment

The device comes with a network memory, a cable (USB-micro-USB), a quick start guide and a warranty card.

# Appearance

The device has a monolithic plastic body. The screen is protected by glass.

The monitored device is available in three color options for the body - gray, red and indigo.

The central part of the front panel of the PocketBook SurfPad 2 case is occupied by the display. Above it, a 0.3-megapixel camera is provided, and stereo speakers (0.5 W each) are provided on the left and right below.

All connectors are located on the right side face. So, in this part of the structure there is a micro-USB connector, as well as a 3.5 mm audio output and a slot for a microSD-format memory card. In addition, an LED indicator is provided at the top on the right side edge of the PocketBook SurfPad 2 case.

The only mechanical controls (on / off keys for the device and volume control) are located on the upper end of the reviewed tablet.

PocketBook SurfPad 2 has the following dimensions (HxWxT): 121x194x9.9 mm. The weight of this tablet is 300 g.

# Display

The manufacturer has equipped PocketBook SurfPad 2 with an excellent IPS screen. The brightness, contrast, viewing angles and sensitivity of the display are commendable.

The screen resolution of this tablet is 1280x800 pixels. The display, of course, is touch-sensitive and supports "Multitouch" technology. The screen recognizes the following multitouch gestures: "Tap", "Long touch", "Swipe", "Drag", "Pinch", "Light slide".

The diagonal of the display is 7 inches.

The brightness can be adjusted both automatically and manually.

# Platform and communications

PocketBook SurfPad 2 is equipped with a Rockchip 3066 (Cortex A9) dual-core processor with a clock frequency of 1.5 GHz. The amount of RAM of the reviewed tablet is 1 GB. The device uses the Mali-400 MP graphics accelerator.

As for the built-in memory, its volume is 8 GB. A little over 6 GB is available to the user. The user is given the opportunity to install a microSD / microSDHC / microSDXC memory card. According to official data, its maximum volume is 2 TB.

The device is equipped with a Wi-Fi (802.11 b / g / n) module.

# Battery

PocketBook SurfPad 2 is equipped with a non-removable lithium-polymer battery. The battery capacity is 4000 mAh. According to the manufacturer, a full charge of the SurfPad 2 battery will last for 6 hours of video playback. In reality, everything is exactly the same. A full battery charge lasts on average 5.5-6 hours of active use of PocketBook SurfPad 2.

You can charge the device either through a connection to a PC or using a wall charger. It takes about 8 hours to fully charge the battery.

# Interface

PocketBook SurfPad 2 runs on Android Jelly Bean operating system (platform 4.1.1).

The device uses the standard shell of this OS version. The only addition can be considered only a few pre-installed applications, which will be discussed a little later.

The lock screen displays an unlock item that allows you to unlock the display, navigate to the Camera app, or go to Google's search service. In addition, time information is displayed on this interface element. The date (day of the week, month and day) is displayed under the clock, as well as data on the battery charging process. At the top of the lock screen is the status and notification bar. The same line is also displayed when viewing desktops, in menus and in some applications.SurfPad 2 is easier to work with when the screen is horizontally oriented. On the left, by default, the search bar "Google" is displayed, and on the right is a virtual bar that allows you to navigate to the device menu and to specific applications (for example, "Calendar", "Calculator", etc.). Another panel appears at the bottom of the screen. It contains three virtual keys (Back, Home, Open Applications) and an Application / Section Menu button.

In the central part of each of the desktops, shortcuts to programs and widgets are displayed. The size of the latter can be changed by the user at his discretion. As for the number of desktops, the default is five.

In most sections and programs, the user is given the opportunity to work with two types of menus - the application menu (or section) and the context menu. The latter can be called up by long pressing on the object. Note that the section / application menu is not available in all programs.

The main menu of PocketBook SurfPad 2 is divided into two tabs - "Widgets" and "Applications". The icons in the latter are displayed in a 3x8 grid. Scrolling through the working areas of the device menu is very smooth without any freezes.

Special attention should be paid to the on-screen keyboard of the reviewed tablet. It is quite comfortable. The keys are large and reasonably spaced among themselves.

# Applications

Before talking about the preinstalled programs, I will list all the formats that the reviewed tablet recognizes. The device recognizes JPEG, PNG, GIF and BMP images.

PocketBook SurfPad 2 supports playback of the following video file formats: AVI, MP4, FLV, MKV, 3GP, MOV, WEBM, MPEG-4 SP, WMV, MPG, divX, Xvid, MPEG-4, WMV 9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 , H.263, H.264, VC1, ASP.

The unit recognizes MP3, WMA and AAC audio files.

PocketBook SurfPad 2 supports the following text formats: FB2, TXT, EPUB, DOC, RTF, PDF, CHM, HTML, PML, TCR.

The following applications are preinstalled in the device memory: "Browser", "Calendar", "Calculator", "Clock", "Camera", "Downloads", "E-mail", "Contacts", "Gallery", "Search", " Settings "," Music "," Diary ".

It is also worth noting the presence of such programs as "File Manager", "CoolReader", "Book Store", "IM +", "Vkontakte", "Mail.ru Agent", "Odnoklassniki", "Gismeteo", "SPB TV", Vesti, MX Player, Megogo, AndroidPit, Tux Rider, Ivi, Ark MC and LearnEnglish. In the memory of the device are preinstalled proprietary programs from "Yandex" - "Yandex.Poisk", "Yandex.Pogoda", "Yandex.Store" and "Yandex.Maps".

Let's take a closer look at some of the applications of the PocketBook SurfPad 2 tablet.

The Gallery program is designed for viewing and managing video and photo files. Using the menu of this application, the user can rotate, delete, crop the picture, set it as a contact's avatar or desktop background, as well as apply various photo effects. Although this application is intended for watching videos, in my opinion, using the "MX Player", for example, watching movies is more comfortable due to its user-friendly interface. The MX Player menu contains items that allow you to customize video playback, subtitle display, screen layout and other parameters.

The "Camera" application has two modes - "Camcorder" and "Camera". The interface of this program is standard for this Android platform. The user is given the opportunity to adjust the white balance, photo and video size, video slowdown and other parameters.

Special attention should be paid to the "ArkMC" application. This program allows you to share and manage files over a Wi-Fi connection, as well as watch streaming video. Note that with the help of this application the PocketBook SurfPad 2 tablet interacts only with devices that support DLNA / UPnP technologies. For this program to work, of course, a Wi-Fi connection is required. After enabling this module, the application will automatically search for compatible devices on the network. The results are sorted (also in automatic mode) to receivers (TV, media center, remote speakers, video / audio receivers) and servers (laptop, PC, netbook, telephone). To select a file for viewing, just open the server and click on its name in the library.After that, the display will show a list of devices on which you can watch, for example, a movie.

The video player of the "ArkMC" application has a simple and intuitive interface. The screen displays the following controls: Back, Stop, Play / Pause, Forward, scroll bars, and volume controls.

The Diary application allows you to conveniently organize, for example, the schedule of classes or events.

The "SPB TV" program provides the PocketBook SurfPad 2 user with the opportunity to watch most of the popular TV channels online.

The Megogo and Ivi apps are convenient online cinemas.

The Kingsoft Office Multilang program is a fairly convenient tool for viewing and editing various text files. The application supports multiple reading modes and has a built-in file manager. It is worth noting that "Kingsoft Office Multilang" provides the PocketBook SurfPad 2 user with the ability to view and edit 23 text file formats (including documents with the extensions .doc, .docx, .txt, .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .xls, .xlsx). In addition, this application supports cloud storage (for example, "Dropbox").

# Settings

Using the Settings application, the user can personalize the device. In addition, this program allows you to manage network connections, adjust sound and other parameters.

The interface of the "Settings" application consists of the following sections: "Wireless networks", "Device", "Personal data", "Accounts", "System".

Using the items in the "Wireless networks" section, you can configure data transmission, the operation of the Wi-Fi module, and so on.

The user of PocketBook SurfPad 2 is given the opportunity to change the sound and screen settings. These parameters are displayed in the "Device" section. In the "HDMI" tab, you can configure the interface for high-definition video files when connected using an HDMI cable (resolutions from 720x480 pixels to 1920x1080 pixels with a sync frequency of 50-60 Hz are supported). In the "Display" tab, the user can change the following parameters: "Brightness", "Font size", "Sleep mode", "Wallpaper". As for the sound settings, the device provides the ability to adjust the volume levels (notification, alarm, etc.) and select the notification sound. User can also activate / deactivate display lock sounds and screen tapping sounds.

The "Memory" tab displays data on the amount of occupied and free memory on the main (ROM) and additional (memory card) drives.

The item "Battery" in the "Device" section provides information about the battery charge level, as well as the operating mode of the device ("Charging" or offline mode). In addition, the display shows data (in percent) about which of the applications used up which amount of energy.

In the "Applications" tab, the user can not only get acquainted with the detailed information about the application, but also stop it (of course, if it is currently running), erase the data or completely delete it.

The Personal Information section includes the Restore & Reset, Language & Input, Security, and My Location tabs. The last two contain items that allow you to configure parameters such as encryption, administrators and passwords, displaying information about the owner of the device, options for locking and unlocking the display and, of course, determining the location by network coordinates.

The contents of the "Language and Input" tab (namely, the subsections "Language" and "Keyboard and Input Methods") allows the user to select the system language, activate / deactivate the spell check function, edit / add words to speed up text input.

The PocketBook SurfPad 2 user is given the opportunity to install additional keyboards. The default Android 4.1.1 keyboard is used. The user can customize the settings for "Key Sound", "Auto Caption", "Auto Correction" and others.

# Conclusion

PocketBook SurfPad 2 is one of the best low-cost 7-inch tablets available today.

The advantages of this device:

  • low cost;
  • excellent IPS-screen with viewing angles close to 180 degrees;
  • good system speed;
  • excellent ergonomics;
  • attractive body color options;
  • the ability to install a memory card up to 2 TB;
  • capacious battery.
  • There is only one drawback of this device - it is the lack of GPS and Bluetooth modules.

    PocketBook SurfPad 2 competitors include the following tablets: Asus FonePad ME371MG, Impression ImPAD 8213, Ainol Novo 7 Venus, TeXet TM-7043XD, Pipo U1 Pro, Ergo Tab Venus, Hyundai T7, Iconbit NetTAB MATRIX HD.

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