Micromax Funbook Pro Initial Impressions

maxms

Disciple
Micromax funbook pro P500 10 inch ,8GB andriod ICS tablet.

1funbook.jpg

In-laws laptop gone bad with estimated repair costing a so high..getting a new was decision and responsibility came to me to search for replacement.funbook pro launched at right time and seeing their usager (ocassional mail and FB and spider solitaire :) ) this looked to be a good option

Initial impressions are good at this price point.If one is looking for a low priced tablet At 7 inch lot of options are available but if you are looking for 10 inchers there is only one.
Some of my initial observations and impressions are below. I have not used any other tablet and to compare have only my wife's year old htc desire s .
not going into technical specifications as same are easily available elsewhere.

1. Size ... much more real estate is availabe on 10 inch than 7 inch though on paper its only 3 inch..the difference between 7 and 10 inch tablets is visibaly much huge..

2. Clarity ..just ok in funbook...desire s though much smaller has much better clarity while viewing.Screen also is dull in default setting :yawn: ,bumping up brighness to max brought some life to it.

3. Available storage... box says 8 GB but actual storage available for users is (1.5 +5.3 GB).Have put in 8GB microsd card and its was recognized instantly.4 gb Fat formatted pen drive also worked fine. will check with higher capacity PD and HDD.

4. Build Quality : decent build quality. looks and feels sturdy. only physical buttons are on/off switch, volume buttons and a back button on sides. no physical buttons on front panel as in 7 inch funbook. like it this way

5. Apps..pre installed apps are ok., a micromax market app is also available for downloading apps..but with play store pre installed who needs it :)

6. Battery life.. didn't tested extensively it but with normal usage looks it would go good for at least few hours.

7 Interface... nothing great, plane jane (comparing with desire s , now i know why so much fuss for HTC sense interface..its really a class apart :) before funbook didn't have a comparison criteria).

8. Touch...touch works fine. though not as responsive as htc but not bad either. being better can also be due to bigger size of touch area.

9.Usage .. Gmail app is much better and more usble on big screen..Downloaded dolphin browser, facebook app, indian rail, Advanced task killer, battery widget ...all working fine..big screen has its benefits, but i feel there is still shortage of good widgets to use big screen size :(

10. Gaming ...not much of a gamer on android...will try to play some like angy birds and post impressions.

11. Connectivity ...connected to Wifi without any problem..not have any USB dongle currenty so did not test it. As per offer with Photon have to pay 500 bucks for activation and will get 1 GB additional for first 2 months.
12. In the box...a travel charger( very local looking ), a micro usb to USB female cable, a micro usb to USB male cable, some booklets thats all :unsure:.

13. Packaging...decent rectangular cardboard box..nothing unusual like 7inch one packing.

41. Accessories availability...got a cover in free kit but search for screenguard is still on :(, could not find it any where. let me know if you come across one.

Overall good for normal usage if your requirement and expectations are not too high. and also considering that next 10 inch tablets are around 2.5-3 times higher.
This device will be with me for another couple of weeks before handing over, so you guys require check anything else, please let know.

Cost : got it for 9999 bucks from Croma. also thrown free in was a tablet kit containing a cover, screen cleaning kit, a pen and a earphone.
 
WOW man thanks!!
i am on to buying one myself and was desperately looking for other peoples opinion..

great review, if you could find time, could you please comment on the following..

1) for the pendrive is only fat format supported? what about ntfs?

2) is there a limit to the max size of external storage?? i mean can one connect a external 1tb drive?

3)how is the surfing experince? page loading speed?

4) how fast does the youtube videos load?
(i know its connection specific, but just wanted to know at a given connection, as compared to a laptop/desktop is there any considerable lag)

5) any idea if a hdmi-av cable can connect this tab to an old crt tv?

6) does it support bluetooth?

7) andriod specific question :- can you install the applications on the microsd, keeping the internal memory free?

8) croma specific :- how is the after sales policy of croma? this is the first time i am buying from micromax and am very very skeptical :(


Sorry for bothering so much....appreciate your help :)
 
@khaleelda1... Thanks man...right now in office ...will check on above and will try to post back by today once rech home..
no probelm...even I will get to know more about it :happy26:
 
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WOW man thanks!!
i am on to buying one myself and was desperately looking for other peoples opinion..

great review, if you could find time, could you please comment on the following..
:)

Hi @khaleelda1 ..please find below

1) for the pendrive is only fat format supported? what about ntfs?
yes NTFS supported.checked with 32 GB NTFS formatted drive also which got recognized fine :).


2) is there a limit to the max size of external storage?? i mean can one connect a external 1tb drive?
On connecting 1TB portable external HDD light of HDD is blinking but it is not getting detected. Can be due to usb host not able to provide adequate power. Do not have external powered HDD so cannot confirm on that :unsure:..though pendrive till 32 GB worked fine.
Also checked device by connecting to laptop as storage device which worked fine.


3)how is the surfing experince? page loading speed?
Surfing experiance is good.Web pages load at good speed. This is with dolphin browser, not used stock browser pre-installed.Checked with with 256 kbps connection(I hate FUP :annoyed:) over Wifi.


4) how fast does the youtube videos load?
(i know its connection specific, but just wanted to know at a given connection, as compared to a laptop/desktop is there any considerable lag)
You tube work at decent speed. did not observed any considerable lag compared to laptop :happy26:

One thing to consider (for 3 and 4) is that funbook has only b/g WiFi no 'n' :(


5) any idea if a hdmi-av cable can connect this tab to an old crt tv?
No idea.do have have this cable.


6) does it support bluetooth?
No bluetooth.


7) andriod specific question :- can you install the applications on the microsd, keeping the internal memory free?
yes..moved some apps which had option of move to SD :)


8) croma specific :- how is the after sales policy of croma? this is the first time i am buying from micromax and am very very skeptical.
No much idea. What ever I puchased from Croma till either is working fine or I lost receipt/interest to get it repaired. However when I buyed an external HDD from them nd enquired about warrenty calims, the sales guy said that I can approach croma for in case of any issue and they can also take care of it, but for some other item they said to contact service centre directly.
Better idea would be to check with them at times of purchasing. btw after paying bill they opened and checked if device is working fine and all accessories are there before delivering.:happy26:
 
Thanks @maxms !!
looks like there is nothing left for me, but to actually go out and buy one..

thanks again for your patient comments!!

njoy!
 
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@maxms - A few questions mate.

I am interested getting one of these for casual use.

Could you please answer a few questions for me -

- I plan to use it read pdf files which should not be an issue but also a few comics that I have in cbr and cbz formats. Can you recommend a good free app for that?
- Don't want to do any heavy gaming but some would be nice. Can a 360 controller (or a basic gamepad) be connected to the device and used to play games especially emulators like gba,nes,snes etc.,
 
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Is there GPS support ? If yes did u check Howz the Google maps performance ?

It does not have proper GPS. Google maps perform decently on connecting with net and location is quite accurate.

maxms - A few questions mate.

I am interested getting one of these for casual use.

Could you please answer a few questions for me -

- I plan to use it read pdf files which should not be an issue but also a few comics that I have in cbr and cbz formats. Can you recommend a good free app for that?
- Don't want to do any heavy gaming but some would be nice. Can a 360 controller (or a basic gamepad) be connected to the device and used to play games especially emulators like gba,nes,snes etc.,

-reading pdf is no issue at all and also adobe reader is pre-installed. no idea about cbr or cbz format. never read those but there should be some apps available on play store. Think this should be general to all Android devices rather than specific to funbook. Android Gurus may help .
-Normal touch screen gaming works fine. Do not have gaming controller with me so will not be able to check if those get connected :(. but again this should be general to all Android devices rather than specific to funbook.
 
@maxms - Thanks for replying.

cbr and cbz files are nothing but rar and zip file respectively containing images.

I guess both my questions are related to Android but I asked them here because I saw a review by iGyaan in which he mentioned not all apps are supported on the device because of it's resolution which makes me a bit nervous.
 
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