The Advent Vega is a tablet that won’t break the bank: priced at just £250, the Android 2.2 powered 10-incher aimed at people who might not otherwise invest in a tablet. We gave our opinion last week in our own Advent Vega review, but what do the other tech outlets make of it? Read on and we’ll tell you.
We’ve brought together opinions from three top tech review sites to give you an overview of the general opinion on the Advent Vega.
Despite its bargain basement (well, ish) price tag, the Advent Vega doesn’t look like a piece of cheap tat. Expert Reviews says there is “very little evidence” that corners have been cut to keep production costs low, although it does concede that the largely plastic construction means it lacks the reassuring heft and sturdiness of the iPad.
On the general design front, TechRadar takes issue with the Advent Vega’s lack of a Home button, calling it “unforgiveable” and saying it “goes a long way towards destroying the Android experience” because it often leaves you confused about how to quit an app and return to the home screen. It also calls the top buttons (Power, Back and orientation) “totally infuriating”.
PC Pro found the capacitive touchscreen less responsive towards the edges than in the middle. In terms of picture quality, the review pointed out the brightness, colour balance and sharpness were all fine, but viewing angles “fall off dramatically” once your head moves out of the optimum zone.
PC Pro also mentions that the HDMI output means you can watch HD videos easily on an external TV or projector, and that the Advent Vega’s Tegra 250 CPU is capable of decoding HD movies without juddering.
Web browsing on the Advent Vega comes in for big praise from TechRadar – in fact, it describes it as its “saving grace”. It’s easy to navigate around web pages, and there’s Flash support – although as PC Pro points out, the browser doesn’t load Flash content by default, which helps pages to load more quickly and conserve battery power.
Android Market doesn’t come installed by default, but Expert Reviews are happy enough with the fact that you can mod it in via a free download from MoDaCo. Without this workaround, they say, they simply couldn’t recommend the Advent Vega.
The reviews mention that there’s no 3G or GPS, and just 512MB of built-in memory – although that’s bolstered by a 4GB microSD card.
TechRadar calls the built-in speakers “probably the best we’ve seen on a device of this type” but then describes the 1.3MP front-facing camera as “absolutely shocking and totally unworthy of inclusion”, saying it’s difficult to recognise yourself in photos!
Expert Reviews is generally positive about the Advent Vega, but cautions you to install the Android Market mod. PC Pro says it’s really only worth buying only for those on a budget, while TechRadar says it’s a “fairly accomplished touchscreen internet device” but can’t be considered a fully fledged Android tablet.
TechRadar Advent Vega review score 3.5/5
Expert Reviews Advent Vega review score 4/5
PC Pro Advent Vega review score 4/6
