Yesterday, I wrote a post about what may be the cheapest Android tablet currently: SF-M703A. This single core Cortex A8 tablet based on AllWinner A13 could be actually based on the same platform as Q88, one of the best selling tablet from China, and it costs as low as $44. Today, I’ve found out that tablets based on AllWinner A23 dual core Cortex A7 SoC are starting to hit the (virtual) shelf including Q88Pro, aka Q88H, tablets, which sells for as low as $49.88 including shipping, or just $6 more than the single core version.
Today, I’ll compare the specifications between the cheapest single core tablet to the cheapest dual core tablet.
| SF-M703A / Q88 | Q88Pro / Q88H | |
| SoC | AllWinner A13 cortex A8 @ 1.0 GHz with ARM Mali-400 GPU | AllWinner A23 dual core Cortex A7 @ 1.0 GHz with ARM Mali-400MP2 GPU |
| System memory | 512 MB RAM | |
| Storage | 4GB NAND Flash + micro SD card | |
| Display | 7” capacitive touchscreen – Resolution: 800×480 | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n | |
| I/O | mini USB + 3.5mm audio jack | |
| Camera | 0.3MP front camera | 0.3MP front camera, 0.3MP rear camera |
| Sensors | G-Sensor | |
| Battery | 1800 mAh | 2300 mAh |
| Dimensions | 183x120x10mm | 182x121x10mm |
| Weight | 320 g. | 275g. |
| Android Version | Android 4.0.3 | Android 4.2.2 |
| Price (inc. shipping) | $43.99 | $49.88 |
Beside the better CPU and GPU provided by AllWinner A23 compared to AllWinner A13, you’ve got an extra, but IMHO useless, 0.3MP rear camera. and a battery with a larger capacity providing 2 to 3 hours of continuous usage on a charge. The dimensions are basically the same, but the new model appears to be a bit lighter. One important advantage is the upgrade to Android 4.2.2, whereas the AllWinner A13 based tablet is still stuck with Android ICS. This will give an extra performance boost, and access to the new features provided in Android Jelly Bean.
Beside the sellers on Aliexpress, a tablet powered by AllWinner A23 called TR23 is also available on GeekBuying for $53.12 including shipping. It appears to have the exact same specs. Color is different though, because Q88Pro is available in 6 different colors.
As a side note, I’ve noticed a new way Aliexpress sellers game the system. AllWinner A23 is very new, and so are tablets based on the platform, but you’ll find sellers with thousands of positive feedback for these new tablets. These are not reviews made by some ghost accounts, but you’ll find out reviews dated many months back, even before AllWinner A23 was even announced. What they’ve done is to update the title, pictures, and description of a good selling product, namely Q88 Tablet based on AllWinner 13 (See snapshots in reviews), and replace these with the new Q88Pro tablet based on AllWinner A23, in order to leverage existing positive reviews. This is quite disingenuous, as the new product may be utter crap, but people who do not pay attention may wrongly think many people are satisfied with the new product.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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Still no hdmi though 🙁
The first row of table comparison (the tablet names) seems to be left over from the old table?
@rm
Oops. Indeed, I forgot to change that part. Fixed now.
Any recommendations for something similar, except with 1GB RAM and slightly higher screen resolution?
@Nerijus
Colorfly e708 maybe, it’s 90USD, but it has WXGA and Quad Core, too?
i really dont trust allwinner they never have good roms they leave every thing halfe done its all about the money they have no respect or trust for their own name. i amstill waiting for a deascent rom for my cs868 (allwinner a31) even the tablet pc ampe a85 (allwinner a31s) they are all crap i will not buy all-looser product untill i get a 99% positive feedback like the rokchip rk3188 (mk908)
@Nerijus
I can’t really recommend because I’ve never tried, but Pipo S1s for about $80 seem to match your requirements. 1GB, 1024×600 resolution. You can use a parametric search (left column) in Aliexpress.
512MB :s Surely they could have ditched the rear cam and put in 1GB for almost the same cost…
@cnxsoft Good spot on the Aliex vendor trick, one of quite a few, sadly…
@Nerijus
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Gooweel-A90H-9-A23-Dual-core-tablet-pc-5-point-Capacitive-1GB-RAM-8GB-ROM-WIFI/1554414931.html
it might be fraud just be careful it says dhl shipping its too cheap for dhl shipment
XDA released a list with the best tablet and smartphones of 2013 – http://www.xda-developers.com/holiday-guide-2013/holiday-guide-2013-tablets/
No cheap Chinese devices there though, and most prices are over $200.
@cnxsoft
That “Hello and welcome!” shop has lots of tablets at impossible prices (I found them all the time during my searches), they have no feedback at all. Don’t buy from them.
i agree
dont buy from them
@adem
I can’t say that the RK devices I’ve tried were significantly better than Allwinner…
@Someone from the other side
Actually, I think unless there is a Qualcomm or Samsung CPU inside, performance is going to be hit and miss. And a known brandname does not guarantee ongoing support (but lack of it pretty much guarantees absence of support)
every allwinner device i had none worked the way it should of worked tablet or hdmi stick i cannot even find romf for the device ampe a85. although i never had a rockchip tablet i had many tv stick and i never had problems with it. and you cannot compare these two to samsung or snapdragon but then you get what you pay for
For those interested there’s a picture of IPPO Q8H (which looks roughly the same as Q88H) tablet board and current hacking status @ http://linux-sunxi.org/Ippo_q8h
@adem
Well I had one RK3066 stick die on me (wont do anything) and the RK3066 tablet sadly fails to work with HDMI. My A10/A20 boards at least work with HDMI reliably but have other interesting bugs that make them less than suitable for any real use…
I sort of wish someone took the Qualcomm Cortex A7 quad from the MotoG (a seriously smooth phone for a ridiculously low price) and put it into a 100USD TV box with a real wifi antenna. There, problem solved.
Failing that, does anyone have a recommendation for a box that will actually work in 1080p24 in XBMC (internal decoder, no MXPlayer hacks) and has somewhat decent WiFi performance?
@Someone from the other side
Have you tried any AMLogic devices? There are normally better for XBMC support. I’m not sure about 1080p24 support however.
@Someone from the other side
my tv is only 720p but i use mk908 v5 and xbmc ouya 12.2 or 12.3 one of them and everything work sooo good