Tecno Phantom Pad (N9): Tecno's tablet phone

TECNO PHANTOM PAD (N9)

COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

The Phantom Pad is a 1.2Gz Quadcore, Android 4.2 powered, 8-inch, budget tablet recently released by Tecno, which gives other tablet makers a run for their money. This is Tecno’s first foray into tablet territory, and frankly, it is an impressive first effort! So how does this tablet fare, from a user point of view? Lets roll.

DIMENSION

The Phantom Pad measures 204x154x99mm and is sleek and slim. The review model is white and the build quality is simply superb; no squeaky edges or creaky plastic. It’s firm and sturdy to the hand and doesn’t seem fragile.

The front of the tablet is home to the earpiece, a front facing 2.0Mp camera, and of course, the 8-inch screen. No fancy Tecno logos or sexy lettering here, unless you should choose to carve your name and initials there. On the left side of the tablet you find…nothing, no physical buttons whatsoever. Should you choose to look to the right side you will be delighted to find your volume rocker button and the enclosed slots for your sim card and memory card. A microphone Hole is also located just above the volume rocker.

On the back, you discover the 5Mp camera right at the very top; a little hole which is the reset button; the speaker grill; and finally, the Tecno branding. At the very top is the all too familiar 3.5mm earphone hole, the mini-usb port, and the power/lock button.

It’s a minimalistic design, one that removes the hassle of searching for your buttons and ports, because there are so few of them, hahaha.

DISPLAY

The phantom Pad is graced by an impressive 8-inch screen with a resolution of 1024x768, which we are told is HD.

Personally I don’t fault the display. It’s got detail and images appear really sharp and colours look natural but it takes a back seat to the Phantom A’s HD screen. Colours are not as punchy and vibrant and legibility under sunlight could be an issue. Perhaps this could be due to the much larger screen, but to be frank, I have seen much poorer HD screens. The Screen is very responsive to the lightest of touches and is multitouch compatible; I know because my wife uses all five fingers to play Fruit Ninja and beats me all the time. Be informed that though the screen doesn’t scratch easily, it will be wise to invest in a screen protector, or carry it around in the included pouch, which Tecno was considerate enough to provide, as this is not protected by a Gorilla Glass.

PERFORMANCE

The Phantom Pad is really fast and responsive, thanks to the Quadcore chip stewing under the hood. It is not laggy and thus far I have never experienced any forced shutdown issues; bottom line it is a very stable device. Even when heavily multitasking it rolls along nicely despite the ONLY 1GB ram. The android 4.2 interface is pleasing to the eye and really smooth

. One important fact: this device seems to run the stock android OS which is good news for people who detest manufacturers’ bloat ware that occupy valuable space on our menus. So it’s yours to tweak and customise as you choose…..at your risk. Application load times are impressive and you hardly experience app compatibility issues. Thanks to Google play, there is so much you can do and enjoy here and space isn’t going be much of an issue as it comes with 16GB storage space with the option to expand with a memory card, up to 32 GB. The tablet can make and receive calls, and that includes video calls, though you are advised to get a Bluetooth headset if you intend to receive calls on this 8-inch device. You shouldn’t be lifting this big device to your ears unless you desire some public attention. Browsing on this device is a pleasure with 3G enabled and with the variety of browsers available at Google Play you won’t be disappointed. Games are a joy to play on the massive screen and are well rendered and you could easily lose hours in your favourite games here. Impressively, you do not need to shut down your this device to swap sims. It instantly recognises and registers your sim to the network.

CAMERA

Top quality photos have never really been the forte of tablets –leave that to the smartphones and dedicated digital cameras- and the Phantom pad is not an exception. Photos are OK in excellent shooting conditions with the 5MP primary camera. It doesn't do so well in low light conditions, though.

There is no flash, so forget about shooting at night, except you have a torchlight to assist. In any case, people don’t usually buy 8-inch tablets because they want to turn professional photographers. You can have that portrait of you hugging the neighbour’s cat (for animal lovers) with the 2.0MP front camera quite easily and there’s a plethora of camera and photo editing apps available at Google Play Store for your photographic delight.

MEDIA

If you are an audiophile, I bet you won’t be disappointed. The Phantom Pad does an excellent job of reinventing your enjoyment of music courtesy of the stock android music player that is complete with graphical equalisers and bass booster, and it comes packaged with a really good pair of ‘thumping’ headsets.

Excellent job Tecno! Of course, there are options in the Google play store for your listening bliss. Watching movies with the Phantom Pad is a joy with the 8-inch screen especially if you have been watching your movies on your nokia torch phone (Lol) or black and white TV.

The HD screen really shines when you engage it with movies. This device has got radio as well, if you want to listen to your favourite program on the road, and you can record as well for later listening or archiving. The least said about games the better. Bottom-line, it’s a very capable device for playing those console-quality games.

BATTERY

The 4500mAh capacity, non-removable battery is decent, lasting as long as a full day for light usage, like checking mails, light browsing etc.; even with 3G constantly on. For heavy users, expect at least 6 hours of use, which isn’t really bad. IMPORTANT NOTE: This device is a SLOW charger, which might be frustrating if you are want to top up your juice fast in little time. You preferably charge overnight. You might want to download some power management apps on Google Play to aid maximal enjoyment.

VERDICT

For the price, this is a very decent offering. I suggest you go for it if you want a tablet and you have kids’ school fees to consider. Or you want to gift someone a tablet, like me. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of higher end, pricier tablet offerings, but it more than gets the job done. It certainly holds its own. I recommend this in good faith. It’s got a quad core chip, runs a very current android OS, got Wifi hotspot, mobile internet on 3G, dual cameras, 8-inch (HD) screen, radio plus a 12+1 months warrant from Tecno. It’s a good deal.

Thanks for taking your time to visit and read this review, and I thank me for staying up at night to write this. I stand to be corrected on anything, so please feel free to poke me in the ribs. God bless us all.