GoClever Tab R974 review

The Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD may have brought the price of 7in tablets crashing down, but if you want a 10in model there are still no big-brand budget options. GoClever has managed to bring the Tab R974 in for over £100 less than most 10in models, but it still looks impressive on paper. The tablet has the 9.7in, 1,024×768 display from the iPad 2 and runs the bang-up-to-date Android 4.1 Jelly Bean operating system.

GoClever hasn’t exactly been adventurous with design – the Tab R974 looks like a generic plain tablet from almost every angle, even if the silver finish on the rear sets it apart slightly from other budget models. At 10mm thick and weighing just 660g it’s comfortable enough to hold, but hardly the epitome of style. The back panel flexes visibly under pressure and creaks ominously, too.

Apart from the volume controls, which are on the top edge of the tablet, all the ports and the power button are on the left side. There’s a reasonable selection, including a Mini HDMI video output, Micro USB port, microSD card slot for up to 32GB cards and a 3.5mm audio jack. The proprietary charging port can also be found here – you can’t charge the tablet over USB, so you’ll need to take the power brick with you if you want to take the tablet on the move. Naturally the tablet has integrated Wi-Fi, but there’s no built-in Bluetooth.

There’s a 2-megapixel camera at the front and rear of the tablet, but the tiny sensors take disappointing photos and certainly won’t replace a modern smartphone or point-and-shoot camera – there’s a distinct lack of detail and they struggle with exposure in bright light. The cameras can also record short video clips, but the quality is simply awful.

As it has the same display panel as the Apple iPad 2 , it’s safe to say that the Tab R974’s operating system looks good. Colours are vibrant and text is easy to read, although when you sit the tablet next to a Nexus 7 you realise the tablet has a relatively low pixel density for a modern tablet. When compared to the Nexus 10 or new iPad there’s a world of difference, but this is still by no means a bad display for a budget tablet. Viewing angles are up to the usual excellent standards of IPS panels and although the glossy finish can make light reflections a little troublesome, we still had no problem seeing what was onscreen. Sound quality was much more disappointing, as the two 1w speakers produce weedy audio that sounds tinny at maximum volume. You can’t turn it up that high either, so you’ll definitely want headphones for watching video or playing games.

The tablet is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz RockChip RK3066 processor based on the ARM Cortex A9 architecture, which is still able to hold its own against newer chips – it scored a very respectable 3829 in the Quadrant performance benchmark, putting it just behind the Asus Transformer Prime. 1231ms is a perfectly acceptable result in the Sunspider JavaScript benchmark, and websites rendered quickly. Unfortunately we couldn’t get GLBenchmark to run, so we couldn’t measure the tablet’s graphics abilities formally, but we had no trouble playing games – even intensive 3D ones like the gruesome zombie game Dead Trigger. The updates in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean also mean Android feels responsive and animates smoothly.

We weren’t so impressed with battery life, though. The Tab R974 could only manage a terrible four and a half hours from a full charge. You won’t be able to go far without having to look for a power point, especially if you’re watching video or playing games.

GoClever hasn’t made any major changes to the stock Android interface, adding a pair of volume buttons to the bottom menu bar and leaving everything else relatively untouched. Unlike many budget tablets you get access to the Google Play Store, letting you download any app you like, and GoClever hasn’t preinstalled many apps. Apart from the obligatory Angry Birds and an office suite, this is essentially a blank slate.

The R974 is certainly cheap for a 10in tablet, and it has a reasonable screen and good performance. However, its battery life is a definite concern, and makes it hard to recommend the R974. If you’re mainly going to use it from home and don’t mind sitting near a plug, it’s a reasonable buy, but most people would be better off putting up with a smaller screen and buying a Google Nexus 7.