A tablet is an oversized smartphone that isn’t big enough to be a laptop. They made precious little sense when they were first launched, but smartphones were much smaller back then. Now, the phablet and the ultraportable, transformable laptop have encroached so far into tablet territory that these devices are having to pick up all sorts of nifty little tricks in order to differentiate themselves.

Another contender in the crowd

The ASUS ZenPad 7 is one such contender. It is a fairly standard Android tablet – powered by a quad-core Intel Atom processor (the kind that powers budget smartpones) and equipped with 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage space. The display is a 7-inch panel capable of supporting a maximum resolution of 1280 x 800. It runs Android Lollipop, with ASUS’s ZenUI skin on top. Battery capacity is rated at 4000 mAh, which translates to about 6 and a half hours in the real world. And as for the cameras, the less said about them, the better.

With this kind of a setup, the Zenpad 7 would make for an underwhelming effort in the smartphone space, let alone intrigue a user who is looking for something extra. But the ZenPad 7 (and indeed, its slightly bigger brother, the ZenPad 8) has an interesting trick up its sleeve in the form of a removable rear cover. The plastic panel can be replaced with custom-made ASUS covers that offer functionality such as a built-in battery pack or a 5.1 surround sound speaker unit.

The special trick

We tested a ZenPad equipped with the Audio Cover and were fairly impressed with the accessory. While ASUS claims to have stuffed six distinct speakers (including one subwoofer) into the case, it is almost impossible to actually discern any kind of surround effect from the sound it produces. However, it does manage to boost the volume level enough to make the dialogues of a film audible to multiple people sat upto five feet away – a feat that is beyond most tablets. The pre-loaded Audio Wizard app provides a full-blown custom equalizer and multiple preset modes that can be selected based on requirement.

The Audio Cover comes with its own built-in battery, which can be charged either via the ZenPad or separately using the dongle provided. It adds a bit of bulk to the tablet, but not enough to make it uncomfortable to carry. It also has a groove which allows you to set the tablet up horizontally for movie-viewing.

Verdict

The ZenPad’s mediocre specs mean that it is unsuitable for high-end gaming. Its screen size means that it is unsuitable for productivity. Without the Audio Cover, it makes just as little sense as any other 7-inch Android tablet out there. If you’re not satisfied with your 6-inch smartphone, an additional inch is going to make very little difference. However, with the Audio Cover, it makes for a fairly decent mobile theatre. So, either buy the combo or don’t buy it at all.

Love: Accessories

Hate: Specs

Price: ₹12,000 (tablet) + ₹4,000 (audio cover)

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