Asus have just announced the new Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME171C) in Japan, where this budget tablet will be released on March 13. The worldwide dates haven’t been announced yet.
Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME171C) is replacing its predecessor Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME170C) a tablet that currently costs just $79, effectively making it the best 7-inch budget tablet with Android on the market.
The new 2015 model Asus MeMO Pad 7 has very similar specs to its predecessor, but have become lighter, and have seen a bump upwards on some specifications.
The processor is the same dual-core 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2520 processor, so is the 1GB of LPDDR2 RAM, 7-inch IPS screen with 1024 x 600 resolution 5-point multi-touch screen, Android 4.4.2, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, GLONASS, G-sensor, the microUSB port, microSD slot, and audio combo jack.
Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME171C)
What’s upgraded and available as standard now is also 16GB storage, higher resolution cameras with a 2MP front camera and 5MP rear camera, radio receiver, 5 gram less of weight with a weight of 280 gram, a thickness of 7.9mm down from 10mm, and an increased battery life up to 11.5 hours now from the 4000mAh battery.
Color options on the tablet are black, white, red, and gold/champagne. For a budget tablet it looks very elegant indeed.
You also get Asus ZenUI (Asus Zen User Interface) which adds a world of features, and like with all Asus tablets you get 5GB free of ASUS WebStorage cloud storage.
The whole point of Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME171C) is to offer a very feature rich budget tablet with a high quality. But it is not an attempt to be the most powerful one in the category, since Asus is the king of 7-inch Android tablets, and have models ranging from the cheapest Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME171C), to the more powerful Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME176), to the Asus-built Nexus 7 FHD, all the way up to the classy Full HD Asus MeMO Pad 7 (ME572C).
An added benefit of Asus manufacturing so many popular 7-inch tablets is that Asus also manufactures many high-quality accessories, covers, and cases that suits these tablets in particular, with no misfitted stands or covers that obstruct access to the buttons on the tablets.
– Tom Bowen
