Unlike Windows 8, Windows 10 comes with its very own
tablet mode, which is automatically enabled when running the operating
system on a touchscreen with no keyboard or can be turned on manually
whenever you need it.
One of the reasons for doing this is that Windows 10
was developed from the very beginning to be used on a wider variety of
devices, so it was only a matter of time until OEMs across the world
jumped on the Windows 10 bandwagon and installed it on their own
products.
As usual, Chinese manufacturers are among the first
to do so, but what’s even more important is that their devices come with
a really affordable price. And although the “made in China” tag was
previously something to avoid, it’s now becoming a common thing, and at a
certain level, one to be proud of, given the design and build quality
offered by some Chinese companies, such as Huawei.
Onda V919 Air is one of the devices that allow you
to run Windows 10 in the aforementioned tablet mode wherever you go
while at the same time providing you with a slim look and build quality
that are clearly above what you’d expect from such an affordable tablet.
The Onda V919 Air is available for just $169.99 (€155) at GearBest and comes with features that are really worth the money, especially when looking at the specs sheet.
We’ve taken the device for a spin to see what an
affordable Windows 10 tablet is all about, so read on to discover our
findings as far as it is concerned.
Design and build quality
Painted in gold, the Onda Air tablet is certainly a
surprising appearance. In many cases, devices manufactured by Chinese
companies feel plasticky and very cheap, but things seem to be different
this time.
The device sports an iPad-like design and is very
comfortable to hold in the hand, also thanks to its weight of just 450
grams. That’s quite impressive, given the fact that the iPad Air weighs
in just 437 grams.
The tablet features what the manufacturer calls an
“ultra-thin body,” and it certainly is so. It measures just 7.9 mm, and
this is one of the reasons it’s so easy to carry it around. You can just
put it in a laptop bag or a backpack, and the chances are that you’re
going to mistake it for a book.
Onda claims its tablet features an invisible screen
frame for improved looks, but you can still see the bezels, which could
have definitely been smaller, especially for a device that’s so thin.
Furthermore, the plasticky feel we talked about
earlier doesn’t exist in this case, as the device seems to be made from
thin metal rather than from plastic. The manufacturer didn’t disclose
the materials used to manufacture the case, but it’s certainly a good
choice because it’s both light and durable.
There are just three buttons on this tablet, two for
volume control and one for locking and shutting it down, but we found
ourselves using the audio controls only once a day. This is thanks to
the very well-optimized Windows 10 tablet mode that lets you adjust
volume with a few taps.
Onda installed a 9.7-inch IPS LCD display with a
resolution of 2048x1536 pixels, and it can be used in both portrait and
landscape mode quite easily. And yet, Windows 10 just seems to make more
sense in landscape mode, especially on the desktop.
The build quality is clearly above average when it
comes to Chinese products, and you won’t hear any cracks or squeaks when
pressing on the case.
Hardware and performance
Hardware-wise, the Onda Air tablet is just as
impressive as any other Chinese product. In plain English, it has
everything you’ll ever need (at least for this price).
First and foremost, the device comes with an Intel
Cherry Trail Z8300 quad-core processor running at 1.44 GHz, coupled with
4 GB of RAM and eight-generation Intel HD graphics.
At first glance, this seems to be more than needed, especially given Windows 10’s requirements:
| Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster |
| RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) |
| Free hard disk space: 16 GB |
| Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver |
But in reality, the Onda Air tablet feels very slow
at certain times, especially when multitasking. If you’re planning to
use the tablet for basic tasks such as browsing and playing Solitaire,
then it can easily cope with your demands, but anything beyond that
needs more processing power.
Don’t even think of playing latest-generation gaming
titles because that’s quite impossible, and so is video and photo
processing. To speed up the device, we switched Windows 10’s visual
effects to the performance mode, and a certain boost was indeed
obtained, but not at a level that allowed us to do more than the basic
stuff.
Running multiple apps at the same time, such as an
email client, a browser, a word processor, and an instant messenger is
indeed possible, but you need to be patient when switching between
programs. Sometimes, it takes up to several seconds to change apps, and
that’s because more processing power is needed. The same is happening
when browsing websites with Flash ads, so it’s very clear that a better
CPU could significantly improve performance.
Other than that, this tablet has quite an impressive
set of features. It has two different cameras of 2 megapixels each on
the front and the back, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, 64 GB of storage
space, TF card slot, microUSB and microHDMI ports, a 3.5mm audio jack, a
speaker, and a microphone.
The 64GB storage capacity could certainly be a
drawback for those who want to save lots of documents and files on the
device, but fortunately, TF card support is also offered for additional
space. Also, the two cameras are nothing special, but they come in handy
for video calling. In low-light conditions, your contact can barely see
you.
The sound of the tablet leaves a lot to be desired,
so when you’re watching a movie or listening to music, it’s better to
use headphones. The speaker is loud but lacks clarity and has almost no
bass at all, so headphones or an external speaker could be your best
friend for audio or video playback.
Thanks to the microUSB support, you can also connect
a mouse and keyboard, but converting the device into a laptop would be
quite a difficult thing to do since there’s no kickstand available (such
as the one available on Microsoft’s Surface).
We’ve saved the best for last. The 9.7-inch IPS LCD
has a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels and doesn’t seem to disappoint.
While colors are nothing out of the usual, and it’s very clear that it’s
not Super AMOLED, the display seems to be optimized for better battery
life, without affecting its responsiveness in any way. It won’t miss any
of your taps, especially when typing, so it certainly meets
expectations, but without excelling in any way, though.
For this price, this is quite a feature lineup, but
for better performance, certain upgrades are still needed. And yet,
there’s no doubt that many would rather wait a little bit longer when
loading apps than pay a few extra bucks.
Battery life
Onda claims the tablet should provide up to 7 hours
of battery life, but real-life figures are a little bit lower. During
our tests, we achieved approximately 5 hours in continuous usage mode
when playing videos, but if you’re planning to play games with
brightness at the maximum level and audio volume at 100 percent,
autonomy can drop to 3 hours.
That’s not quite impressive for a tablet, that’s for
sure, but there are several reasons the Onda Air tablet can’t go beyond
this.
First of all, its 7,000 mAh battery is rather small
for a nearly 10-inch device that’s supposed to stay with the display
turned on most of the time. That becomes obvious in standby mode, where
battery life could go to approximately 2 days (if no apps are left
running on Windows 10).
And second and perhaps more importantly, this tablet
runs the full version of Windows 10, which, as we know, is a very
capable operating system that lets you do pretty much anything on a
computer. The truth is, Windows 10 does come with optimizations and
features specifically implemented for tablets, but this doesn’t mean
that it’s flawless.
Windows 10 is work in progress and is never done (at
least, that’s what Microsoft itself said), so on a tablet such as the
Onda Air, it does have an impact on system performance. If you plan to
use the device just for basic stuff such as browsing, we recommend you
to keep the power saving mode always on (you can enable it from the
battery icon in the system tray).
Software
In addition to build quality, the software side of
the Onda Air tablet is definitely a strong point. The device runs
Windows 10 (although an Android version is also available), so you can
install absolutely all apps that you currently have on your laptop or
PC.
Windows 10 now has a dedicated tablet mode that’s
aimed at devices such as the Onda Air, so menus are larger, context
menus items have been overhauled to be used with the touch, and most
pre-installed apps are designed for both mouse clicks and finger taps.
While this is clearly a good thing, there still are
apps and features that need to be improved, including File Explorer,
which can be barely used without a mouse.
In tablet mode, Windows 10 switches from the Start
menu to the Start screen and replaces the taskbar icons with dedicated
buttons to access the task view and go back or forward when using an
app.
You can easily enable and disable the tablet mode
from the action center, with the same feature also providing you with
access to notifications, but also to quick settings, such as VPN,
location, and quiet hours.
Windows 10 is definitely more appropriate to be used
on a tablet than Windows 8, and although the charms bar is no longer
there, all options are just where you’d expect them to be, even if
you’re using touch as the input method.
The Windows button on the tablet lets you access the
Start screen instantly, but we’ve found its position rather
unfortunate, as you can easily press it by mistake and thus close an app
and get back to the Start screen without specifically wanting it.
Windows Store apps are also there, and they are
specifically aimed at tablets, as all are optimized for the touch, but
the lack of popular items continues to be a problem for Windows 10. Even
though we were using a tablet, we found ourselves running desktop
software more than store apps. Of course, some Win32 programs can hardly
be used without a mouse.
Fortunately, you can also connect a mouse to this
tablet thanks to its microUSB port, but given the fact that only such a
connector is available, a USB hub might be needed for additional
peripherals.
The bottom line
On paper, the Onda Air tablet is definitely an
appealing buy, mostly thanks to its rich feature lineup that includes
pretty much everything you’d want from a Windows 10 device.
It has a decent processor, enough storage capacity
if you don’t want to move your movie collection on the tablet, Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, microUSB that lets you plug in additional accessories such as
a mouse and keyboard, microHDMI to connect it to a TV or projector, TF
card for additional storage, cameras for video calls, and a decent
screen that proves to be quite responsive.
In reality, however, the processor shows its limits,
and there are significant slowdowns when using multiple apps at the
same time. Certainly, multitasking is a thing that we all do these days,
so you either learn to live with it or don’t buy the tablet.
When it comes to basic stuff such as browsing the
web or sending emails, the Onda Air really meets expectations, but for
anything beyond this, it struggles.
The build quality is surprising to say the least,
especially because we’re talking about a device made by a less popular
company that’s based in China, but also because it costs only $150.
Overall, this is a pretty good package, and it’s
worth a shot if you want Windows 10 for browsing and emails. Otherwise,
going for Android could be an idea that’s just as good.
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