[Windows 8 General] KloNom:
For the pictures in high resolution and a nicer format of the article, check out the original post:

http://klonom.com/onda-v975w-aka-my-cheap-surface-alternative-experiences/

And here go my first impressions of my new Onda V975W Tablet. It has Windows 8.1 (fully, no RT cr*p) preinstalled, 2 GB RAM, Bay Trail quadcore processor (each up to 1.8 GHz) and a Retina Display.

I bought the tablet out of two main reasons. First of all my old Lenovo S10 netbook is dying slowly, so I need a replacement. Secondly I was interested in the Surface tablets, but their prices are way to high in my opinion. Obviously you get a lot for its price, but I do not really need an i7 processor in my tablet. My tablet should be powerful, but does not need to be too much, since for main tasks I still use my bigger main computer. Then my focus got on the Onda V975W tablet. I bought it at eFox for roughly 195€ with sending (slow registered air mail) und customs insurance. Although I chose slow sending, the parcel already arrived two and a half weeks later. Let’s start with the specs:

Specifications:

-Windows 8.1 (no RT)

-9.7 Zoll Display

-2048×1536 Resolution

-2 GB RAM, 32 GB ROM

-5 MP backcamera, 2 MP fontcamera (according eFox)

-MicroHDMI Output

-MicroUSB Input

-MicroSD slot

– 7800mAh Akku (according eFox)

-Intel Z3735D processor

Items delivered:

The tablet was delivered in a worthy looking box with chinese texts on it. Additionally to the tablet itself, not much was given beside. Just a short chinese manual and a charger (5V, 2.5A according to the label). There was no Windows 8.1 or Windows 365 license card put in beside, which was reported to be the case in other boards. On a request the shop answered that this would be simply not part of the product. Since I already have an unused Windows 8 license, this is not a big downside for me, but for people without this could become a hurdle when they want to reinstall Windows.

First impressions:

After the unboxing I was very surprised of the worthy look of the tablet. It is really a look-a-like of the iPad Air (so much, that even iPad Air cases can be used mostly, more on that later). The front has a camera in the top middle inside the white border. I did not try the back- or the front camera yet, I will update this later.

The back is made from brushed aluminium. It feels nicely cool when touched. On the bottom there are stereo speakers. Above them, there are product details lasered in, pretty much like at the iPad. At the top side the HW buttons are placed: Power and the volume rocker. Both seem worthy and have a nice pressure point.

At the top side the ports are placed: MicroSD, MicroHDMI, MicroUSB and headphone jack. Additionally a microphone.

First use:

I already prepared myself, that the tablet arrives in chinese language. At least that was reported for most of the V975W of the latter generations. But my Windows was already changed to english (at least most parts) and an user account called “as” was set up. And wow, the resolution looks amazing! No pixels can be determined at all on the Retina display. A few tweaks later also the last parts of remained chinese language were gone. Also the newest BIOS and drivers were installed. So I started and installed some programs like Thunderbird and Firefox and was happy, since everything ran smoothly. The CPU usage while Idle is at about 0-3%, while about 40-45% of the RAM is used. The latter one can be still optimised, for the case that no applications which heavily use the GPU are used. That’s the case, since the GPU splits up 500 MB of RAM by default. It is said that this can be reduced to 256 MB without problems, but I haven’t tried it yet. A small downside is the small internal memory, since with Windows installed there are just about 11 GB free by default. That’s why I installed most of the programms on my 64 GB microSD card.

Usage:

The touch display responds quick and after a bit getting used to, Windows 8 can be nicely navigated by touch. Just the typing I do not really like on the display. That is why I wanted to have a kind of “Type Cover” from the Surface for my V975W. Good point here, that the V975W is so close to the iPad Air, that even many cases fit. Anyhow, my first try failed. I ordered a keyboard case from Anker for the iPad Air (“Slim Folio Bluetooth Keyboard Case”). With a bit force it fitted, but not really nicely. But the second try worked out. For about 22€ I bought this case with bluetooth keyboard and it sits perfect! Just the ports can not be perfectly reached, so I cutted a small hole for the microUSB (see last picture). Also the backcamera does not sit perfectly over the hole, but this does not bother me, since I never really understood the sense of backcameras for tablets :D .

The keyboard can be removed (holds via magnets) and the top cover can be moved to the back, very nice for using while sitting.

The keyboard can nicely be used for typing. In fact, I am writing this article on this keyboard. After a few seconds of not using it, it goes into sleep mode and the first keyboard hit is ignored while waking up, but all in all it has a nice respond.

Battery:

The battery I can not really rate yet. According to the shop it has a capacity of 7.8 Ah. The charging takes many hours, also with the delivered charger. At normal usage the battery holds for about 6-7h. Obviously it has to be considered, that the display has a very high resolution and it has a full Windows. I will still make some tests for the battery and will update this part later.

First conclusion:

I do not want to give a final conclusion yet, since this Windows 8 tablet has so many aspects which I did not test yet and might still change my opinion. Untill now I am fully satisfied with my decision. I could not find any other tablet with preinstalled Windows and such a high resolution for this price. As an alternative for a cheap “china-Surface” it pretty much fits my needs (except the internal memory).