[Device Reviews and Information] mekler22:
Today I have the privilege of reviewing Freer X9, the first tablet ever on this blog! And it's a good one!

AlldoCube Freer X9 is a 8.9" Quad core (by a Mediatek chipset) powerhouse running on a high resolution screen with some great hardware

Freer X9 was sent to me to review courtesy of the good people at AlldoCube (formerly known as Cube)

What do we get in the box?

[YOUTUBE]https://youtu.be/UwQ3kgJPXdw[/YOUTUBE]

We get the bare essentials with this tablet, which is to say: X9 Tablet, User Manual, and charging/data USB-C cable

** All photos are included in the full review HERE **

Looks and design

The design is pretty elegant and simple, with a metal (aluminum) back which gives it a quality look. The IPS display unit is a (very) high resolution 2560*1600 IPS screen. That means that the picture, games and video displayed are razor sharp and the display has plenty of light even for using it outside. The ports included are quite sparse, with a USB-C port (which is actually in USB 2.0 standard and not USB 3.1 as one might think) for charging and data connections, a 3.5 mm headphone port for, well, headphones, and a Micro SD / TF card slot for expanding the 64GB that the tablet arrives with. On top of those, we get two cameras - a front facing one at 5 Megapixel, and a back facing camera at a higher 13 Megapixel resolution. But more about those at the camera testing portion.

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Usage and User Interface

Freer X9 uses a vanilla version of Android 6.0 which suits me just fine. The tablet first arrived with the original Chinese firmware which makes things a bit more tricky since it's not based on the known and familiar Google ecosphere. That means no Play store, and issues with installation of some applications that rely on google foundations. However, in a few days I received and installed an "Overseas" firmware, which worked much better for my needs.

Mostly the experience with the tablet was pleasant, as the screen is sharp and of high quality. I did notice a small lack of sensitivity to touch that got me tapping more than once to get the desired result. Some small bugs also manifested as mentioned in the Issues and bugs section further ahead.

Bluetooth was tested successfully in both directions and files were sent and received between the tablet and my smart phone.

I've also transferred files from the tablet to my PC over the Wi-Fi connection on my local network.

Overall, though, I enjoyed my time with this tablet which surprised me both with it's long battery life and it's smooth operation - not to mention (again) the amazing and sharp IPS screen.

Cameras performance and quality

This tablet surprised me as it includes a 5 MP front camera (selfie camera), and a 13 MP back camera. The first set of sample photos are from the back camera, and remember - there is no flash so I didn't bother taking night shots:

The main (back) camera produces reasonable results with somewhat pale colors, but quite sharp. Auto focus was fast and seems fine. This is not a camera to replace your DSLR, but then again, no mobile device's camera is.. unless you count hybrids such as Galaxy camera (which has its own drawbacks). All in all, the tablet produces good results with the included (basic) camera app I used for this shoot. It may be improved upon with more feature rich apps such as Snap camera, or others.

Even Samsung took a while to update their tablet cameras and it's one of the under-looked parts of tablets, for some reason. It's not just the Megapixel count, but also the actual camera modules which are usually of lower grade than the ones included in most modern smartphones.

Here are a couple of shots from the front facing ("Selfie") camera:

** All photos are included in the full review HERE **

As can be seen, the colors (again) are a bit pale, but the details and focus are quite sharp. I believe that for skype/video calls this camera is above average and should produce good results.

Technical Specifications

Chipset / CPU: 64Bit MTK8173 Quad Core

GPU:	Power VR GX6250

Memory / Storage:	4GB DDR3 / 64GB eMMC

Display:	IPS,*OGS, 10 points touch,*8.9 inch (16:10),*2560*1600 JDI*2K Screen

Cameras:	Dual cameras, 5.0 MP front camera, 13.0 MP back camera with Auto focus

Wireless:	802.11 a/b/g/n, 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz

Bluetooth:	4.0

OS:	Android 6.0 Marshmallow

Audio Output:	3.5 mm headphone jack, Dual Speakers, Type-C USB

Battery:	3.8 V / 5500 mAh

Net weight:	366 gram

Dimension:	228 mm * 144 mm * 8.3 mm

Peripheral Interface:	1 x USB 2.0 Type C port, 3.5 mm headphone jack, Micro SD /*TF card up to 64GB

Packing Included:	Cube Freer X9, USB-C charging/data cable, User Manual

Benchmarks and Testing

** All benchmarks are included in the full review HERE **

Video Playback testing (Using KODI/TV Center)

Resolution	Video Format	Local Playback	Network (Wi-Fi) Playback

720p (1280*720)	AVC (High@L4.1)	Playing correctly	Playing correctly

1080P (1920*1080)	AVC (High@L4)	Playing correctly	Playing correctly

*2160P (3840*2160)HEVC (H.265) / 10Bit	*Playing correctly	*Playing correctly*

4K (4096*2304)	AVC (High@L5.1)	Playing correctly	Playing correctly

4K TS HEVC files	HEVC (H.265)	Playing correctly	Playing correctly

* Video was playing fine in one of two samples locally, but over Wi-Fi (though both samples played fine) loading time was long, a small artifact was noticed at beginning of playback, and skipping ahead was unsuccessful (kodi buffer icon repeatedly filled up again and again without resuming).

The issue was specific to HEVC video and does not affect other codecs and formats tested.

Tablet run warm both during local playback and Wi-Fi playback. That is to be expected, and it did not seem to reach extreme temperatures during these tests.

Network performance

Network performance has been tested using*Speedtest.net*Internet speed measuring app, in WiFi only mode (no wired option with a tablet). My Internet connection is 500 Mbit Symmetric Fibre connection:

** All photos are included in the full review HERE **

Internet speed testing does not show impressive score, but that may be due to a weaker signal reception. The video over WiFi tests I've done were in the same room as the router, and no lag was detected - meaning that distance is a big factor for this tablet. More so than for TV boxes which are stationary and contain more powerful antenna arrays.

Issues and Bugs

No root solution was available, so detailed game performance was not possible

X9 Tablet arrives with Chinese firmware which does not include google play store. New overseas firmware that does include google components required flashing via PC which is not a foolproof procedure

Antutu Video was not able to play all the videos in the sequence

Lost connection to WiFi network and could not reconnect (being asked for password again, and getting "failed to save network" message when trying) a few times. Resolved only with reboot

Apps require permissions again even after being given said permissions. For instance: camera app is asking for permission to read/write files and use camera

Gaming performance

As usual, I test three games: Angry Birds 2, Asphalt 8 Airborne, and Walking War Robots. No root solution is available, therefore I could not measure CPU or RAM usage:

Angry Birds 2, a popular 2d game. Worked smoothly and without a hitch. Load times were speedy thanks to the large amount of high-speed RAM, and no issues were detected.

Asphalt 8 Airborne*, intense 3d racing game. Game played fine with smooth frame rate and easy control.

Walking War Robots*– an online 3d robot battle game. Finally, with a touch device, I was able to play this game fully, maneuver and shoot. The game played smoothly, though the tablet did warm up as it did when testing high definition videos.

** All photos are included in the full review HERE **

Freer X9 Conclusions

Did I like it? Yes. It is the first tablet I tested, but it's a strong contender in the Arm device power race. The screen is magnificent and razor sharp, and the device is very responsive and stable.

Would I recommend it? Yes! It's a good product with solid performance 99% of the time.

To get a Purchase link, or to read the full review, including photos, benchmarks and so on, please head to my full review HERE