A (165)

(Wang) #1

Group test


Gigaset isn’t a well-known brand, but can the QV830


show that the fi rm can mix with the big boys?


F


ormerly part of the Siemens group, Gigaset has
an illustrious history in landline phones, but the
£99 QV830 is a rare foray into the tablet market
for the fi rm. From the get-go you’ll appreciate the
metal-backed 8-inch frame of the tablet, but the rest
of the plastic build is very fi ngerprint friendly. All
necessary ports are located at the top of the tablet,
which can be a bit awkward to use considering the
square shape of the device. It certainly takes some
getting used to, but you’ll soon fi nd the benefi ts of
using it in both landscape and portrait orientation.
The QV830 runs a mostly stock version of Android
4.2.2, but we doubt we’ll see any update to Android
5.0 here. The Cortex A7 CPU is powerful and makes
navigating the tablet an absolute pleasure. It handles
multitasking well and has no problems dealing with
the more demanding apps on the Play Store. There’s
only 4.9GB of internal storage available, but users can
expand through the microSD slot, if necessary.

It’s when you dig a little deeper that the cutbacks start
appearing in the QV830. The general camera quality is
grainy and colours are washed out. There are some great
shooting options available, but the results simply aren’t
worth it. For some strange reason there’s also
noticeable lag when you use the camera, but this seems
to be solely down to a software fault.
The 1024x768 resolution display is the worst of the
group here, though. Lettering and icons have noticeable
pixellation and some colours feel oversaturated at times.
This is a common cutback for budget devices, but where
the other budget tablets in this test shine in this
department, the QV830 just can’t compete.
Although Gigaset may not be as well known as the
competition in this group test, the QV830 is an
all-round solid tablet. This metal-backed 8-inch
offering outshines most in the design department,
but obvious cutbacks have been made in other areas
where they really shouldn’t have.

Gigaset QV830


Metal is right
We really love the metal
back used on the QV830
tablet. It’s not the best
we’ve seen, due to the
amount of fi ngerprints we
managed to get on it, but
it certainly beats having a
pure plastic design

Poor camera
The camera just really
isn’t up to scratch for
either taking photos or
recording videos. Both
tend to be grainy and
don’t display colours
very well at all

Stay updated
Gigaset has included an
OTA Update app where
users are able to
self-install an APK or ZIP
fi le. This is probably the
only way in which users
can get the Lollipop
update on the QV830

Odd shape
What could potentially put
some users off the QV830
is the strange square
shape of the tablet. Going
against the typical
rectangle frame is brave,
but it certainly takes some
getting used to

»^ Operating system........Android 4.2.2
»^ Processor ...........................Cortex A7 1.2GHz quad-core
»^ Memory ...............................1GB RAM, 8GB storage
»^ Dimensions .......................200 x 141 x 8mm
»^ Weight ...................................328g
»^ Display size .......................8.0-inch
»^ Display resolution ........1024 x 768 pixels
»^ Connectivity .....................Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
»^ Camera ................................5MP front, 1.2MP rear

technical specs


Price £99.99
»^ More information http://www.gigaset.com
»^ Supplied by http://www.gigaset.com

information


The QV830 has pros and
cons. It may be the cheapest
of the group, but you can pay
out just a little more for a
much better experience

»Verdict


Gigaset QV830


»head-to-head
Design
To include a metal fi nish to the back of a £99
tablet is staggering, so we tip our hats to
Gigaset for that. The rest of the device does
feel well made, but we don’t like how easily
fi ngerprints get picked up on it

Performance
Navigation is smooth since the Cortex A7 is
speedy. Multitasking is easy to accomplish
and the only hiccups we noticed were when
we were trying to open up certain movies
within the built-in video app

Camera and video
One of the major cutbacks in the QV830 is
with the camera that’s on offer. We can’t
really recommend it at all, and the same
goes for the video recording capabilities.
Use it only when absolutely necessary

Battery life
With a 3260mAh battery – which is marginally
bigger than most high-end smartphones


  • battery life isn’t fantastic on the QV830.
    Expect to get a solid 6 hours of high usage
    before reaching for the charging cable

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