CUBE U27GT, a small Android tablet

Today I'm reviewing a small Android tablet. Somehow, I usually end up reviewing tablets running either Windows or Windows + Android, but this time I decided to see what a relatively inexpensive Android-only tablet is like.

First, I have to apologize: there won't be a teardown this time. I know many of you are used to me taking apart everything that can possibly be taken apart, and it's become a hallmark of my reviews.
I once wrote in a comment that there are only two cases where I don't take a device apart: when it doesn't make sense, or when it can't be done without damaging the device. This is the second case. I couldn't take it apart without causing damage, and I just couldn't bring myself to break a perfectly working device.

So today's review will be a little shorter than usual.

Specifications:
Operating system: Android 5.1
Processor: MTK8163 (Cortex-A53-based SoC)
GPU: IMail-T720 (the store page incorrectly lists Mali-450MP)
RAM: 1 GB
Internal storage: 8 GB
microSD card slot, supports cards up to 32 GB.
8-inch IPS display
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Cameras:
Front: 0.3 MP
Rear: 2 MP
Navigation: GPS + GLONASS
Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth
3.5 mm headphone jack
microUSB port with OTG support
micro HDMI port
Battery: 3500 mAh
5-point multitouch
Dimensions and weight: length x width x height: 213 x 127 x 10 mm
Weight: about 350 g

The tablet comes in a fairly sturdy cardboard box. There's very little information on it, and what's there is only on a sticker on the side.
A small white box was taped to the top. At first I thought it was some second item I hadn't heard about, but it turned out to be just the power adapter.
Last time I reviewed a tablet from the same company, it didn't come with a power adapter. It's the same story here, but now the store (most likely) includes power adapters with the tablets.


The packaging is the usual two-tier design. The tablet's screen isn't particularly protected on top, but everything arrived in good shape, mainly thanks to the sturdy packaging.


The full package contents are as follows:
1. Tablet
2. USB-microUSB cable
3. Manual and warranty card
4. Power adapter.


A little more detail.
1. The manual, warranty card, and something else. Nothing useful; they're just there.
2. USB-microUSB cable. A standard, inexpensive cable, about 75 cm long.
3, 4. Power adapter. Unfortunately, it has a flat-pin plug, and no adapter is included. The rated current is 2 A.


Fortunately, unlike the tablet, the power adapter is very easy to take apart, so I'll at least open that up.

That's it for the accessories; let's move on to the tablet.
It looks like many other tablets: a white body and a black screen. In today's world, it's hard to come up with something original, and sometimes you think—maybe it's better not to try.
The tablet looks a lot like the Cube iwork8 Ultimate I reviewed recently.


There's a camera on the top edge, though it's only 0.3 MP, like on really old phones :(
There's also a sticker listing the device's main features. I also found out what the icon with the number 30000 means; I'd asked about it before. Turns out it's the AnTuTu score this tablet got :)


The tablet's short edge has:
1. MicroUSB. OTG works, but there's no adapter included.
2. MicroHDMI video output
3. 3.5 mm headphone jack.
4. MicroSD card slot.

The long edge has the power button and volume rocker.
The volume buttons are positioned for portrait use.


All the controls are grouped near one corner. When the tablet is in landscape orientation with the volume buttons at the top, the power connector is on the left.


1. There's a speaker opening on the back cover. I liked how loud it is. I had complained about the volume on tablets from this brand before, but that's not an issue here.
The speaker opening is covered by a small mesh.
2. There's a second camera on the back. This one has a 2 MP sensor, but no autofocus, and the image quality leaves a lot to be desired. I'll show some sample photos later.
3. There's a microphone diagonally opposite the speaker. I think that's a pretty good location. I can't say anything particularly good or bad about the mic—it's an ordinary cheap microphone.
4. Here's something that surprised me a little. The back cover has the usual information about the tablet model, manufacturer, and so on.
The tablet is listed as U27GT, but below that it says U33GT. So which is it—two models in one?
Well, let's see what the software says.


The screen has two films: a protective shipping film and the main one.
The tablet certainly looks better without the shipping film. But looking at all these tablets, I can't shake the feeling that they all look alike. They could at least use different colors for a change. Though I think I'd still choose black or white :)


A comparison with my 8.9-inch work tablet.


The tablet is very light. It feels almost weightless in a man's hands; I think it would be a good fit for a woman or a child.


When switched on, the tablet always starts up in landscape orientation, which is a little unusual since the buttons are designed for portrait orientation.
Although, considering I've only seen this startup screen a couple of times and used sleep mode the rest of the time, it doesn't really matter how it starts up.


Screen.
The tablet has an 8-inch IPS panel. Viewed straight on or from the side, the image looks quite good, with vivid colors. The panel's resolution is not particularly high, of course—1280x800—but that's enough for most tasks. It also helps save a little battery power.


But when viewed at an angle, the image gets a little washed out, as if it turns white.


In near-total darkness, with a black screen, you can see the backlight. For this test I took a photo with the lens covered; the image viewer's buttons are visible at the bottom of the screen.
The light on the right is from the monitor; without it, the camera wouldn't focus at all.


This is where I should have taken the tablet apart, but as I mentioned above, I couldn't get it open.
I took the previous model apart without much trouble, even though it looked exactly the same on the outside. This one, however, felt like the top half was glued on. The plastic starts to visibly deform, but the tablet still won't open.
I consider this a downside. And it's not even that I couldn't inspect the internals (though that's part of it too), but that replacing the battery could be difficult. It seemed to me that there was no way to open it without damaging it :(

Since I couldn't open it up, I'll move on to the software and tests.
When you switch it on, you're greeted by this «desktop». The default language is English, but switching to Russian is no problem.


The tablet comes with several Chinese apps installed. But removing them is no trouble at all; you can do it the usual way through the app manager.


Inside, you'll find the familiar Android version 5.1.
And once again, the tablet model is listed as U33GT


The tablet has 8 GB of flash storage, with a little over half available to the user. You can free up some space by deleting the Chinese apps, which is what I did later.
The tablet arrived almost fully charged, even though I didn't start testing it right away, and it had spent some time in transit too. This suggests that its power consumption when switched off is almost zero.


I was pleasantly surprised by the developer menu, which has a ton of different settings and options.
I won't speak for all of Odessa all tablets, but it seemed to me there really are a lot of settings.




Information from CPU-Z.
It also lists the model as U33GT and says that root access is available.


AIDA thinks the manufacturer is RFP and the brand is Alps



Now let's see how it performs.
The tablet's specs aren't particularly impressive to begin with. For example, 1 GB of memory is already a bit on the low side for a modern tablet. While memory capacity doesn't have a major effect on raw computing performance, it does limit the range of apps—and especially games—that will run properly on this tablet.

As usual, I'll start testing with AnTuTu.
I'll run two versions, 5.x and 6.x, since they differ noticeably both in how they test and how they calculate the results.
First, version 5.2.0
In this test, the tablet didn't even reach 20K out of the claimed 30K, although the app rated the result as good.


Version 6.1.9 scored noticeably higher, but still didn't reach 30K.
That's strange, since according to information online, this processor really does score 30K in AnTuTu. I don't know what's limiting performance, but you can see the result in the screenshot.


Next, I usually run 3DMark and PCMark. But this time, there won't be a 3DMark test.
I couldn't get the test to run on this tablet. The app installed and updated without any problems, but whenever I tried to start the test, it crashed back to the home screen. There were no error messages; the test simply doesn't work at all.
The only good thing I can say is that this was the only software issue I noticed. All the other apps worked perfectly reliably.


Even Epic Citadel, which doesn't always run properly in Ultra High Quality mode on TV boxes with 1 GB of RAM, worked great here. The frame rate could certainly be better, but performance is quite adequate in High Quality mode.


The AnTuTu Video results are somewhat disappointing, although I personally didn't run into any particular problems. The tablet plays Full HD video without any issues, and I doubt anyone would think of watching 4K video on it. It can play 4K, but with terrible stuttering.


Strangely enough, Sensor Box “detected” a whole bunch of sensors, but in reality only two work: the accelerometer and the sound level sensor. Strictly speaking, tablets always have an accelerometer, and sound levels are measured using the built-in microphone, which most devices have as well.


What I really liked about this tablet was its excellent Wi-Fi performance.
It worked fine even in places where some TV boxes with external antennas couldn't even see my access point, or could see it but crawled along like turtles.
At a distance of 12 meters, through several load-bearing and interior walls, the tablet showed a connection speed of 81 Mbps and link speeds of 3/4 Mbps.
In my opinion, that's an excellent result.
But naturally, I continued testing.
2. Slightly better line of sight, but still about 12 m away: 6 Mbps down and 27 Mbps up.
3. A couple of concrete walls, no direct line of sight, about 6–7 m away: 56 Mbps down and 49 Mbps up.
4. The room next to the router, with a partial line of sight.
5. Two meters from the router, with a clear line of sight.


GPS navigation also works surprisingly well.
Near a window, it picks up signals from 5–7 of the 12 available satellites; outdoors, 11–13.
It starts up and begins receiving a signal quickly. No complaints.
Well, actually, I do have one minor complaint. I first installed Navitel software and added a map, but the software couldn't see either the map (it showed a blank area) or any satellites.
I was already getting disappointed, but then decided to try the Progorod app, which worked without any problems. Surprisingly, after that Navitel started working properly too. O_O
So, it works well enough as a navigator. GLONASS was listed as a feature, but testing showed that only GPS works, even though the processor supports both modes.


And of course, I tested battery life, since this is a portable device.
I couldn't get to the battery, and I'm skeptical of charge tests using those white, blue, and other “doctors,” so I decided to simply check how long it would run while playing a Full HD movie.
To keep the test consistent, I always use the same movie.
The tablet played video for about 5.5 hours, which is about right for the claimed 3500 mAh. For comparison, a DOOGEE X5 MAX phone with a battery of the same capacity runs for about 8 hours under the same conditions, but its screen is 5 inches, not 8.
Let's just say the tablet doesn't have outstanding battery life, but you won't have to live next to a power outlet either.


Since the tablet's cameras are pretty weak, I'll hide the sample photos under a spoiler.

Now it's time to sum things up.
Pros
Lightweight and compact.
Excellent Wi-Fi performance
Good software stability
Decent sound (as good as you can get from a single speaker)
Decent battery life for a battery rated at 3500 mAh
GPS
Can connect an external monitor.

Cons
The cameras—they're really just there; there's no point taking them seriously.
GLONASS performance is questionable.
Power adapter
1 GB of RAM.

My take: based on a week of use, this tablet is well suited as a mobile device for navigation, reading, watching movies, and browsing the internet.
Among the pros, I'd highlight the genuinely good Wi-Fi performance. The speed and stability are very impressive. The sound is also pretty good; the other tablets from this brand that I've had at home had very quiet speakers. GPS works reliably and finds satellites quickly.
Thanks to its low weight, the tablet is easy to take on the road. It would also make a good device for a child.
The main downside is the cameras. The quality is really poor, and a front camera with a resolution of 0.3 MP is considered weak even for Skype.
The power adapter was also disappointing. It works and charges the tablet, but I'd recommend replacing it, since the overall quality leaves a lot to be desired. Let's just say I wouldn't risk leaving it charging unattended.
The non-serviceable design could also be listed as a drawback (or at least the fact that it's difficult to take apart), but since the device wasn't designed to be disassembled in the first place, I'll just say that separately: it's not ideal.

Otherwise, it's a typical tablet: it works reliably, doesn't get too hot, and looks neat.

That's about it. As always, I look forward to your questions in the comments.

The product was provided by the store for this review.