Last month we shared with you guys the good news that a very affordable tablet from Ekotek was launched, the Ekotab Encore 2. The Ekotab Encore 2 is special as it touts that good build quality and specs that's hard to imagine in this price point before.
Unboxing / Accessories
As expected, Ekotek always puts an emphasis to make their packaging look great. It comes in a well designed easy to open box that's almost complete with the information you need like the specifications.
When it comes to the accessories, the Ekotab Encore 2 isn't loaded like what I've seen from the Ekophone 5.10 (understandable for the price), but it has every useful one is included. You get a 1.5 A USB wall adapter, durable looking and flexible micro USB cables, paper documentations, ekotek stickers and that useful USB OTG cable.
Build Quality / Design
The Ekotab Encore 2 is a good and durable looking 7 inches rectangular tablet that can be used in both portrait and landscape mode. It has rounded corners and doesn't have any annoying sharp edges. The plastic material used doesn't also feel cheap which is very laudable for the price. I also liked that clean looking white color that's not that prone to hairline scratches and fingerprint.
The side is a bit thick at 11.2 mm, but its not that heavy at 308 grams that makes this one feels good to hold even for hours. However, the display is prone to hairline scratches even if you take care of it properly. I actually even don't know where I got the some hairline scratches I've seen with my demo unit as I handled it with a lot of care. So I strongly suggest that anybody who'll get this to add a screen protector.
Display
If you'll ask me what this tab needs to improve further, its the display. It's great that it already have 5 point multi-touch that can give you a good typing and touch experience, but the 800 x 480 resolution P+G Capacitive display they used here doesn't look that good to my eyes. The colors looks dull even if the brightness is set to the max level, it looks a bit submerged from the screen and wasn't able to give me good viewing angles. Fortunately, it's still not as bad as some I've seen in the past and Ekotek made up for it in most of the other aspects of this tab.
Battery Life
During my time with it, the Ekotab Encore 2 performed well in this part. Even at just 2,500 mAh the tablet was able to last me the entire time I was out of the house without a charger (approximately 8 hours) with gaming, browsing, reading and social media. That good power optimization must be due to the slightly skinned almost stock Android OS and the use of a lower type of screen.
Audio
The speakers used here was quite good and loud. I was actually surprised that it surpassed my expectation. It's not the best out there, but what I wanted to emphasize is its good enough for the price. The mic is also decently clear, but you should use it in on a quiet place to get pleasing results. When it comes to the headphone out, has that flat signature and listenable enough if you are just using your earphones.
Camera
At first, I thought that the camera doesn't look good due to the screen of the tab, but when I transferred it to my laptop it tells a different story. The 2 MP rear camera looks decent when used outdoors with good lighting and the VGA camera is actually viewable. Just make sure not to use it in a bad lighting condition as it won't perform. Still needs a lot of improvement, but better than having no cam at all.
Performance
While the 1.5 GHz All Winner A33 quad core processor isn't widely popular, it was able to make this tab run quite well. It worked great when opening one to three light apps at a time (ie. browsing, social media, and camera), but lags when opening more due to the limited RAM at just 512 MB. Fortunately, the UI they used here is lightly skinned and runs on almost stock Android Kitkat which made the overall feel quite smooth and fast. (Even if some parts of the UI still looks like the old ICS / Jellybean)
The combo of Mali 400 GPU and that quad core processor also did well when it comes to gaming. I have no problem playing light games and was even able to run heavy games like Dead Trigger 2 on low settings decently. Just make sure that you turn off all the other apps first for the best result.
Benchmarks
Antutu - 16914
Geekbench - 890 (Multi Core)
Vellamo - 1015
Quadrant - 3522
Multi Touch - 5 point
The scores were pretty much what we expected using this setup. That should be good enough to run moderate games, browse the net smoothly and touch your screen with ease.
Ekotab Encore 2 Specs
Pro's - Good build quality, Quad core processor, loud speaker, battery life
Con's - Screen prone to scratches, display not that good, no gallery app
Verdict
Ekotek has that good habit making affordable products that looks good and performs decently and I'm glad to say that they did it again with the the Encore 2. While it's doesn't have jaw dropping specs and still needs some improvements, it's a decent tablet for the asking price. I would recommend this to those who want a tab that just works with limited budget.
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| Meet Ekotab Encore 2! |
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| The packaging |
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| Inside the box |
Build Quality / Design
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| At the back, showing the camera, speakers, mic and Ekotek's logo |
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| Side view of the tablet |
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| The ports, volume rocker and power button |
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| The display |
Battery Life
During my time with it, the Ekotab Encore 2 performed well in this part. Even at just 2,500 mAh the tablet was able to last me the entire time I was out of the house without a charger (approximately 8 hours) with gaming, browsing, reading and social media. That good power optimization must be due to the slightly skinned almost stock Android OS and the use of a lower type of screen.
Audio
The speakers used here was quite good and loud. I was actually surprised that it surpassed my expectation. It's not the best out there, but what I wanted to emphasize is its good enough for the price. The mic is also decently clear, but you should use it in on a quiet place to get pleasing results. When it comes to the headphone out, has that flat signature and listenable enough if you are just using your earphones.
Camera
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| The 2 MP rear camera looks decent in good lighting |
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| The back to school billboard text is still surprisingly visible from afar |
Performance
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| The user interface |
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| It was able to run Dead Trigger 2! |
Benchmarks
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| The benchmarks! |
Geekbench - 890 (Multi Core)
Vellamo - 1015
Quadrant - 3522
Multi Touch - 5 point
The scores were pretty much what we expected using this setup. That should be good enough to run moderate games, browse the net smoothly and touch your screen with ease.
Ekotab Encore 2 Specs
- Display: 7 inches P+G Capacitive, 800 x 480 resolution, 5 point multitouch
- Processor: 1.5 GHz All Winner A33 quad core
- GPU: Mali 400
- RAM: 512 MB
- ROM: 4 GB expandable up to 32 GB via microSD card
- Rear Camera: 2 MP
- Front Camera: VGA
- OS: Android 4.4 Kitkat
- Battery: 2500 mAh Li-Polymer
- SIM: Standard + micro Dual SIM
- Connectivity: WiFi b/g/n, 3G, Bluetooth
- Others: Supports external USB 3G dongle
- In The Box: 1 USB cable, 1 AC adaptor (5V, 1.5A), User Manual, USB-OTG cable, Warranty Card
- Dimensions: 192 x 116.5 x 11.2 mm
- Weight: 308g
- Price: SRP PHP 2,999, Lazada 2,559
Pro's - Good build quality, Quad core processor, loud speaker, battery life
Con's - Screen prone to scratches, display not that good, no gallery app
Verdict
Ekotek has that good habit making affordable products that looks good and performs decently and I'm glad to say that they did it again with the the Encore 2. While it's doesn't have jaw dropping specs and still needs some improvements, it's a decent tablet for the asking price. I would recommend this to those who want a tab that just works with limited budget.
