A newcomer tries its hand at Android tablets

Hisense, a company best known for its home theater equipment, isn't exactly a name synonymous with mobile devices. But with its new, Walmart-exclusive line of Android tablets -- the Sero 7 LT and Sero 7 Pro -- the Chinese manufacturer is dipping its toe into an increasingly crowded pool. Both tablets occupy the budget end of the spectrum, with the higher-end of the two, the Sero 7 Pro, going for a reasonable $150. For the price, the specs are decent: the Sero comes with a 1,280 x 800 display, a quad-core Tegra 3 processor and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. We dove headfirst into this bargain buy to see how it fares against similarly priced 7-inch tablets. Want to find out if Hisense has the chops to compete? Read on, friends.Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways.

Shopping for budget tablets is an exercise in managing one's expectations. With the Sero 7 Pro, Hisense seems to have strategically carved out its budget, using modest materials for the hardware. With dimensions of 7.87 x 4.95 x 0.43 inches, the Sero 7 is a comfortably sized tablet that feels fairly sturdy in-hand. And at 12.7 ounces, it's not the lightest Android tablet on the block either, but the slight heft does add to that feeling of durability. Design-wise, the plastic backing is textured to to provide a decent grip, and the coppery hue looks more expensive than it is, especially in sunlight. Hisense seemed determined to prove that inexpensive materials don't necessarily correlate with an inexpensive aesthetic; the Sero 7's clean lines make for a nice-looking budget device.

Continuing our tour, the power button is located near the top of the device on the right-hand side, right above the volume rocker. Both are made from black plastic that feels a bit flimsy, especially compared to that textured backing. Along the top you'll find mini-HDMI and micro-USB and ports, a covered microSD slot (which can handle up to 32GB), a 3.5mm headphone jack and a pinhole microphone. The HDMI-out is a nice touch, and it worked adequately when we paired it with a Sony HDTV to watch a few high-quality YouTube videos (included, we're not proud to admit, the "Sad Cat Diary" more than once). Should you decide to add the Sero 7 Pro to your gadget collection, you'll be happy to know that USB on-the-go is enabled, allowing you to use it with a flash drive, keyboard or mouse.

Out of the box, you'll find a sticker near the bottom of the device's backing, marking off the area where the NFC sensor lives. Right beneath that are two small stereo speakers (more on those later). An embossed Hisense logo sits in the middle, while a 5MP rear facing camera and its accompanying light sensor sit near the uppermost edge. Also included are GPS, Bluetooth and 5GHz 802.11n. Lastly, the tablet comes with 8GB of internal storage space, so that microSD port will almost surely come in handy.

While the Sero 7's hardware might lack a certain pizzazz, the same can't be said about the 1,280 x 800 display. This is one area where Hisense decided to splurge. Colors appear vivid, with dimension and depth. Blacks, which so often turn gray on mobile devices, look deep and dark here, and the screen gets bright enough to sear your eyeballs (a useful quality in direct sunlight). Additionally, the 7-inch screen offers great viewing angles without losing much color vibrancy when looked at from the side with the device laying flat.

From the rainbow-hued landscape of Candy Crush Saga to the eye-popping bubblegum pinks of Nicki Minaj music videos (played in HD, of course), the Sero 7's display served up rich, vibrant colors. Similarly, videos played back smoothly and beautifully. Text, in Play Books and Chrome, was as crisp as you'd want it to be. For a budget tablet,Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. the display was nothing to shake a stick at, and we were left considerably impressed with its quality.

Unfortunately, the quality wasn't as consistent when we got to the Sero 7's sound. It's not that the audio coming from the device's dual speakers was bad. Not at all. Mobile speakers are what they are -- we weren't blown away by the Sero 7's audio capabilities, but they performed adequately, even at maximum volume. Tablet users are no strangers to the tinny effect that often accompanies their devices' audio, but it was less noticeable here than it was on a similarly priced tablet, the HP Slate 7. Dialogue and background music in movie previews played well, with the slight tinny echo more evident in songs that called for more bass than the Sero 7 could provide.

Our disappointment heightened when we tested the tablet with some headsets we had lying around. We discovered that the Sero 7 has pretty severe compatibility issues with more than its fair share of brands. When paired with Sony, Apple and Jabra earbuds, the Sero 7 didn't register that a headset had been inserted into the 3.5 mm jack, and the audio came out of the device's speakers as if our earbuds weren't even there. We had better luck with a pair of over-the-ear Panasonic headphones and Tylt Tunz earbuds. When the Sero 7 actually recognized that the headphone jack was in use, we were sufficiently pleased with the quality, which was rich and true on the songs we tested despite the lack of an EQ setting in the tablet's main menu. However, the compatibility issue might be problematic if you find yourself needed to run out to purchase brand new headphones to use with your device. No one wants to be bothered with that.

The Sero 7 comes Android 4.2.1, which means it's lacking some of the most recent Jelly Bean features we've come to know and love. Beyond that, the tablet is running an almost stock version of Android, with minimal skinning. There are a few apps preloaded to the device, some of which you might never use, but some which might actually prove beneficial to you. Because this is a Walmart exclusive, the Sero 7 is, of course, packing Walmart's own app, along with one for Sam's Club. If you're a Walmart shopper, that might be of use to you, but we simply shrugged and went on our merry way. If they're really bother you,Winbo custom keychain you can always uninstall them. Also loaded on the device are the VUDU Movies and TV app and Kingsoft, a Microsoft Office clone that lets you create and edit .doc, .xls and .txt files.

In addition to Chrome, Gmail, YouTube and other standard issue Google apps, the Sero 7 also includes TegraZone, an app store for NVIDIA optimized games (which, like VUDU, cannot be uninstalled since they're system apps). It's not a bad addition, considering the device's NVIDIA quad-core Tegra 3 processor, but again, how useful it is is entirely up to you. For Flash support, the regular ol' Android browser is available for when Chrome doesn't suit your needs. Curiously enough, there's also a TV remote app, though without an IR sensor, it has limited usability. Your TV needs to be hooked up the same WiFi network as your tablet.

Applications aside, there have been a few tweaks to the standard Android 4.2.1 package. On the bottom navigation bar, Hisense has added a screen capture icon to the three we're used to (recent, menu and back). If you're accustomed to Android devices, you'll probably find yourself taking a ton of accidental screenshots as you instinctively aim for the recently used apps icon (as we did), but it's actually a pretty neat feature. Some may see it as an unnecessary addition, but it's much easier than pressing the power and volume buttons down simultaneously to make screen grabs.
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