Tecno is trying its hand at tablets again with the new DroiPad 8 II. The device, which is now officially available in Kenya, is the third Android tablet in Tecno’s DroiPad tablet series. It is the fourth overall when we include the WinPad 10 which runs on Microsoft’s Windows platform.
In the box
As usual, you get a Tecno travel adaptor coupled with a USB cable for both charging and data transfer and something unique: a USB on the go (OTG) adaptor that also allows users to use the DroiPad 8 II to charge other devices. It has a 5,000mAh battery so sharing with any other devices you have when they run out of charge is nice to have as an option.
Impressions
We have been using the Tecno DroiPad 8 II for over two weeks now and what strikes us is its design. It is all metal with only a plastic strip at the top that houses the device’s radios. That and, of course, the glass front where you get to interact with the 8-inch HD IPS display.
We don’t know about you but usually, the first thing we do after initially setting up a device is to plug it in so that we can start on a clean slate (no pun). One of the things you will notice with the DroiPad 8 II is how fast it will take to be fully charged. That is because the bundled adapter supports fast charging.
One other noticeable thing is that the tablet is thick and heavy.
The DroiPad 8 II is a tablet that supports cellular network frequencies so you can slot SIM cards in the two available slots so that you can use mobile internet bundles from your service provider of choice. For those on the Safaricom network, Safaricom’s 4G/LTE network can be accessed as well since the DroiPad 8 II is a 4G device. Talking about mobile networks, besides browsing, you can use the tablet just like your phone i.e. make calls, text etc. We don’t know why you’d want to do that but you are not being limited. The choice is yours to make.
Starting today, the DroiPad 8 II is on sale countrywide at a price of Kshs 17,499. It will also be available online through Jumia Kenya at a discounted price. This is the first time that Tecno is making a tablet available in the open market. Previously, the devices have been sold exclusively through Safaricom. The first fifty people to buy the tablet in Nairobi get a free 8 GB flash drive.
There is still a lot about the DroiPad 8 II which you can expect to hear about in the tablet’s upcoming review.
