Storage Options Scroll Excel 7″ Capacitive Touchscreen Tablet Review

The Excel tablet, as it is far more pleasantly called than the "official" name above, is the latest addition to the quickly expanding tablet market, which has changed the personal computing playing field massively in the last couple of years, with market leaders like the iPad 2, up-and-comers like the T-Mobile 7" tablet and the more specifically targeted Kindle now representing essential purchases for techies and casual technology users alike. Trouble is, most of the Excel's competitors ask an awful lot for their kit, and few accessible alternatives that marry a low price with

It's hardly one of the mega-famous names on the tablet market at the minute, but you don€™t win an award from the Gadget Show for nothing, and the Scroll Excell is a wonderful bit of kit at a relatively ludicrous low price. The system itself is a touch of refined, precise genius €“ simple enough to be wholly accessible, and incredibly easy to set-up thanks to limited mechanics and an incomplex set-up wizard to cater for most needs (and the option to bin it for those who like to fly solo).

On initial inspection you might think that the Storage Options tablet is aimed solely at the lower end of the market, to offer an accessible, affordable alternative to the swankier €œnamed brands€ at the top end without making too many waves. In that respect, you can do no better than pick one up, because it fits that objective perfectly, but, this model is in fact far more than that €“ because this little tablet has it€™s eyes set firmly on the sky, incorporating 3D compatibility and full 1080 HD output as well as everything you€™d expect from a laptop.

But hang on... a tablet available for £129.99 promising a lot more than the bare-bones set-up you might expect at that price point? There has to be a catch, right?

Well I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one to review to see if the hype created by the Gadget Show was justified. One thing is for certain, it has certainly created a lot of interest in the little tablet that could, and demand seems to be exceeding demand at the minute, with orders set to be fulfilled in most cases in about four weeks.

Already tempted? Buy a Storage Options Scroll Excell 7" Tablet here from Dabs.com, to receive your copy in about four weeks time.

Key Features

Android 2.3 Tablet, 1,000s of Android Apps Available Intuitive Capacitive Touch-Screen Plays 1080p HD and 3D Content on Your TV or Monitor Cortex A8 1GHz CPU, 512MB RAM, 4GB Memory (up to 32GB with Micro SD Card) Flash Support for Online TV & Video Services Wi-Fi connectivity Add accessories through Mini-USB connectivity The big bonus here, and what sets the Excel apart from competitors is the 3D and HD compatibility, which at this price has to be a massive contributing factor in anyone's decision to buy. The opportunity to access Android apps on a larger screen for a price that puts most smart phones to shame has got to get a mention as well, though it is worth noting that due to licensing restrictions, the Scroll Excel cannot officially be used to access the Android Marketplace. That has to be counted as a slight negativity, but it's more than made up for in the price (there had to be some compromise), and the fact that the tablet comes with a number of pre-installed apps including Adobe Flash Player, Amazon Kindle, BBC iPlayer, Facebook, MSN Talk, TuneIn Radio, Twitter, WildTangent Games and YouTube, and also comes with access to the SliderMe Market Place where most major apps can be downloaded to fulfill most app-based needs.

Design

This is where you might expect Storage Options to have cut corners, in order to offer the compromise to the price, but you would be completely mistaken.

Simple, sleek and geared towards ergonomics rather than dazzling aesthetics. Everyone should invest in a little simple black number for the festive period, and the Excel ticks that very box: Storage Options have limited the design to three facial buttons to compliment the capacitive touchscreen, and to allow the 7" screen space to breath.

It's also the perfect size for easy transport - rather than having to carry it in a laptop bag or similarly sized tablet bag/cover, it's perfectly suited to slipping into a handbag, or even a generously sized inner pocket. Which is ideal for easy, quick use - and thus exactly what should be expected from a tablet.

Set-Up

It's pretty much plug in and play, with the recommendation being to charge the tablet overnight before turning it on in order to gain maximum performance on first operation. Slightly frustrating for those who want to get right into it, but them's the rules. When you're finally allowed to play around with the kit, there'a handy, but completely unobtrusive wizard to help with primary set-up, and seeing what's what. In all honesty, the feature is included for the lowest level of computer levels (presumably), because everything is so ergonomically designed, it's almost impossible to get lost. As such, it's extremely easy to turn the wizard off and it is enormously pleasing to see a new bit of tech that values users enough to realise that the interface is largely the same as standard PC use, and there is very little need to hammer home instructions as if everyone's knowledge is at the very base level.

Performance

The screen itself - arguably the biggest draw of all at this price-point - is great, allowing multiple levels of interaction with your media, including zooming and pinching, sliding and rotating, to accommodate those of us who no longer believe in the sacred, unchangable nature of the photograph. Why stick to one perspective when zooming in on peripheral characters can uncover some of the greatest comedy moments known to photographers?

There's no issue with responsiveness, as the screen responds exactly on touch and as intended. The resolution isn't right at the top end, but at 16:9 800 x 480 it is still very impressive on a bargain set. 3D compatability at £129.99 - I'm still shocked, and even more so that the performance matches the promise. This is no no-frills alternative; it is, in itself a hugely appealing, massively accessible model for anyone looking for a high-spec tablet. That it is so inexpensive just makes it all the more impressive and appealing.

Likewise you can't grumble about performance at all, in fact far from it: the engine that runs the tablet isn't something to be sneezed at, with the same Samsung Cortex A8 1GHz processor as Samsung's own vastly more expensive Galaxy Tab P1000 - and it's somewhat astounding to see such an impressive processor for the price. Great performance all round, and with the comforting excellence of the Android OS - Gingerbread 2.3 to be specific - it's a very strong set-up. Some might question the lack of Honeycomb 3.0 here, but let's face it: that was a comparatively poor upgrade that will happily be replaced by the hopefully much more impressive (though oddly named) Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and which, hopefully we will see an update for on this tablet. But then, perhaps that's asking a lot considering how much we are already getting with the Excel.

Both 3D and HD content perform very well - provided you're streaming original source HD (might seem obviously, but it's a stumbling block for some who think HD adaptability can somehow transform lower definition images into 1080bp).

It is of course a shame that there is no direct access to the Android Marketplace, but it seems Google wouldn't play ball (just yet anyway), and Storage Options have been forced to find alternatives in the SliderMe Marketplace and Wild Tangent games app. Not a terrible compromise by any means, but it would have been nice for Storage Options to be able to proclaim themselves the only tablet in this range to be fully licensed. Hopefully, that window of opportunity has not yet completely closed...

The battery performance isn't stand-out, but 3-5 hours is hardly limited and fits with what you might expect from competitors that cost far more.

Overall

In short, you wont get anything like this, with anything like as impressive specs or performance for anywhere near the price it is currently being offered at.

If there was to be any criticisms, you have to look at the lack of official Android Marketplace access, but the blame doesn't lie with Storage Options, and from what I hear it wasn't for the want of trying. But then it's a minor gripe, as I've already qualified, and it certainly shouldn't detract too much from what deserves quite rightly to be considered the essential offering for anyone looking for a bargain priced tablet with specs and performance to embarrass the higher end models.

The price might be a major part of this positive review, but seriously, buy it because it's a bloody fine machine.

You can pick one up here for just £129.99