Review: Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C

Introduction and design

When Asus built the Nexus 7 for Google, it produced one of the best budget tablets we'd seen. Clearly the Taiwanese manufacturer knows better than to mess with a winning formula.

The Asus MemoPad 7 ME572C then, is the spiritual successor to the Nexus 7 and builds on it without really adding anything new.

Currently the MemoPad 7 is only available at John Lewis for £179.95, putting it in a similar price range to the Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 (£199) and LG G Pad 8.3 (£169) but above the popular Tesco Hudl 2 (£129).

Since Asus released the original Nexus 7 back in 2012, the market for budget Android tablets has changed pretty significantly. The falling price of components coupled with Android's maturity as an operating system has resulted in capable devices even at the sub-£150 mark.

That means that attaching a "great value" tag to the MeMoPad 7 ME572C might be a bit premature. To be fair, Asus does have a cheaper, entry-level version of the MeMoPad 7 (available for £99) with a different design and lower specs.

However, if you're willing to put up a little bit more cash, the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C has much to offer. It's got a great Full HD (1,920 x 1,200) screen, quad-core Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage (upgradable via microSD).

Where the difference really lies between this and the cheaper tablets in the MeMoPad range is the design. Asus has trimmed the chassis down to 8.3mm thin (last year's Nexus 7 measured 8.65mm thin) and kept the weight to 269g.

Asus has given the chassis a "clutch bag-inspired" design that overlays the matte, rubberised edging with a metallic back plate that comes in a choice of three different colours.

My review unit came in gold, but red and black are also available. I liked the design of the MeMoPad 7 because, to me, it aspires to be more than just another budget tablet.

I appreciate that gadget aesthetics are highly subjective, but in this case I think Asus has put together a nice looking device.

Lined up next to the Nexus 7, the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C looks very similar although the corners are squared off rather than rounded. The chunky bezels, unfortunately, are quite noticeable and do blemish the design. A year on from the Nexus 7 it would've been nice if Asus could find a way to shrink these.

Also, if we're talking pure practicality then there's an issue with the nice-looking rear design: it's not as easy to grip as the matte backing on the Nexus 7. I didn't drop the MeMoPad during my time with it, but it doesn't feel as comfortable to hold as Asus' previous effort.

The camera and button placements are also identical to the Nexus 7. So the front-facing 2MP camera is slightly off-centre on the (when in landscape) left hand bezel while the rear-facing 5MP camera is in the top right hand corner.

The power switch and volume rocker are lined up together on top of the tablet within easy reach of your left hand when you're holding it in landscape.

The buttons are given the same rubberised coating and have a reassuring amount of travel. On either end of the MeMoPad 7 ME572C is the microUSB charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack.

The only other port is the uncovered microSD slot letting you expand the storage up by 128GB. The lack of expandable storage was a big drawback on the Nexus 7 and it's good to see it added here.

There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the design of the Asus MeMOPad 7 ME572C but it feels a bit like retreading old ground. If you lay this tablet face-up next to a Nexus 7, it's almost impossible to tell the difference.

Making the new tablet thinner and lighter is a good start but it doesn't feel like Asus has done anything different here. There's little point in fixing a winning formula, after all. But it means if you've already got a Nexus 7, there's no real reason to upgrade.

Interface, features and performance

ZenUI

Part of the appeal of the Nexus 7 was having the native Android experience rather than a skinned or altered version. With cheaper tablets you'll either have to put up with plenty of bloatware (like the Tesco Hudl 2) or a forced ecosystem (like the Amazon Fire HD 7) that doesn't include Google's apps.

The MeMoPad 7 ME572C doesn't suffer from the latter - it's all open Android 4.4 and highly customisable. But it does fall prey to the former with the ZenUI skin bringing plenty of Asus software to the table.

Programs like File Manager, AudioWizard and Power Saver are quite useful, although I find it unlikely that most people will sign up for a MyAsus account to keep up with the latest news from the company.

In an effort to be more helpful, the lock screen syncs with your calendar and gives you an at-a-glance look at any upcoming appointments. Also, there are three icons denoting email, browsing and camera that you can launch from the lock screen by tapping and then swiping.

I liked this as a feature but the process is inevitably interrupted if you add a PIN or pattern unlock to your profile. What's more, my muscle memory for unlocking devices tends to take over and I find I've already unlocked the device before remembering to use the shortcuts to go directly to the app I want to use.

Zen Link is Asus' clutch of connectivity apps, including PC Link, Remote Link, Party Link and Share Link. All four are designed to attach the MeMoPad 7 ME572C to your PC or to other devices for sharing items or adding features.

Remote Link, for example, connects the MeMoPad ME572C to your laptop where it becomes, effectively, a second touchpad. Party mode lets you connect to other nearby devices for sharing photos.

As I said, some of these apps are useful, but just as many sat unused in an Asus folder on the bottom of my homescreen.

MicroSD slot

One of the biggest missing features of the Google Nexus 7 by Asus was expandable storage and the inclusion of it here lets you up the 16GB native storage by up to 128GB.

However, it's not as if budget tablets don't come with microSD ports any more, so the impact of it on this £179 device is slightly diminished.

The port itself is on the bottom of the device and has been left uncovered. This means it's easy enough to swap out cards - they just click in and out. But it also means there's a vulnerability to dust that a tablet like the Sony Xperia Z2 Tablet doesn't have to worry about.

Because of the amount of software that Google and Asus have loaded onto the MeMoPad 7 ME572C, roughly 5GB of the 16GB standard storage is already used up. I talk about this later in the review, but I'll mention it here because if you're going to consider this tablet then you'll really need to consider a microSD card as well.

Performance

The 64-bit Intel Z3560 processor runs at 1.83Ghz while 2GB of RAM helps out with the heavy lifting. As you'd expect from this setup; the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C offers up a solid performance for day to day use.

Games and multitasking aren't a problem and it's only with a really heavy strain that you're going to see any lag at all.

Running the MeMoPad 7 ME572C through our benchmarking program returned a score of 760 for a single core and 2370 for multi-core.

That's better than the 1476 scored by the Nexus 7 and, crucially, better than the 2140 scored by the cheaper Tesco Hudl 2, which also uses an Intel Atom chipset.

I used the MeMoPad 7 for 3D gaming, browsing and posting to social networks. Apps and games took a second or so to load, but once they did so they ran smoothly. There was only one occasion when Real Racing 3 failed to load and a swift reboot took care of the issue.

I did find there to be a small delay when flipping the MeMoPad 7 from horizontal to vertical and back again but this is nitpicking on my part.

When it comes to audio, the MeMoPad 7 has both strengths and weaknesses. The strength is that with speakers built into both edges of the tablet, Asus can deliver proper stereo sound that gives you a really balanced experience when playing a game or watching content.

The weakness is that when you're holding the tablet in landscape your hands are going to muffle the speakers. To get around this you need to either hold the tablet lower down or cup your hands around the back. Or put the tablet on a stand, but this isn't always a possibility. It's a difficult problem to fix and Asus certainly isn't the first manufacturer to fall prey to it.

The sound quality itself tends to favour the top-range and lacks a real bass punch that can anchor a film or a game. But isn't as tinny as tablet speakers were two or three years ago and the balance is really even.

The pre-installed AudioWizard app gives you a quick way to select different audio modes depending on what you're doing. Whether you want to watch a film, play a game or make an audio recording, the app will optimise the settings for the best audio performance.

The volume isn't the loudest I've heard on a tablet. It obviously isn't as strong on larger, 10-inch slates, but for a 7-incher it still didn't produce as much noise as I'd have thought given the placement of the speakers. I'd recommend a good pair of over-ears for the best experience.

The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C doesn't break new ground when it comes to performance, but keeps pace with what the average user will want from it. In terms of a price to performance ratio, it offers a very good deal.

Battery life, essentials and camera

Battery life

A 90-minute HD video ran the MeMoPad 7's 3950mAh battery down by only 15%. That was with the screen turned up to maximum brightness and extra connectivity, like Bluetooth, switched on.

It's far from the most conclusive battery test but it gives us a means to compare the MeMoPad 7 with other devices. The Amazon Fire HD 7 was given the same test and the battery dropped by 33%.

The basic requirement for any tablet is for it to get through an eight hour stretch with fair usage. To my mind, that includes playing some music, handling web browsing and social networking and perhaps an hour or so of video. The MeMoPad 7 ME572C managed this without any trouble.

Like most other tablets, Asus has included a power saver management mode that lets you monitor and adjust the performance based on how much juice you've got left. You're given three options: Ultra-saving mode, optimised mode and customised mode.

The first maximises battery life by disconnecting from all networks and switching off non-essential programs while in standby. The second runs the device as efficiently as possible without switching off network settings and the third lets you select which functions you want to be affected by the mode. Essentially, it comes down to setting screen brightness for individual functions.

These functions aren't going to instantly restore 20% to your battery, but they will eke out an extra 20 minutes or so when you're on the last leg of your commute.

The essentials

Screen

Since the majority of tablet use is content consumption, the most essential feature is always going to be the screen quality. The MeMoPad 7 ME572C is Asus' first MeMoPad tablet to come with a Full HD screen.

It uses an LCD IPS display to maximise viewing angles and boasts a resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 – matching last year's Nexus 7. And, like that tablet, the quality of the display is excellent and one of the MeMoPad 7 ME572C's key selling points.

Contrast in particular is better here than you'll find on cheaper tablets like the Tesco Hudl 2 or Amazon Fire HD 7. I doubt LCD screens are ever truly going to capture blacks and shadows the same way as an OLED or Plasma screen can, but Asus makes a very good stab at it.

My one contention is that the brightness levels on the MeMoPad 7 ME572C aren't very high. This, coupled with the reflective TFT coating means watching video on the MeMoPad 7 ME572C in bright light isn't easy.

However, the pre-installed Splendid app gives you a simple way to play around with the colour, hue and saturation settings for the screen. Everything is displayed with a slider for easy manipulation and you can reset the screen to default at any time. The app has been on Asus' devices for a while and is a really simple way to tweak the screen settings to your liking.

The display has been built using Gorilla Glass 3 which prevents the basic scratches the tablet could pick up during day-to-day use. Unfortunately, it'll still attract plenty of dust and smears from your fingertips. And, as I mentioned before, the MeMoPad 7 ME572C has thick bezels that you can't help but notice.

Like so much of this tablet, the display is good because of the lessons learnt with the Nexus 7. That device had a great display and so does this one. The MeMoPad 7 ME572C is an improvement over the Nexus 7 when it comes to the screen, but only a marginal one.

Apps

I've touched on the amount of pre-installed apps that come with the MeMoPad 7 ME572C and it's worth revisiting here because, like the screen, apps are an essential part of any tablet.

Admittedly, it's not all Asus' fault as there's a healthy dose of Google apps preinstalled as well – all the usual Google Play apps are accounted for. I would prefer to have a blank slate to download the apps I want.

The chances of me using Asus' PartyLink to send a picture to a friend are pretty minimal. Likewise, I'm never going to access the Mirror app (which uses the front-facing camera) to check how my hair's looking. Finally, I have enough social chatting apps that I don't need Asus' Omlet Chat to talk to my buddies.

I could handle these apps being there if there was a way to uninstall them but alas, they're stuck on the tablet for good.

Space is the only constraint you'll find when it comes to apps. As I said, there's full access to Google's Play store which offers you apps and games beyond counting.

There are also magazines, books, films and songs you can purchase directly from Google as well as deals and free giveaways to take advantage of.

Camera

It's fair to say you're not going to be using the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C as your primary camera. The rear-facing 5MP camera is capable without being outstanding and it's the same story with the 2MP sensor on the front.

Non-photographers are likely going to use their smartphone while pros will have better equipment to hand.

The default 4MP 16:9 mode yields mediocre images. There's a graininess that I particularly noticed when looking at skin tone. Light balance is good and general colour reproduction is also passable. Asus has added autofocus and face recognition which are both advanced features.

The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C compensates to some degree by offering plenty of software extras to play with. You can adjust exposure, ISO and the white balance and there are shooting modes like HDR and burst mode to help you get the best shot.

If you're a little less serious about capturing the perfect image and more interested in filters and manipulation then there's more here for you. You can apply post-snap effects like softening skin, brightening eyes or thinning cheeks as well as adjust the contrast, shadows, hue, saturation and more. Then there's the option to crop, add borders or apply a range of filters to finish off the picture.

The MeMoPad 7 ME572C might not capture perfect images to begin with, but there's no end of things you can do with the image after you've taken it. Not that you'll need it, but there's also the wealth of photography editing apps on the Google Play store to take advantage of.

Camera samples

Click here for the full res image

Click here for the full res image

Click here for the full res image

Verdict

The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C is a very impressive 7-inch tablet. It covers all the bases, from performance to build quality, at a reasonable price. However, it doesn't really do anything different from the Nexus 7 that's now two years old.

Performance and screen quality have been given the necessary improvement but the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C isn't the knockout budget deal that the Nexus 7 was in 2012 and, subsequently, 2013.

As I said at the beginning of the review, this is the spiritual successor to the Nexus 7 and offers all the upgrades while changing little of the overall feel. The biggest difference is the abundance of extra software that Asus has loaded on as part of its ZenUI Android skin.

We liked

Asus has got all the essentials in place for this tablet. The full HD display, stereo speakers and 2GB of RAM mean that both media and applications are well supported and look good.

Likewise, the battery life is acceptable and Asus has slimmed down the chassis to make the MeMoPad 7 ME572C more portable for those that don't want an 8.9-inch or 10.1-inch tablet.

One of the biggest additions is the inclusion of a microSD slot. Expandable storage was sorely lacking from the Nexus 7 and Asus' introduction of it here is one of the best reasons to choose this device over its predecessor.

We disliked

No matter how useful they may be, it's never good when companies pre-load bloatware onto a device and affect the storage as a result. Some of the Asus apps are useful - Power Saver and Splendid are two that spring to mind – but I'd still rather have a vanilla experience.

Google Play support means all of these apps can be downloaded at the user's discretion. So forcing it on you with no option to uninstall is an annoyance in my book.

I have no real argument with the price Asus has put on the MeMoPad 7 ME572C. It's a fair reflection of the hardware you're buying, but it's not quite as good a deal as it could be. As such, I can't quite recommend this tablet as a great deal, but I can say its worth the asking price if you're happy to step up to it.

Final verdict

The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C is an incremental upgrade from the Google Nexus 7 by Asus that steps up the necessary components while keeping everything else largely the same.

It's certainly the best MeMoPad out there, and a great alternative to bigger tablets like Google's new Nexus 9, the iPad Air 2 or the Amazon Fire HD 8.9.

In terms of price, it's not the best deal out there but it is a solid contender. If you can look past Asus' slew of pre-installed apps it's one of the best 7-inch tablets you'll find around at the moment.

First reviewed: December 2014

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