Submitted by nbeam85 on
Okay, I am just going to vent my frustration up front here and explain my thought process (which has changed) as I move through this review/comparison. I initially thought to myself, this will be a very good "watch 'em duke it out" fight between two tablets. However a couple of things have changed my opinion on this matter... Yes, as a site administrator I want your eyes and your subsequent page views ;) as you read through this article. But here is the end, at the beginning (sort of... page 2). The KNC MD1006 absolutely pummels the Ainol NOVO 10 Hero II to a bloody pulp in pretty much every single area except for sound quality... which is still remarkably close as the KNC does quite well on sound quality. They are comparable in the area of build quality, but the KNC MD1006 edges out the Ainol Novo 10 Hero II in that area as well due to its metal unibody design. Everything goes well with the Ainol Novo 10 Hero II until you turn it on... Anyhow, with that cheerful aside complete, I am going to talk about build quality here and further expand on my frustration...
Ainol does an excellent job of getting your blood pumping with the Hero II packaging. I think PiPo and Ainol have competing design departments that just keep trying to outdo themselves with box design and honestly with Tablet aesthetics as well. I normally don't waste time talking about packaging, however the quality, care, and thought put into the packaging is interesting and ironic considering how little thought was seemingly put into choosing a processor for Hero II. In the market for a tablet? I will be the first to tell you that build-quality and design contribute immensely to the experience... however at the end of the day it is very much so "what is on the inside" that counts.
The KNC MD1006 packaging is a less thrilling affair. KNC offers us a simple, but sturdy/safe thin-line box that is "graphic'd" up on the front... overall it is akin to Ployer's simplistic but sufficient packaging for the Momo 12. In fact, if I had to describe the whole KNC MD1006 experience in a nutshell, it is the spiritual successor to the Ployer Momo 12 in almost all respects. Which is saying quite a bit, as the Momo 12 was one of the most successful units ever sold by TNT.
While the Hero II does use pretty much all plastic components, the quality is really excellent and the device neither feels nor looks cheap. Aside from some slight creak if you are forcing it, the device feels really excellent in your hand. The edges are tapered well, so it feels very thin and comfortable. My only complaint is the rather wide bezel around the front of the screen. Wide bezels are a mixed bag. They do make it easier to hold, however they just look ugly and make the screen feel smaller than it is. Ainol also saw fit to include a physical volume rocker and Home key, which is much appreciated. Truth be told, you will need the home key as apps tend to crash a lot :(. The rear stereo speaker grilles look nice and hide the best sounding speakers I have ever heard on a tablet. My unit is white/silver... I think if I had gotten the unit in black I would have been even happier and it would have made the bezel much less noticeable.
The KNC MD1006 uses an almost all-metal unibody construction save for the black plastic accent that covers the ports and a white plastic frame on the front. The bezel is a bit narrower which makes the devices footprint a bit smaller than the Hero II. The metal unibody construction is more desirable and more rigid that what is found on the Hero II. Giving the MD1006 a slight advantage in the area of design quality.
Quality assurance was absolutely excellent on both devices. No odd gaps, nor poorly aligned ports, dents, bends, etc. to be found anywhere, the screens both had no light-bleed or dead pixels and Wifi range and signal on both units was solid.