Submitted by nbeam85 on
This is going to be my concluding page for this article. I just couldn't drag it out for two more whole pages so I am going to cram a bit in here... No dancing around the point either...
Performance AND STABILITY on the Hero II is abysmal. I didn't have a horrible experience when I first tested a tablet using the ATM7029 processor but it was running at a lower resolution. That tablet had build quality issues though and I didn't get to spend a lot of time with it in the end. The fact I didn't have a horrible first experience with this chipset led me to consider trying a higher-end tablet that would feature it. Hence the Hero II arriving on my doorstep...
I gave this thing pretty much EVERY chance. I hacked in via ADB, remounted the vendor partition and deleted all the bloatware by hand. I turned off Wifi so apps couldn't update and killed every other app except the one I would be using at the time. Nothing... I would get minimal improvements here or there but it just sucked all around. Android even has choppy animations...! Apps will constantly crash or freeze or be buggy. For example, reading a Magazine in NOOK is near impossible because if you rotate the screen it goes black and won't come back without killing the application and opening it up again. Not to mention it takes 10 - 15 seconds to open the magazine. Another example, it took me THREE tries to get Google Music to play music from my account. It crashed the first three attempts. Typing is also a pain because you will click on a text entry field and then have to wait for 2 seconds before the keyboard will start to pop up and then wait some more as some entry fields will lag as you type.
Which reminds me... A side note on screen sensitivity. The KNC only has a 5 point touch screen and the Ainol Novo 10 Hero II has a 10 point. The KNC MD1006 only really detects 4 points reliably whereas the Hero II will pick up and track all 10. That ALL being said... The KNC does great with 4 points or less and I have never needed more than 3 in any one app AND the KNC is WONDERFULLY touch sensitive whereas the Hero II is not so much. For example, I cut the tip of my thumb on packaging opening these devices up and had to band-aid it. The Hero II could not detect my thumb when I tried to type due the Band-Aid. The KNC had no issue at all detecting my thumb. This makes a difference in use.
Back to performance... Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, lags on the Hero II. So much so that we will never carry an Actions ATM7029 processor tablet, EVER. This experience put the final nail in that coffin. Cortex-A5 cores were never ever mean for this kind of usage and it shows at every turn. Furthermore, the Vivante GC1000 has major compatibility issues with many games and applications on the market, which further adds to the overall bugginess of the device.
The Actions ATM7029 is like a retro throwback to most China Tablet processors in 2010 - 2011. Avoid it at all costs. I think it is fair to say that anyone giving this chip a positive review is either being paid to do so, or they have never used a "good" tablet and have nothing to compare against.
So, where the NOVO 10 Hero II falls flat on its face, the KNC MD1006 excels, making this category an absolute trouncing. The MD1006 isn't just good compared to this tablet, it is one of the better performing RK3188 tablets I have used. It boots in 15 seconds or less because KNC odex'd the rom. It has extremely smooth performance in Android, which is on par with the experiences I have had on Samsung Exynos 4412 Quad powered devices. I think KNC actually spent a fair bit of time tuning Android to their device, it runs very well and once again is laudable from a lesser known brand. Where the Hero II is nothing but frustration, the MD1006 was frustration free during our testing.
Battery life - I have not done a rundown test on the batteries on these devices yet. On paper, the MD1006 should be rough and the Hero II should do well. However I have read a few reviews of the MD1006 on some of the Chinese forums and they seem to indicate that the battery life is surprisingly good. I don't think it will get anywhere near the Hero II but my guess is that it would survive over 6 hours in our standard test. How is this possible? Simply put, the RK3188 is extremely power efficient. The NOVO 10 Hero II should do over 9 hours based on reviews I have looked at elsewhere. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me if it did over 24 hours as you are just asking for that many more hours of frustration. That probably sounds a bit cynical but it is honestly the truth. Between the under-powered cores and the Vivante GPU, it is hard to like the Hero II in any respect.
I presented the KNC MD1006 tablet to a new business client and they bought it same day. So I don't actually have it on hand to finish the battery test and will have to wait for the next batch to come in. That pretty much sums it up... The KNC MD1006 is an excellent device at a reasonable price. The Hero II, while well designed and touting good battery life and exceptional speakers, is over-priced considering the underwhelming amount of power and overwhelming number of bugs. If you didn't catch it, we already sold our first KNC MD1006 so it will be hitting our retail shelves sometime in the next month or so. The NOVO 10 Hero II test unit will be hitting the bargain bit at a loss for us but perhaps a deal for whoever snatches it up at a low price.
Pros/Cons Table
| Ainol Novo 10 Hero II | KNC MD1006 | |
| PROS | Slick Design, Excellent Stereo Speakers, Long Battery Life, USB & DC charging, Android 4.2.2 | Excellent Design, Metal Unibody, Decent Speaker, Better-than-Average Usage Performance from the RK3188, Best-in-Class IPS Screen. 2 Gb of Ram. Low price |
| CONS | Vivante GC1000 GPU is not good... Actions ATM7029 is incredibly under-powered, device lags a lot, apps like to crash, screen is a bit dim, Cameras are not all that great. | Still on Android 4.1.1, Cameras are not all that great, 8 Gb of Storage is sufficient but not great. Smallish battery. We are still not sure on battery life. (Initial testing and reports from elsewhere are positive though) |
| Conclusion | While it looks tempting, and has some interesting features, avoid this unit unless it is an absolute steal | Buy one today if you are looking for an excellent budget device that over-delivers on performance while not emptying your wallet |