Ainol Novo 10 Hero II Review vs. KNC MD1006

So recently TNT has been entertaining a couple of novel (for us at least) devices... First we have the Ainol Novo 10 Hero II. Why is this one novel? Well for one, it is based on the sub-par Actions ATM7029 processor, however the design and build look very good and the speakers are excellent. Second, we have the KNC MD1006... What makes this so special? While we deal in off-brand, KNC is off-off-brand... i.e. really off-brand for us as it isn't a PiPo, Ployer, FNF, or an Onda, etc... as a result the price is quite low for what the specs are. I had a LOT of reservations because normally these off-off-brand units with bargain-bin pricing turn out to be a mess.

So the final question... Why put these two tablets head-to-head? They use vastly different processors... However, in the China-Tab economy, you end up paying for the branding on the Ainol tablet (and all the support that comes with it) and the hardware on the KNC (and all the power under the hood that comes with it) which brings these units price-points very close to one another. At retail on our shelves the Ainol Novo 10 Hero 2 would go for about $240, while the KNC MD1006 would go for about $230... Let the games begin...

First, lets butt the specs up against one another:

Ainol Novo 10 Hero II KNC MD1006
Processor Actions ATM7029 Quad-Core Cortex-A5 @ 1.2 Ghz 40nm Rockchip RK3188 Quad-Core Cortex-A9 @ 1.6 Ghz 28nm
GPU Vivante GC1000 Mali-400 MP4
Screen 1280x800 10.1" IPS, Capacitive 10-point touch 1280x800 10.1" IPS, Capacitive 5-point touch
RAM 1 GB 2 GB
Internal 16 Gb 8 Gb
Cameras Front VGA, Rear 2.0 MP Front VGA, Rear 2.0 MP
HDMI Yes Yes
Blutooth NO Yes
Speakers Rear-Firing Stereo Rear-Firing Mono
Wifi G/N G/N
Build Plastic-Frame, Plastic Back-Panel, Glass Touch-Panel Aluminum Unibody Shell, Plastic Front-Rim, Glass Touch-Panel
USB 1 x Micro - Data & Charging 1 x Micro - Data only
Battery Reported 8000 mAh Reported 4500 mAh
OS Jelly Bean 4.2.2 Jelly Bean 4.1.1
Est.Price $240 $230