Frontier a budget electronics brand in Japan have released one of the first budget 7″ tablet running Android Go.
For those who have never heard of Android Go before. It’s a stripped down version of Android 8.1 Oreo that is designed to run on entry level phones and tablets. The operating system has been optimised to work with RAM from 512MB to 1GB and storage from 8GB to 16GB. It comes preloaded with several Google apps that have been stripped down to use up less space and perform faster with the slower hardware.
You might be wondering what is the point of Android Go? Google intends on having Android Go on sub-$100 devices that can be sold in emerging markets like India and Africa.
In terms of features the Frontier JT07-81B is nothing to brag about. It features a 7″ IPS display at 1024×600 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage and is powered by an entry-level MediaTek MT8163 quad-core CPU at 1.3GHz with a Mali 720 MP2 GPU. For connectivity it’s using WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Other features include a 0.3 MP front camera, 2 MP rear camera, G-Sensor, Micro SD card expansion, 3.5mm audio and Mini HDMI out. Disappointingly it has a 2500mAh battery that only provides up to 4 hours of usage.
Based on those specifications alone the Frontier tablet would be best suited for general web browsing and social media. Thanks to the entry level hardware and short battery life gaming would not be ideal. None the less it’s good to see more brands having a crack at releasing Android Go devices.
Availability
Currently Frontier are selling the Frontier JT07-81B 7″ Tablet for ¥ 12,800 Yen which works out to be roughly $110 US. For customers outside of Japan the Lenovo Tab E7 with similar hardware would be a better choice.