Affordable daily driver that hits all the right notes

We were initially impressed at the performance of the Evoluzn 8P when we did our initial unboxing a few weeks ago. The 7.85-inch tablet had everything right going for it and has a good mix of both hardware and software inside. It also doesn’t suffer from the laggy Android 4.2 Jelly Bean software that seems to plague other similar tablets. It also has a very premium feel, which is surprising because the Evoluzn 8P only retails for Php 8,990.

Evoluzn 8P specifications

• 1.2GHz Quad-core MediaTek MT8389 Processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB Internal Storage, Expandable via MicroSD Card
• PowerVR SGX 544MP
• 7.85-inch IPS Display, 1024 x 768 resolution
• 5.0-megapixel primary camera with autofocus and flash
• 2.0-megapixel secondary camera
• Dual 3G SIM, Dual Standby
• 3G, HSPA+, WiFi, WiFi Hotspot, FM Radio, Bluetooth, GPS, Miracast
• USB OTG
• Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
• 5,000mAh Battery
• SRP: Php8,990

Premium build in a price you can afford

Like we mentioned earlier, the Evoluzn 8P’s build quality feels surprisingly premium. The Evoluzn 8P uses an aluminum back, which gives it this nice, premium feel.

The overall build quality isn’t bad as well. We meticulously went over the entire tablet looking for gaps, raised edges – anything that would indicate shoddy build quality. We were unsuccessful of course, which goes to show just how solidly made the Evoluzn 8P is.

The overall design of the Evoluzn 8P borrows heavily from the iPad Mini, to the point that you could mistake the latter for the former from a distance if viewed from the front. The Evoluzn 8P is handily light, and travelled well in our bag. The side of the tablet houses the power button and the volume rocker, while the numerous ports which include the TV-Out, USB and 3.5mm jack are located up on the top.

The plastic plate on the top can be removed to reveal the two SIM slots and a microSD port.

Clever work around circumvents lag problem

We were a little surprised to discover that the Evoluzn 8P didn’t carry the tablet version of Android, opting instead for the one used in phones. Then we noticed that the Evoluzn 8P didn’t have the same lag issues that plagued toher Android Jelly Bean tablets. Navigating the Evoluzn 8P felt smooth and fluid. Of course there was some rare instances of lag, but we’d chalk that up to our overzealous opening of apps, hehe.

Not all of the smoothness is because of the OS however, some of the credit has to go to the 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8389 processor inside the Evoluzn 8P. The processor, wiht the PowerVR SGX 544MP managed to score a respectable 12540 points in Antutu.

As far as gaming is concerned, the Evoluzn 8P is capable enough. We loaded our standby Zombie killing game Dead Trigger 2, as well as Death Dome, a very visceral (and violent hehe) Android game to try out the capabilities of the Evoluzn 8P. The tablet ran Dead Trigger 2 very well, even though there was plenty of enemies on the screen at any give time withou too much trouble. With Death Dome, the Evoluzn 8P started to lag a little bit during the action, but not enough to render the game unplayable. It’s also capable of running more sedate games like Plants Vs. Zombies 2 without too much problems, even if there’s a lot of zombies on the screen trying to eat your plants.

A display that’s good enough

Even though the display of the Evoluzn 8P isn’t in HD, we found it adequate enough for our use. The 7.85 inch IPS display had great viewing angles, and had a vibrant display. The Evoluzn 8P became our go-to tablet when we wanted to watch HD movies, as the Evoluzn 8P can handle FULL HD movies quite well, even if it can’t display them in full HD. The Evoluzn 8P also has Miracast capabilities, so if you have a Miracast capable TV for example, you can stream video to it and watch it on a bigger screen if you wanted.

Mediocre camera

Let’s face it – you don’t buy a tablet for its imaging capabilities, and while the Evoluzn 8P has 5 megapixel camera with flash, it’s not the best camera out there. As long as you take pictures with plenty of light, the Evoluzn 8P will do fine. If not, well, let’s just say you’ll just be dissapointed with the results.

Good battery life

The Evoluzn 8P managed to log around 9 hours of battery life with light to moderate use, which included gaming, watching videos and browsing the net.

Verdict: great everyday tablet for people on a budget

The Evoluzn 8P gets the mix of affordability, features and useability right. Evoluzn’s software workaround to a known Android problem seems to have done the trick to eliminate an annoying problem that’s present in the 4.2 tablet version of Android. Its premium-ish buld quality is worth more than its Php 8,990 price tag.