Reset settings (hard reset) on NetTAB THOR WHITE. IconBIT NetTAB Thor tablet review and testing Battery life and ergonomics

Dual-core tablet PC with quad-core GPU and 10.1″(1280×800, 16:9) widescreen high-resolution display with wide viewing angle (IPS, capacitive, multi-touch).

New dual-core (Cortex-A9 1.6 GHz) processor provides high performance programs and the latest version of the mobile operating system Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). Stylish, lightweight, fast, equipped with a high-capacity battery (8000 mAh) and ideal for web surfing, HD video and e-books, and a powerful quad-core graphics processor allows you to run modern 3D games. Bluetooth, G-sensor, USB OTG for connecting external flash / HDD media. 8 GB NAND flash, 1 GB DDR3, up to 64 GB micro-SD. Compatible with external modems and portable 3G / 4G(LTE) routers. Case included.

Dual core processor up to 1.6 GHz

Rockchip's latest dual-core processor based on TSMC's 40nm technology delivers high performance and low power consumption. Dual-core ARM Cortex™-A9 MPCore™ and ARM Artisan® Physical IP Process Optimization Pack(POP) provide 10%-20% performance improvement. Up to 3 times faster performance than current single core tablet PCs. Quad-core GPU with OpenGL ES2 support. O and OpenVG 1.1, 3D graphics and HD video playback without delay.

Resolution up to 1280×800

1280×800 is the standard HD resolution for the Android 4.1 platform. The screen with IPS matrix has a wide viewing angle (178 °), fast response, high quality color reproduction. Ideal for viewing photos, movies, web pages, and games in standard and high definition.

Slim and portable

The high-quality and stylish NetTAB THOR case is 20% thinner than similar models with a screen diagonal of 10.1″.

Multi-touch screen.

Capacitive touch screen, excellent light transmission, fast response, accurate positioning. Ideal for games and applications.

Excellent gaming performance of quad-core Mali400 processor in 3D games!

NetTAB THOR has an integrated Mali400 GPU which is one of the best GPUs currently available. Its performance is 30 million polygons per second and up to 1.1 gigapixels per second at 275MHz. It allows you to play many 3D games on Android.

Share your happiness

NetTAB THOR has an HDMI Full HD video output, allowing you to display HD videos and games on your TV or projector screen and enjoy them with your family and friends.

Bluetooth module supports file and audio transfer. Enjoy high quality sound with a Bluetooth headset.

Reviews and tests

"What it is, an affordable and high-quality tablet: the iconBIT NetTAB THOR test."
ht.ua(20.03.2013)

"Review and test the iconBIT NetTAB THOR tablet".
Easycom.com.ua(02.02.2013)

"iconBIT NetTAB Thor Android Tablet Review".
gagadget.ru(10.01.2013)

Bought a tablet the other day. NetTAB THOR WHITE by Iconbit. Those who are interested can easily find the parameters of the tablet on the Internet, here we will talk about something else.

There were no special reasons to swear at the tablet, it works as stated, without any disasters. In principle, it is understandable, iron is iron, android is also a fairly run-in system, and now most often the human factor is behind glitches and malfunctions. So my human factor played its role :)).

There was a problem that did not come across right away, but it seems that sooner or later it will happen to almost every owner.
Due to his inexperience, he filled in the existing place with a lot of toys and cartoons (for children, the tablet was taken). And it is necessary - the tablet stopped loading.
While uploading large amounts of information into it, it began to slow down, and on my decision to restart it by holding the "power" button, it responded by displaying the iconbit logo for an hour without further loading the system.
In general, my amateur performance with a forced reboot of the system gave quite the expected results.
It was not possible to boot the system, and without a loaded system, it was not possible to get to reset the tablet state to factory settings.
Of course there was an option with the service. For quite a certain amount, specialists could easily fix everything. But there was no service nearby, and it didn’t make sense to run somewhere at night looking ... Therefore, the devil pulled me to search the Internet for a solution to my problem ...
It's good that the Internet was invented. It turns out that it is possible, without loading the system, to reset all settings to the minimum with a complete clearing of memory (which I needed, in my opinion).
This thing is called - HARD RESET.
Unfortunately, there were no direct references to the way to make a HARD RESET on my tablet model.
So I had to experiment. It’s good that the tablet has only three buttons, so I didn’t have to sort through it for a long time.
In general, in order to enter the recovery menu, you must

• by holding the volume up button, plug charging into the tablet (it was not possible to turn it on otherwise%)
• when a picture of a disassembled android with an exclamation mark appears, release the buttons.
• To display the recovery menu items, hold down the power button on the tablet and poke the volume up button again.

Then use the volume buttons to move through the menu and confirm the selection with the power button.
I chose "wipe data/factory reset", and then "reboot system now"... and I was happy :)
It seems that from the same menu you can also make the firmware of the tablet, but I have not yet tried how this is done. I think it's pretty standard stuff...

P.S. Again, I confirm the title of burdock ... I went to the iconbit forum and everything is written there in black and gray :)
http://forum.iconbit.ru/viewtopic.php?f=91&t=21842

We recently got acquainted with the iconBIT NetTAB Space II tablet - one of the two current flagships of the iconBIT company. Now it's time to explore the second model - iconBIT NetTAB Thor. Like Space II, Thor is equipped with an IPS screen and runs on a fairly powerful Rockchip 3066 SoC. But, unlike its brother, the Thor screen has a diagonal of 10.1 inches and a 16:10 aspect ratio, which is optimal for movies and games from the Google Play Store .

It is not easy to find a competitor to this model, since most manufacturers of budget tablets use 9.7-inch screens, and their known models with 10.1-inch screens are mostly equipped with less powerful SoCs. Therefore, let's see how Thor differs from products from more well-known brands: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Acer Iconia Tab A510 and, of course, iPad 2 “iPad or not iPad” is the first priority for the buyer today.

* - according to the manufacturer; our weighing of iconBIT NetTAB Space II on electronic scales with an error of 1 gram showed a mass of 688 grams, and iconBIT Thor - 659 grams.
** - iPad 2 pricing is for non-3G version with 16 GB flash memory

So, the iconBIT tablet, despite the much lower price than other models in the table, looks quite decent. True, it is inferior to the other three devices in terms of flash memory, but this is partly offset by the ability to use microSD. In addition, Thor is inferior to two Android tablets in terms of rear camera resolution, but in a 10-inch tablet this is not so important. The main thing is that the quality of the shooting is acceptable (we will check this).

Well, after a preliminary acquaintance, it's time to move on to a detailed study of iconBIT NetTAB Thor.

Packaging and equipment

The tablet comes in a large box of dark colors.

Inside, in addition to the tablet, we found a charger, headphones, an adapter from Micro-USB to USB-in (USB Female Type A) for connecting flash drives and peripherals, a Micro-USB-USB cable for connecting the tablet to a computer, a quick start guide and the most pleasant - cover. Thor package is completely identical to Space II.

We wrote about the cover in the Space II review, so we will not repeat ourselves.

In general, the Thor package can be assessed as excellent: the presence of a convenient case and an adapter that allows you to connect external USB devices is very pleasing.

Design

The tablet has a strict and reliable design. Its main feature is the metal edging.

The rest of the tablet looks quite traditional. It's a slick, button-free front panel and a plastic black back panel. The plastic is smooth, so it collects fingerprints.

On the metal sides (more precisely, on the left side - the rest are empty) there is an already familiar, but still pleasing set of connectors and ports: Micro-USB, Mini-HDMI, microSD / SDHC memory card slot, 3.5 mm jack for headset, microphone hole, speaker holes and a round connector for connecting the charger.

On the same side we see the Power button and the volume rocker.

The overall impression of the design is good. I repeat that I was very pleased with the metal edging. It's both beautiful and practical.

Screen

One of the main features of the tablet - the screen on the IPS-matrix. Its diagonal and resolution match the Android flagships of the first half of this year - 10.1 inches and 1280×800.

A detailed examination of the screen using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his conclusion.

The screen of the tablet is covered with a glass plate with a mirror-smooth scratch-resistant surface and, judging by the reflection of bright light sources in it, does not have an anti-glare filter. There is no special oleophobic coating on the outer surface of the screen, so it is relatively difficult to remove fingerprints. In addition, it is simply unpleasant to run your finger over the “bare” glass - smooth movements are difficult to obtain.

With manual brightness control, its maximum value was 292 cd / m², the minimum - 69.8 cd / m². As a result, at maximum brightness in bright daylight, you can see something on the screen, but it’s better to watch a movie at least in the shade. The minimum brightness will allow you to comfortably use the tablet even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located in the upper left corner), when you turn on the auto mode, the brightness is set in accordance with the level of ambient light, and it rises quite quickly with an increase in ambient light, but when the intensity of ambient light decreases, the screen brightness remains at a high level. However, if you turn off-turn on automatic brightness control, then the brightness will be set in accordance with the level of ambient light. In complete darkness, the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to at least 115 cd/m² (a little brighter than we would like), in an artificially lit office, the brightness is set to the same 115 cd/m² (comfortable level), in a very bright environment - to 258 cd /m² (which is less than with manual brightness control). Brightness adjustment is carried out using pulse-width modulation (rectangular pulses with 100% amplitude), but with a high frequency - 1000 Hz, so the flickering of the backlight at low brightness is not visible.

This tablet uses an IPS type matrix, as a result, the screen has very good viewing angles without inverting shades and without significant color shift even at large deviations of the gaze from the perpendicular to the screen. True, which is typical for any IPS-matrix, the black field when deviated diagonally is significantly brightened (although not very much), but remains close to a neutral gray tint. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the black field is good. Contrast is high - 1200:1. Black-white-black transition response time is 25.9ms (17.2ms on + 8.7ms off). The transition between halftones of 25% and 75% (according to the numerical value of the color) takes a total of 54.5 ms. The gamma curve constructed from 32 points did not reveal a blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, while the real gamma curve slightly deviates from the power law. The exponent of the approximating power function turned out to be 2.23, which is almost equal to the standard value of 2.2.

The color gamut is noticeably narrower than sRGB:

The spectra confirm this:

Apparently, the matrix filters slightly mix the components to each other. This technique allows you to increase the brightness of the screen with the same energy consumption for backlighting. The color temperature balance is far from perfect - 8000K white turns into almost 13000K as you move towards darker shades. However, the ΔE index is below 10 units, which is acceptable for a consumer device:

In total, we have a screen with an IPS-matrix, quite bright and contrasting and with relatively stable black in relation to the viewing angle, virtually no flickering and close to the standard gamma curve. These are virtues. Disadvantages: narrow color gamut (colors are less saturated than they should be), large color temperature deviation (greyscales are colder than they should be and noticeably different in tone), no oleophobic coating.

The tablet supports multiple touches (multitouch). 10 touches are recognized at the same time.

We also note a small drawback: when you click in the upper left corner, the image starts to float.

Platform

NetTAB Thor runs on the new Rockchip RK3066 system-on-chip, which features the high frequency of the dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (up to 1.6 GHz per core) and the quad-core Mali-400 MP4 GPU, while the previous generation of Rockchip-based systems (RK29xx ) was equipped with a dual-core GPU.

We are familiar with this SoC from the iconBIT NetTAB Space II test. Therefore, we will not dwell on this in detail and present only the results.

The new version of AnTuTu Benchmark, available on the Google Play Store, for some unknown reason, did not work on the tablet. Therefore, we present here the result shown by the Space II tablet (running on the same SoC) in the previous version of this benchmark.

The results in the Nenamark 2 GPU benchmark are slightly different (downward) from Space II, but the explanation for this is simple: Thor has a slightly higher screen resolution. Therefore, the result in Nenamark 2 should be recognized as excellent.

GLBenchmark 2.5.1 worked on Thor (as well as on Space II), alas, incorrectly.

In general, as we have already said, the performance of Rockchip RK3066 did not come as a surprise to us, and our conclusions made earlier were fully confirmed: this is the level of NVIDIA Tegra 3, although not so well supported by applications (the same AntTuTu Benchmark is evidence of this).

Video output to an external display

We have repeatedly written that tablets equipped with an HDMI output can be used as a media player. Indeed, in terms of convenience and mobility, this is one of the best solutions. But the main nuance here is the resolution of the image displayed on the external screen. We decided to check on iconBIT NetTAB Thor whether the tablet can display a Full HD image or not.

The device was connected with a Mini-HDMI cable (supplied with one of the iconBIT media players) to a Full HD monitor. In the HDMI settings (this menu item was added to the "Settings" section by the tablet manufacturer), 1080p 60 Hz was selected.

A test video with a static image was displayed on the tablet (using the main video player of the tablet that supports hardware acceleration). Here is how it looked on the monitor screen (we give a fragment, the full frame is available at the link).

We then connected the same monitor to a Panasonic Blu-ray player and ran a test disc with the same video. And here is a photo of the monitor screen.

Pay attention to small geometric distortions (the picture from the tablet is slightly compressed vertically). In addition, in the lower photo, you can see that the square at the top right consists of alternating black and white stripes. This means that the video is output at a resolution of 1920×1080. In the top photo, the square looks completely black. This means that the image resolution is less than Full HD. In this case, most likely, it is 1280 × 800, like the screen of the tablet itself.

In addition to 1080p 60 Hz, we tried other settings, but none of them helped to bring out a “real” Full HD picture. What is the problem? It is possible that the tablet displays the image at the same time on its screen. Therefore, if Full HD was displayed on an external screen, and 1280 × 800 on your screen, then two video streams would have to be decoded simultaneously. But then the question arises why the tablet does not turn off its own screen when choosing the HDMI 1080p setting - this would be a logical solution.

Further tests showed that the result described above is valid for using hardware acceleration. And if you play the file in MX Player, decoding it with the ARM cores of the system, then a 1080p image will be displayed on the external screen (although slight geometry distortions will remain). The only problem is that the power of the tablet's CPU will not be enough to decode Full HD video with a normal bitrate. This means that although the iconBIT NetTAB Thor is technically capable of outputting Full HD video, it can actually be used as a media player only with the expectation of 720p and lower resolution video. The same conclusions are valid for NetTAB Space II. But this only applies to video, there should not be such problems with games.

In the future, we will try to investigate this issue in more detail (outputting images from mobile devices to an external screen via HDMI or USB using MHL technology).

Games

iconBIT NetTAB Thor is positioned as a gaming tablet. And there is more reason for that than in the case of the iconBIT NetTAB Space II, since the 1280x800 screen is much better suited for Android games than the 4:3 (1024x768) screen. Plus, the performance of Rockchip 3066 is enough for all modern 3D games.

As we remember, on Space II the image in this game was displayed with some distortion (round controls were elongated vertically). Everything is fine here.

However, a number of games failed to install or run on Thor. Among them are such hits as Modern Combat 3 and Dark Meadow. Thus, despite the optimal aspect ratio of the screen and excellent performance, Thor can be recommended to users as a gaming tablet only on the condition that they play simpler games or are ready to install projects of interest to them from alternative sources. However, a considerable number of hits are installed and run on Thor without problems. The manufacturer provides the following list:

• Asphalt 7: Heat
• GTA III
• Most Wanted
• Max Payne Mobile
• The Dark Knight
• The new Spiderman
• Shadowgun
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
• mass effect
• Bard's Tale
• Recless Racing
• Real Racing
• Etarnity Warriors 2
• Dead Trigger
• Dungeon Hunter 3
• Blood & Glory: Legend

Operating system and applications

iconBIT NetTAB Thor, which came to our editors, worked on Android 4.1. It is with this operating system (the latest, except for Google Nexus 10, running on Android 4.2) that the tablet is sold in stores.

iconBIT does not install any shells, however, the OS has undergone one modification: root has been made (superuser rights have been obtained).

This, of course, is a big plus, and the manufacturer should be thanked for it. As well as for the fact that there are no Google services that are completely unnecessary for some users, such as the client of the Google+ social network or useless in this case (the tablet does not have GPS, like the Space II) Google navigation.

Of course, any of the missing Google apps can be installed independently and free of charge from the Google Play store. As for the set of applications that is preinstalled on the tablet, it is worth noting Adobe Flash Player, Superuser (for managing superuser capabilities), Apk Installer (for installing applications not from the Play Store), a Video video player that supports hardware acceleration, as well as file managers ES File Explorer (and ES Task Manager) and Explorer. Also note that starting with Android 4.1, the Google Chrome browser comes with pre-installed programs. However, the manufacturer also left the familiar Browser, so that the user has the opportunity to choose (whereas, say, on the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10, Google only supplied Chrome).

Autonomy and ergonomics

The tablet showed good, but not outstanding battery life. So, in a benchmark simulating a 3D game (we used GLBenchmark Battery Test, Egypt scene, 30 fps, screen brightness 100%), iconBIT NetTAB Thor lasted about three and a half hours. At the same time, the Wi-Fi module was turned off, but the screen brightness was maximum. Perhaps if the brightness is lowered, the tablet will last a little longer. But it's still less than the iPad or Android gaming tablets. We also note that this is not the most complex scene, and the number of frames per second was set to low, that is, a moderate graphic load (usually we use the much more complex Egypt HD scene, but it did not work correctly on this tablet). Accordingly, if you run some very serious game, it is not a fact that the tablet will last even three hours.

During the game, the tablet got warm, but not so much that it caused any inconvenience or discomfort.

The tablet can play YouTube videos at medium screen brightness for just under seven hours (about 6 hours and 45 minutes). This is not bad, even more than the iPad 4. True, there we used the browser, and here - the official YouTube application. And, of course, the screen resolution of these models is not comparable.

We also tested how long the tablet lasted in Wi-Fi off mode, at medium screen brightness, with no CPU or GPU stress - we could call it indoor reading mode. In such conditions, the tablet lasted about eight hours. In fact, this is the most economical mode possible during the day - if you lower the brightness even lower, then it will be comfortable to work with the tablet only in a dark room. In principle, this can also be relevant - for those who like to read at night before going to bed, by the light of a night lamp. But here it is already problematic to calculate the total battery life, since it is unlikely that you will read in poor lighting for more than an hour (it's just bad for the eyes) - therefore, most of the time the tablet will lie idle, and during this time it will also gradually lose charge (Android tablets generally do worse with this than Apple devices, which practically do not discharge in sleep mode).

It is worth noting one significant feature inherent in iconBIT NetTAB Space II: if you believe the information about the percentage of battery charge that the OS shows, the battery is discharged very unevenly. From 100% to 50%, it is discharged for a very long time, after which from 50 percent to zero the charge burns out in just two hours. The same is with the reverse process: the battery charges up to 50% rather quickly, after which it takes a very long time (several hours) - from 50% to 100%. So, from 99% to 100% the battery can be charged in almost fifteen minutes. In principle, this cannot be called a critical drawback, you just need to keep in mind that you should not rely on the displayed percentage of the charge. If, say, in two days of use you have discharged the battery to 50%, do not count on being able to work with the device even for another day. It is better to charge it fully, and do it in advance, and not half an hour before going out.

For clarity, we have summarized the results of iconBIT NetTAB Thor battery life tests into one table.

cameras

As we remember, Space II had a poor-quality rear camera that produced a defective image (too dark). Therefore, we were very interested in whether this shortcoming was preserved in the Thor model. Fortunately, it turned out that everything is relatively in order with the camera here. Of course, the image is still too far from the desired, but still this camera is quite suitable for taking some kind of photo when there is no other photo device at hand.

We tried twice to shoot the view from the window. Once - on a sunny day, the other - in the late afternoon, when it was already getting dark. Here is a snippet of a daytime shot.

It is clear that there are a lot of artifacts, and the cars hide too much in the shadow of the building. But in general, the result for a budget 2-megapixel camera is acceptable.

The evening shot turned out worse (see the frame below): there is no clarity here, and there are too many artifacts.

Below is our traditional photograph of a sheet of paper lying on a windowsill and illuminated by daylight. As you can see, the text is very difficult, but distinguishable (although it is on the verge of readability). But the numbers in the table are gone.

We also note that of the shots taken by us (we shoot each view several times) there was a large percentage of unsuccessful ones (for example, too much darkening or too blurry frame). This also speaks against the camera.

The quality of the video shot on the rear camera can be characterized by the word "fish without fish and cancer." If you need something very urgent to film, you can use this camera. But if there is an alternative, then it is better to prefer it. Video with a resolution of 640 × 480 and a volume of 2.73 MB can be downloaded.

The front camera is even worse in quality than the rear one (although it has the same resolution), but it is quite suitable for video communication.

findings

Like Space II, iconBIT NetTAB Thor seems to be one of the best budget tablets in terms of price and quality. An IPS screen with a resolution of 1280 × 800 pixels and an aspect ratio of 16:10 (optimal for Android), a very decent Rockchip 3066 SoC in terms of performance and a good design (case with a metal frame) make this model a very attractive solution. An additional plus is the HDMI output. However, through it, the tablet cannot output 1080p video to an external screen using hardware acceleration.

And this is not the only drawback. If you list other nuances, then first of all it is worth saying that the SoC does not support all Google Play Store games (more precisely, game developers for some reason do not support Rockchip). Secondly, the quality of the rear camera on the tablet is quite low (though better than that of the Space II). Thirdly, there is no GPS.

And yet, by the combination of characteristics and features, we can safely recommend this model to anyone who decides today to purchase a budget 10-inch tablet and is ready to put up with the lack of navigation functions.