Review: Zync Z 909 Plus Android Tablet

Considering the low price point and the targeted rural buyers, this tablet will not impress any gadget freak. This is only meant for the needy! Reading e-books, browsing the Internet, watching movies are the only needs served by this tablet.

Rating: 4/10

Zync recently added another low cost tablet to its kitty, targeting specially the Tier II and Tier III cities of India. The Z 909 Plus is the most economical tablet model that Zync has on offer. This tablet stayed with us at EFYTimes for almost a week and here is our exclusive feedback.

To start with let's have a look at the technical specifications:

Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS

Expandable Storage Capacity of 32 GB

Wi-Fi Enabled

1 GHz Processor Clock Speed

256 MB DDR3 RAM

Two Point Multi-touch

I will admit that I struggled a bit with this tablet after using the company's high-end Zync Z 999 Plus tablet. Firstly, it has a resistive touch screen, which means no sliding or swiping! Secondly, this tablet PC runs Android 2.3 aka Gingerbread operating system. Almost all low-end tablet manufacturers have somehow managed to squeeze in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If Zync tends to be different by offering Android 2.3 in the age of Android 4.1, then I must admit - it's not cool even though it's a low cost device!

Inside the box:

When you buy a Zync Z 909 Plus tablet, you will get a USB cable, hands-free, charger, screen protector, carrying case, user manual, and warranty card.

First look and feel: 

The tablet is black in colour with a glossy posterior, so much that you can even see your face in it! The device is made out of plastic and it's a bit creaky, especially at the back. The tablet has three physical buttons on it. If you hold the tablet vertically, you can see a square back button beneath the screen. Home and power buttons are located on top right hand side, just opposite to the company logo. There are no physical volume control buttons. The right side of the tablet features a USB port (for connecting pen drives and 3G dongle), TF card slot, micro USB port (for connecting the tablet to a computer), 3.5mm earphone port, DC charging port. A 0.3 MP camera is at the top of the tablet screen.

The finishing of the device is a disappointment. The entire device and especially the buttons sound plastic! The ddevice is pretty thick compared to its competitors. The first look did not woo me at all.

Start up and appearance:

This tablet is based on a 1GHz processor; however, it took some time to start up after holding the creaky plastic start up button. The display quality is low as expected. Nothing great but it's acceptable. The touch interface was a problem. The two-point multi-touch screen required some brutal knocks to open the menu. The touch wasn't smooth and literally needed a hard press to even unlock the device.

I tried playing Angry Birds on this tablet but the birds refused to take off. It was very difficult to play the game so I moved on to Fruit Ninja. I somehow managed to chop few bananas, but literally felt like getting inside the tablet to chop fruits for my salad! So, I hope you got the point. Touch is real bad!

Performance:

Based on a 1 GHz processor, the Z 909 Plus has 256 MB DDR 2 RAM and 4GB ROM along with G-sensor and memory expandable up to 32 GB via TF card. The tablet took time to respond to inputs, despite running Android 2.3 on the above mentioned configuration. The screen rotation feature was OK but not the best. Media files worked smooth, however, I witnessed several crashes. Overall, the performance is average and it's not meant for those who love speed!

Media:

You can connect your pen drive to watch movies and carry out other basic functions. Sound quality is disappointing. You will need a good headset to listen to music as the free ones are really cheap. HD video playback is supported but the entire experience is not rich and vivid. Don't even think of playing games on this tablet. The multimedia experience is OK.

Camera:

What can you expect from a 0.3 MP camera? Meant especially for video chatting, the image appears pixilated with red and green dots on your face! Again, considering the low price point, this camera can only be used if you are in dire need of a tablet and are left with no choice.

Connectivity:

It supports Wi-Fi and external 3G dongle. When I plugged in my Vodafone 3G dongle for surfing the Internet, the tablet failed to respond. That is when I realised that it works with selected 3G dongles. The list is mentioned below:

Huawei Compitable Models with ZYNC Tablets: E220, E230, E169G, E160X, E173, E153, W8, E 153, 1550, 1732.

WCDMA Huawei: E261, E1750

CDMA Huawei: EC122, EC156

TD-SCDMA ZTE: A356, MU351

CDMA ZTE: AC2736,AC2746

WCDMA ZTE : MF 100, MF 190

CDMA ITON: eu83

Then I switched to WiFi and was able to surf the Internet seamlessly. At least, the tablet offers decent Internet browsing experience, which is a must.

Battery:

The tablet is powered by a 3000 mAH Lithium ion battery. The battery backup is decent and you can afford to watch a full movie seamlessly. I found out that the tablet cannot to be charged through the USB port when connected to a PC. It takes some good amount of time to get fully recharged and not to forget, it gets heated up especially while charging and also while playing games and watching movies.

While there are several options in the low cost tablet market, I did not find this much impressive as it can cater to only your basic needs. The price remains to be a point of confusion as the tablet was launched at Rs 3,699 and at the official website it's been quoted as Rs 5,190. Coming to score, I would rate the device 4 out of 10!

-Debashis Sarkar