Asus Memo Pad HD7 is the Nexus 7's Twin

By Jane McEntegart
published

Asus is kicking off Computex week with a couple of new tablets.

Computex is kicking off in Taipei this week, which means plenty of new devices are being announced. Asus today unveiled the Memo Pad HD7, a 7-inch tablet that features specs very similar to the Google-branded Nexus 7.

The Memo Pad HD7 was announced alongside the 10-inch Memo Pad FHD10 and boasts a quad-core CPU, 1 GB of RAM, a 7-inch 1280x800 IPS display, stereo speakers, a 1.2-megapixel camera (720p video) up front, a 5-megapixel camera around the back, 16 GB of storage plus expansion via MicroSD, as well as 16 GB of free cloud storage (via Asus WebStorage) for one year. Comparatively, the Nexus 7 skips out on a rear-facing camera but features a quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage (there's also a 32 GB version available), a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 7-inch 1280x800 IPS display. Of course, it also won't have the same stock Android experience that the Nexus 7 offers, though Asus didn't mention anything about the custom UI it has on top.

The 10-inch version is based on an Intel Atom Z2560 CPU, a 10-inch 1920x1200 IPS display, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus (capable of 1080p video recording).

The HD7 is priced at $149 (or $129 for an 8 GB model) and will be available in July. The company didn't talk about pricing and availability for the FHD10.

*Image credit: Engadget

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • flowingbass
    cool
    Reply
  • halcyon
    This is NOT cool.
    1GB of RAM? Come the @#$%! on! My old Note II even has 2GB of RAM. I know it's not free but would it cost that much more to put 2GB of RAM in it. ...and yes, yes it does make a notable difference.
    Is the market for adequately spec'd (for some semblance on "future-proofing", amongst other things) Android tablets that bad that manufacturers are no longer interested in anything but the lowest end? I keep seeing tablets announced with 1280x800 and 1024x768 screens with 1GB of RAM. ...really rather dissapointed as you can prolly tell.
    Reply
  • icemunk
    I could use a cheap quad-core 7" tablet...
    Reply
  • sundragon
    This is what's gonna happen the previous generation Nexus 7 - cheaper price to make it more accessible.
    Reply
  • nonewsgoodnews
    I dont get why you upset about 1gb ram. I have a nexus 7 and to be honest I've never felt the need to complain about it being slow at anything. For $150 with a back facing camera as well this is a phenomenal deal. Is there even another tablet with a screen this good(if its the same as the nexus) for anywhere near that price?
    Reply
  • the1kingbob
    I have a nexus 7 and have never had a problem with the 1gig of ram.
    I am interested if they are going to add support for hdmi output through the usb port to this device. No hdmi output is the feature I really wish my nexus had. I am sure the next nexus, if rumors are true and it is just a large nexus 4, will support hdmi mirroring.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    ...but this is supposed to be a new device. How old is the Nexus 7? There's nothing wrong, per se, with the low end being covered but what about the mid- and high-end? All I keep seeing is news about the low end and I'm not trying to be snooty but I tend to try to avoid the low end when possible.
    Reply
  • pug_s
    Actually, it is not a twin. This asuspad uses the Mediatek MT8125 chipset whereas Nexus 7 uses the Tegra3 chipset.
    Reply
  • sgodsell
    I think there is an A7 CPU vs the nexus 7's tegra 3 quad core. Since it is a 1.2ghz quad core the CPU in this memo pad 7 could be mediatek's.
    Reply
  • w8gaming
    Asus also announced a new Transformer Infinity that uses Tegra 4 tablet for those who wants to future proof with super high res and memory. You have to pay for it though. On the other hand, this is one cheap tablet that almost has same spec as Nexus 7 but come with a microSD slot. So for those who mainly want to watch video or listen to music, this is a great tablet.
    Reply