Review: The Hisense Sero 7 Pro is a Nexus 7 clone for $ 50 less - Ars Technica

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Hisense Sero 7 Pro (left) and the Nexus 7 (right): peas in a pod.

Andrew Cunningham

A few weeks ago we reviewed journals Hisense’s Sero 7 Lite, the new budget Android tablet que is not very good until you consider que it costs $ 99. The tablet que Hisense really wants you to see, though, is the $ 149 Sero Pro 7 This tablet runs a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 SoC, has a 1280 × 800 7-inch screen, 1GB of RAM, and runs Android 4.2 . If these specs sound familiar to you, it’s probably because they’re identical to Those of the Nexus 7 tablet que Google and Asus will sell you for $ 199.

Using the

Sero 7 Pro is very similar to using the Nexus 7 with Android 4.2 installed, so for this review we’ll be focusing on a side-by-side comparison with the Google tablet que has been selling for about a year now. If you’re buying a 7-inch Android tablet today, Should you stick with the Nexus or save yourself the $ 50?

What does it share with the Nexus 7?

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Enlarge / The Nexus and the Sero 7 Pro are roughly the same size and weight and have an identical button layout.

Andrew Cunningham

Specs at a glance: Hisense Sero 7 Pro
Screen	1280 × 800 7 “(216 ppi) IPS touchscreen
OS	Android 4.2.1 “Jelly Bean”
CPU	Nvidia Tegra 3 1.2GHz (1.3GHz in single-core mode)
RAM	1GB
GPU	Nvidia Tegra 3
Storage	8GB NAND Flash (expandable via microSD)
Networking	802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, NFC, GPS
Ports	Micro USB, mini HDMI, headphones, microSD card
Size	7.87 “× 4.95″ × 00:43 “(199.9 x 125.7 x 10.9 mm)
Weight	0.79 lbs (358 g)
Battery	4000 mAh
Starting price	$ 149
Other perks	2MP front camera, 5MP rear camera, power adapter

The screen, the SoC, and the RAM are probably the three biggest hardware components que will Affect your tablet experience, and the Nexus 7 and the 7 Pro Sero share them all : a five-point 1280 × 800 IPS touchscreen, a quad-core Tegra 3 SoC que can run at up to 1.3GHz, and 1GB of RAM. The Sero The Same 7 Also includes 8GB of internal storage to the original entry-level Nexus 7, but Google’s more recent $ 199 model has since been bumped to 16GB of storage.

The Sero’s screen looks slightly warmer than the Nexus’ to our eyes, but otherwise They share most of the same-properties: good viewing angles, good (but not amazing) colors and pixel density, and a tendency to ghost When used somewhat after a few hours of disuse. Our review unit Also had some very slight light bleeding around the edge (and a single stuck pixel) que did not have the Nexus 7. It’s not distracting in regular use, but it’s the sort of quality control issue you can expect to see from tablets in this price range. Also it looks as though the distance between the top glass and the current screen is a bit larger than it is in the Nexus, Which makes text and colors pop just a bit less (you can sort of see this effect in action in the side- by-side shots in particular-the blacks look blacker on the Nexus).

Where the Sero 7 Lite was pretty barebones in its networking capabilities, the 7 Pro Sero actually edges out the Nexus 7. The Sero has a GPS, Bluetooth, and NFC just like the Nexus, but it Also includes 802.11n 5GHz where the Nexus is limited to the 2.4GHz band.

Enlarge / The Sero runs Android 4.2.1, just a bit out-of-date Compared to Android 4.2.2.

Andrew Cunningham

Moving on from the hardware, Also Both tablets run Android 4.2, though the Sero 7 Pro runs version 4.2.1 instead of 4.2.2. Aside from some Walmart-specific applications preloaded and some changes in the settings to accommodate the hardware features que Nexus does not have, the interface is almost entirely stock. There’s a software screenshot button at the bottom of the screen and the panel in the settings que controls HDMI output, but otherwise the differences between the Nexus 7 and the Sero are inconsequential. The Sero runs about as well as does the Nexus 7 running Android 4.2, Generally smooth but punctuated by periods of choppiness (probably related to the storage speeds, the we’ll talk about more later on).

And finally, the 7 Pro Sero’s acceptable specs combined with its low price have made it a prime target for the hacking community, and there are already resources available on the XDA Developers forum if you’re looking to make this tablet the stuff que it should not be able to do.

And what’s different?

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Enlarge / Both tablets have rubberized plastic backs, but the Nexus (right) is the better-looking tablet in our opinion.

Andrew Cunningham

Obviously the visual design of the Walmart-exclusive Sero 7 Pro Differs from the Nexus 7, though They share some of the same-design ideas. The back of the Sero is a brownish, rubberized plastic with a rough texture que makes it easier to grip. The Nexus has a rubberized Similarly, textured back, but the effect is less pronounced. To our eyes, the brown of the bumpy the Sero is not attractive to the understated black-and-silver of the Nexus.

The glass coating

the Sero’s screen feels similar to the glass on the Sero 7 Lite’s, Which is to say que it Appears to lack the fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating que the Nexus and most other touch devices have these days. This adds to the resistance you feel When You drag your finger across the screen, and it makes fingerprints and smudges much more Difficult to clean. The bezels are shaped and sized Similarly, though, and the tablet’s front-facing camera is still the kind of thing you’d only ever want to use for short video chats.

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Enlarge / The Sero has the 5MP rear-facing camera and LED flash que the Nexus lacks.

Andrew Cunningham

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Enlarge / It Also has a mini HDMI port and a microSD card slot, Both missing from the Nexus.

Andrew Cunningham

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Enlarge / Finally, twin rear-facing stereo speakers up the volume and quality very slightly from the Nexus 7′s single speaker.

Andrew Cunningham

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Enlarge / The Sero Also has some quality control issues que we do not see in our Nexus 7. There’s some backlight bleeding around the edge of the screen, shown here, as well as a single stuck pixel.

Andrew Cunningham

The Sero Also has a rear-facing camera with LED flash and two rear-facing speakers, where the Nexus has no rear camera at all perfunctory and one rear speaker. Since they’re still tablet speakers and they’re still on the back of the device, They do not produce sound you’d write home about, but they’re a small step up in quality and volume. The pictures are surprisingly not terrible if you have enough light, they’re certainly not great, but if you’re outside and the Sero is the only camera you’ve got with you it’s not the worst thing we’ve ever seen. Also it supports the standard Android 4.2 camera features, including Photo Sphere and panoramic shooting.

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Enlarge / An indoor snapshot from the Sero. A bit noisy and blurry, but the colors are OK at least.

Andrew Cunningham

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Enlarge / The same-picture from the Nexus 4. The quality is pretty similar, though the Nexus has a higher megapixel count.

Andrew Cunningham

And, finally, the Sero adds some useful options que port the Nexus does not have, including a microSD card slot for storage expansion (Which helps to offset the 8GB of internal storage) and a mini HDMI port for playing video and photo content on your TV or monitor. None of these are what I would consider killer features, but they’re some nice value-adds over what the year-old Nexus 7 offers.