Tolino Tab 7″ Review: Affordable Tablet with Great Features but Display and WiFi Hiccups

The Tolino Shine has been a great success for the alliance of Telekom, Bertelsmann, Weltbild, Hugendubel, and Thalia, and has been improved with various updates in the past months, earning a good rating of 1.6 from us. However, the Tolino alliance is not content to rely solely on an eBook reader to expand its digital offerings. Since the fall, it has also offered two tablets.

The Tolino Tab 7″ is the smaller of the two devices, featuring the now-common 7-inch form factor, known for being particularly handy yet still large enough to allow comfortable use.

The Tolino Tablet promises to be a great device with good hardware and a relatively low entry price. We have summarized what makes this promise hold true in practice in the following test report.

Unboxing

The Tolino Tab 7″ arrives in an attractive cardboard box, which includes the device, a Micro-USB cable, and a 2-amp power adapter. The powerful power adapter is a nice touch that is no longer a given these days. It charges the tablet up to four times faster than a standard USB 2.0 port on a PC. A quick-start guide (of course, in German) is also included in the box.

At this point, it also becomes clear who manufactures the tablet for the Tolino alliance: none other than the German hardware company TrekStor is responsible for its production. The company is already represented in the market with a variety of entertainment electronics products, typically in the lower price segment. In the past, there were occasional minor issues concerning craftsmanship (e.g., with the eBook Reader 4Ink or eBook Reader 3.0).

Craftsmanship

The Tolino Tab 7″ makes an excellent tactile impression at first touch. The device’s edges are all smoothly rounded, making it fit wonderfully in your hands without being uncomfortable. This impression persists even with prolonged handling. This is not always the case, as tablets often have sharp edges (e.g., the Kindle Fire devices), slightly detracting from the user experience. That’s not the case here.

Excellent feel thanks to the well-rounded edges, where even the competition can’t keep up. From left to right: Google Nexus 7 (2012), Tolino Tab 7″, Kindle Fire HD (2013)

The front side consists mostly of a glass surface, typical of many other tablets. The glass is, however, framed at the top and bottom edges by plastic inserts resembling speaker grilles. There are indeed speakers beneath these inserts, although they (understandably) don’t span the entire width.

The craftsmanship is excellent, with an almost seamless transition to the plastic covers. Some criticism must be directed at the camera framing on the front; tiny irregularities are evident here. However, this does not significantly affect the overall very positive impression of the craftsmanship.

The small irregularities around the camera could have been handled better

The top edge of the device houses the 3.5 mm jack for headphones or external speakers, while the bottom edge offers a Micro-USB port, a MicroSD card slot, and a Micro-HDMI port.

On the right side, you’ll find the standby and power button, as well as the volume control keys. Their positioning closely matches that of the Google Nexus 7.

The back of the Tolino Tab 7″ is made of a textured plastic surface that prevents fingerprints from becoming an issue. This is how all tablets should be designed. In the upper third, there is a shiny Tolino logo. A bit more subtlety would have been appreciated there, but most of the time, you’ll be looking at the display anyway.

Practical: the back is fingerprint-resistant; Not so great: the large, shiny Tolino logo wasn’t necessary.

The weight is 335 grams, which is slightly below average for a 7-inch tablet. Newer devices from other manufacturers usually weigh slightly less. However, it is not a real problem for everyday use. The dimensions of the Tolino Tablet are 196 x 121.4 x 9.6 mm, which is approximately in line with the 7-inch competition. There aren’t any significant differences that stand out by feel.

Features

In terms of the Tolino Tab 7″‘s features, the merchants and TrekStor haven’t cut corners, thanks in part to the Rockchip (3188) performing its duties within the device. The quad-core CPU runs at a maximum of 1.6 GHz, with 1 GB of RAM available.

The internal storage is generously sized at 16 GB for this price range, with around 12 GB available for free use. The storage can be expanded with a MicroSD card if needed, which is a feature often lacking from many providers.

In addition to the standard WiFi connection, there is also Bluetooth (4.0) and GPS. An orientation sensor for screen alignment is also included. The operating system used is Android 4.2.2, with Google Play connectivity. Unlike Amazon’s competition, you don’t have to miss out on the extensive offerings of the original app market.

Overall, the Tolino Tab 7″ offers very good features for the device’s price of 179 euros.

Behind the plastic covers are the speakers

However, in practical use, you have to criticize the rather weak WiFi performance. While the Google Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire tablets have no issues establishing a connection in my office, the Tolino Tab 7″‘s reception isn’t strong enough. Although the Tolino device indicates an existing connection, it can’t actually use it, meaning you cannot browse the web or rely on incoming emails being retrieved.

The built-in stereo speakers do their job well, but they don’t quite match the rich sound of Kindle Fire’s speakers. However, their positioning to the sides of the screen is well-chosen, ensuring the sound is directed at the user and not away, as is often the case with rear-facing speakers.

Display

The display doesn’t quite perform as excellently, with a resolution of “only” 1440×900 pixels. Other manufacturers now often offer more with Full HD (1920×1080 pixels). The Kindle Fire HDX 7 is currently available for just 20 euros more, despite its significantly better screen.

However, that’s not a major issue, as the pixel density of 243 ppi ensures the image is still very sharp. Many people might not notice the difference in daily use. Still, we would hope for an upgrade in this area in the successor.

The IPS panel guarantees good viewing angles so that you don’t have to endure significant loss of image quality when holding the device at an angle. However, the Tolino screen can’t quite keep up with the Google Nexus 7 as the vertical viewing angles are similar, but the horizontal viewing angles noticeably differ. However, this is likely of little consequence to most users in normal use, as the slightly inferior viewing angles merely result in a slight darkening.

The screen uses the usual RGB matrix:

Regular RGB matrix on the Tolino Tab 7″

A more significant issue with the screen that requires clear criticism is the yellow tint on the right side. This is notably visible on white backgrounds on web pages or while reading and is undoubtedly a defect. While similar problems are also occasionally reported by other tablet manufacturers, it doesn’t make it any better.

We can’t say for certain whether this problem is widespread, as we only have one test unit on hand, purchased regularly at Thalia.

Difficult to capture in a photo: the right edge of the screen is noticeably yellow-tinged …

… by increasing the saturation, the irregularity in the lighting becomes very evident; Saturation +90

To top it off, our test device also features a markedly visible light bleed. This is especially noticeable on dark screen content (e.g., videos) or certain settings in the reading app. Fortunately, the light bleed isn’t visible on bright screen content.

Visible light bleed, bottom left

The maximum brightness is around 310 cd/m², which is comparable to many other devices but can’t compete with the Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013 model; 465 cd/m²) or Google Nexus 7 (2013 model; 550 cd/m²). The minimum brightness is at 30 cd/m², which is relatively high. The Kindle Fire HD 7 achieves a minimum of 6 cd/m², and the Google Nexus 7, 10 cd/m².

Another point of critique is the sometimes sluggish brightness sensor, which typically takes around 10 seconds to adjust the screen brightness. Other times, it seems unresponsive despite changing lighting conditions until the light changes again, triggering a response.

There’s nothing to criticize about the touchscreen’s sensitivity. The capacitive panel responds wonderfully to every input, allowing for smooth operation. However, there is one small flaw: the sensor points of the capacitive touchscreen shimmer slightly even when the screen is active, unlike Amazon tablets or the Google Nexus 7, where these dots are only visible when powered off, and even then only with a close look.

Overall, the screen leaves me with mixed feelings. On one hand, the display impresses with relatively high pixel density and generally good image quality. On the other hand, the rest of the values are certainly improvable. The minimum and maximum brightness could be better, as could the brightness sensor and touchscreen pattern. The visible light bleed is also an unattractive detail. While each of these issues is tolerable on its own, collectively they carry weight, especially with the added yellowness, which is a clear drawback.

Performance and Benchmarks

For a tablet, performance in daily use is equally as important as display quality. Benchmark apps provide an initial glimpse of what to expect, although these synthetic measurements should always be taken with caution.

This is true for the Tolino Tab 7″, as well, since although the benchmark results are mostly very good, there are noticeable lags in everyday use at times. This begins with unlocking the lock screen, as switching to the Tolino app takes a moment’s pause. Also, scrolling through book covers isn’t completely smooth, though it remains quite functional. When opening an eBook, you can often witness the page rendering in tiles. The page switch takes up to two seconds, which is disappointingly long for a quad-core processor.

Such performance hiccups are, thankfully, no longer noticed on the regular Android interface, allowing you to operate or consume multimedia content without compromise. However, you notice the difference again with the Chrome browser (and other resource-heavy apps), as it performs slightly choppily, unlike chips from major manufacturers like Qualcomm or Nvidia.

Our criticism shouldn’t mislead you, as using the Tolino Tab 7″ daily is otherwise totally manageable. While the occasionally stuttering performance is visible when compared directly to other devices, it’s unlikely to pose a problem in most cases.

Below are the benchmark results:

Sunspider (lower is better)

• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013): 936
• Surfpad 2: 1096
• Tolino Tab 7″: 1510
• Kobo Arc: 1512
• Nexus 7 (2012): 1717
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012): 1789

Linpack Multi-Thread (higher is better)

• Nexus 7 (2012): 130,126
• Tolino Tab 7″: 112,972
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013): 92,218
• Kobo Arc: 90,244
• Surfpad 2: 76,389
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012): 73,756

AnTuTu 4 (higher is better)

• Tolino Tab 7″: 18268
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013): 14531

Quadrant (higher is better)

• Tolino Tab 7″: 5345
• Nexus 7 (2012): 3600
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013): 3059
• Surfpad 2: 3055
• Kobo Arc: 3040
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012): 2177

Epic Citadel HQ (higher is better)

• Kobo Arc: 58,9
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2013): 57,6
• Nexus 7 (2012): 52,1
• Tolino Tab 7″: 38,8
• Surfpad 2: 34,7
• Kindle Fire HD 7 (2012): 31,2

General Usability; User Interface

While the Tolino Tab 7″ features a nearly unchanged Android 4.2.2 interface, the initial setup process differs slightly from stock Android and is strongly reminiscent of the Tolino Shine setup. Once you connect the device to a WiFi network, you’re prompted to select the country (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Then, the tablet takes a moment to load, and finally, you land on the Tolino app’s start screen.

Tolino App for eBooks, Videos, and Music

This is a custom-developed application that replaces the standard Android launcher, serving as an additional user interface. Its focus is on videos, music, and eBooks, meaning there is no access to apps from here. Unfortunately, it also features its own navigation bar at the bottom of the screen, allowing access to the regular Jelly Bean launcher only via the menu (or if you pull down the notification bar). In the settings, the Tolino app can be authorized for Adobe DRM.

As mentioned, the focus is on the three different media types, with separate sections available for organizing eBooks, videos, and music. eBooks can be sorted by recent activity, alphabetically, or by the date added. Collections (Books and Documents) come pre-installed (with version 1.1.7), and more can be added as desired.

The display can also switch between list or cover view modes. The “Recent Activities” screen presents all recently used content in a cover view format.

Opening an eBook doesn’t take you out of the app; all interaction occurs within the single Tolino application. However, this app seems poorly designed, as visible performance issues are evident, as previously mentioned. When opening a book title, the cover builds in tile view before the user’s eyes, taking between one and five seconds. While this behavior has improved with the first software update, with the tile rendering now rarely visible, loading times haven’t significantly improved.

Flipping pages also takes up to two seconds, though the first update has improved this, bringing page turn speed mostly down to around one second. Even so, this still isn’t a great result for a 1.6 GHz quad-core tablet. It is also annoying that the Tolino app reloads every time you pull down the status bar.

The settings and customization options are relatively limited. You can search within the text, adjust the font size in seven stages, change the screen brightness, and select the background color between white, sepia, or black. The search function delivers the desired results, but again, the app reloads each time you jump between search hits.

Pressing and holding a word for a while brings up a context menu to permanently highlight the word, although the selection with two text markers is somewhat fiddly and often results in the unwanted opening of the Android text magnification window. Additionally, it often marks the wrong word at the start of a line.

Overall, the reading app reacts very slowly and sometimes incorrectly to many inputs. It seems the Tolino alliance has wisely focused more on the further development of the eBook reader, although the app’s condition still leaves much to be desired. While you can read with it, other interactions are rather cumbersome. Therefore, as a user or prospective buyer, you should consider alternative reading apps (which you can easily install from the Google Play Store) or wait for an update that resolves these issues.

Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2

The regular Android interface is much more satisfactory and works significantly better. Fortunately, the Tolino alliance chose not to further customize it, allowing Google Nexus users to feel immediately familiar. Any differences from the Google tablet are hard to find, and ultimately only identifiable by the additional pre-installed apps.

Fortunately, the included “bloatware” is limited. Included are:

• AccuWeather
• Andoku 2 Lite ApkInstaller
• Das Erste
• ES File Explorer
• Focus Online
• Hotspot (Telekom)
• Leo
• Tolino
• TripAdvisor
• TV Spielfilm
• ZDFheute

Additionally, the presence of the Android stock browser, which remains noticeably superior to the Chrome browser in terms of performance, also has a practical text reflow mode. When you zoom in on a webpage, the text automatically adjusts to the screen width, ensuring you don’t need to scroll left and right to read an article.

On the home screen are three Tolino widgets. One allows direct access to a Tolino app category, another displays recent activities, and the third allows for music playback. These widgets can be removed if desired.

Thankfully, there are no resource-hogging third-party system applications.

As mentioned multiple times, the Google Play Store is also pre-installed, making it easily accessible. This gives the Tolino Tablet a significant advantage over Amazon’s competition.

Battery Life

The testing period with the Tolino Tab 7″ spanned around a week, giving us a good impression of the battery life. Naturally, it’s worth mentioning that, as always, the runtime depends heavily on each user’s profile. The Tolino alliance claims a maximum runtime of up to 12 hours, but we did not reach that with normal usage. This isn’t a surprise since manufacturers’ maximum claims always refer to minimal device usage.

Ultimately, we achieved six to seven hours of use from the tablet on average, a number relatively far from the claimed 12 hours but still in line with most other tablets in this price range.

In pure standby mode, the power consumption is so low that you can leave the tablet unattended for several days without losing much charge. So, it’s feasible to use the tablet for several consecutive days without recharging, provided it’s not used continuously.

Conclusion

The Tolino alliance has brought not just one, but two tablets to market. Initially, I was quite skeptical about whether this move made sense (considering Barnes & Noble failed miserably with tablets in the US) and whether the devices would align with quality expectations.

However, even though the Tolino alliance hasn’t repeated Barnes & Noble’s mistake of developing and producing the devices entirely on its own, it remains to be seen if the tablets will be profitable in the long run.

The Tolino Tab 7″ is a great device, but missing refinement in some areas, which has ultimately prevented it from achieving a very good rating

At least we can answer the second major question with our test: the Tolino Tab leaves a positive impression overall, excelling with its excellent feel, open Android interface, and extensive features. Fortunately, unwanted bloatware is kept to a minimum, making it closely resemble the user experience of a pure Google Nexus device.

However, there are two significant negative points that lead to the device’s downgrade: the yellow-tinted display (along with various other minor issues) and the weak WiFi performance. Since both the display and the wireless connection are fundamental to any tablet, these issues resulted in a downgrade of 0.5 points. Without these two problems, the device would have achieved an excellent rating. Instead, it ended up with a “good” score of 2.0.

That’s not catastrophic, as it’s not certain every Tolino Tab has the same display issues. But given the evident flaws in our test device, it’s not something we can overlook.

Programmers need to also work on the Tolino software, as, at version 1.0.0, it was in dire condition. While update 1.1.7 has brought some improvements, it remains lacking compared to the Kindle interface or other free reading apps.

In summary, we can nonetheless recommend the Tolino Tab 7″ for purchase. Priced at 179 euros, it’s not a bargain but offers good value for money and solid features. The Tolino alliance’s first attempt at a tablet launch is as successful as its eBook reader introduction, which is quite remarkable for a newcomer. Generally, we’d advise users to check purchased devices for the noted display discoloration and exchange them if necessary. And if another 149 euro promotional offer emerges (like during Thalia’s Cyber Monday), it’s definitely worth grabbing.