ASUS MeMO Pad 8 ME181C-A1-BK 8-Inch 16 GB Tablet (Black)

I have used an early Kindle Fire 7" (rooted and upgraded to KitKat 4.4.2) for a while now. I wanted a more recent, faster device with a slightly bigger screen, that was lighter to hold. I waited for this tablet to be released, and I'm glad I did.+++ Performance +++The speed of the device is excellent. I notice almost no lag on pretty much anything I care to run on it (although I'm not a tablet gamer). I have a reference material app that is about 100MB in size and navigation and data retrieval from that app is snappy and without problems. Having Kitkat helps since it's the fastest android yet, but still, the quad-core processor in this tablet is quick.+++ Screen +++The display is 1280x800, looks very nice, is bright and the colors are vivid. I like the 8" size because it's great for reading with a decent font size, without the bulk of a 10" screen.+++ Physical feel / ergonomics / weight +++I liked the kind of rubberized back of the Kindle Fire so I wondered if I would like the back of this device as much. I have to say that I do like it. It doesn't feel quite as solid as the Kindle but then again it's much thinner and lighter, so maybe that's why. At 0.8 pounds this thing is great to hold even for extended periods. I am unsure about the [power/volume] button placement and style. The buttons are on the right side towards the top, but are located on the rounded 'corner' of the tablet between the side and the back. I guess this is so that whether you place the tablet on its side or back, the buttons won't get pressed by accident. The buttons do feel solid though.*** Edit Jan 10, 2015 ***Once you get used to the buttons they are fine to use. They are very solid and add to the feeling of this being a well-built tablet.+++ OS / GUI feel +++I like it. For those of you worried about whether Asus strayed too far from stock Android - don't be. There is a mild Asus 'skin' but it looks very nice and it's easy to get to every single stock android setting that you are used to. The quick menus that you pull down from the top are customizable and give access to pretty much everything you'd need fast access to.+++ Features +++This thing is loaded up. Latest Intel Atom quad-core CPU, GPS, Bluetooth, MicroSD card slot, front and rear cameras, it even supports Miracast to wirelessly transmit the tablet's video output to a TV or other large screen. And of course the latest version of Android.A lot of folks will want to know more about the camera performance. To be honest I don't really use them much on my tablet, since my Galaxy S5 has better cameras. But from what I've seen, the cameras are pretty good and should do an ok job.+++ Battery Life / Power / Charging +++I have only run it through a couple of charges so far. It seems to last pretty well. It drains quicker than my Kindle did but then again it does have 30% more screen area, and the screen is by far the biggest drain on the battery.The included charger is a 1.5 amp device. Pretty much any charger that outputs via MicroUSB seems to work. I keep a Powergen battery pack in the car in case any of my personal electronics start to die and it charges well off that too.www.amazon.com/PowerGen-12000mAh-External-Battery-Capacity/dp/B0085OB0IEI may edit this portion of my review after I've had it a month or two and seen how the battery performs.*** Edit Jan 10, 2015 ***I notice that others have complained about the battery life, but I haven't had much of an issue with it. Sure if you use it solid for 6-8 hours on a bright screen setting it's going to drain. But that's not unusual for most tablets.+++ Value for money +++For $199, I've never come across a tablet that's so well specified and loaded with features. For the money, I don't see how you can be disappointed. Blows the pants off an iPad mini, that's close to twice the price, and this tablet has a bigger screen.*** Edit Jan 10, 2015 ***I picked up the purple one for the missus at just $160 last week, even though this tablet has been out a few months you can't beat the spec at that price. I've seen this model available for as low as $149.99 with free shipping if you watch out for the deals.+++ Negatives +++It's hard to find any. But if I had to gripe about something, it's the lack of an ambient light sensor. A lot of tablets have this now, and it brightens and dims the screen automatically according to how bright it is in the room. However, the brightness slider is just one swipe away at all times (it's at the top of the right-hand menu pull-down). There's no way I could take a star off my review for this since it's is the only minor gripe I have with the device.+++ Conclusion +++If you are looking for a budget device but with the latest OS and great performance, this tablet is for you. I would recommend it without hesitation.

I've had this tablet for about a week. I own two tablets already: A nexus 7 and a 4th generation iPad. This one makes three. The Nexus 7 has been my absolute favorite, but the sensors quit working (GPS, rotation, etc). I looked for an tried many a solution to this problem and had no luck. Money is fairly tight, so I settled on this tablet due to it's relatively low price/great reviews. It's not the cheapest tablet available, in fact I am well aware that I could have gotten a $49 tablet.I was intrigued by the Intel Atom processor, so thought I would give it a try. I won't go into specs and processing power too much, because ultimately if the tablet you purchase does what you want it to do then it's a great purchase. I also do like the fact that you can plug in a micro SD card. I have a little point and shoot camera, and use a micro SD card in that camera (with a full size SD adapter). This will be great when I want to delete some photos from my SD card to make more room...or when I just want to review my photos on a larger size screen. They always used to put card slots in tablets, then quit for a while and I'm so happy they are starting add that ability back.One thing you will notice when you get this tablet home is that there is NO auto-brightness. I'm ok with that. Just drag down the menu from the top and you have a place to adjust brightness. The auto-brightness never seems quite right on my other tablets anyway so I really don't miss it.I'm not a huge game player and mostly look at apps, photos, read books and magazines, youtube, netflix. I quite often carry my tablet in my purse and we had a long wait in a restaurant the other day, I used the free wi-fi and downloaded glow hockey and between the 4 of us, we had a little glow hockey tournament while waiting for out food. Worked great.The screen on this tablet is really nice. It's only 1280 x 800 which is not as dense as my Nexus 7 but it is in no way fuzzy or grainy. I can't see individual pixels and have not had a problem switching from this to the nexus 7. I don't find myself thinking "wow, this screen is terrible" the thought has not even crossed my mind.I do notice it is a little laggy when loading web pages, I think Asus could totally add 1 more gig of Ram here and things would be amazing. I don't generally take photos with my tablet, but I did take a few and the rear camera is good enough for taking little snapshots. I would NOT use this tablet as my main camera, but it works, it does a good enough job and if it's the only camera you have on you and you need to take a photo...it works.Battery life is plenty good. I have not yet done a Netflix binge on this tablet, but I do actually play my music through it's speakers and it's about what you'd expect from a tablet. It's not a high-end stereo system by any stretch, but then I grew up listening to AM radio on a little Raggedy Ann transistor radio so sound quality is fine. I own a little $20 bluetooth speaker which works fine....and if I'm really in a "mood" and want a great listening experience sound is really decent with headphones.The 8" screen is also a GREAT size. Unless you are really looking for something that fits in your pocket (7" tablets actually don't fit in my pockets...but I think they do in some), the 8" size is absolutely the sweet spot. Not too big, not too small, it's just right!So bottom line: This is a fabulous tablet for the price. There may be some tablets out there that cost 2-3 times as much as this tablet and have a better processor, better resolution, and better built-in speakers. However, if you are looking for a tablet that works great, won't break the bank, and has all the features you need, then this is the one. I purchased an IVSO case for this tablet, and most of the time I carry this in my purse. If you are looking for a "best of the best" in tablets this may not be the tablet of choice for you, but if you want a great working tablet which doesn't feel cheap, looks great, and won't break the bank this is the one to check out. Enjoy!