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Is That $50 Android Tablet a Value or Lemon?

NuVision TM800A510LWhile I was looking for the next budget tablet to review I found a tablet that appears to be a good value but also shows many warning signs of being a lemon.

The TM800A510L from NuVision  is an 8″ Android tablet that runs Android 4.4 KitKat on a quad-core 1.33GHz Intel Z3735G CPU with 1GB RAM, and 16GB internal storage.

It’s selling for $50 (refurbished) or $70 (new), which is not a bad price given the front-facing speakers, screen resolution (1280 x 800), two cameras (2MP, both) and the 4Ah battery. I mean, the speakers and IPS screen alone are enough to make me want this tablet tablet, even at the full retail price.

All in all, this looks like a great deal, but I still have questions.

While everything I’ve seen so far looks good, I have concerns about the details I haven’t found. To be more exact, I have found this tablet on sale at several retailers as a refurb, but only Walmart carries it new. Furthermore, I have found no reviews for this tablet, not new, used, refurbished, or in an immaculate state.

The fact that the refurbs outnumber the new units, when combined with the lack of reviews, makes me wonder just what is wrong with this tablet.

Why did so many people return it so quickly?

That’s not a question we usually have to ask with tablets, because the answer is often explained in the reviews. Was the software configured wrong? Did the hardware fail? Or did someone drop a case of the tablets off of the dock, and then sweep up the pieces and sell them as refurbs?

And were the problems fixed, or do the refurbs still have the same flaws (only now with a 90-day warranty)?

Until I know the answer to those questions, I can’t recommend this tablet, and I’m even leery of getting it for myself.

And that’s a shame, because the $50 price tag on the refurb is very tempting.

So what do you think was the problem?

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Comments


poiboy January 16, 2016 um 8:05 pm

well.. its an android.. so already its a lemon. #ikidikid

Nate Hoffelder January 16, 2016 um 8:14 pm

Heh. I would make a similar crack if it were running Windows 10. 😉


jjj January 16, 2016 um 8:27 pm

It could be discontinued , Intel is trying to phase out contra revenue and push the 14nm parts instead.


Robert Nagle January 17, 2016 um 2:58 am

At some point, when you have a surfeit of products, there just aren’t enough decent reviews to go around (sort of like books by indie authors, egad!).

It’s hard to make any judgments based on the number of refurbished models. Just because it’s a Walmart product, it’s bound to have a certain number of returns (some for valid reasons, some for ridiculous reasons). At some point you have to go on brand safety and the seller’s recertification process– I mean, I don’t know this brand, and I don’t have a lot of confidence in Walmart to be able to recertify its quality.

Some other reviews (mostly bad): http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/803829/NuVision-8-High-Definition-IPS-Android/

Funny, I usually check the comment section on youtube reviews as well.


Roy Mitchell June 29, 2016 um 7:21 pm

It’s a lemon for sure.


will selzer September 12, 2016 um 4:01 pm

i purchased this very tablet from HSN. it worked for almost the entire length of the warranty, 1 year. at 11 months, it would not boot up at all. called customer service, which was actually better than i expected. we went through
the process of cleaning the tablet out, losing all my data. when it still wouldn’t boot, they sent me a replacement for free. but the second one was refurbished and it did the same thing after about 3 months. now i have no warranty left and a 75.00 tablet that costs 75.00 just to look at it. i’m gonna just buy another tablet. i’ll be a little more careful next time. i guess i got what i paid for.


tephen October 14, 2017 um 12:34 am

This nuvision tablet is the worst pos I have purchased .Nothing but aggravation. No sound won’t play any YouTube..camera wont work…Save your money..you can avoid a lot of trouble.


Anna Tannehill January 7, 2018 um 10:26 am

I bought the nuvision 8 inch from HSN as well, it’s so slow, screen is not very responsive, you literally have to poke it several times.. Camera is horrible.. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking when I ordered this pos … Well, you get what you pay for they say. Wasted $60 cause I hate using it.. Makes a good coaster.


karl June 28, 2018 um 1:59 pm

Nuvision in the US also marketed as Glavey or Aikazu. Now comes with Android 5 and Im surprised by the bad reviews as we have two and for the price they are miles ahead of the ones we are replacing (Ruku, now theres a bad product!).

That said, its impossible to find a proper fitted cover or screen protector which is a nuisance as I use mine mainly when travelling for movies, books, etc so the chances of it falling are high.


CmdrKruge February 21, 2019 um 6:52 am

I just purchased one of these last night. TM800A520L. This is a 1Gb – 32Gb quad core Intel Atom processor running KitKat 4.4. $80
I will be returning it today!

This tablet is so slow. It takes from 3 to 5 seconds to display the keyboard to enter any text. Opening google took about 5 seconds and then the 3 to 5 seconds to get the keyboard. Half the time Google would stop responding and ask me to wait or close or would just give me the message that it stopped working with an OK.

The device also does not have the Update software located in the About Tablet section to be able to upgrade the OS.


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