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$49 DigiLand DL 7 Android Tablet Now Available from Best Buy

DigiLand-DL-7[1]It is a truth universally acknowledged that one should never buy the cheapest device on the market – but that doesn’t mean we cannot look.

Following in the footsteps of Microcenter and Office Depot, Best buy is now selling a sub-$50 Android tablet.

Like the ultra-cheap tablets that came before, the DigiLand DL 7 has the absolute minimum specs needed to get a tablet out the door. It might not have the best performance among the bottom of the barrel tablets, but it does offer a feature not found on previous ultra-cheap tablets: a dual-core CPU.

The DigiLand DL 7 runs Android 4.4 on a dual-core 1.5GHz AllWinner A23 CPU with 512MB RAM, Mali400 GPU, 4GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot. It also has Wifi, two VGA resolution cameras, and a single speaker.

Screen resolution is the expected 800 x 480, and the DL 7 has a 5 point capacitive touchscreen.

All in all, there is very little to recommend this tablet over its similarly priced aside from the CPU (and I’m not sure that’s worth much either). The 2.1Ah battery offers an unknown amount of battery life, and the DL7 only comes with a 90 day warranty, which is never a good sign.

DigiLand-DL-7[1]

And as for the CPU, I have yet to be impressed by the performance of the chips made by AllWinner. Their CPUs are cheap, and with good reason. The several tablets I have found with AllWinner CPUs generally had performance about half as good as I was expecting. For example, a tablet with a quad-core AllWinner CPU performed about as well as a tablet with a competitor’s dual-core chip.

Please note that I am not trying to talk you out of buying this tablet; I’m just trying to lower your expectations a couple notches so you won’t be disappointed.

If you do get this tablet, let me know what you think.

via my competition

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Comments


Julie June 7, 2014 um 8:09 pm

We have a $20 tablet that came from Microcenter. Set it up as an ereader for my daughter… that’s about all it’s good for, and the battery life is terrible!


Chris Meadows June 7, 2014 um 8:29 pm

Of course, even the worst tablet is measurably better than no tablet at all. I think it’s great that tablets are getting into this price range, even if they’re crappy ones. Sure, it’s slow, low resolution, poor battery life, generally crappy. But it’s the Internet in the palm of your hand. Do you know how many people there are out there who couldn’t afford even a $100 tablet but would be able to use this for web browsing, e-mail, and other such things? It’ll even run Netflix and YouTube.

Nate Hoffelder June 7, 2014 um 11:50 pm

I disagree. There are any number of cases where no device is better than a crappy device. For example, I think classrooms would be better off with no tablets than with shitty tablets. A poor quality tablet could be detrimental by taking time away from learning.

And even as a consumer device, I think it’s better to save up for a solid device than to buy shit. If nothing else, get a refurb of a solid device than a shitty tablet. That is bound to offer a better return.

Talley December 7, 2014 um 11:12 am

Hi Chris, I’d like to buy this for my adult son who really likes to look things up on google, likes to look at YouTube and watch Netflix sometimes, would this be ok for that, if not do you have a suggestion. Thanks.


Robert Nagle June 7, 2014 um 10:31 pm

Nate, thanks for following these low end devices. Here’s a suggestion: from time to time it might be fun to point out which is the best value for your money at the $99 price point.

Related note: I got my hands on the Dell Venue 32G at Walmart for $199. For that price range, it seemed like a good deal even though it ran Windows — and it apparently didn’t even the MS Office app ready for it!

Doug June 8, 2014 um 7:26 am

I 'm also interested in the best value at the $99 price point.

No cheap tablet will equal my Kindle for reading books. However, I’d like to buy an inexpensive tablet as a backup computing device. This looks to be a good year with Intel subsidizing inexpensive tablets. So, a KitKat (or later) version of Android with a semi-decent CPU and 1024×600 (or better) resolution and decent battery life would suit. Viewing angles and camera(s) are unimportant.

As a former consumer electronics tech, I can say from experience that bottom-tier products are invariably bad values. They are poorly made using poor quality parts and assembly methods. They rarely perform well and usually fail quicker than better quality goods.

Knowing all that, I stupidly bought a "RCA" microwave oven at a "great" price. It still works, but the fit and finish are horrendous and the turntable squeaks. The 90 day warranty requires paying a fee and sending it back to a faraway service depot. My fault.

I use Tracfone because it is far the cheapest for my usage patterns. They started supporting Android phones with a great budget rate. Either bring your own device or buy one of their new cheapie Android phones. I bought the ZTE Valet new, for a great price. OK cheapie phone, but it runs Android 4.1.1. Then the Heartbleed bug was announced! Vulnerable!!! Patch from Tracphone or ZTE? Fuggedaboudit!

Moral: don’t be a bottom feeder. The cheapest is rarely a good deal.

jason racine June 12, 2014 um 7:17 pm

I just got this tablet a couple days ago and I personally love it. The specs with the dual core processor and the AllWinner cortex-a7 chip to me there’s nothing wrong with the tablet.

I think it’s based upon personal perspective…and as in battery life with constant use it’s about 3 hours but with standby (I haven’t tried yet) but I believe it’s about 6-7 hrs from 100% to 0%.

I would play a game for 2 hrs without it dying but then again with playing a game the screen is constantly on without break.

Again…it depends on perspective and what the tablet is used for…

Nate Hoffelder June 12, 2014 um 7:25 pm

If the battery is really running down that fast then you should install a power management app.

That will fix the issue. Here are a few other apps that you might want to install:
https://the-digital-reader.com/2013/12/23/5-apps-install-new-budget-android-tablets/

Desi August 19, 2014 um 9:17 pm

Jason, I wish I could play a game on this tablet! My husband bought 2 (for grandchildren) thinking it was a great price and would get them off our smart phones. I cannot even get it to load a game in. It just seems like one big ad for Google. I am so disappointing! How did you manage to download a game onto it? Please, please let me know…
Desi

Breylan Mcmillon September 14, 2014 um 10:16 pm

I have this tablet, and I love it I’m 11 yrs. Old and in middle school and I ???? Android there is nothing wrong with it and after owning it for 2 months,I can’t live without it.I love my games and I found out how to download Instagram go on google play and look up, free android market touch the one that shows a dented bag with an android not peeking up I’m using the DigiLand DL 700d right now.????????????????????

Breylan Mcmillon September 14, 2014 um 10:18 pm

I mean android sign peeking up

Chris Meadows June 8, 2014 um 11:00 am

Nate has in the past called the HP Mesquite the best value in a $99 tablet. Don’t know if he’s found a better one since.

Nate Hoffelder June 8, 2014 um 12:22 pm

Actually, you might recall that last Sunday I mentioned the Kobo Arc (2012) as the best value for $99.

Doug June 8, 2014 um 12:32 pm

Excellent review by Nate, as usual.

However, the HP runs 4.1 which means it is very likely to be vulnerable to the Heartbleed **client-side** bug. See http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.com/2014/04/google-services-updated-to-address.html and scroll down for:

"Android
All versions of Android are immune to CVE-2014-0160 (with the limited exception of Android 4.1.1; patching information for Android 4.1.1 is being distributed to Android partners).

We will continue working closely with the security research and open source communities, as doing so is one of the best ways we know to keep our users safe. "

If someone who owns one will try one of the Heartbleed detector apps in the Play store, we weould know.

I’m not sure at this point what, if any, client side impacts there with the recently announced OpenSSL bugs — http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/05/openssl-bug-man-in-the-middle/ for:

"The bug affects all client versions of OpenSSL and servers on version 1.0.1 or 1.0.2-beta1, though it is recommended to update earlier versions as a precaution."

The big gotcha with Android is that one is extremely unlikely to get security patches. Chromebooks get them. My Linux was patched promptly. (Mac and PC were not affected.)

So, current versions of Android look pretty iffy for secure sites that use https:// URLs


Jon Jermey June 8, 2014 um 8:12 am

I’ve had a lot of trouble with AllWinner CPU devices. I certainly wouldn’t recommend them. And if I was looking for a cheap tablet, I’d go on eBay and get it straight from the manufacturer rather than paying an intermediary. But I must respond to Nate’s comment about saving up for a better device. In the era of Moore’s Law and steadily falling prices, that doesn’t always make sense. You may get more utility by buying an adequate device now, and upgrading to a super-duper one cheaply in a year’s time, than you would by saving up for six months and buying the super-duper one then.

evelyn July 14, 2015 um 4:32 pm

I just purchased this tablet and i’m having a problem getting it to work. I could turn it on but that’s as far as I could get. I’m not able to contact them for info. Do you have any suggestions?


Katybug August 14, 2014 um 9:42 pm

My parents bought this tablet for my daughter, 8 years, for reading and simple games. She played till the battery died. We plugged it in to charge, and it’s been several hours and it won’t even turn back on. Is there something I don’t know?….a reset button or something?….

Nate Hoffelder August 14, 2014 um 10:46 pm

I don’t have any specifics on your tablet but this usually helps:

Press and hold the power button.

Val B December 16, 2014 um 9:20 am

After the first several charges, I too experienced what seemed like it would not power back up after a charge. I found that if I held the power for a long time ( 15 – 20 seconds) it did power up. SO, just keep pushing the power button. Regarding the other replies about being cheap and worthless, it is all relative. Sometimes it is just nice to be able to walk through the house, or your friends (or work?), and be able to read email, websites or whatever you want to keep up with. If you lose it – oh well it was cheap, don’t sweat it. I hate to talk on a big screen phone or a small phone screen to browse the web. I love my cheap 40 dollar tablet.

Cameren Walters December 11, 2014 um 6:23 pm

I just had the same problem. Charging it for hours and it wouldn’t come back on. There’s a reset hole on the back on the same end where the power button is next to where it says "micro sd". Pressed it using a toothpick and it’s working like new. Hope this helps.

bill January 10, 2015 um 4:18 pm

small hole on the back use paper clip to reset…..

Jane February 4, 2015 um 2:50 pm

Just press and hold the reset button on back for a two seconds then press and hold power button. same thing happened to my sons


Kenneth Parker August 29, 2014 um 11:37 pm

I’m not sure I’d write this thing off, quite so fast: I just purchased one today, and found out that it’s in "Developer mode". In other words, there’s a full, usable Linux Command line available (though not "rooted", there are articles out there, suggesting that it’s not hard to do).

Also, the "Owner’s Manual" is almost worth the price, in comedy value. For example, on the first, inside page, #13 reads: "When CPU in high-speed operation, especially in 3D games or in long time playback high-definition video, the fuselage will have the phenomenon of fever".

I picked #13, because someone complained about how slow this is. In the "Accessibility" option, there’s a selection for "High Speed Mode", that’s unchecked, by default.

By the way, I like this, as an Android Geek. I REALLY don’t recommend it for an Andorid novice! Seriously!


ROBERT December 2, 2014 um 10:08 am

Hello, I went to Best Buy with my uncle and he bought the 10.1 and 7.0 DL Tablet and the only problem is the glass that they put, it has glare when you tilt it and when you watch videos the color changes and it kind of looks like a negative film but thats only when u tilt the tablet besides that the resolution is great and for me is a great tablet to use at night when there is no light.. Both version ran fine I tested the 7.0 with the Galaxy Tab 8.0 and the response was 3-5 delay depending on what I was opening and against the NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Ipad there was a 5 second delay. I did the same Witht he 10.1 and it gave me a 3 second delay. The 10.1 was faster than the 7.0 because the 10.1 HAD 1GB of ram and the 7.0 has 512MB of ram. For people trying to do simple things this is a good tablet, my uncle uses the 10.1 and he gave my grandfather the 7.0 and he loves it.


Alex December 15, 2014 um 6:13 pm

I have this and the wifi will only show a connection strength of fair and it connects on its own I cant connect it when it does connect it gives me wifi for about 40 seconds before the wifi disconnects has anyone found the solution to my problem?

billy January 14, 2015 um 8:22 am

I have same problem with the wifi.

Doug January 14, 2015 um 7:41 pm

You need to check the strength of your WiFi router.


Cameron December 30, 2014 um 9:51 am

Hi my tablet is still not turning on, and I’ve tried charging it, holding down the power button for 15-20 seconds, and pressing a toothpick into the reset button but nothing’s working, are there any other tips or things I should know about to get my tablet to work?

Nate Hoffelder December 30, 2014 um 10:05 am

You’ve listed most of the steps I would take, so there isn’t much for me to add. But here are a couple suggestions:

Did you try a different charger?
Did you try a different cable?

Sometimes the problem isn’t the device but the accessory, so you need to check for that as well.

And one last final thing to try would be to let the tablet sit for a week so the battery can drain completely. Then try to charge it again. Sometimes this helps.


Sophia Hylton January 2, 2015 um 2:17 pm

Hi, I’m 14 y/o and was given the 10.1 digiland quad core tablet for Xmas, along with my brother. Well I had been using mine for maybe 3 days when my sister or her boyfriend accidentally stepped on it. My sister felt bad so she gave me hers. So I’ve been using that up till now. I was using it this morning, everything was running fine. I didn’t want to be using it to much or straining it from using it or whatever, so I decided to shut it down. After shutting it down, I realized I needed to message someone or log out or something, I don’t remember, but I held the power button to turn the tablet on and nothing happened. I got worried and tried a few more times. With no help. I searched online and all I got was to hold the power button for 15-20 seconds or to reset. I tried to reset it while its off and nothing happened. I’m really worried, kinda freaking out haha, so if ANYONE could help me, I’d really appreciate it. Because I feel horrible my mom paid money on these that took her awhile to get and ones already broken. And I don’t want my family to think I’m irresponsible or anything. So I’m kind of panicking and I need a soluton. So PLEASE let me know what I can do. Please email me at [email protected] or reply here!! Thank you so much!!!!!

Nate Hoffelder January 2, 2015 um 2:49 pm

Just about the only new suggestion I can make is to let the tablet sit for a couple weeks so the battery can drain.

Then try to charge it.

Sometimes this helps.

Pete January 8, 2015 um 10:10 am

Take the battery out, then put it back in. Let it charge for a few minutes, then turn on.

billy January 21, 2015 um 8:29 am

Can’t take battery out


Mel January 13, 2015 um 5:28 pm

I’ve been having the same issues with the tablet shutting off and not coming back on. This is the 2nd time it’s happened. the first time i held the volume buttons and power buttons down in so many combinations i didnt know what actually worked but eventually it came back on. And by eventually, i mean with me pressing button combinations for about 5 mintutes straight.

this time around i held the volume buttons again in various combinations and nothing. But i decided to give it once last try and from what i could tell, it was when i held the volume up button and the power button down at the same time for about 15-20 seconds then let go of the volume button and hit the power button again and it came back on. magic..

I called best buy and they mentioned that it may have to be "hard powered on" if it had an update come through but they were unsure of the combination of the buttons so i just tried them all. there are only 3 buttons on it so holding one at a time or all together. but both times i have managed to get it back on.


billy January 14, 2015 um 8:18 am

I just got a 7″ digiland tablet .works fairly good and was happy. Then 5 days later ,WiFi does not stay connected. It works then it doesn’t it does then doesn’t.. On off on off on off !! Grrrrrrrr what a piece of China made shit!! Can’t play any online games because of this WiFi problem .lucky it happened after owning for 5 days and not after the 90 warranty.. I’m returning this $49 pile of China shit!!


Samantha Delores Shue January 21, 2015 um 12:04 am

I have the 7inch digiland tablet and It won’t turn on . I’ve tried everything! Holding power button for 15secs-1min and with the volume keys at same time I hit the reset button I’ve charged for hours ive left off charge for a day. And it happened the second day I purchased it and its only four days old.

billy January 21, 2015 um 8:27 am

Exchange it soon before warranty expires, also if you baught it at best buy in think you can take it in to the store at the GEEKSQUAD DESK ,THEY LOOK AT IT FREE OF CHARGE, BUT ID EXCHANGE IT,


Tusubiira Samson April 4, 2015 um 8:59 am

Hi my digiland tablet 10.1 inch quad core tablet touch screen has broken down I need to replace can it be possible? I’ve tried to get one in Uganda but its not there. Can I order from you. Thank you

Nate Hoffelder April 4, 2015 um 11:12 am

I don’t sell these tablets, sorry.


Lala April 15, 2015 um 7:35 pm

Hello,

I tried downloading music to Tablet, and it’s showing on the Tablet, but it’s telling me that it’s unable to play back the file. Can you assist?

Thanks.

Nate Hoffelder April 15, 2015 um 9:22 pm

Where did you get the music, and what format was it?

Most tablets only have native support for MP3 files. You’ll need to install an app to play other formats.


Lala April 15, 2015 um 9:26 pm

Music is from the Standard Windows Media player. Would you happen to know which app to download? Thanks for your reply.

Nate Hoffelder April 15, 2015 um 9:33 pm

Your best bet would be to find out the specific format (WMA, WAV, etc) and go to Google Play.

Search for that format, and if an app supports the format that app will show up in the results.

Lala April 16, 2015 um 2:09 pm

Thank you, will try this.


bryce May 5, 2015 um 2:33 am

having the exact same problem. reset wont work. power button wont work. trying many button combinations, none work. plugged it to a computer, didn’t work. I didn’t make the purchase, my godmother did, so I’m unaware of whether or not the warranty has expired (or even exists)


Shaun F. August 23, 2015 um 2:47 pm

I lost my charger to my Digiland and regular android chargers do not fit. How can I order a new one? Please Help!

Nate Hoffelder August 23, 2015 um 3:22 pm

Hey Shaun,

I went looking on Youtube and the DL 7 I saw took a small round charger plug. Does that describe your tablet?

The one I saw was a generic power supply. You can probably find a replacement on Ebay. I would also recommend RadioShack, but they’re closing stores so I don’t know if that is an option for you.

BTW, have you tried to charge the tablet using the USB cable and your computer?

If that works then you only need a generic power supply that takes a USB cable.


Crystal August 28, 2015 um 8:42 pm

Fully charged it in night unplug it in the morning and when come home at night for my son to use it it’s dead. Like seriously what junk. I mean I know I only paid 49 dollars but it’s idle and the battery dies


larry gee September 24, 2015 um 7:19 pm

piece of junk they said they fixed it for me and it still did not work threw it away would never buy any more of their products


machit November 29, 2015 um 3:22 pm

This tablet is not working good


Kenya January 23, 2016 um 7:44 pm

This tablet is most definitely not awesome. The battery dies so fast when connected to the internet. It cuts of when it’s at 4% and when on music.ly or dubsmash it’s recorded upside down


Kevin February 9, 2016 um 10:31 am

Purchased two Digilands, one for each of my kids. I bought them in late December 2015. On Feb 5th one of them stopped charging all together. I paid $50 plus sales tax for each device. I got them from Best Buy. While the crap device may be cheaper then an Apple product, I still cannot in anyway recommend a $50 product that breaks in less then 2 months. You get what you pay for.


tommy June 3, 2017 um 3:50 pm

hi my name is tommy i brought 3 of these"s tablets. for my grandkids. went to get one off of the desk and one of them has exploded.good thing my granddaughter was not playing her games.so has any body had these problems.or do any one know of any recalls.


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