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Review: Polaroid’s New 4.3″ Android MID (PMID4300)

Polaroid is making a big push into tablets and ereaders this year, but it looks like they’re going to go for the cheap stuff.

This particular model is a budget device with 4.3″ screen. It’s running Android 2.2 on a 1GHz Rockchip RK2818 CPU. It has 4GB Flash, a microSD card slot, Wifi, speaker/mike, and a g-sensor.

This review is based on owning the PMID4300 for a week and taking it on a conference trip. I have found that a con trip is the best way to focus my attention on a new device. I try to use the review unit in place of the  tablet I usually carry (Samsung Galaxy Tab) and this gives me a good idea of how well a review unit performs.

This review is also an expansion on my first impressions post. After looking over that post, I’ve decided not to repeat what I wrote there.

I liked holding the PMID4300. It was a little thick, but it was just the right width so I could hold it in one hand and page forward with my thumb. It worked fine both as a media player and an ereader. My several sample videos played okay and so did my mp3s.

The screen was a tad too dim to be read outside  in Philly in March, though, and the speaker is rather quiet. But this is a budget device, so I’m not surprised.

Like I said before, the stock apps (gmail, browser, youtube, etc) worked fine. That’s good, because I had trouble installing apps. I did get the Amazon Appstore to work, but the Kindle app won’t run. Another owner has commented that he has also had problems installing some apps. For example, he installed Adobe Flash just fine but a Flash based educational game still wouldn’t work.

Luckily for me this device ships with Kobo, so it’s not a major issue. Also, I was able to install Aldiko, so clearly some apps will work.

Table of Contents

Battery Life

This is the all important category for mobile devices, and it’s really the only one where the PMID4300 comes up short. It’s a cheap device, and the battery life reflects that. I found, when I took it on a trip, that the effective battery life was under half a day.

The issue wasn’t the battery so much that the touchscreen becomes erratic and unusable when ever the battery meter drops below 50%. And I usually hit that point before lunch on my trip.

Now, you might say that the battery life is fine, considering the cost ($60), but I need to have it last most of the day. I had planned to carry this around in my pocket as an MID and basically use it as a small tablet. I was going to use it to check email read, and do other minor tasks. But I cannot. If I did carry this device around I would have to carry 2 just to make it through the day. That’s simply not enough.

 Opinion

Aside from the battery issue and the problem with installing apps, this is a decent device for what it cost ($60).

Specs

  • 4.3″ resistive touchscreen
  • Android v2.2 Froyo
  • 600MHz Rockchip RK2818 CPU
  • 4GB Flash storage
  • microSD card slot
  • Wifi
  • speaker/mike
  • g-sensor

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Comments


burger flipper March 25, 2012 um 12:24 am

Actually looking for something like this myself. I think I’ll probably just pony up for a Galaxy Player 4.0


Jacob April 8, 2012 um 4:39 pm

Actual my tablet works fine ask the way till the power is 15% and kindle works fine on mine too.just had exchange the tablet one time cuz of a white line trough the screen.phone support terrible when first called they said had wrong nr email support good.for the battery I bought a duracell portable lion so you can charge the tablet at lunch on the go works out good. Needs a strong wifi signal.


Larry Raymond July 16, 2012 um 5:29 pm

I have the Polaroid pmid 4300. In the mail program does it have an address book or a way to get addresses without typing them in all the time?


Bob Porkborg July 17, 2012 um 4:56 am

How on earth do you download apps on this? Do I have to go to a Web browser each time or is there like an app you can download once that will let you download other apps? I went and set up an Android Market account for nothing — I thought that was the answer.

Nate Hoffelder July 17, 2012 um 5:25 am

I got them from Freeware Lovers.

Lou Nathaniel December 13, 2012 um 9:42 pm

You can go up into the setup and CHOOSE an app store. Then you’ll have a default to D’L from and then you can use it like any other Android. It is NOT a Goggle Play device though.
Far as battery goes. it WILL last all day with the Wifi turned off.. If you want to play online get a smartphone.


chris September 4, 2012 um 5:14 pm

mine wont even turn on. yesterday it says "application keyboard (Latin) has encountered an error" and forcecloses and then the tablet restarts and same error occurs. happens repetadly. tech support no help either


Jade October 29, 2012 um 8:21 pm

My tablet was doing fine and then it stopped working as in will not even turn on.. ugh..

anyone know how to fix this problem?


Rebecca December 19, 2012 um 9:17 am

My mother is getting me one for christmas, but after reading this i have a feeling i’m not going to like it all to well. After i had gotten cozey with my Ipad that i had bought after savinbg money, it got stolen. So my mom is buying me this. I don’t think it could even compare anywhere close to the Ipad, but we will see.


Dede December 26, 2012 um 7:36 pm

I brought for my boys 6 & 10 works great except battery life . They play games and watch video all say so it always need charging. We are able to ger apps from opera mini (go to web site and directly download it) I use opera on my smart phone any way so in use to it. Great tablet for the price. đŸ™‚


LazerBill55 September 2, 2013 um 8:50 pm

More of a toy than a tablet, but OK as an MP3 player.


Andy June 20, 2014 um 7:34 pm

Piece of junk. Trying to get it set up and now all I get is the lady talking. Can’t go to any of the screen buttons, nothing works. How do you reset it to factory settings? I bought it today and already ready to throw it at wall.


Savvas Velianoski January 1, 2017 um 7:05 am

How much costs "Polaroid’s New 4.3? Android MID (PMID4300)" and can you ship it to Greece?

Nate Hoffelder January 1, 2017 um 7:09 am

This is a news and review blog, not a retailer.


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