BDF is little-known Chinese manufacturer, and to be honest, we also hear about it for the first time. Nevertheless, it is quite popular brand on domestic market of China.
Yesterday GearBest started flash sale of BDF A708 tablet. We are very interested in this gadget, because its price is only $49.99. One of its main features is 3G support. So, you can not only use Wi-Fi, but also mobile Internet.
Let’s review BDF A708 3G Phablet, and find out other advantages, except low price.
BDF A708: Package
It is ultra cheap tablet, so the package is very modest. Here we have power adapter, SIM needle, user manual OTG cable. It is very good that $50 tablet has OTG cable in the package.
BDF A708: Design
BDF A708 is one of the most compact tablets of 2018. It looks like a big smartphone than tablet.
You can see a compartment with slot for SIM and microSD cards on the back panel. On the bottom there is single speaker.
The body of tablet is completely plastic. Unlike its more expensive and advanced competitors, this tablet has a full set of connectors, such as microUSB for charging and synchronizing and 3.5 mm audio jack. All of them are located on the top side.
The volume rocker and power button are on the left side. The front panel has a display with quite thick bezels. It is very strange to see in 2018, when smartphones and tablets get rid of the bezels around the screen. However, BDF A708 costs only $50, so we can not complain.
Above the display there is earpiece and front camera.
BDF A708: Display
The tablet is equipped with 7-inch IPS display with WSVGA resolution (1024 × 600 pixels).
The colors are not too bright and contrast, but without distortion when the backlight level is changed. The brightness has properly separated levels, so the screen does not dazzle in the dark. However, direct sunlight can be a problem – we would like a little higher brightness level.
The touchscreen supports up to 10 touches. Although it is budget tablet, there are no false touches and no failures. The cold test at minus 10 degrees BDF A708 is excellent – the sensor continues to work correctly.
BDF A708: Performance
BDF A708 was the first tablet in 2018 for us with processor not from MediaTek or Qualcomm. Surprisingly, the manufacturer chose an interesting single-core processor Spreadtrum SC773. It consists of four cores at 1.3 GHz and a graphics core Mali 400 MP2.
A strange choice is explained by the price of tablet: Spreadtrum is extremely cheap, so here is the price of only $50. Also, there is only 512 MB of RAM, 8GB of built-in memory. Fortunatly, you can use microSD memory cards.
So, you can use BDF A708 tablet for surfing Internet, reading or watching movies. However, it will be quite difficult to play games on this tablet. Perhaps some very simple arcades will run, but you should forget about latest Android games.
BDF A708: Operating System
As you can see, the tablet has many compromises. The software is another one. BDF A708 runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. At the moment, an update is being prepared for Nougat, but it will take a couple of months to wait for it.
The system is completely clean from any third-party apps. Also it supports updating by OTA.
BDF A708: Multimedia
The manufacturer did not forget to equip BDF A708 with a full set of multimedia tools. Despite the fact that main camera is equipped with only 2 megapixel sensor, photos are pretty good.
The front camera is suitable only for chatting. It has 0.3 MP sensor.
In addition to single speaker with a huge volume, the tablet is equipped with 3.5 mm audio jack for connecting headphones. It sounds like a C-grade, but you can see the movies either on the speaker or through the headset.
BDF A708: Battery
BDF A708 is equipped with a removable battery of 2200 mAh. It is charged from a standard microUSB port with 5V/2A.
It is quite small battery, and you can expect about 4-5 hours of watching movies at maximum brightness. If you are reading boog with reduced brightness, you can get up to 6-7 hours of battery life.
BDF A708: Connectors
If we talk about available ports and connectors, BDF A708 has microUSB for charging and data exchange.
The main network protocol is a single-band Wi-Fi. Also there is Bluetooth 2.3 (!). GPS and other navigation sensors are not available.
From other side, the tablet works in 2G / 3G networks. It means that you can use SIM card for both calls and to connect to the Internet. Please, note that your mobile provider should support WCDMA B1 band of 2100 MHz.
Conclusion
BDF A708 is utra-budget tablet with 3G support. Perhaps, it is the main advantage of this gadget. From other side, it is almost impossible to find a smartphone for $50, not to mention the tablet. Here you will get 7-inch display, quite good performance, rear and front cameras, and even SIM support for calls and mobile internet. It sounds very good for $49.99. Do you agree?
