Hands on: Cenava W81H rugged Windows tablet review

The Ceaeva W81H is a product that warrants its personal class. Windows tablets usually are not a rarity per se however rugged variations with 4G connectivity space and a surprisingly low price ticket undoubtedly are. We determined to do a hands-on review quite than a typical review to focus on the variations between this tablet and the remainder of the market and attempt to clarify a few of the selections taken by the Cenava group.

Pricing and availability

The W81H rugged tablet is obtainable from on-line Chinese retailer Banggood for a mere $379.99 (about £, AU$). Note that the value doesn’t embrace transport and courier charges. Note that an Android model of the gadget - the A81G - is obtainable for a barely greater value and comes with a Snapdragon 625 CPU and Android 9.0 OS.

Design

There’s not a thousand methods of designing a tablet if you would like it to be rugged, comparatively moveable and reasonably priced. Cenava couldn’t afford magnesium aluminum alloy because the DT Research DT301T for instance, as a substitute counting on what it calls “industrial grade” rubber.

At 714g, the W81H is definitely fairly mild for an 8-inch Windows tablet. The 2014 Dell Venue 8 Pro - which additionally had an 8-inch show - weighed in at 395g. Speaking of the display screen, it's a 16:10, 1280 x 800 pixel show with a Corning Gorilla Glass layer which sadly doesn’t have an oleophobic remedy. 

As such, will probably be quickly lined with fingerprints in the event you don’t use gloves. This is made worse by the extremely reflective show and its low brightness (which additionally makes it laborious to learn exterior).

Don’t fear about dealing with it although. It ought to stand up to drops from an affordable top (1m) with ease because of raised borders that defend the display screen and a few of the thickest nook protections - and bezels -  we’ve seen on a tablet this measurement. Its IP67 (however not MIL-STD-810G) score signifies that it might probably take a tough tumble or two.

Speaking of measurement, the W81H is 22mm thick, 146mm extensive and 223mm lengthy; its footprint is a tad larger than an A5 sheet. The prime edge homes two screw holes (probably for antennae), perform, energy and quantity rocker buttons.

On the left of the Cenava tablet are three flaps: the primary one hides a 3.5mm audio port and a mini-HDMI connector. Behind the second are two USB ports (a microUSB and a Type-A USB 3.0) whereas the third one protects a barrel-type proprietary energy connector.

Behind the lonely flap discovered on the correct handside is a microSD card slot and a SIM card reader. There’s no fingerprint sensor or sensible card reader. 

At the rear, you can even discover a rear digicam sensor (however no flash), a speaker grill and IMEI particulars with a 12-pin POGO connector positioned on the backside that may join the gadget to an elective automotive bracket or a charging base.

Hardware