Fineslate T01 review

Aside from the slightly sluggish web browsing, the tablet’s power only became a problem when we tried to play video from the BBC iPlayer app. The tablet couldn’t cope with the video stream, and jerky video and loss of audio synchronisation was the result.

The tablet’s storage is arranged in a strange way; internal storage is split into separate 501MB and 2.7GB chunks. If you then plug in a microSD card, this will appear as a third chunk of storage. You can move apps from the tablet’s first bit of memory into the second, but not onto the SD card. There’s still a fair bit of space for apps, but bear in mind that SD expansion will be mainly for music and videos. We also had problems with updates; after an update both MX Player and BBC iPlayer would no longer load, with an “app isn’t installed” message. Reinstalling the apps solved the problem.

It’s tricky to judge the Fineslate 101. It’s a tablet with many flaws, including a poor screen and not enough power to play BBC iPlayer videos, which will be a turn-off for many people. However, it has access to the Google Play app store and can play games and high-definition videos, and the Mini HDMI port means you can load it up with films and plug it into your hotel TV. Its battery life is also good enough to keep you entertained on most train journeys. It’s definitely a mediocre tablet, but for £80 nothing else comes close.