Leader Impression i10A Tablet Review

Build and Design

Like the original Impression i10, the Impression i10A is built like a tank and has even gained a millimeter or two in all directions, but managed to shed 40 grams of weight over the prior model. You still get a 9.7 inch widescreen multi-touch display with IPS technology and 1024x768 resolution, like the old model, but quite a bit has changed on the inside.

Gone is the Samsung A8 S5PC110 1GHz processor, and in its place is a dual core Tegra 2 ARM Coretex A9 processor. Memory has doubled, from 512MB to 1GB. It still has the Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, but the i10A adds Bluetooth and HDMI C-Type outputs. You still have the front-facing 2Mpxl camera but a forward-facing 2Mpxl camera has also been added.

The ports from the Impression i10 are all still there, with the addition of a Micro SD/MMC card slot that can support up to 32GB, which is a good thing because there is only room for 3GB of internal storage for apps, pictures, and whatnot.

Of course, the biggest change for most will be the jump from Android 2.3 to 4.0. Among other things, this means native support for Adobe Flash video. There is no custom UI, it's just a plain vanilla install.

One nice plus: they include a thick, solid cover. Most tablets sell covers as extras, with prices hitting the $60 range (I'm looking at you, Apple). To get this nice, thick felt cover that lets you stand up the tablet as part of the packaging is a good touch.

Screen and Speakers

The screen remains unchanged from the original model, a 9.7-inch diagonal 1024x768 capacitive touchscreen design. Coming from almost any environment, be it an Android or iPhone, iPad or desktop PC, it's a notable downgrade in video quality and text is quite jagged and suffers from aliasing problems.

The one thing it doesn't handle well is scrolling. When I swipe up and down to scroll through screens, it can get stuck and require a few swipes. It's fairly quick at redrawing between portrait and landscape modes, however.

The speakers are placed at the top and bottom of the device when in portrait mode and can generate some volume, but the quality is lacking. Audio sounds tinny and thin and lacks richness and warmth of better-quality speakers.

Leader Impression i10A specs:

• Android Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0
• 9.7-inch 1024 x 768 resolution
• NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera
• 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth
• microSD/MMC, USB, HDMI
• 7.56 x 9.65 x 0.49-inches
• 1.43 pounds
• Price at launch: $299