I'm a cheapskate and don't want to spend too much for a 7-inch tablet especially while prices are dropping every few months. Furthermore, I prefer a tablet with an open system that I can expand, instead of one that is tied to a restrictive eco system (cough*kindle*cough). Over the past year, I must have tested half a dozen of those budget-priced (under 100 USD) 7-inch tablets, including the Pandigital Planet, Polaroid 701C/702C, Nextbook Premium 7SE, and so on. None of them offer exactly what I want, but at least this latest one by D2PAD (D2 7-Inch Android 4.1 Jelly Bean/ 4GB/1 GB DDR3/4:3 Capacitive Multi-Touch Screen Internet Tablet) is the best of them all. Here are my reasons why:
1. Most 7-inch tablets have a LCD screen with aspect ratio of 1.67:1 (resolution of 800x480). This ratio is good for viewing wide-screen movies, but not for reading eBooks or surfing Internet. The D2-721 tablet has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (resolution of 800x600). So although they are all "7-inch" when measured diagonally, the D2-721 actually offers a larger LCD screen and higher resolution. (Please see the picture I uploaded to 'Customer Images' section for comparison)
2. All other tablets have a limited memory of 512MB DDR RAM. This is barely sufficient for running Android 2.3 or lower, but it is inadequate for Android 4.0 and above. The D2-721 has 1GB RAM instead. The result is much smoother operation and less hesitation between task-switching.
3. Other tablets typically have CPUs that run at 1GHz. The D2-721 runs faster at 1.2GHz instead. This added speed is very noticeable even while just surfing the Internet.
Other than the above, the D2-721 is very similar to most other inexpensive 7-inch tablets. One common limitation is that there is only 4GB of internal flash memory, of which 1.5GB is already taken up by operating system and pre-installed apps. So the user is left with just 2.5GB of internal memory. An added problem is that 700MB is taken up by a pre-installed MP4 movie "Warrior Twins", plus a trailer for "Jack the Giant Slayer". I advise deleting those files (or moving them to external microSDHC card) or else you will run out of internal memory pretty soon.
App Availability:
The D2-721 comes with the Amazon appstore pre-installed. Once you're registered with Amazon, you can start downloading "Free App of the Day" and other apps immediately. For those apps not found on Amazon, you have to use the '1Mobile' appstore. Google PLAY store is NOT installed, but I'm sure eventually I'll be able to download some root hack and install it. For now, I have found most everything I need between Amazon and 1Mobile. For example: I was able to download from 1Mobile the two apps that I wanted most: a RPN calculator called 'Droid48' and an offline dictionary from Free Dictionary.org. So I'm good for a while.
Battery Runtime:
The tablet is powered by a 3000mAh lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. I have tested the battery life by playing a 120-minute video continuously, with WiFi off and LCD brightness at 50%:
After two hours, the battery meter drops from 100% to 72%
After another four more hours, it drops further to 27%
So based on the above, I can estimate roughly 8 hour of total runtime. This is slightly better than other 7-inch tablets in the same price range (most can only run for 6 hours)
External Memory:
There is a memory expansion slot that can accept up to 32GB microSDHC card. This extra storage is necessary for me to carry lots of movie files while taking a long trip. The video player on this tablet is compatible with all video formats I have tested, including AVI, MP4, MKV, etc. It can even handle dual sound track and subtitles. So I'm happy with it. One important point to note is that you cannot store apps on the external memory card. This is a common limitation for all tablets I have tested.
One thing I don't quite like is that the D2-721 requires a dedicated AC adapter for charging. It has to be charged through a tiny barrel plug, instead of through a mini or micro-USB port. Fortunately, I was able to find a similar barrel plug at Radio Shack, and made my own charging cable which connects to any USB charger. That way, I don't have to bring yet another AC adapter for my trips.
Conclusion:
I find this D2-721 tablet to be a great value at its present low price. That's why even though it is far from perfect, I still have to give it a 5-star rating simply because there's none better in its price range.
[Update on April 22, 2013]
Just in case you're looking for a protective case: I found the YooMee Red Neoprene Sleeve which is a perfect fit for this 4:3 tablet.
[Update on May 14, 2013]
I have installed Hulu Plus from Amazon appstore, which allows me to stream video on this tablet (I already have a Hulu+ subscription).
I also downloaded the free Netflix app and signed up for a free trial of Netflix. Works great!
[Update on May 26, 2013]
In case you need a screen protector sheet, I tried the 5Pcs Universal 8" Touch Screen Tablet Screen Protectors and it works well. You have to trim the sheet to fit the front panel, of course.
I also purchased a Micro USB B/Male to USB2.0 A/Female OTG Host Cable, which allows me to attach either an USB flash drive or USB mouse to this tablet.
[Update on Oct 22, 2013]
After more than 6 months, my D2-721 is still running smoothly. The only problem is that, since I have downloaded too many apps from Amazon and Google Play store, I'm short on internal storage space.
The lack of official Google Play app is an non-issue. I can navigate to the Play web site using Internet browser, and download free apps directly (since I already have an account with Google Play through my othe tablets)
Amazon now carries the newer version (Digital2 PRO 7-Inch Tablet D2-721G), which comes with certified Google Play app.
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