I personally think this is quite a good deal considering the Mi Pad 3 is a very new addition to the Xiaomi family, and the specs on this for 200 quid are pretty damn good.
Running Android 7 with MIUI 8 ontop MediaTek MT8176 Hexa Core 2.1GHz CPU PowerVR GX6250 GPU 7.9 inch laminated 2K (2048x1536, 326 PPI) retina display 64GB eMMC 5.0 storage 4GB RAM 6600mA battery with Type C port and Fast Charging 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras Dual rear facing speakers Bluetooth 4.0 &Dual Band 11ac Wifi Only 7mm thin and 328g Metal body (in this instance Gold)
I know MIUI isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I like the features, like quick ball, multiple app delete, quick RAM cleaning, reading mode, and it's running Android 7, which is a massive rarity in tablets these days, who all seem to hug Android 4.4 or 5.
The reviews seem good, there were some issues with bugs that according to Xiaomi forums have now been fixed. Certainly a viable Android alternative to the iPad mini 4 for around half the price, considering it has the same screen size, resolution, and a solid chip inside on the latest OS.
Geekbuying for me has always been reliable, plus I use PayPal to add another layer of protection. I spoke with an agent onsite who confirmed it comes with official ROM and Google Play pre-installed. Always remember, buy free shipping to most likely avoid any customs/taxes and feel free to ask any questions.
EDIT: It is available from Gearbest for £190 with MIPAD3ES code, but I find GB to be a shocking retailer and in my experience they always ship the Chinese versions too.
Top comments
plebbygiraffe
3 Jun 1714#10
£209.73 from Spain warehouse with code GKBAUG10, so quicker shipping and guaranteed no VAT to pay.
C0mm0n_Sense to singhisking68
3 Jun 179#27
Unless you're a retailer, why would resale value matter ?
If you've done all your research and satisfied that you have bought the product that meets your requirements then surely resale value is totally irrelevant.
Sandy1012
3 Jun 177#21
voted hot
just waiting for sam to say it has no Band 20 cheeky
badboyofrock
3 Jun 175#29
Apple?
Latest comments (105)
Scoutfinch
10 Jun 17#105
Thanks for that, I was just about to buy it from Gearbest for £190, from China. They are £174 from HK warehouse.
Thats your opinion, I happen to like MIUI, so I buy their stuff, as do tens of millions of people, so to call it **** straight up is a bit narrow minded.
If you like paying twice the price for a very well optimised iOS, then go ahead.
But you are literally contradicting every review out there, the Mi Pad 3 has a 1700mA bigger battery, and takes the same time to charge as a 4900mA battery iPad.
In short, you're talking rubbish. You sound like Trump, 'we have the best tablets, blue ones, yellow ones, gold ones, yes gold'
DatAlbino to DatAlbino
4 Jun 17#102
Something like the 625 wouldnt support the 2k screen, which would stop this being an iPad clone, so your point is invalid, they needed to use an MT to support the resolution
elrasho
4 Jun 17#100
MediTek CPU = Cold
C0mm0n_Sense
4 Jun 171#93
Your statement doesn't make sense
Nobody suggested that it's lifespan was unlimited, the lifespan of a tablet is primarily dependent on how it's used and taken care of.
I've owned my current tablet for over 2 years and it's still working and i've not needed to upgrade it yet.
Even if i decide to buy a new tablet with newer technology and better spec, i would highly unlikely be selling my old tablet to fund the new one as it would be more valuable as a functioning tablet than the money i'd ever be offered for it.
Unless you own an iPad and you mean "planned obsolescence" in which case i would agree with the 2 yr limitation.
AppStar to C0mm0n_Sense
4 Jun 17#96
No point, just out of touch with the tablet scene, especially iPads, so just wanted confirmation that the latest iPads have fast charge like the Android alternatives, that's all.
Josu to C0mm0n_Sense
4 Jun 17#99
sure? i got many of tablets with different adroid, even dual boot tablets, but they not even close to ipads with battery life, quality and perfomance. Of course i am not comparing surface. MIUI is ****/
looks like with that screen and a much smaller battery the expected time is around 9h, compared to 12h on the Mi pad 3.
the iPad battery takes about 3 hours 10 minutes to charge, which is average at best really, considering it takes about the same time in the Mi Pad 3, but has 1700mA less, roughly.
uksnapper
4 Jun 17#88
spot on
mrbone77 to uksnapper
4 Jun 17#90
Thanks for the reply. Btw what if I buy from the US? They always seem to have better deal. I saw iPad mini 4 128GB at 300 USD last week. I will ask someone from the State to mark the item as cheap one. If that's possible, that would be really great.
Tequila to uksnapper
4 Jun 17#97
the 2 year lifespan is a rough and general lifespan of tablets and phones and is widely accepted,whether you agree or not.
It doesn't mean the device will suddenly die and stop working as you make it sound.
it will slow down and struggle to work smoothly and will make the experience poor snd awkward.
and actually if it was an iOS or even windows device it would cope much better and for longer with age compared to android.
go check the performance of 2 years old android phone compared to a 2 years old iOS device and tell me which one lags and stutters more.
DatAlbino
4 Jun 17#95
From my experience shipping from the US is a lot more organised so you are almost guaranteed to pay a heavy markup on that price, or else everyone would just buy from Amazon US, not UK.
ipad mini 4 is also double the price (give or take) this is an Android alternative with competing specs for way less, your point is?
AppStar
4 Jun 17#94
The iPad Mini 4 has type C fast charge??
DatAlbino
4 Jun 17#89
No you don't, just use the free shipping option and you will almost never pay any taxes, plus they usually mark the item as a 20£ mp3 to avoid it for sure, if you buy tracked or fast shipping such as DHL or DPD you will definitely pay 20% tax +admin fee
doobreedob to DatAlbino
4 Jun 17#92
If you mean the 9.7 version then the Samsung s2 is probably the best value. It's dropped to £319 at the moment due to the new s3 coming out, but imho the new s3 is not worth 599.
Also Tesco are doing £20 off electricals over 150 using a code, meaning it's 299.
The s2 has hdmi output (via an Mhl cable) and a memory card slot, making it more useful than this xiaomi fir me....
paperdragon
4 Jun 17#91
Problem is these are universal cases and are not snug and slim fit
mrbone77
4 Jun 17#87
Do we need to pay 20% VAT?
DatAlbino
4 Jun 17#86
Agreed, it sucks, but if you flip it round companies only get your money twice a decade almost for a new tab, compared to almost (or less than) yearly for a new phone, so why would they support it more?
shuwaz
4 Jun 17#85
I've been looking for a Android equivalent to the iPad pro (size-wise). Can anyone recommend one?
crazygoldfish
4 Jun 17#84
I've made the switch to windows tablet --- more waffly versatile
Stu.C
4 Jun 17#83
This is something that really frustrates me... people often replace phones every 1-2 years, but keep tablets for 3-4 years... to me, this is more reason for better tablet support, because people use the device for longer. I can live with my phone OS being 12 months old because support has stopped, but I don't want my tablet lagging 3 years behind. I have an LG G Pad that still works very well, and get used daily, but it is stuck on Kitkat.
There is a shortage of decent tablet options at an attractive price point. This is certainly on the short list. Other options are the HUAWEI MediaPad M3, though more expensive than the MiPad 3, and I've got my eye on the newly announced ASUS ZenPad 3s 8.0 (price unknown).
7percent
4 Jun 17#82
Is that the one with the Tegra GPU? Any good?[/quote]
I like it. I don't feel I'm making the most of all the power it has but I'm enjoying playing Telltale's The Walking Dead (just wouldn't work on the Nexus 7) and reading articles and watching TV. Seems to be updated quite often too so hopefully Nvidia will keep that up a while longer..
snappyfish
4 Jun 17#81
I understand this, in a strange way my phone is better than a cheap laptop!
rkl
4 Jun 17#80
My Nexus 10 (bought on the day of release of the product) is really showing its age now - it's got the "yellowing" issue in the middle of the screen, the battery seems to be on its way out (drops from 40% to 0% instantly and shuts itself down!) and it does seem sluggish now to do most things (internal flash storage slowdown I suspect - yes, I've wiped it completely several times to no effect).
I have, however, been running custom ROMs on it almost from day one (day two to be precise -:smiley: ) - I switched from CyanogenMod to LineageOS recently and it's just about kept me using it (though I much prefer my Samsung Tab S 10.5" - also running LineageOS - because it's still fast and has a gorgeous screen. which isn't the stupid 4:3 that too many recent Android tablets have wrongly switched to).
The Nexus 10 was good on its release and Google bizarrely ditched widescreen for rubbish 4:3 with the Nexus 9 (which I refused to buy), but I wouldn't recommend it now, even as a cheap used purchase. If you can find a Galaxy Tab S 8.4" or 10.5" going cheap, that's what I'd recommend as a second-hand buy - just remember to put LineageOS on it to ditch the awful TouchWiz!
DatAlbino
3 Jun 17#79
You dont need it on a 64GB tablet with cloud options and OTG support, now stop talking or add something relevant.
It has OTG support so if you get a microUSB storage device to put movies on, you can read the files straight from there
Is that the one with the Tegra GPU? Any good?
7percent
3 Jun 17#78
Not this tablet, but I've succesfully done that on android tablets. I don't see why this tablet would be different.
7percent
3 Jun 17#77
I'd still be using my nexus 7 if it hadn't stopped letting me drag and drop media on it from my computer. Wonderful tablet. Replaced it with a shield k1 which is lovely too.
Tequila
3 Jun 17#76
it doesn't take SD card.does it? thats what I said.
you yourself dh.
twisterteddy
3 Jun 17#75
+1
up716394
3 Jun 17#74
Would I be able to play moves off a USB stick somehow plugged into this thing ? Thank you in advance !!!
Noclouds
3 Jun 17#73
A few niggles that the reviewer is confident will be fixed with software updates but good review apart from the CPU in gaming with newer titles. Excellent screen, nice aesthetics, surprisingly decent camera for a tablet.
Because the lifespan of tablet is not unlimited and in a year or two,you need to sell it and upgrade.
C0mm0n_Sense
3 Jun 17#67
That's amazing value for it's price!
I bought my Huawei Honor Note 8 back in December 2016 for £397 and thought that was an amazing deal.
C0mm0n_Sense
3 Jun 17#66
I do agree, although chromecast is a good solution for the lack of HDMI output at an extra cost of £21, but no solution for lack of NFC.
C0mm0n_Sense
3 Jun 17#65
You hit the nail on the head, yes, tech changes quickly which also means that the device is worth more functionally than the money you're going to get for it.
Besides, i personally aim to buy products that are well spec'd and future proofed so that it will last for several years, like my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which is still going strong after 3+ years, albeit with 2 battery changes, again thanks to the future proofing of replaceable batteries!
SClub
3 Jun 171#64
For a cheap alternative with a 7.9" retina screen, take a look at the iFive Mini 4s. Less RAM but still performs well and looks pretty :wink:
tonnes on ebay or amazon, or aliexpress if you wanna import, just look
paperdragon
3 Jun 17#62
The problem I have with these phones and tablets are not the spec or reliability.. But the impossiblity of getting a decent case that fits properly.. Anyone know where you can get cases
DatAlbino
3 Jun 173#61
Pros of the Nexus 10:
-Bigger screen (10.1 vs 7.9, not a benefit for all but probably most)
-Slightly higher resolution (2560x1600 vs. 2048x1536)
-Bigger battery (9000 mA vs. 6600mA)
Pros of Mi Pad 3:
-Much, much better CPU (2016/17 hexa core up to 2.1Ghz vs. a 2012 Dual Core 1.7Ghz)
-Double the RAM (4GB vs. 2GB)
-Much better graphics and gaming performance
-Much lighter (328g vs. 603g) and alot smaller and thinner
-Up to date Android (Android 7 vs. 4.4 upgradeable to 5)
-More storage (G4GB vs. 16/32GB, no SD slot on either)
-Better Bluetooth (v4.0 vs. v3.0) and stronger Wifi
-Better charging (Type C fast charge vs. microUSB 2.0)
-Better battery life (12h vs. 9h, according to GSMArena)
-Better camera (13MP vs. 5MP) and better front cam (5MP vs. 1.9MP)
-New (I cant find a new Nexus 10 for sale, only used ones for circa 100-150)
For me personally its a no brainer, this is better at everything, even having more battery life with a smaller bettery, the Nexus 10 was amazing in 2012, but, cmon, its 2017. Hope that helps.
markgh
3 Jun 17#60
How would this compare in day-to-day performance to a nexus 10 which, although old now, was fairly high-end on release?
Dalkirst
3 Jun 171#59
they're their
DatAlbino
3 Jun 171#58
You have no idea what you're talking about, comparing Android and Apple is like chalk and cheese, completely different.
Learn grammar.
Wish I could afford to do that, Asian prices for these are so much lower and no import fusses
M1sterDeeds
3 Jun 171#57
I had the mi pad 2, cost about £150 at the time, exchange rate has taken a big hit since. For the price, I was very impressed with it. If the new one is an improvement then maybe worth £200.
M1sterDeeds
3 Jun 171#56
I think it depends on which idiot serves you first. I go to Asia quite often and tend to buy most of my phones there. I stopped trying to sell the old ones to CeX when they refused to take a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (that was in mint condition). The reason they cited was that the chinese stickers near the battery under the cover were suspicious. I'd purchased the phone from Broadway in Hong Kong (its basically like Currys/PC World).
When I said yeah cos I bought it in Asia, they were like oh thats why then, as if all phones from there were fakes. Ignorant.
Dave_dave69
3 Jun 17#55
You have got one then - would be great to hear your experience of it.
Opethian
3 Jun 17#54
I was lucky to score the Zenpad for £249 when they first sold it at PC World. Had to travel to 4 of their stores to secure one though as they sold out quickly!
Still using it, and it has changed my opinion of both Asus and Mediatek for the better. Some of the loudest speakers, and the device just plows through in performance. No sluggishness and games load fast. The software optimisation is also really good, switching to an app I opened the other day, it's still at the state I left it in, instead of launching the app all over again.
Wish they sold the Zenfone 3 Ultra in the UK. That 6.8" phone was perfect for me (awesome tech where it pushes video up to 60fps), a bit gutted I had to return mine because the lens cracked (seller eGlobalCentral tells me repair will take 5 months, PayPal dispute got me a refund, I really wanted the phone).
Franzkill
3 Jun 17#53
Completely agree on this! For all the criticism I have towards Windows 10 as an avid tablet user this takes the most for me, I myself had my HP tab's touchscreen completely unresponsive after upgrading to 10 with friends saying they experienced similar issues on their tablets amongst others issues save if your using a desktop or laptop.
Josu
3 Jun 171#52
Crap, better pick new ipad and thats it, any android tablet dont stand close to ipads///
DatAlbino
3 Jun 17#51
But this is stable? They released it on a beta ROM then released a stable one, and it can handle all the things you listed?
If you're hoping for a tablet that'll update to the next 2 or 3 versions of Android, like phones, you're just being unrealistic, its not commercially viable for companies atm
jamdog30
3 Jun 171#50
if i had not bought my iPad pro for £330 i would definitely buy this
stephen0205
3 Jun 17#49
refused to take my mi note 3, said it was because it has 2 imei numbers, altho they sold on there website, they fello tried to tell me there was versions that were not dual sim, altho advertised as dual sim.
Complained to the management and then sold it on ebay
stephen0205
3 Jun 17#48
yeah support goes down as does popularity, but if i buy a tablet i expect it to the the basics and well for the price i pay. Youtube, comics, light gaming, the mi pad could do all three. Just not without a freeze or a reboot randomly. I lost count in one day how many times the thing froze. Different firmwares tried, tablet repaired . Not amused. And altho my old samsung tablet barly got any updates .it done all that without asking. Stability if key imo if your not gonna push out updates
DonkeyKonk
3 Jun 17#47
Regarding Resale Vale, I know Cex are happy to trade in Xiaomi phones and Tablets and seem to give decent prices
DatAlbino
3 Jun 17#46
Agreed, their phones get alot more software attention than their tabs
Name a phone company (besides Google and Apple) who dont? People buy new phones almost yearly now, people upgrade tablets far less often, so support reflects that.
Yeah mate i agree mostly, with the phone i got updates very regularly, even with the mi band, but never the tablet, i owned the mipad 1 and 2, and the mi pad one was better software wise, seemed more stable, not alot of lockups or reboots, Mi pad 2 alot worse, better design, altho weaker cpu, but software was super gash and rarly an update.
Im not saying the mipad 3 is a bad device, im just saying from owning the previous versons they have a habiit of neglecting there tablets and software issues with them.
Puts me off wanting to buy one, altho being extremely tempted.
Xiaomi are very good with their updates, I got Android 7 before anyone apart from Oneplus, and I get security patches weekly practically on my Mi5.
The specs on this are unbeatable and the reviews are great.
I agree that MIUI sometimes has software issues but they get fixed after a short time, just like they have here, and for half the price of an ipad they do a terrific job (plus you get google play instead of apple store)
you cannot base a phone/tablet on its predecessors, or else every tech brand would go bust.
DatAlbino
3 Jun 171#42
Xiaomi are very good with their updates, I got Android 7 before anyone apart from Oneplus, and I get security patches weekly practically on my Mi5.
The specs on this are unbeatable and the reviews are great.
I agree that MIUI sometimes has software issues but they get fixed after a short time, just like they have here, and for half the price of an ipad they do a terrific job (plus you get google play instead of apple store)
you cannot base a phone/tablet on its predecessors, or else every tech brand would go bust.
stephen0205
3 Jun 171#40
from my experience with there phones and tablets there 2 different things.
Phones, great build, stable os, regular updates, very very appealing price, and the shortfalls well within margin of error
Tablets, mi pad 1 poor built, unstable os, mi pad 2, so many issues, wifi , Bluetooth, battery charge issues, unstable os to the point it was unusable, was send back twice, and "repaired twice", same issues got shot of it.
Shame it felt like the best android alternative to ipad mini and the screen and speakers were pretty great. Shame it froze every 5 mins, and there forums are a mess, you will not find half of the issues there.
I have owned there phones, and tablets, and smart bands, battery packs. And whilst id happily go buy most of these. I wouldn't buy the tablet, wouldn't even temp it after last time. And there smart bands have weird software glitches, setting time to 12 hours breaks sleep recording, but its not noted anywhere, it took me so long searching online to find that out.
Just remember its not a local company, the prices are great, the wait times are long, and software support will always be hit and miss.
I dont have an alternative tablet to suggest, i haven't found one i fully like. But the mi pad 2 was very very close. Shame about the software
DatAlbino
3 Jun 172#39
I would definitely disagree
It's 2 years old so likely would have to buy used
Less RAM and onboard storage (defeats the purpose of SD card)
outdated CPU
Much smaller battery with a similiar resolution? Must be crap on screen time
I can only find it new for MORE than the mi pad 3, and no one wants a used tablet.
Only on Android 4.4 to 6, not 7
Its an old tablet dude, not even a worthy rival
Dave_dave69
3 Jun 171#38
I have lived with my original 2012 Nexus 7 for 5 years - maybe time for me to update but not sure as my nexus still works well.
Dave_dave69
3 Jun 171#37
It is 3 years old and only upgradable to android 6.
dwl99
3 Jun 17#36
A good budget alternative would be a used Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 for around half the price - better screen, less RAM (3GB) & storage but has SD card slot http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_tab_s_8_4-6439.php and runs LineageOS very smoothly.
skinrush
3 Jun 17#35
Not really. Tech changes quite quickly and resale value is an important factor. Unless you're planning on living with your mi pad 3 for several years?
Dave_dave69
3 Jun 171#34
They are just gripes I have - for 2 hundred smackeroonies I want everything :- I am still probably going to get one :smiley:.
BUCKUM2
3 Jun 171#33
Available at gearbest for £190.95 with code MIPAD3ES
DatAlbino
3 Jun 17#32
True, altho its relatively cheap and who needs an NFC or HDMI tablet ^^ cmon
as for the SD card slot, 64GB of speedy storage is plenty for pretty much anyone, plus some Mi cloud storage and google cloud, onedrive, etc
Dave_dave69
3 Jun 17#11
It looks cracking for the price - I suppose the only gripe I would have is no microSD slot.
Dave_dave69 to Dave_dave69
3 Jun 17#31
I am also adding no HDMI and no NFC.
cibarious
3 Jun 17#18
Did I miss something in the specs as there seems to be no GPS and no card slot?
Other than that, looks to be a nice piece of kit.
DatAlbino to cibarious
3 Jun 17#24
It has 64GB, that suffices for about 90% of people if not more, plus the storage is eMMC 5.0 so very fast for a tablet.
as for GPS, honestly not too sure, but if that's your criteria for a tablet, I feel like you're looking at the wrong specs xD
full specs here confirm that it does have GPS - but no SD card support (but 64GB onboard and you will probably be able to use OTG)
badboyofrock
3 Jun 175#29
Apple?
joe90jnr
3 Jun 17#26
I see it have Android 7 which is good but do they send out updates e.g. To Android 8 (if there is one in the future) and what about the monthly security updates, does this brand update??
DatAlbino to joe90jnr
3 Jun 172#28
From my experience of Xiaomi they update very regularly, I would say there is a good chance of an Android O upgrade as we're so close to it going live fully, but it is a tablet and generally they don't much from any brands except Apple and Google
in terms of security updates Xiaomi are lightning fast, practically a patch a week.
singhisking68
3 Jun 17#20
top of the range specs but zero resell value..... £195 down the drain ..... so hot from me but personally I won't buy it
DatAlbino to singhisking68
3 Jun 171#23
Dude its tech, you can't buy for resale 99% of the time ^^
to everyone else, it is a cracking device, its fast, slim, good battery and charges quick cos of Type C fast charge, handles all the ganes rlly well, stunning screen (exactly the same as on the iPad mini 4) for less than 200 quid!
btw a specific shoutout, the speakers on this are amazing, for a tablet, they sound like a budget Bluetooth speaker, crazy
C0mm0n_Sense to singhisking68
3 Jun 179#27
Unless you're a retailer, why would resale value matter ?
If you've done all your research and satisfied that you have bought the product that meets your requirements then surely resale value is totally irrelevant.
JumpMan1980
3 Jun 171#2
Im intrigued by this - I am a recent convert to Xiaomi mobile phones and would go for one of their tablets now too. My hudl2 is still going strong for the time being (was a great little buy) but this one looks brilliant. :man:
DatAlbino to JumpMan1980
3 Jun 171#25
now got a Xiaomi mi5, a 10000mA bank, a Mi Band 2, and this. Xiaomi are incredible value for money
skinrush
3 Jun 171#22
So, Mi Pad 3 in gold. A bit like iPad 3 in gold.
Where do these Chinese companies get their ideas from???
Sandy1012
3 Jun 177#21
voted hot
just waiting for sam to say it has no Band 20 cheeky
paddy.stone
3 Jun 171#19
Shield k1 tablet is still a great tablet, pity Nvidia chose to discontinue it. Mine is still going strong, running Android 7.0 and had an update just the other day also updating security etc to April version.
That being said, if I was in the market for one right now this would be a great buy, especially with features like massive battery, hex core, 4GB ram, fast charging... I would mention the screen res, but I feel on a tablet more than 1920x1080 is a waste maybe and sucks more battery. I would still buy one though as this spec far supercedes the abysmal specs and prices of most Android tablets out there right now.
CampGareth
3 Jun 172#14
Ooh this is tempting, my Shield Tablet's feeling a bit old these days with its 2GB of RAM but on the other hand I don't really use android tablets as much as I thought. Windows tablets are more useful in my opinion.
cicobuff to CampGareth
3 Jun 173#17
Opposite way around for me, my Windows tablet gathers dust due to finding poor integration between tablet/desktop mode with Windows 10, I find the compromise between the two exactly that 'a compromise', I find tablet mode far from intuitive and desktop mode way too fiddly without the addition of a keyboard and mouse.
Much more comfortable using a Windows tablet with a keyboard, which then really defeats the purpose and makes the whole experience then akin to using a netbook.
Pspvita
3 Jun 171#16
I think the portability of this device is great having a bigger iPad gets tiresome carrying it around but this size tablet is great.
CuddlesTC
3 Jun 17#15
I've been looking at replacing my elderly iPad Mini 1, and this appears to be a pretty good option: any experts who could offer an opinion? Thanks :smiley:
cicobuff
3 Jun 17#13
As I said not close in price, although we are talking a 10" tablet not 8" which obviously are more expensive, plus the Asus does have a UK warranty.
You mentioned you don't think any Android tablet comes close in specs, I was pointing one out that uses exactly the same processor (for 2K screen capability) and RAM.
crazy_kalz
3 Jun 17#12
£290 is steep! Couldn't justify paying that much for a tablet myself but for some it might be okay.
plebbygiraffe
3 Jun 1714#10
£209.73 from Spain warehouse with code GKBAUG10, so quicker shipping and guaranteed no VAT to pay.
solid
3 Jun 17#9
Good price. The Mi Pad 3 is actually cheaper than the older Mi Pad 2.
crazy_kalz
3 Jun 171#6
Amazing specs for the price and from a renowned company! Don't think any android tablet can come close to these specs!
cicobuff to crazy_kalz
3 Jun 17#8
They can, just not close in price (although larger screen), the Asus Zenpad 3S 10" screen you can get for £289.99 @ BT Shop
cbrown1979
3 Jun 17#7
I'm a recent xiaomi convert. in fact using my Redmi note as I type this. I might have to bite. never used geek buying before tho. any body had any issues? can you use PayPal with them?
pman12
3 Jun 174#5
If you have scrolled down to the comments and see this....
BUY IT, BUY IT NOW! :smile:
Driver.8
3 Jun 173#4
they have Spanish stock it seems for £217, is this better to avoid customs charges?
No1_VIPER
3 Jun 172#3
Really nice specs for the price. I recently bought the HUAWEI MediaPad M2 for the same price, from Amazon. This out specs that everywhere.
Masteryates
3 Jun 171#1
If you could buy this from a UK shop, I'd be all over it.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Running Android 7 with MIUI 8 ontop
MediaTek MT8176 Hexa Core 2.1GHz CPU
PowerVR GX6250 GPU
7.9 inch laminated 2K (2048x1536, 326 PPI) retina display
64GB eMMC 5.0 storage
4GB RAM
6600mA battery with Type C port and Fast Charging
13MP rear and 5MP front cameras
Dual rear facing speakers
Bluetooth 4.0 &Dual Band 11ac Wifi
Only 7mm thin and 328g
Metal body (in this instance Gold)
I know MIUI isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I like the features, like quick ball, multiple app delete, quick RAM cleaning, reading mode, and it's running Android 7, which is a massive rarity in tablets these days, who all seem to hug Android 4.4 or 5.
The reviews seem good, there were some issues with bugs that according to Xiaomi forums have now been fixed. Certainly a viable Android alternative to the iPad mini 4 for around half the price, considering it has the same screen size, resolution, and a solid chip inside on the latest OS.
Geekbuying for me has always been reliable, plus I use PayPal to add another layer of protection. I spoke with an agent onsite who confirmed it comes with official ROM and Google Play pre-installed. Always remember, buy free shipping to most likely avoid any customs/taxes and feel free to ask any questions.
EDIT: It is available from Gearbest for £190 with MIPAD3ES code, but I find GB to be a shocking retailer and in my experience they always ship the Chinese versions too.
Top comments
If you've done all your research and satisfied that you have bought the product that meets your requirements then surely resale value is totally irrelevant.
just waiting for sam to say it has no Band 20 cheeky
Latest comments (105)
http://www.gearbest.com/tablet-pcs/pp_621635.html?wid=4&lkid=10745336&utm_source=tt_de
If you like paying twice the price for a very well optimised iOS, then go ahead.
But you are literally contradicting every review out there, the Mi Pad 3 has a 1700mA bigger battery, and takes the same time to charge as a 4900mA battery iPad.
In short, you're talking rubbish. You sound like Trump, 'we have the best tablets, blue ones, yellow ones, gold ones, yes gold'
Nobody suggested that it's lifespan was unlimited, the lifespan of a tablet is primarily dependent on how it's used and taken care of.
I've owned my current tablet for over 2 years and it's still working and i've not needed to upgrade it yet.
Even if i decide to buy a new tablet with newer technology and better spec, i would highly unlikely be selling my old tablet to fund the new one as it would be more valuable as a functioning tablet than the money i'd ever be offered for it.
Unless you own an iPad and you mean "planned obsolescence" in which case i would agree with the 2 yr limitation.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9724/the-apple-ipad-mini-4-review/3
looks like with that screen and a much smaller battery the expected time is around 9h, compared to 12h on the Mi pad 3.
the iPad battery takes about 3 hours 10 minutes to charge, which is average at best really, considering it takes about the same time in the Mi Pad 3, but has 1700mA less, roughly.
It doesn't mean the device will suddenly die and stop working as you make it sound.
it will slow down and struggle to work smoothly and will make the experience poor snd awkward.
and actually if it was an iOS or even windows device it would cope much better and for longer with age compared to android.
go check the performance of 2 years old android phone compared to a 2 years old iOS device and tell me which one lags and stutters more.
ipad mini 4 is also double the price (give or take) this is an Android alternative with competing specs for way less, your point is?
Also Tesco are doing £20 off electricals over 150 using a code, meaning it's 299.
The s2 has hdmi output (via an Mhl cable) and a memory card slot, making it more useful than this xiaomi fir me....
There is a shortage of decent tablet options at an attractive price point. This is certainly on the short list. Other options are the HUAWEI MediaPad M3, though more expensive than the MiPad 3, and I've got my eye on the newly announced ASUS ZenPad 3s 8.0 (price unknown).
I like it. I don't feel I'm making the most of all the power it has but I'm enjoying playing Telltale's The Walking Dead (just wouldn't work on the Nexus 7) and reading articles and watching TV. Seems to be updated quite often too so hopefully Nvidia will keep that up a while longer..
I have, however, been running custom ROMs on it almost from day one (day two to be precise -:smiley: ) - I switched from CyanogenMod to LineageOS recently and it's just about kept me using it (though I much prefer my Samsung Tab S 10.5" - also running LineageOS - because it's still fast and has a gorgeous screen. which isn't the stupid 4:3 that too many recent Android tablets have wrongly switched to).
The Nexus 10 was good on its release and Google bizarrely ditched widescreen for rubbish 4:3 with the Nexus 9 (which I refused to buy), but I wouldn't recommend it now, even as a cheap used purchase. If you can find a Galaxy Tab S 8.4" or 10.5" going cheap, that's what I'd recommend as a second-hand buy - just remember to put LineageOS on it to ditch the awful TouchWiz!
It has OTG support so if you get a microUSB storage device to put movies on, you can read the files straight from there
Is that the one with the Tegra GPU? Any good?
you yourself dh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SKhRaxVyxo
instant loss of interest.
cold.
I bought my Huawei Honor Note 8 back in December 2016 for £397 and thought that was an amazing deal.
Besides, i personally aim to buy products that are well spec'd and future proofed so that it will last for several years, like my Samsung Galaxy Note 3, which is still going strong after 3+ years, albeit with 2 battery changes, again thanks to the future proofing of replaceable batteries!
tonnes on ebay or amazon, or aliexpress if you wanna import, just look
-Bigger screen (10.1 vs 7.9, not a benefit for all but probably most)
-Slightly higher resolution (2560x1600 vs. 2048x1536)
-Bigger battery (9000 mA vs. 6600mA)
Pros of Mi Pad 3:
-Much, much better CPU (2016/17 hexa core up to 2.1Ghz vs. a 2012 Dual Core 1.7Ghz)
-Double the RAM (4GB vs. 2GB)
-Much better graphics and gaming performance
-Much lighter (328g vs. 603g) and alot smaller and thinner
-Up to date Android (Android 7 vs. 4.4 upgradeable to 5)
-More storage (G4GB vs. 16/32GB, no SD slot on either)
-Better Bluetooth (v4.0 vs. v3.0) and stronger Wifi
-Better charging (Type C fast charge vs. microUSB 2.0)
-Better battery life (12h vs. 9h, according to GSMArena)
-Better camera (13MP vs. 5MP) and better front cam (5MP vs. 1.9MP)
-New (I cant find a new Nexus 10 for sale, only used ones for circa 100-150)
For me personally its a no brainer, this is better at everything, even having more battery life with a smaller bettery, the Nexus 10 was amazing in 2012, but, cmon, its 2017. Hope that helps.
Learn grammar.
Wish I could afford to do that, Asian prices for these are so much lower and no import fusses
When I said yeah cos I bought it in Asia, they were like oh thats why then, as if all phones from there were fakes. Ignorant.
Still using it, and it has changed my opinion of both Asus and Mediatek for the better. Some of the loudest speakers, and the device just plows through in performance. No sluggishness and games load fast. The software optimisation is also really good, switching to an app I opened the other day, it's still at the state I left it in, instead of launching the app all over again.
Wish they sold the Zenfone 3 Ultra in the UK. That 6.8" phone was perfect for me (awesome tech where it pushes video up to 60fps), a bit gutted I had to return mine because the lens cracked (seller eGlobalCentral tells me repair will take 5 months, PayPal dispute got me a refund, I really wanted the phone).
If you're hoping for a tablet that'll update to the next 2 or 3 versions of Android, like phones, you're just being unrealistic, its not commercially viable for companies atm
Complained to the management and then sold it on ebay
Name a phone company (besides Google and Apple) who dont? People buy new phones almost yearly now, people upgrade tablets far less often, so support reflects that.
Im not saying the mipad 3 is a bad device, im just saying from owning the previous versons they have a habiit of neglecting there tablets and software issues with them.
Puts me off wanting to buy one, altho being extremely tempted.
The specs on this are unbeatable and the reviews are great.
I agree that MIUI sometimes has software issues but they get fixed after a short time, just like they have here, and for half the price of an ipad they do a terrific job (plus you get google play instead of apple store)
you cannot base a phone/tablet on its predecessors, or else every tech brand would go bust.
The specs on this are unbeatable and the reviews are great.
I agree that MIUI sometimes has software issues but they get fixed after a short time, just like they have here, and for half the price of an ipad they do a terrific job (plus you get google play instead of apple store)
you cannot base a phone/tablet on its predecessors, or else every tech brand would go bust.
Phones, great build, stable os, regular updates, very very appealing price, and the shortfalls well within margin of error
Tablets, mi pad 1 poor built, unstable os, mi pad 2, so many issues, wifi , Bluetooth, battery charge issues, unstable os to the point it was unusable, was send back twice, and "repaired twice", same issues got shot of it.
Shame it felt like the best android alternative to ipad mini and the screen and speakers were pretty great. Shame it froze every 5 mins, and there forums are a mess, you will not find half of the issues there.
I have owned there phones, and tablets, and smart bands, battery packs. And whilst id happily go buy most of these. I wouldn't buy the tablet, wouldn't even temp it after last time. And there smart bands have weird software glitches, setting time to 12 hours breaks sleep recording, but its not noted anywhere, it took me so long searching online to find that out.
Just remember its not a local company, the prices are great, the wait times are long, and software support will always be hit and miss.
I dont have an alternative tablet to suggest, i haven't found one i fully like. But the mi pad 2 was very very close. Shame about the software
It's 2 years old so likely would have to buy used
Less RAM and onboard storage (defeats the purpose of SD card)
outdated CPU
Much smaller battery with a similiar resolution? Must be crap on screen time
I can only find it new for MORE than the mi pad 3, and no one wants a used tablet.
Only on Android 4.4 to 6, not 7
Its an old tablet dude, not even a worthy rival
as for the SD card slot, 64GB of speedy storage is plenty for pretty much anyone, plus some Mi cloud storage and google cloud, onedrive, etc
Other than that, looks to be a nice piece of kit.
as for GPS, honestly not too sure, but if that's your criteria for a tablet, I feel like you're looking at the wrong specs xD
full specs here confirm that it does have GPS - but no SD card support (but 64GB onboard and you will probably be able to use OTG)
in terms of security updates Xiaomi are lightning fast, practically a patch a week.
to everyone else, it is a cracking device, its fast, slim, good battery and charges quick cos of Type C fast charge, handles all the ganes rlly well, stunning screen (exactly the same as on the iPad mini 4) for less than 200 quid!
btw a specific shoutout, the speakers on this are amazing, for a tablet, they sound like a budget Bluetooth speaker, crazy
If you've done all your research and satisfied that you have bought the product that meets your requirements then surely resale value is totally irrelevant.
Where do these Chinese companies get their ideas from???
just waiting for sam to say it has no Band 20 cheeky
That being said, if I was in the market for one right now this would be a great buy, especially with features like massive battery, hex core, 4GB ram, fast charging... I would mention the screen res, but I feel on a tablet more than 1920x1080 is a waste maybe and sucks more battery. I would still buy one though as this spec far supercedes the abysmal specs and prices of most Android tablets out there right now.
Much more comfortable using a Windows tablet with a keyboard, which then really defeats the purpose and makes the whole experience then akin to using a netbook.
You mentioned you don't think any Android tablet comes close in specs, I was pointing one out that uses exactly the same processor (for 2K screen capability) and RAM.
BUY IT, BUY IT NOW! :smile:
Come on o2, pull your socks up.