Introduction and design
Update: we’re currently in the middle of putting the Jay through our in-depth review process, and we’re constantly updating this hands on with our findings.
EE is continuing to plough forward with its range of own-brand smartphones and tablets, attempting to keep Vodafone at arm’s reach with the rival network employing a similar approach to the budget market.
Its latest offering is the EE Jay, an affordable 4G tablet that employs a design which will be familiar to many, and actually exceeds its £119.99 price tag.
This isn’t the first tablet EE’s launched, and the Jay slides in above the kid focused EE Robin, but below the metal-clad EE Harrier Tab.
Under the hood you’re looking at a 1GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage plus a microSD slot and a 3600mAh battery, while up front a 7.85-inch display dominates. While those specs may not strike fear into Apple’s iPad range, at this price point it’s hard to really complain.
While the Jay may carry the EE brand, the network isn’t the manufacturer. The Jay is actually made by Chinese firm ZTE – a brand which doesn’t have a huge presence in the Western world but a similar while label approach has worked for HTC and Huawei in the past.
The EE Jay isn’t going to be troubling tablets at the top, but with its attractive price tag, premium design and 4G connectivity it has the makings of a solid budget buy.
Design
Taking a closer look at the design and there’s no doubting the fact the EE Jay looks suspiciously similar to the iPad Mini. That’s no bad thing, as it means the slate is sleek and premium, feeling solid in the hand.
The cool metal body allows it to ooze some class, and while the finish may not be on the same level as Apple’s tablets the EE Jay is still a lovely looking device. I did find the front glass did have a little bit of give on the right side, hinting that this may not be the most polished of devices.
Two plastic blocks on the rear do break the metal chassis – and you can pull off the slab at the top to uncover the microSIM and microSD ports. It’s a flimsy piece of plastic and taking it off I felt like it could easily break. So be gentle with it.
Seeing as this is an EE slate, you’ll need a SIM card from the network if you want to use data out and about, as the Jay won’t work with rival cards from O2, Three, Vodafone and co. Wi-Fi is also included though if you don’t fancy committing to a new tariff.
You can’t remove the plastic block at the base of the Jay, but it does house the microUSB port and two speakers.
With a 7.85-inch display dimensions are kept to a manageable 199.96 x 134.66 x 7.8mm, plus the smaller form factor results in a 350g weight making the EE Jay easy enough to hold in one hand.
For added Apple-appeal, EE’s even included a circular home button below the display. Thing is, it’s utterly pointless.
There are no ‘back’ and ‘recent’ touch keys either side of it, as they’re displayed on screen – along with an on-screen home button. That means there are two home buttons on the EE Jay, for absolutely no reason other than making this tablet look more like an iPad Mini.
It’s a pretty shameless play, and one which is likely to confuse some users. At least it illuminates when the Jay is charging, which is actually quite pretty.
Something else which is irritating is the vibration mechanism – it makes an audible crunching sound whenever it’s triggered. Initially I thought it was a lame sound effect applied to button presses, but no, it’s just a dodgy vibration module. I ended up turning vibrations off, as it just got too annoying.
Performance, specs and early verdict
Moving on screen and there’s both good and bad news. On the positive side, EE hasn’t tampered too much with Android, keeping things pretty much stock on the Jay.
That gives you a nice, clean slate to work with without too much bloat. EE has pre-installed a handful of its own applications including My EE, Amazon, Amazon Kindle and Amazon Music, but I wasn’t too offended. You can’t however, uninstall any of these.
That’s over a year and a half old and considering its replacement, Android Marshmallow, has been out for over six months now it’s a little embarrassing it’s running such old software. There’s no clue as to when Marshmallow will be pushed to the Jay, but I’ve contacted EE to find out.
EE has equipped the Jay tablet with a 1GHz quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM – and sadly neither do it any favours when it comes to performance. The EE Jay is noticeably sluggish, even during simple tasks such as unlocking and browsing round the tablet.
Once it warmed up a bit, for general tasks at least, performance did smooth out with the Jay responding a little more rapidly. It’s far from speedy though, so if you’re used to slick high-end tablets you may find yourself a little frustrated.
For those looking for an everyday slate for web browsing, emails and the odd spot of gaming though, the Jay delivers enough. Just don’t expect it to go above and beyond.
I ran Geekbench 3 on the EE Jay, and the average multi-core score came out at 1,184. That’s a pretty lowly result, and one which is beaten by many budget smartphones. That said, you can’t expect blockbuster results from a table that’s costing you £120.
There is another kicker for the EE Jay – the fact it comes with 4G capabilities built-in. EE has a largest, and fastest, network in the UK, so you’re more likely to get a connection on your commute to work or during the long slog up a motorway to visit family.
While having a speedy data connection at your fingertips, it is limited by the Jay’s less than stellar performance. Web pages still take a little time to load, even with a strong broadband or 4G connection, so the true power of the EE network isn’t fully realised here.
There’s an additional cost for the 4G service, which requires you to either sign up for a two year plan (which sees you pay £29.99 up front for the Jay for 10GB of data and a £18.50 monthly outlay) or opt the for Pay as You Go deal at £119.99.
Display
The EE Jay has a 768 x 1024 display resolution, which may not sound too shabby, but when it’s stretched over 7.85 inches it doesn’t look quite so good.
Android appears grainy, with a clear lack of sharpness. It’s not bad enough to make browsing websites or reading emails impossible, but you’re more than likely to notice a difference between this and your pixel-dense smartphone.
Firing up BBC iPlayer the viewing experience isn’t actually too bad, and held at a distance I was able to comfortably consume the new series of Top Gear (and Extra Gear). Turning brightness up enhances the viewability, but you’ll want to ensure you dial it down when you’re done to conserve precious battery life.
Press too hard on the screen and your finger will distort the display around it, which calls into the question the protective qualities of the glass which covers it. It shouldn’t cause issues, but you may want to prod gently at it.
Early verdict
The EE Jay is appealing to the eye, and the wallet, but as soon as you get past the looks and the price things don’t seem quite as rosy.
It feels underpowered, the screen quality isn’t the best and the fact the software is so old makes it feel a little unloved. If EE can get the Jay running Marshmallow things should improve, but for now it’s looking like a basic budget buy, but we’ll see how it fares in our full review.
Source: techradar.com
Top Brands
