The BDF company is still unknown to the Russian buyer, and many publications equate its products to no-name. However, for the Chinese domestic market it is a fairly serious player, represented in many retail chains.
Upon closer examination, BDF tablets branded under local brands can also be found on the shelves of Russian stores. It's time for residents of the CIS to get to know in more detail one of the best tablets from the company BDF A708, which offers an original appearance, good performance and an unrealistically low price.
Equipment
As part of the savings, the manufacturer provides the minimum: charger, OTG cable, paper clip and warranty. Not much, but for a price just under $50 it’s enough.
Appearance
The BDF A708 has become the most compact among the company's tablets: it looks more like a smartphone than a full-fledged tablet.
However, the compartment at the top of the back cover, hiding the microSD and SIM slot, gives away its origins. On the bottom there are slots for the only speaker.
The tablet body is completely plastic, collapsible. Unlike its more expensive and modern counterparts, this model carries a full set of connectors for all occasions: there is a microUSB for charging and synchronization, a mini-jack for headphones (it will also rock a small speaker system for computer). Everything is on the top edge.
The set of controls is traditional: volume rocker and power button. Both are on the lower side of the left side.
The front panel is decorated with a screen with fairly large frames, a speaker slot and a front camera.
Display
The tablet is equipped with a fairly simple but high-quality IPS screen with a diagonal of 7 inches and WSVGA resolution (1024×600).
The colors are not too bright and contrasty, but without distortion when changing the backlight level. The latter has correctly separated levels, so the screen does not dazzle in the dark. Summer sun can be a bit of a problem - I'd like a slightly higher maximum level.
The touchscreen correctly handles up to 10 touches and can be considered a reference - despite the low-cost device, there are no false touches or failures. The cold test at a temperature of minus 10 degrees BDF A708 passes perfectly - the sensor continues to work correctly.
Hardware capabilities
The BDF A708 was the first tablet in 2018 that came to me with a processor not from MediaTek or Qualcomm. Surprisingly, the developers chose, instead of popular solutions, an interesting single-chip ARM variant from Spreadtrum with the letter SC773. It consists of 4 computing cores of 1.3 GHz and a Mali 400 MP2 graphics core.
The strange choice is explained by the price of the finished product: Spreadtrum is extremely cheap, which has a positive effect on the device. Moreover, the RAM is only 512 MB, the built-in storage capacity is 8 GB. It won't be enough.
But this is enough for surfing, reading or watching videos. The BDF A708 is not capable of more - unless you are a big fan of last-generation arcade games, which work great even on such hardware.
operating system
For such a budget device, you shouldn’t wait for the latest versions of operating systems. The maximum that a BDF A708 buyer can expect is Android 6.0 Marshmallow. An update to Nougat is currently being prepared, but it will have to wait a couple of months.
The system is completely free of any third-party programs and supports OTA updates. Naturally, the hardware configuration is sufficient for smooth operation of the interface and all system parameters.
Multimedia capabilities
The manufacturer did not forget to equip the BDF A708 with a full range of multimedia tools. Moreover, despite the fact that the main camera is equipped with only a 2 megapixel sensor, photos from it seem to be much higher quality than from other multi-pixel cameras on fashionable smartphones.
The front camera is only suitable for chats - there is no point in expecting much from 0.3 MP. Does this class need more?
In addition to one external speaker with enormous volume, the tablet is also equipped with a traditional mini-jack for connecting headphones. It sounds like a C grade, but you can watch the movie either on speakerphone or through a headset.
Autonomy
BDF A708 is equipped with a removable battery with a capacity of 2200 mAh and is charged from a standard microUSB charger with a current of 5V/2A. Not much even by the standards of a cold tablet platform.
Therefore, the maximum that a buyer can count on is 4-5 hours of watching video over the network at maximum brightness. In reading mode at reduced brightness you can get up to 6-7 hours of battery life.
Interfaces
Despite the complete set of all interfaces needed today, the BDF A708 cannot boast of the latest revisions. MicroUSB is used for charging and data exchange.
The main network protocol has become single-band Wi-Fi, assisted by Bluetooth 2.3 (!). There are no GPS or other navigation aids. Alas, the outdated platform is simply not capable of more.
But the tablet works in 2G/3G networks and can use a SIM card in its slot both for calls and for connecting to the Internet. If your provider works with the WCDMA B1 2100 MHz band.
conclusions
BDF A708 is a representative of a dying class of ultra-budget tablets with GSM voice calls. Strange for other classes, its characteristics are quite justified in this vein, so at a price of only $49 it can be considered a good purchase.
It will be difficult to find cheaper ones, and even with full-fledged communication - only operator devices, which increasingly turn out to be locked and work much worse than products of free brands.
