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The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C is a very impressive 7-inch tablet. It covers all the bases, from performance to build quality, at a reasonable price. However, it doesn't really do anything different from the Nexus 7 that's now two years old.
Performance and screen quality have been given the necessary improvement but the Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C isn't the knockout budget deal that the Nexus 7 was in 2012 and, subsequently, 2013.
As I said at the beginning of the review, this is the spiritual successor to the Nexus 7 and offers all the upgrades while changing little of the overall feel. The biggest difference is the abundance of extra software that Asus has loaded on as part of its ZenUI Android skin.
We liked
Asus has got all the essentials in place for this tablet. The full HD display, stereo speakers and 2GB of RAM mean that both media and applications are well supported and look good.
Likewise, the battery life is acceptable and Asus has slimmed down the chassis to make the MeMoPad 7 ME572C more portable for those that don't want an 8.9-inch or 10.1-inch tablet.
One of the biggest additions is the inclusion of a microSD slot. Expandable storage was sorely lacking from the Nexus 7 and Asus' introduction of it here is one of the best reasons to choose this device over its predecessor.
We disliked
No matter how useful they may be, it's never good when companies pre-load bloatware onto a device and affect the storage as a result. Some of the Asus apps are useful - Power Saver and Splendid are two that spring to mind – but I'd still rather have a vanilla experience.
Google Play support means all of these apps can be downloaded at the user's discretion. So forcing it on you with no option to uninstall is an annoyance in my book.
I have no real argument with the price Asus has put on the MeMoPad 7 ME572C. It's a fair reflection of the hardware you're buying, but it's not quite as good a deal as it could be. As such, I can't quite recommend this tablet as a great deal, but I can say its worth the asking price if you're happy to step up to it.
Final verdict
The Asus MeMoPad 7 ME572C is an incremental upgrade from the Google Nexus 7 by Asus that steps up the necessary components while keeping everything else largely the same.
It's certainly the best MeMoPad out there, and a great alternative to bigger tablets like Google's new Nexus 9, the iPad Air 2 or the Amazon Fire HD 8.9.
In terms of price, it's not the best deal out there but it is a solid contender. If you can look past Asus' slew of pre-installed apps it's one of the best 7-inch tablets you'll find around at the moment.
First reviewed: December 2014
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