Asus P027 tablet gets to FCC – Second sighting but remains a mystery

Update: The P027 is in fact a 10-inch tablet with a 4:3 aspect ratio. We believe it’s the ZenPad 3S 10 (Z500M) model.

The mysterious P027 is still a mystery. It showed up a while ago in benchmark tests, but now it’s certainly poised for a US release and possibly other areas of the globe as well.

What we know from the benchmark is that it has 2GB of RAM and uses a MediaTek processor at 1.7 GHz speed. That is about all the information we have currently.

Based on the FCC documentation, it certainly appears to be a 8-inch, and possible a 7-inch tablet. It’s not a 10-inch model based on the diagrams and label location. The orientation is off for the P027 to be a 10-inch tablet.

Now as for Nexus 7 (2016) thoughts? With a MediaTek processor and 2GB of RAM this certainly wouldn’t indicate a new Nexus 7 (2016) model.

The specs don’t indicate a top end ZenPad S refresh, so we are certainly puzzled. We expect to see this model in retail in a month at the earliest. Quite likely it will be six to eight weeks from a retail release.

[source: FCC]

Asus not done – Adds new ZenPad 8 (Z380KNL) to the line-up

A new addition to the ZenPad 8 family. Recently Asus refreshed the ZenPad 10 series with the Z300M and also the ZenPad 8 series with the Z380M. Now we have a similar ZenPad 8 refresh, but this time it’s with a Snapdragon processor and LTE capability. The processor inside is a Qualcomm MSM8916 Octa-Core, 64bit. The tablet ships with Android 6.0 also. From what we can see initially, a lot looks similar to the original release in terms of screen resolution and other build features. If you need a cheaply price 4G LTE tablet, the Z380KNL is worth looking at. We will get a more in depth comparison in the coming days.

[source: Asus.com]

Verizon ZenPad Z8 – Official Details, Pre Order, Images

Asus is deliever a new ZenPad to the US market thanks to Verizon! Meet the ZenPad Z8 tablet.

asus-zenpad-z8-white-bg

Model Number: ZT581KL (P008)

Click here to visit Verizon ZenPad Z8 Product page and Pre Order

Price (in USD)

  • $249.99 Retail Price
  • $149.99 2-year contract
  • $10.41/month with zero down

Specs:

  • Android M – Android 6.0.1
  • 2048 x 1536 resolution
  • 7.9-inch
  • Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor
  • Adreno 510 GPU
  • 4680 mAh battery
  • 16GB Storage
  • 2GB RAM
  • microSD storage (up to 128GB)
  • 11.29 oz weight
  • 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches (205 x 136 x 7.62mm)
  • 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera
  • 802.11ac wifi
  • dual front facing stereo speakers

Our Early Thoughts: Without getting our hands on the ZenPad Z8 we can definitely share a few thoughts. First, price. At $249 for a LTE enabled tablet with a stunning resolution. If we look at the ZenPad S 8.0 (Z580C) that came out at $199 last year, the Z8 is certainly the most closely aligned to that model. We won’t say that the Z8 is so much like the Z580CA because there is no Z Stylus support on the Z8 and the RAM is 2GB whereas the Z580CA was packing 4GB. We will break down some of the comparisons in the near future. If you look around at the other tablet offerings on Verizon right now, you will see that you could literally buy 2 ZenPad Z8 tablets to one of the iPad mini or Samsung tablets. We’re talking half the price when comparing to the other flagship tablets that are out there. You’re getting good value and front facing dual speakers on an Android tablet running the latest Android version. More to come!

Images:

P008 shows up again, this time on Bluetooth website

We can’t say for sure what ZenPad model is the recently leaked ZenPad Z8 which appears destined for Verizon.

Here is what we see from the Bluetooth products listing:

8” Android tablet with LTE Cat6 high speed connectivity and 2K resolution display.

We’ve seen the P008 a couple times now. It’s been at the FCC and on GFXBench already. We would think in the next week or two this should be seen in retail and or at Verizon.

New Nexus 7 (2016) made by Asus? Makes sense.

Few people would argue against the comment that the Nexus 7 (2nd generation) tablet was the greatest 7-inch Android tablet ever built. From a price vs. specs vs. value perspective, the Nexus 7 was unmatched. There are millions of users world wide still satisfied with the Nexus 7.

Certainly the rumors and speculation about Asus building the next gen, a 3rd generation 2016 model of the Nexus 7 is not breaking news. It was late in 2015 during an exclusive interview with Jonney Shih which started this discussion. Essentially Shih said “stay tuned” and confirmed that Asus and Google have a lot of ongoing projects. Shih was vague and didn’t come out as say that a new Nexus 7 was coming. He simply didn’t close the door.

If you look at the current state of the tablet market, a boost for Asus by having a new Nexus 7 association would be a worthwhile venture. In a flat tablet market, a Nexus 7 (2016) would likely buck the trend of sagging sales and likely do quite well. Asus put a lot of R&D into their tablets and getting some return on that investment now in 2016 is harder to come by. A Google Nexus 7 will bring with it some brand recognition which is also value added.

Are there any indicators that Asus might be working on a new Nexus 7? It’s a stretch to say but let’s look at the rest of 2016. Asus has refreshed their tablet line-up with a Z380 (8-inch) and Z300M (10-inch) but nothing has been done in the 7-inch category. Coincidence?

What we need to look for now is a FCC submission. If the new Nexus 7 is coming late summer early fall 2016, then July would be the most likely time for a FCC submission. Perhaps even earlier than that. If Google wants to target August, then sometime in June we may see something. If we don’t see a FCC submission, then forget about this all together.

 

Computex 2016: ZenPad, where art thou?

Prior to Computex 2016 we speculated about ZenPad tablets and how or where they might show up at Computex 2016. We figured based on the most recent investors report that new ZenPad models likely won’t be shown during the main stage presentation. However after a few days now, we have seen no coverage or mention by any tech websites or news sources about new Asus tablets. In other words, it’s entirely possible there are no ZenPads at Computex 2016.

We certainly hoped to have some new goodies to discuss or post about coming out of Computex 2016. All hope is not lost. Some news or details could be coming out. We’ve checked though the various sources online and came up empty and after sorting through most all YouTube coverage of Asus at Computex 2016 we simply don’t see mentions of ZenPad tablets.

We do know there is the new ZenPad Z8 coming to Verizon. We do expect a new 10-inch ZenPad which has hero like specs. We also expect a new ZenPad C 7.0 soon. The question is when we will get news on those. It’s entirely possible that the 10-inch ZenPad is set for the Verizon network as the Z10.

It’s amazing to think about Computex 2015 and the role ZenPad tablets had during that show. In a short year it’s a reversal of fortunes. However it does underscore the need for companies to adjust and adapt to the changing demands of the marketplace. In that sense, Asus has made big adjustments in their plans.

We could cross into Transformer coverage on this site, but we would prefer feedback from you, our visitors whether that would seem appropriate or not. Obviously the Transformer Series is Windows based and is a 2-in-1 product. We’ve stayed on course with ZenPad coverage, but should we expand so that there is more products to discuss? Please let us know and help guide us. Email or comments are welcome!