This 32-inch Android tablet on a rolling stand surprised me – and it’s $120 off for Black Friday

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The KTC MegPad 32-inch Android pill is on the market from Amazon now for $722
• With a 32-inch show on a rolling pill, there are such a lot of use instances that this machine can serve
• The MegPad makes use of Android 13, which is a bit lengthy within the tooth.

I by no means thought a big Android pill on a rolling stand with an accompanying mouse can be of any consequence to me. Do not get me mistaken, I am a fan of Android tablets and suppose they’re each bit pretty much as good as iPads (though the everyday {hardware} discovered on an Android pill pales compared). 

When an organization requested I evaluation an enormous pill on a stand, my preliminary response was, “Yeah, that is not going to go wherever.”

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I used to be mistaken. A minimum of, I suppose I used to be mistaken. This machine seems to be not solely fairly cool, however very helpful. If in case you have a use for such a beast, the KTC MegPad is able to serve.

Earlier than we dive into my expertise with the machine, let’s speak specs.

The specs

• 32-inch show that rotates, swivels, and tilts on an included stand
• Show – 4K touchscreen able to a 3840 x 2160 decision @ 1080p with a 3000:1 distinction ratio, and a 121% sRGB shade gamut
• One HDMI 2.0 port, one USB-A  3.0 port, and one USB-A 2.0 port
• RAM – 8 GB
• CPU – Rockchip octa-core
• Storage – 128 GB
• OS – Android 13
• Wi-fi and wired projection sharing
• 9500 mAh battery gives as much as 11 hours of utilization on a 3-hour cost
• Twin 6W 3D audio system
• 1-year guarantee and lifelong tech assist
• Mouse included (with USB dongle)
• Worth – Amazon $722.

Additionally: I upgraded to Android 15 on my Pixel 9 Pro. Here are my 6 favorite features so far

My expertise

First issues first. This factor was not simple to assemble. There have been solely 4 items (pill, stand pole, stand base, and mouse shelf), however placing this child collectively would have been exponentially simpler with two individuals. I can put something collectively — I grew up assembling bicycles — however this factor practically bested me. The particular problem right here was having to attach a brief energy cable from the stand to the monitor whereas guaranteeing the cable didn’t get in the best way. This was not simple. Ultimately, I did get it assembled, however then I bumped into one other state of affairs.

How does this factor energy on?

The instruction guide left a lot to be desired. Ultimately, I noticed there was a small black button on the bottom (not the ability button!) that needs to be pressed earlier than the pill might draw energy. As soon as that button was pressed, I might press the ability button on the again, and the pill got here to life.

Setup was as simple as any Android machine: Join it to the Wi-Fi community, affiliate it with my Google account, and anticipate it to finish. Greeted by the house display screen, I made a decision to see what it could be wish to play a recreation on this factor.

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Currently, I have been having fun with an older recreation, Fallout Shelter, a primary sim recreation with a intelligent aesthetic and loads of replayability.

One of many first issues I seen was that the matte show does a reasonably good job of stopping an excessive amount of glare, which is essential with a display screen this massive. The display screen does have that textured feeling, which generally is a bit disconcerting when utilizing it as a contact display screen. Luckily, there’s the included mouse, which makes working with Android much more environment friendly. 

Who’d have thought, huh?

To make use of the mouse, it’s essential to take away the dongle from throughout the battery compartment, plug it in, insert an AA battery (not included), and swap it on. The mouse shall be routinely acknowledged and related, and you will be able to go. Use the scroll wheel to zoom in and zoom out and the left button to click on.

However what is that this pill for?

That query lingered in my mind as I examined the KTC MegPad. At first, the cut-and-dry reply can be one thing like a kiosk for enabling customers to log right into a service, order issues, or work together with a enterprise. Nonetheless, the longer I used the pill, the extra I noticed it has way more functions than I initially thought.

1. A kitchen pill to view recipes
2. A pill for the storage
3. An academic heart for youngsters
4. A gaming machine
5. A tool to view shares
6. An leisure heart

And that is simply scratching the floor. For my functions, nonetheless, it has been stationed to the aspect of my desk so I can look over and examine how my Fallout shelter is doing — and it has been fairly pleasurable.

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The MegPad is not probably the most highly effective pill I’ve ever used, neither is the show the perfect. Nonetheless, its dimension and stand make up for what it lacks in efficiency. This is one factor I’ve all the time discovered with Android tablets: So long as there are sufficient sources to energy the OS and a few apps, I could make it work. The mid-range CPU and eight GB of RAM are simply sufficient to maintain this pill buzzing. It will not break any benchmark information, however the specs will serve you tremendous.

My greatest difficulty with the MegPad is that it is working Android 13, which was launched in 2022. Android 13 continues to be supported, and I would think about it’s going to stay so till round 2026. Even so, as soon as you’ve got grow to be used to utilizing Android 15, going again can really feel such as you’re utilizing one thing antiquated and much much less environment friendly. Even so — it really works nicely.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

This machine is a little bit of a tough promote as a result of, at first blush, you may not suppose that is one thing you’d ever need or want. The factor is, when you begin utilizing it, you may understand that it is one thing you want you had had all alongside. Over the previous couple of weeks, I’ve grown fairly keen on the MegPad and have began utilizing it increasingly more. 

Sure, the associated fee is excessive for a pill with an ageing working system and mid-range specs, however the dimension and comfort of getting it on a stand make this factor very helpful. I can think about tons of use instances for each households and companies.