Asus me301t: a great gaming tablet with Nvidia Tegra 3 processor

Hi guys, it's me again, Johnson. Today, I'm really excited to talk about a greattablet from Asus - Asus me301t. And I believe this device is going to be pretty great for gaming. You wanna know why? Well, it's all because it has Tegra 3 processor inside, which is made by NVIDIA for gaming.

Just a moment ago, i’ve already shared to you my personal opinion of a 10-inch tablet - Asus me302c or ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10 in my last review.

Today, as i promised in my previous review, i will bring up another tablet from Asus - Asus me301t.

Compared to its sibling, Asus me301t is not that impressive on paper.

And it’s true because the 1280x800 pixel or 720p display and 1GB of RAM found on Asus me301t no doubt are considered as lower than the 1920x1200 pixel screen and the 2GB of RAM found on its sibling - Asus me302c.


The good news is, Asus me301t is packing a Tegra 3 quad-core processor and 12-core of GeForce ULP GPU.

And this could be really helpful in handling some heavy tasks like playing heavy games or browsing internet.

Another good news is Asus me301t is sporting a 720p resolution on its 10.1 display, so that means, this tablet can perform well and better because its hardware are only tasked to deliver the performance on the 720p display, which is lower than the 1080p screen on ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10.


When it comes to design, there is no significant change found on this tablet compared to the sequel. In fact, they look identical one to another.

Its rounded edges look similar, its bezels also look similar, and pretty much everything on this tablet doesn’t look that different compared to ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10.

This is great because i already like the design of Asus Memo Pad tablet, so i don’t think it’s necessary for Asus to make some huge design changes to the entire line of this series.

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• Released 2013, May
• 10.1 inch LED-backlit IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 pixels (~149 ppi pixel density)
• Android OS, v4.1 (Jelly Bean)
• Quad-core 1.2 GHzNvidia Tegra 3 T33 CPU
• 1 GB RAM
• microSD card slot for up to 32 GB
• 16 GB internal storage
• 5 MP rear-facing camera autofocus
• 1.2 MP front-facing camera
• No GPRS
• No SIM
• No EDGE
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual band
• Bluetooth
• Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
• HDMI port
• No Radio
• GPS
• USB
• ULP GeForce GPU
• 5GB of ASUS cloud storage for life
• Non-removable Li-Po battery (19Wh)

If you look at the spec sheet of this tablet, i think it’s clear that Asus me301t is the 10.1 version of last year’s Google Nexus 7.

In fact, they actually share the same internals inside, like the same 1280x800 pixel display, the same Tegra 3 processor, the same 12-core GPU (of course given that it is the package of Tegra 3) and the same 1GB of RAM.

I’m not surprised to see this because Google Nexus 7 is manufactured by no other than Asus.

I’m guessing Asus uses Google Nexus 7 as the basic concept to make Asus me301t. So no wonder that they both have the same internals inside them.

However, despite having the same exact hardware specs like Google Nexus 7, Asus me301t is still a much better tablet and much much better choice than Google’s tablet.

Without any doubt on that.

First of all, Asus me301t has a bigger 10.1-inch screen than the 7-inch Google Nexus 7.

And this is really great because playing games, watching movies, reading books or browsing the web will be so much even better if they’re done on a bigger screen.

Second of all, Asus me301t comes with a 5MP camera on its back, while Google Nexus 7 doesn’t have it.

And again, this is great because having a camera on any tablet is always better than not having it, right?

Besides, based on what i’ve seen on the 5MP camera of the cheaper smaller version ASUS MeMO Pad 7 HD, this tablet surprisingly is able to take some decent shots and videos with its 5MP camera, despite having a steep cheap price tag of $150.

And more impressively is, the 5MP camera on this tablet manages to beat the 5MP camera on the last-gen Google Nexus 7 (2013 edition).

So that brings us to the conclusion that the 5MP camera on Asus me301t will likely be as great as the 7-inch version and will be better than the 5MP camera on last-gen Google Nexus 7.

The other things that make Asus me301t stand out compared to the Google Nexus 7 is that, it comes with HDMI port, microSD card slot for up to 32GB and a bigger battery.

And these things are really important for many many users out there in the world. Tablets, any tablets, without microSD card is crippled unless they come with 32GB – 128GB of internal storage.

It goes the same with HDMI port, users who want to connect their tablets to their TVs, will definitely find this feature really important for them.

So with that being said, then in terms of specs, Asus me301t is better than Google Nexus 7 (2012 edition), but not better than the sequel, ASUS MeMO Pad FHD 10.


This tablet may not have the same 1080p display just like any other competing tablets on the market, like last-gen Google Nexus 7, Kindle Fire 7HDX or other high-end tablets out there.

However, having a 720p display actually can still be considered as pretty good though, if not great.

Watching movies, browsing the web, reading books or playing games will still be satisfying for many users.

It may not be as sharp as 1080p tablets, but at least, everything on the screen still looks sharp and crisp for human eyes.

Besides, given that its display is not Full HD 1080p just like the sequel, then i believe this will certainly help a lot in making the battery life last much longer than the sequel, especially for doing heavy intense usage.

So this is a huge plus point on this tablet.

Not to mention, the performance will also be so much faster and smoother given that this tablet is only required to deliver the performance to the 720p display, which is not heavy compared to the 1080p display.


Asus me301t comes with with the same kind of User Interface just like any other Asus’ homemade tablets out there.

So that means, all the features of Asus Memo Pad tablets will likely be found on this tablet.

For example is the multi-window mode which allows you to multitask many simple apps at the same time, say calculator or video player, and then float them on the same screen while you’re doing other things like browsing the web or reading books.

This is actually one of my favorite features on any Android tablets out there, which until now cannot be found on any iOS devices.

The other great thing about the UI of Asus me301t is that, it’s not very far different with the UI of stock Android OS, found on Google Nexus 7 tablet.

And this is great because the UI of stock Android UI has been known as the simplified version of any UI of any Android tablets out there.

So this kind of UI doesn’t have that complicated custom skins, bloatware or pre-loaded apps like Samsung GALAXY or Sony Xperia devices, which will certainly inundate the memory of device, thus making the tablet perform much laggy and slow.

So having known that, then the performance of Asus me301t without a doubt will be extremely fast and smooth.

However, i’m not really sure about the future software updates for this tablet.

Asus me301t already comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, and it’s still not getting the latest Jelly Bean updates, let alone KitKat updates, from the manufacturer, Asus.

So this could probably mean that this tablet would likely not receive anymore updates from Asus in the future.


Asus me301t is packing the same exact kind of specs just like the first-gen Google Nexus 7, like a quad-core Tegra processor, 1GB of RAM and 12-core GeForce ULP GPU.

And based on what i’ve seen on Google’s tablet, this Google's branded tablet has a really great performance and good gaming capability (which we’ll get more on that later).

So that means you can expect the same thing on Asus me301t.

With this type of specs, things like watching movies, browsing the web or playing games can be done perfectly and smoothly on this tablet.

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As a Tegra 3 tablet, then no doubt Asus me301t will be a good gaming tablet, if not great, just like the last year’s Google Nexus 7.

Thanks to its Tegra 3 processor, 1GB of Ram and 12-core GeForce GPU, graphically demanding games like Asphalt 7: Heat, Dead Trigger 1, Modern Combat 4, Horn, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, Real Racing 3 or ShadowGun, will run in buttery smooth performance and in full graphics.

However, as for the GTA San Andreas, i think this game will run smoothly if you set the graphics setting to medium or even low because this game deploys some huge maps, bigger than the ones found on GTA Vice City, not to mention, much higher quality graphics than GTA Vice City.

So it will definitely make this tablet struggle a lot if you push all the graphics and visual effects of GTA San Andreas on this tablet.

Latest games like Asphalt 8: Airborne or Dead Trigger 2 can also be played on ASUS MeMO Pad 10 Smart.

But from what i’ve seen on the first-gen Google Nexus 7, these 2 games can only be played in medium graphics setting, which still doesn't guarantee you smooth performance.

So i think the results will be the same with Asus me301t.

So yeah, if you’re looking for a great 10.1-inch gaming tablet, if not the best, Asus me301t can still be a pretty good choice for you, or even much better than the last year’s Google Nexus 7 because according to many of its users, after several months using Google Nexus 7 (2012 edition), this Google’s tablet suddenly became laggy and slow.

And i believe that issue is already addressed by Asus on Asus me301t because this tablet was released around 9 to 10 months after the first-gen Google Nexus 7.



Thankfully, Asus me301t already comes with a 5MP camera on it. It may not have the same quality photos or videos compared to the 5MP camera on iPad Air or iPad mini 2.

But still, having a 5MP camera on any tablet should be appreciated, right?

Besides, from what i’ve seen on the photo quality taken with the 5MP camera of the smaller cheaper ASUS MeMO Pad 7HD, which is released under the same flag ASUS MeMO Pad series, this 7-inch tablet surprisingly is able to take decent photos and videos with its 5MP camera.

What makes it amazing is that, the photo quality of ASUS MeMO Pad 7 HD manages to outperform the photo quality taken with the 5MP camera of the second-gen Google Nexus 7 (2013 edition).

And this is awesome because Google Nexus 7 costs $229, compared to the steep cheaper $150 on ASUS MeMO Pad 7 HD.

So with that being said, then i believe, you can expect the same thing with the camera of Asus me301t.


As a 10.1-inch tablet, Asus me301t definitely needs much bigger battery than 7-inch tablet.

Asus me301t is packing a 19Wh power battery.

And with this capacity of battery, you can expect this tablet to last more than 15 hours in mixed usage, like for watching movies, reading books, browsing the web, listening to music or playing some games combined, of course in normal non-crazy usage.

However, if you intend to use this tablet for some heavy intense tasks without resting or stopping, like watching movies in marathon or playing games in the row, then the battery life could probably be around 6 to 9 hours, but please don’t quote me on this.


In conclusion, i personally like the whole package of this tablet. I like the fact that Asus me301t is packing some pretty great specs inside, like a quad-core Tegra 3, 1GB of RAM and 12-core GeForce GPU.

With this type of goodies, no doubt you can do a lot of things with it, just like what you can do with last year’s Google Nexus 7, like watching movies, reading books, browsing the web or even playing some graphically demanding games on Google Play Store.

However, what makes Asus me301t better than Google’s tablet is that, it comes with a much bigger 720p display.

So the experience of using this tablet will definitely be more amazing because now you don’t need to do zoom in/out when reading books or browsing the web.

Gaming performance of this tablet will also be as great as Google Nexus 7, thanks to its Tegra 3, 1GB of RAM and 12-core GPU.

So games like GTA Vice City, Horn, GTA San Andreas, Asphalt 7: Heat, Dead Trigger 1, Dead Trigger 2, Asphalt 8: Airborne or Modern Combat 4, all can be played on this tablet in buttery smooth performance and the most importantly, in full graphics.

However, as for the latest games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, Dead Trigger 2 or GTA San Andreas, i don’t think this tablet can handle these games in full graphics.

Yes, they will run smoothly on Asus me301t, but only in medium or even low graphics setting.

So overall, Asus me301t is actually a pretty good tablet though, of course in its class.

It may not have the 1080p display or powerful performance just like other rivals on the market, but still, if you get this tablet at the price much much lower than last-gen Google Nexus 7, LG G Pad 8.3 or Kindle Fire HDX, then this tablet is a good deal for you.

However, if this tablet still costs higher than these 2 tablets, or even around $300, then i recommend you to switch to other alternatives, like LG G Pad 8.3, Tegra Note, Kindle Fire 7 HDX, Google Nexus 7 (2013 edition) or HP Slate Extreme because these tablet will absolutely blow ASUS MeMO Pad 10 Smart out of the water in many ways, especially in terms of gaming performance.

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