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**RISCy Dude** · 06-24-2017, 08:13

A bit of a look around and some numbers.

As it arrived, Desktop and App Drawer...

See what CPU-Z sees...(6 Frames)

AnTuTu, A1 SD Bench and DRM Info...(3 Frames)

Vellamo...(3 Frames). Note: Ambient temp was ~28.5C...

WiFi Info(2.4GHz)...(2 Frames) Note: Tested ~4 meters from router, 2 walls

Some initial impressions from the FNF Ifive Mini 4S.

The build has a solid feel and is quite resistant to torsion. At 7mm, it feels very thin in the hands, this is accentuated by its apparent substantial mass. It is the thinnest mobile device I have(phone, tablet), and by a good bit.

The tablet has a weighty feel, I don't mean like, "Oh my gosh, I can't hold it anymore". I mean it feels weighty for its dimensions, does not have a cheap feel.

For protection, some type of case or cover(glove) would be a good idea,and a must for this butter-fingered individual. The tablet's sleek, all metal and glass exterior can be a bit slick when holding with one hand in portrait, and I don't want to find out how well it would absorb a fall. Also, picking the tablet up from a flat surface is a bit of a challenge for my average sized digits. It should be noted, that like others, the display sets above the frame's sides. While I like this when using the tablet, it does mean the tablet rests on the display, if placed face down on a surface. For these reasons, I will be ordering a case or cover, posthaste....or at least soon.

The display comes with a preinstalled, film-type screen protector. There were a couple of dust specs trapped under the screen protector. Mostly visible only when the tablet is off, these do not interfere with operation or enjoyment. At some point, I may replace it. Though a couple of insignificant dust specs pale in comparison to half a dozen cat hairs being trapped under there, so I'll probably leave it.

As far as I can tell, the power and volume buttons are metal. They are low profile, seem to fit and work well. Ports are easy to access and well fitted. Micro SD card is almost sub-flush when installed in the slot, no worries of a snag here. When inserting a card, it gets pushed in relatively deep before the mechanism secures the card, so be careful to avoid a card launch.

Both cameras are flush to the surface. More on the cameras, and resulting photos and videos, is forthcoming.

In portrait orientation, held with the power and volume buttons to the top, the dual speakers are down firing. The speakers are adequate and can get reasonably loud with some content. May want to install a mixer app to bring the volume up on content with low volume level. Of course, as with most all speaker systems, the speakers can be over-driven with excess volume levels.
Are the speakers HiFi? Let me answer this by saying, that I have yet to meet the phone, tablet, or TV, who's speakers I would describe as HiFi. If you want HiFi, go headphones or a Bluetooth speaker/sound system. Speakers are useful for watching a video or TV app, they can be heard fine, dialog is intelligible. All in all, not bad sound for a tablet.
Sound quality from the 3.5mm headphone jack is pretty good. Using a, 3.5mm TRS to 2xRCA, cable connected to my AVR, with the Mini 4S' volume set to maximum and the AVR's volume set to 70%, I don't hear any noise when paused or stopped.

Screen-on time was tested by using the Pluto TV app to stream MSNBC News channel, full-screen, contiguously. Volume@35%, brightness@100%
The Mini4S ran for a good six hours before shutting itself off. I'm sure times will vary with user activities and user's specific installed apps and system settings.
After the tablet shut down, I waited ~30 minutes and started to charge using the supplied 2A power supply and USB micro cable. Time to 100% charge from empty, took about 4.5hrs. Observed charge rate was around 1.55A at the beginning of the charge cycle, falling to under .25A as the charge neared 100%. 4760mAh was replenished in this time.

The Mini 4S is running the latest firmware for serial numbers starting with a "B", f/w version 1.0.8.B. Apparently, Mini 4S with serial numbers starting with a "B", use a different WiFi module than those who's serial numbers do not start with a B. I have not confirmed this yet myself and I won't be opening this tablet anytime soon, but I may at some point. Either way, I will post what I find.
WiFi works well in my 2.4GHz network, getting speeds consistent with my ISP's cap and typical for my WiFi environment. Connections have been solid and without drops. No issues noted. Bluetooth connections also work well, easily pairing with my phone, PC and a cheapo BT speaker.

The installed firmware is about as stock as one could hope for, absent are bloatware and someone else's choice in the apps you use. This is my favorite configuration for Android on a new device, no baggage or superfluous apps here. See screenshots above for app drawer.
Tablet firmware comes without root. A rooting method exists, I will be rooting the Mini 4S before too long. I will report findings and method here at that time.

Performance on this tablet is spirited, I expected as much from the RK3288. Maximum CPU frequency is set at 1.6GHz. While the RK3288 is good for 1.8GHz and better, I don't think anyone would expect full throttle in a tablet, specially in one as thin as the Mini 4S. Most TV boxes with the RK3288 struggle to get to 1.8GHz and beyond without active cooling, a good sized heatsink and case ventilation. Also TV boxes don't typically have to worry about run time on a battery. So for thermal management reasons and battery use, it is not surprising to see the 1.6GHz limit.
Cold boot to desktop in about 25-30 seconds. Shutdown in about 18-20 seconds. I forgot to log boot/shutdown times before I added a bunch of apps, so times may be somewhat less under a "clean" condition.

The display on the Mini 4S is simply visualicious. Absolutely beautiful in this observer's opinion. Somewhat surprised a device with a display of this size and visual quality can be had in this price range. Touchscreen is 10 point, though I cannot imagine a use for more than 5 other than maybe a piano/synth app.

As for Android 6 on the RK3288, this is my first experience using this combination. So far seems pretty good, but I will know more as time goes by, I will report my opinion on this as it develops.

So far I am really enjoying my time on this little beauty.

More to come...

Gearbest

Attached Files

**bluesmanuk** · 07-03-2017, 02:54

Good to see the RK3288 still going strong.

**RISCy Dude** · 07-03-2017, 03:50

We will see, but I like the idea of the 3288 in a tablet, for reasons not yet completely known to me.

Still see alacrity in my 3288 boxes, feel tablet will inherit this attribute. Curiosity piqued. Also curious about Android 6 on the 3288.

More soon.....

**RISCy Dude** · 07-11-2017, 08:15

I want to cover the thermals, as it was one of the areas where I was most curious about this tablet.

It is a particularly warm night in the cave tonight. Room temp is 31.5C.
I ran three consecutive races in Asphalt 8 Airborne. I could feel the tablet's back and sides warming. When done, I immediately checked the temps.
Temp reached 46C, highest I have ever seen from the Mini 4S. Generally, indicated temps are around 38C~40C.
The back's temp reached 40C measured by IR thermometer. While this was not what I would call hot-to-hold, it is pretty warm. As previously noted, ambient temp was ~31.5C, so that must be taken in to consideration....but it's not a law.

**RISCy Dude** · 07-18-2017, 06:39

Some images from the 8MP rear cam. Note: I am not a photographer.

Using Cozy Magnifier(added app)...

So you can zoom to your heart's content, a zip containing the unadulterated images.

**Fever** · 09-18-2017, 06:27

Nice detail

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FNF Ifive Mini 4S Tablet PC - 7.9 Inch Retina Display, Android 6.0, RK3288 2GB/32GB...

FNF Ifive Mini 4S Tablet PC - 7.9 Inch Retina Display, Android 6.0, RK3288 2GB/32GB...

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