A few weeks ago, we brought you the story of Western Leaf’s super-thin, super-fast Frenzy tablet. They were kind enough to send us a review unit to test out, so here’s our review of the Frenzy 8Z tablet from Western Leaf.
The Frenzy 8Z runs on the Android OS, though a few iterations behind at 4.2.2. It’s powered by 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a Quad-Core Cortex A9 processor that clocks in at a whopping 1.6 GHz. On the Frenzy tablet, you’ve got 16GB of Flash storage, upgradable up to 32GB, and a vivid 7.85” IPS screen that displays at a 1024x768px resolution (though most tablets are now either 1280×800 or even better, full 1920×1200). The Frenzy 8Z is also WiFi only, and supports 802.11 b/g/n.
Western Leaf touts the Frenzy 8Z as being an incredibly slim and light tablet, and rightly so. Weighing in at 0.67lb, which is lighter than any other 8” tablet, including the iPad Mini 2. The Frenzy 8Z is also thinner than any other tablet in its class, at 0.28 inches (also thinner than, you guessed it, the iPad Mini 2).
The Frenzy 8Z tablet was my daily for over a week, and in that time we got to put it through its paces. The first thing we noticed, which grew really old after a while, was the Frenzy’s boot-up sound. It was really loud, and honestly a bit over-the-top.
Being so light, I found it easy to take the Frenzy 8Z with me wherever I went. I could play games, read comics with ease, and the IPS screen made it easy on my eyes to view the tablet from multiple angles. Though we didn’t use the camera much, the Frenzy 8Z is equipped with two: a rear 5MP and a front 2MP.
I found the lack of a volume rocker to be rather disappointing, with so many tablets having quick access to volume controls, I expected this one to have the same (though there are on-screen controls on the tablet).
My overall experience with the Frenzy 8Z tablet could be summed up in a few words: light and thin. The convenience factor of such a slim tablet, fast enough to play games and watch movies on (in 1080p) can’t be beat. At a price point of $199 (Amazon), Western Leaf’s Frenzy 8Z tablet is a serious contender in the 7.9” tablet space.
