Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Sparc TechBook S1 In Depth Review



Box:
A pretty simple box. Only a thin clear front plastic cover and bubble wrap protects the laptop. Unlike mall branded laptops with full on corrugated cardboard box and foam on all sides. But it was delivered damaged free naman.



Specs:

  • It's Intel Atom Z8350 processor with Intel HD Graphics is faster than Atom Z3735 series processor on the more expensive 10-incher Cherry Mobile Cubix CubeBook or 2015 Acer Switch 10 laptops. Local laptops with the same processor cost more. The latest Acer branded laptops with Z83xx series processor costs 24,000 and up.
  • 1366 x 768 resolution TN display
  • 2GB RAM, 32GB storage expandable by SD card (64GB max)
  • 1 full size USB 2.0
  • 1 full size USB 3.0
  • 1 mini HDMI port
  • Wi-Fi b/g/n
  • Bluetooth 4.0
  • 0.3MP front camera
  • Large multitouch touchpad
  • Full size keys, non-illuminated 
  • Windows 10 Home, 64-bit





First boot:
It took 2 hours in blue screen with spinning dots before the login screen appeared. Then another hour of busy cursor after logging in as Admin where you can’t do anything but wiggle the cursor from time to time. Nabato after 1 hour at nag long press na sa power button for forced shutdown. The succeeding Windows boot took less than 30 seconds na consistently. Fast boot.



Available user space:
17.8 GB free before any software install.
Can install 64GB SD card max and configure Windows to use it for future installs and file saves. Of course this depends if the app for install supports storage selection.

Power supply:
Power brick is small, parang pang cellphone. Cord length is short. Di ka makalayo sa outlet compared to those extra long cables ng conventional laptops.
Trickle charging lang if plugged in while turned ON. To expedite charging you need to turn it off.
Battery life is 8 hours. Longer if wifi and bluetooth off.



Screen:
Comes with a screen protector with side 1 already attached. Just peel off side 2 plastic.
Screen brightness good and sufficient even when outdoors. No dead pixels.
Horizontal viewing angles are good. Vertical viewing angle is confined which is expected of TN panels. It's not IPS so expect what TN panels offer. Very good for its price and size.
Illumination flickers sometime. Sana wag mag black out later.



Audio:
Speaker volume is audible but tinny. Zero mids and lows. Headphone jack works.
2 noise cancelling microphones are sensitive enough for Cortana to hear me and respond when I give her tasks.

Bluetooth:
Zippy connection to BT speakers. Clean output.

USB ports:
1 full size USB 2.0 and 1 full size USB 3.0. The USB ports are upside down compared to “normal” laptops. Ingat connecting your USB thingy baka pwersahin nyo pag di pumasok. Just flip it over.

HDMI port:
Mini HDMI port works well with TV, projectors and extended monitors.

Wireless display connection:
Can wirelessly connect to a SmartTV with wireless display or Miracast support. Just press windows+P then select connect to a wireless display. Works great. No wires.

Thermals:
No noisy fan. No hot spots while in use. Warm lang. Di makakaluto ng itlog.

LCD back panel illuminated logo:
Looks cool when dark. When against the light (example, morning sun) and you have a black wallpaper, the logo outline is visible from the front. Lipat ka na nag ng pwesto.

Weight:
Magaan. Sarap dalhin.



Dimensions:
Similar to 1st generation Macbook Air in thickness. Looks cool. Bagay itabi sa iPhone.

Program loading and response:
Fast response for MS Office 2016 applications, iTunes and email apps. Light gaming ok. Very usable for school/office work, web browsing, social media, YouTube, downloading and playing movies and music.

Live USB:
Can boot to Linux and other live OS.

External HDD:
OK. Can read/write.



Windows update:
First few tries to update were fails. Downloaded Windows update troubleshooter from Microsoft and it fixed it. Windows update was a breeze afterwards. Was able to upgrade legitimately to Windows Fall Creators Update (version 1709). Be sure to do Windows disk cleanup to free up disk space once the update is completed.



For a price similar to a Cherry Mobile budget phone, it’s a very good deal indeed. Same performance as well branded smaller 10” windows laptop with the same processor and memory config. But those cost more.


29 comments:

Christito Joyce Custodio said...

I bought mine too. but can you help me? how can I connect it to a LCD projector? Do I need to buy adapter? What kind please help me? I need specific size. Please PM me on Facebook. Thank you po. Chat you.

Hermie said...

Yes, can connect to a projector. Buy a cable that is mini HDMI on one end and full size HDMI on the other.

Amor said...

Your review made me decide to buy it. Thank you so much!

JD said...

Hi! You stated it doesn't have Windows support. So did you have to install Microsoft Office applications yourself? thanks!

Hermie said...

Windows 10 build 1511 is old and Microsoft said security updates will stop for this build of Windows 10. Try to upgrade to build 1703 or the latest fall creator's update. MS Office can be installed on any build of Windows 10.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Pa-update naman sa Sparc techbook mo...Is it still working smoothly? How is it now?

Unknown said...

Hi, Kamusta na po yung Sparc Techbook mo? Still working smoothly ba? pa-update please thanks

Hermie said...

Still working perfectly.

Hermie said...

Sparc is still working perfectly. Battery, display, ports, hinges, speed, usability are all good. Updated already to Windows Fall creators update version 1709.

Unknown said...

Ask ko lang may sparc laptop din po ako. Nalowbat sya nung chinarge ko di na nag charge no led light po means di po nag chacharge ano po kaya nangyari sa laptop ko??? Sana may makatulong ty..

Unknown said...

Kailan po ulit magkakatoon ng stock??

Hermie said...

Paulo, check mo kung ayos pa ang charger. Baka yong charging brick ang problema. Gamit ka ng tester. O hiram ka ng ibang charger ng may sparc.

Unknown said...

Sir pede pa bang ibalik ung recovery files? Nabura kasi ung recovery nung nag format kasama ko.

Unknown said...

Naibabalik pa ba ang nabura nang recovery files?

Unknown said...

Sir, ask ko lang po, kasi ung sparc ng kaibigan ko nag clean format sya nawala pati recovery files nya. Sir may paraan pa ba para maibalik recovery files nya? Ano mga dapat gawin po? Salamt

glennux laguna said...

saan po tau maka download ng drivers nito?

Anonymous said...

How did you install office 2016? I alway get prompted not enough disk space

Hermie said...

Perform disk clean up and try again.

Open windows file explorer
Right click on drive c then click Properties
Click Disk Cleanup button
Click Cleanup System Files button
Retry MS office install

Anonymous said...

Can you please tell me what driver I need to install for the built-in wireless adapter? I had to reinstall a clean Windows 10 but the driver is missing now. Thanks!

Mary Anne Veluz said...

hello there. bumili din po ako last august 2018 neto. pero unfortunately nun pa ytang october yun. bgla syang d nagchacharge tapos hanggang sa nadrain kasi need ko para sa paggawa ng grades kaya ginamit ko nagcharge sya ulit after non. taz nakikita ko s kanya parang nawawala ung itsura ng mga files like images .. sabi ko baka may virus, so wat i did , diba meron sya sariling pang reformat sa settings ni reformat ko after non nagblack screen na sya

Unknown said...

ganun din po sa akin..di na nag oopen,nag chacharge xa pula pero yung blue ilaw na steady pag nag open ayaw na rin umilaw..kahit anong gawin ko ayaw mag buka

Unknown said...

Sakin naman ayaw mag open ng window
Anu kaya gagawin???

Jhun-Law said...

More than two years na yun sparc techbook ko, wla pa rin problema despite everyday use sa office for documents, browsing etc. isa lang reklamo ko d2, slow charging tlga. inaabot ng 6 hours bago mag full charge pero nagagamit ko naman sya upto 8 hours on a full charge.

Unknown said...

Pls.same problem on charging,san puede bumili charger at ano puede substitute pang charge.thanks

Jenny Tan said...

Hi! Please help me naman. Mine is not opening. Pag kinabit ko charger, may color blue light lang pero di sya nag oopen. Okay pa ba laptop or defective na ang charget nya? Thanks.

Anonymous said...

3 years ko na po gamit yung sparc techbook ko. Nagdrain yung battery niya. Nagchacharge but hindi na naoopen. Dinala ko sa nag aayos ng laptop ang sabi po yung battery yung may sira. Saan po pwede makabili ng battery ng sparc techbook?

Jhune said...

Sir download mo bitdriver. Pwede naman free yan scan mo muna sa apps. Ma dedetect nya ang dapat i download na driver. Download lang. Isa isa. Restart lagi after madownload. Matagal nga lang. Tiyaga lang

Anonymous said...

Hello Paano Reformat Sparc Laptop? Pina check ko siya hindi daw kaya reset kasi mababa memory niya. Thank you

Anonymous said...

Saan makakabili ng battery ng spark tachbook s1.salamat