Pierre Cardin PC-7006G Tablet PC review
in Smartphones
1 of 4 
Verdict
Don’t be sucked in by the designer label – this tablet is beaten by rivals in most departments
Review Date: 4 Oct 2011
Reviewed By: Mike Jennings
Price when reviewed: £249 (£299 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
The stratospheric growth of tablets means we’re seeing efforts from companies you wouldn’t normally expect. We’ve seen Next produce a tablet we wouldn’t even touch in the sales, and Binatone cross over from cordless phones with a particularly poor offering, but the latest entrant is from altogether classier stock.
Yes, fashion designer Pierre Cardin has produced a tablet – and at £299 the snappily named PC-7006G costs the same as the 7in competition, such as Acer’s Iconia Tab A100. Still, an air of luxury is essential for a tablet that bears such a brand, and Pierre Cardin doesn’t disappoint. It arrives in a smart leather case with discreet branding, and the unit itself feels extremely solid, with the merest hint of give at the rear and good build quality elsewhere.
Our first reaction, though, was to whip out an iPhone 4 for a quick comparison. It’s clear to see where Pierre Cardin’s designers found inspiration: the glass front, chrome-effect border and black rear are all instantly recognisable. Even the buttons don’t stray from Apple’s design: a circular home button at the bottom and power, menu and back keys on the top-right edge all seem awfully familiar.
Our second thought was to head for the nearest set of scales. At 530g, the 7in PC-7006G far outweighs the 400g Acer, and at 15mm it’s 2mm thicker as well. That’s not a massive increase but, when combined with the weight, it makes this “luxury” tablet feel a bit of a chore to carry.
There’s little innovation when it comes to the Android 2.3 software, either, but that’s no bad thing. You get all of Google’s native apps, rather than the poor proprietary replacements we’ve seen on devices such as the Binatone or the Creative ZiiO. More importantly, you get the full Android Market instead of a third-party competitor.
From around the web
You have to wonder why these companies bother? Especially when it comes to Android itself. Why stick 2.3 on there and not Honeycomb?
By james016 on 5 Oct 2011 
Re: Why stick 2.3 on there and not Honeycomb?
Because Google have not (and will not) released the code for Honeycomb. It is only available to "priviledged" manufacturers who have to sign certain contracts and agree to certain minimum specs to be allowed to use Honeycomb. This is all supposed to change for Ice Cream Sandwich, later this month (alledgedly).
By Bassey1976 on 5 Oct 2011
Price ?
Why does the review header list the price as £224 when it's actually £299 and the article says £300?
By milliganp on 5 Oct 2011
RE: Price
Sorry about the lower price - a database error that's now been fixed. Should all be accurate now!
Mike
By Mikey_Jennings on 5 Oct 2011
DROPAD??
This looks very similar to the DROPAD I have just bought my son, 7, for £140 from Amazon for Xmas???
By Buzz15uk on 6 Oct 2011
DROPAD??
This looks very similar to the DROPAD I have just bought my son, 7, for £140 from Amazon for Xmas???
By Buzz15uk on 6 Oct 2011
"the glass front, chrome-effect border and black rear"
The glass front?
What other material would you suggest for the front of a tablet. Wood?
Tablet makers really don't have an awful lot of choice when it comes to screens.
And Apple invented devices with a "black rear". Oh COME ON! This is getting into the realm of the absurd.
By Lacrobat on 7 Oct 2011
cloneing or clouning
dont forget the apple "round button"
ya what alot of things there to copyright and defind
By keptho1 on 7 Oct 2011
Apple?
Is Apple now the reference to which all other tablets are defined and reviewed? There were tablets before the ipad
"...Even the buttons don’t stray from Apple’s design"
By rhythm on 10 Oct 2011
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