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Have you noticed as things get older they have a tendency to increase in size? It’s the equivalent for human beings, corporations, car models, budget deficits… and even what we use on everyday basis, like the webOS. While Palm invention was in the route of being considered as a great mobile operating system, and even being seen for much larger things, far bigger than the little handsets it had earlier been flashed on. Talk of printers, desktops and laptops – the Palm, although for its appropriate raid outside phones it has an uphill task; that is, to battle it out in the brutally nasty tablet space.

Soldiers have already been sent to war armed with serious weapons like the TouchPad unit, a 9.7-inch tablet from HP – actually it got official back in February and already available in major retailers. Then, our very own review of the MID M12 9.7 inch tablet from China ($279.99 asking price), just like the HP – and just because I’ve said “China” it’s not time to brush off the android 2.3 Rockchip RK2918 1.2 GHz tablet –  lest we conclude this a missed opportunity!

Well folks, sit back, the MID M12 slides out from its cardboard box with a lot of might, a clear-cut paper seal creating a void that does its best to maintain its tablet firmly entrenched within. Keep sliding it out and the pressure balances, the box yields, and eventually you gain access to what can only be seen as a fairly chunky tablet. It weighs in at 1.4 pounds (680 grams), heavier than 1.26 pound (570 gram) Galaxy Tab 10.1, heavier than the popular 1.3 pound (600 gram) of iPad 2, and even heavier than the Motorola Xoom at 1.6 pound (730 gram) – which is itself hardly a flimsy flower. 

We at Merimobiles like its plastic back, no doubt, it feels glossy with a piano-like finish. You’d actually confuse it with the reminiscent of the back in the days, equally sheen PS3 consoles – nice to touch and close to impossible not to stare at, but an amazingly effective fingerprint magnet. And those with bigger hands will comfortably hold the tablet, thanks to its concave shape, more so compared to the flat outlines of those more skinny machines mentioned above, except that comes at the cost of it feeling a bit empty. The MID M12 tablet bestows the impression of solidity.

We can’t comfortably say that we are satisfied with its performance because, well, it should be fast with its Rockchip RK2918 1.2 GHz paired with 512 DDR3 Ram, but frequently it left us waiting. Most apps are fast to load and responsive enough. As we had earlier mentioned, it’s a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 IPS section up front that is exactly as the iPad 2 pixel-for-pixel and no disappointments when you include other important aspects of viewing. Viewing angles, contrast and brightness we are satisfied, delivering ample light for bright or dark rooms in addition to angles wide as much as necessary to make sharing with a pal a sure bet.

We agree, there’s shortage of apps, but that will of course change with time. What we won’t see changing is the hardware, and there we’re left with little dissatisfaction. But, holding MID M12 in one hand and either a Galaxy Tab 10.1 or an iPad 2  in the other leaves you be in awe why you’d ever be compelled to buy Galaxy Tab 10.1 or an iPad 2 when you could have a solid, glossy and lighter alternative for a little less . Meanwhile, its performance left us occasionally wanting and, well, is their anything left? You also play with it and have your say.

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