Latest Android based Tablets

Bharti's Beetel Magiq (Price Rs. 9,999 or $220)

 

Beetel Teletech has finally launched its low-cost Android 2.2 tablet called “Magiq”, which has been priced at Rs. 9,999. The launch comes weeks after we reported that the company was coming up with the device.

   
"Our tablet is about affordability," Beetel Teletech chief Vinod Sawhny said in an emailed statement. It offers high-end features not previously "within the reach of the majority of Indian customers," he added.
   
The Magiq tablet uses Google's Android 2.2 software, has an 8 GB memory expandable to 16 GB, 3G and WiFi, long battery life, a radio and front-and-rear two-megapixel camera.
   
The device's launch came a week after India's second-biggest mobile company, Reliance Communications, announced a $290 7-inch Android tablet.
   
Other Indian companies have also announced tablets that significantly undercut the prices of Apple's iPad and Samsung Galaxy Tab and other big-name competitors.
   
Apple's iPad 2 in India starts at around $499 while Research In Motion sells its seven-inch PlayBook in India for over $600. Samsung has announced a 10.1-inch tablet for around $800 and an 8.9-inch tablet for $750 in India.
   
In price-conscious India, the domestic handset vendors with their cheaper products have grabbed around 18 percent of total domestic handset sales, up from a less than one percent share in 2008, according to industry data.
   
They have dealt a heavy blow to global players in India such as Nokia whose market share in the country has slumped.
   
The tablet makers are also hoping customers will leapfrog to cheaper tablets, avoiding costlier personal computers, as they did when they bought mobile phones instead of waiting for land line phones.
   
But analysts say Indian tablet makers face an uphill battle to attract buyers.
   
Even though India is the fastest-growing mobile phone market, it has only around 71 million Internet users, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India and market researcher IMRB.
   
"Tablets are not a priority for most Indian consumers who have limited pockets and probably prefer to spend on an air conditioner or some other consumer goods item," said Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at global consultancy Gartner.
   
"Until tablets become a priority device, they're not going to create a huge impact."

 

Reliance Tablet  (Rs. 12,999.)

 

Reliance is known for entering the market with competitively priced products (remember the Rs. 500 phone?). Rcom’s is now trying to penetrate the tablet war with their offering Reliance 3G Tab for a cut-throat price of Rs. 12,999.

 

Take a look at the technical specifications of the 7-inch Android 2.3-based Reliance 3G Tab, custom manufactured for Reliance by ZTE.

Operating System ( OS ): Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)

Screen Type & Size: Capacitive multi-touch screen, 7 inch TFT-LCD WVGA screen

CPU: 800 MHz

Weight: 389 gms

Camera: Back: 2 megapixel Front: VGA

Talk time: Upto 9 hours (300 hrs stand by time )

Display: 800 X 480 pixels

Battery: 3400mAH, Li-On

External Memory: Supports MicroSD card upto 32GB (4GB MicroSD Card offered Free)

Audio support Format: AAC, AAC+, AMR/AMR-NB, MP3 MIDI, Ogg PCM/WAV

Video support Format: MP4, H.263,H.264

Image support Format: BMP/PNG/JPEG

Call Features: Mute in call, Speed Dial, Switch to Bluetooth device, 3 way calling

Other support features: Video recorder, Wi-Fi Hotspot,Bluetooth Voice calling, GPS, FM Radio, Alarm, speaker phone, MobileTV, SMS, MMS

These specifications are in accordance with the price tag of the tablet. In fact, the tablet is running a non-tablet OS and has paltry processing power. In comparison, some high-end smartphones have a better CPU. The pre-bundled apps like the one integrating your social networking websites, YouTube, Gmail and the others are not extraordinary.

However, what needs to be noted is the fact that you get a bigger screen and more display to play around with for the price of a mid-range Android smartphone. But if you are looking for efficient performance and great levels of usability we'd suggest that you give this one a miss.

 

Sony’s S1 and S2 (Rs. 29,000 or $640)

Sony’s first Android tablets, the S1 and S2, are likely going to be released next month (September) in India. According to Tabletslaunch, SonyIndia plans to offer the S1 and S2 for about 29,000 INR ($640) each. Both devices will come with Android Honeycomb, a custom Sony UI, dual-core processors, and lots of other nice features.

 

The two tablets are already featured on Sony India’s official website, where some arguably awesome video promos have been uploaded.

The larger of the two, S1, has a 9.4-inch screen that takes up most of the front. The second tablet, S2, has a clamshell design with twin 5.5-inch screens and can be folded so it fits in a jacket pocket or bag. Both the tablets run on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and will have an nVIDIA Tegra 2 processor..

Also if rumours are to be believed S1 will come in four versions – 16GB Wi-Fi only; 16GB Wi-Fi and 3G; 32GB Wi-Fi; and 32GB Wi-Fi and 3G whereas the S2 will come in 16GB and 32GB Wi-Fi+3G models only.