Huawei MediaPad tablet

NEW DELHI: You may think the 7-inch form factor for tablets is old and tired, thanks to the bunch of no-name and budget tablets crowding this space. But Huawei's MediaPad will make you change your mind.

It certainly is an impressive 7-inch tablet: unibody metal construction, excellent fit and build quality, useful ports (microHDMI, microUSB , 3.5mm audio), great performance and high-quality screen. A removable triangular panel on the back hides the SIM and microSD card slot - although it's plastic, it does not detract from overall appearance.

The display has a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels - you get sharp output and first-rate touch response. The hardware matches up with most highend tablets available today. It runs stock Android 3.2 on a dual core 1.2Ghz processor with 1GB RAM with 8GB storage expandable via microSD card. Thanks to the hardware and the fact that Android 3.2 is optimised for devices with smaller displays, the performance (general navigation, running apps, multimedia and gaming) is terrific. Purely for multimedia playback, the MediaPad is fantastic.

It supports most common video formats and plays HD movies without a hitch. Video playback is smooth without any jitters or visible artifacts and it even allows for seamless forward and reverse skipping.

In terms of audio, the sound output is very loud thanks to the dual speakers. However, the placement of both speakers on the same side of the tablet did lead to the output being muffled when the tablet was held from the left side. The music player did not detect files copied directly to the tablet's storage - it requires that music be transferred using Huawei's Tablet Manager software.

A workaround for that is to play audio files using the file manager, through the gallery or by installing a third-party audio player. At the back is a 5MP autofocus camera that takes average quality images in daylight.

Using the camera indoors and under dark conditions is best avoided, as images are full of noise with significant amounts of purple fringing. An LED flash would be helpful, but the tablet lacks one. Video recording is done in 720p HD resolution by both front and rear cameras but suffers from excessive noise.

With automatic brightness, Wi-Fi connectivity and mixed use of apps and multimedia, the MediaPad was able to provide a 5 hour battery backup. Currently, the MediaPad is the only 7-inch Wi-Fi + 3G tablet running Android 3.2 tablet in India. At the same price, you can get Android 3.1 tablets with larger screens ( Acer Iconia Tab 501) with similar hardware. Or you could consider the single core HTC Flyer which has dropped to 22,000 after a recent price cut.

Some real competition for the MediaPad will arrive once Samsung launches the Galaxy Tab 7.0plus - a 7-inch Android 3.2 tablet with similar hardware and connectivity options and is expected to be priced about the same.

Akash Tablet (UbiSlate 7+) : Specification & Features

:SPECIFICATION:
==============

Android OS 2.3

Cortex A8, 700 Mhz Process with HD Video Co Processor

256 MB RAM

Storage: (Internal) 2GB Flash / (External) 2GB to 32GB Supported

Peripherals: 2 Standard USB Ports (Ver. 2.0)

Audio Out: 3.5mm jack

Display and Resolution: 7" Display with 800x480 pixels

Supported Document Formats: All Version Office Document formats and many more

High Quality Video Streaming & HD Quality Video Playback

Input Devices: Resistive Touch Screen

Connectivity with GPRS & WiFi IEEE 802.11 a/b/g

Battery: Upto 180 minutes of battery, AC adaptor 200.240 volts

FEATURES:
=========

High Quality web anytime & anywhere

Connect via GPRS or WiFi

GPRS: Embedded modem eliminates the need for external dongles and allow internet access everywhere

Wifi: Allows fast youtube videos at hotspots

Fast web access even on GPRS networks, across the country using DataWind's patented acceleration technology

High Quality video streaming & HD Quality Video Playback

Games, Full Office suite, Educational Software, Over 150,000 apps!

Expandable memory to 32GB

Use any ordinary pen-drive

And it's a Phote to make/receive voice calls

Aakash tablets: 14 lakh booked in 14 days

NEW DELHI: The new year may be a year of low-cost computing in India. Sales bookings for the world's cheapest tablet, Aakash, have soared to 14 lakh units just two weeks after it was put up for sale online for Rs 2,500 a piece.

To cater to the 'unexpected' demand, UK-based vendor Datawind, the maker of the $35 tablet, has decided to establish three new factories - in Cochin, Noida and Hyderabad - in the first half of 2012 to assemble the tablet. Datawind currently has only one factory in Hyderabad, with its vendor Quad, which makes the LCD panel for the tablet.

"We never expected such a high response from both corporate and individual buyers. We plan to supply 70,000-75,000 units per day once the factories are in place by April," Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, Datawind told ET from Panama, where he was invited to advise its government on its low-cost computing project.

"Around two weeks ago, we received a call from India's computer emergency response team that our website was probably suffering from a large cyber attack. We had to inform them we had just opened sale through our website," Tuli said. Datawind, which put out a limited 30,000 tablets for sale online with e-commerce provider Ncarry.com, has already exhausted the first lot.

A spokesman for Ncarry.com, said that the website is catering to orders across India, with delivery in 5-7 working days. Ncarry is a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Nimbuzz, which makes instant messaging applications. The Nimbuzz IM comes pre-installed on Aakash.

Pre-sales bookings for the Aakash tablet (about 400,000 in October) had surpassed the Indian tablet market which grossed about 250,000-300,000 tablets till last year.

Even with a resistive touch and slow processor, Aakash has received about 1 lakh orders a day since online launch last month. In comparison, Apple sold about 10 lakh iPads in 28 days and 30 lakh in 80 days of its launch in April 2010. Currently, the cheapest model of iPad at Rs 29,500, is about 12 times costlier than Aakash.

Aakash's maker Datawind is, however, strangulated with supply constraints, compared to Apple which managed smooth deliveries of the iPad. "We are not accepting cash for bookings currently, as we want to sort out supply issues," Tuli added.

Datawind plans to put on sale online the next version of Aakash - Ubislate 7, priced at Rs 2999, by mid-January. The newer version will come with a slot for insertion of a SIM card, for access of internet by GPRS or 2G connection. The current version of the tablet can access internet via Wi-Fi access.

Besides, the newer version will be twice as fast with a 700 Mhz processor compared to a 366 Mhz processor in the current tablet. In another development, the government has extended the letter of credit to Datawind to supply the next lot of 90,000 tablets, even though IIT Rajasthan is yet to provide the test specifications for the next version, which it wants to procure for supply to students. The delay from the government's end is likely to land Aakash in the hands of commercial buyers before students for whom the low-cost tablet was meant for in the first place.