The Aakash tablet based its selling idea on two things, firstly as being the cheapest tablet in the market and secondly boasting of being ‘Made in India’ low cost device. Well, surely the Aakash is cheapest and a ‘Made in India’ tablet, but its surely isn’t the only one out there.
A good thing that has come out of the Aakash project is that it has somehow woken up a huge bunch of entrepreneurs to think about providing the Indian masses with low cost Tablet PC solutions to be abreast with changing technology. Only Reliance had come up with a low cost tablet prior to Aakash. Companies like HCL, Milagorw, Zync, Micromax, Karbonn, iBall etc have started producing low cost tablets. A company like BSNL is also not too far behind. This is mainly with a view to compete and survive in the technology market which has created a win-win situation for the consumer who can lay their hands on some really good piece of technology without burning their pockets.
Today the average Indian college student or a middle class individual can bite into the Android Gingerbread experience and have a scoop of Ice Cream Sandwich operating system at affordable prices thanks to a wide range of ‘home brewed’ tablet computers that are not only affordable but practically made keeping the average Indian consumer in mind. Here’s a look at a few ‘made inIndia’ tablets, which are not Aakash.
HCL ME U1: The IT company, HCL is already a strong name in the computers, laptop and peripherals market and it was only natural for it to enter the tablet arena by making latest tablets at competitive prices. The HCL ME u1 is both affordable and practical and has pretty solid hardware and specs for its price. Running Android 4.0 ICS, it packs a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB internal storage with expandability option, WIFI, USB, HD video playback, front facing camera and a 7 inch capacitive touch screen. This should take care of most of your everyday needs and entertainment and its Priced at Rs. 7999.
Low-cost alternative Android tablets to AakashBSNL Tpads: Made in collaboration with Pantel Technologies, the Tpad from BSNL comes in the variants of IS 701R, WS 704c and WS 802c priced at Rs. 3250, Rs. 10500 and Rs. 13000 respectively. The overall features are pretty similar on all like the Full HD video playback, WIFI, USB connectivity, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and front facing VGA camera. However the IS 701R has a 2 GB internal storage whereas the WS 704c and WS 802 C have 4GB internal storage with RAM upgraded to 512 MB as opposed to IS 701R’s 256 MB. The processor on the 701R and 704c is 1 GHz whereas on the 802c is at 1.2 GHz and a 8 inch touch screen in place of 7 inch. Both the WS series tabs have a 2Mp rear camera and SIM card support as well.
Micromax Funbook: The Funbook from the Youth Oriented brand, Micromax is a complete package in relation to its surprisingly low price. At Rs. 6499, this tablet offers a 1.2 GHZ processor with a 512 MB RAM, that runs Andorid 4.0 ICS out of the box. Other features include WIFI, HDMI, USB ports for connectivity and support 3G dongle via USB. The Funbook also plays almost all known formats of video and audio like charm and the HD videos play smooth as silk on this one. The tab comes in a 7 inch capacitive avatar and has a VGA front camera.
Karbonn Smart Tab1: Smart Tab 1 by Karbonn Mobile, comes with a 1.2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, expandable up to 32 GB via external SD card, Full HD video playback, 2 MP front facing camera, WIFI, HDMI and USB which also supports 3G connectivity via USB dongle. The tablet comes running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich out of the box and is priced at Rs. 6999.
Apart from the above mentioned tablets, the other Indian tablets that could be looked at are Wish Tel Ira and Ira Thing that come with pretty similar specs as that of the BSNL IS701R come at a price of Rs. 4500 and 5500 respectively.
As you have seen a lot of players have entered the market offering low cost tablets which are indigenously made and are different from Aakash tablet, offering it a tough competition.
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