When you plan to buy a gift for your loved ones, you got to keep in mind that the product should be top notch in quality and would last a lifetime (well it actual won’t but then the quality should be such). The most important thing is that it should not feel cheap even though it might be. And in case of a tech toy, it should be easy to use too.
The same goes for a tablet too. So here we present five tablets in different budget range that would have all the above mentioned qualities.
Apple iPad 2
Well this is a no brainer. Apple’s iPad 2 is the best-selling tablet so far. It exudes quality and ease of use in every aspect. What is good is that unlike the iPhone, the iPad 2 is priced on par with its competitors.
Unlike the Android based tablets, there is no dearth of applications which are made especially for this tablet. The design of iPad 2 is simply elegant without being flashy and is a perfect style statement.
While iPad needs no introduction, but just for record the 9.7 inch display based iPad 2 comes with a 1 GHz dual-core Apple A5 processor with storage option varying from 16 GB to 64 GB. It has also connectivity options of WiFi, and WiFi+3G.
While there are other tablets with similar spec, but none of them match the iPad 2 in terms of real world performance and user experience, which is evident from its sells figures.
The price of the Apple tablet ranges from Rs 29,000 to Rs 47,000 depending on the storage and connectivity options that you choose, rest of the specs remain the same.
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Samsung Galaxy Tab P1010
We talked about the budget and this is our choice for the budget conscious. This is the WiFi only version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 and it costs just Rs 15,000. Its quality is the same as Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 3G version but comes without the SIM calling function.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 (WiFi) is based on Android 2.2 operating system (upgradable) and has 1 GHz Cortex-A8 processor. It has a 7 inch screen, a 3 Megapixel camera at the back and a 1.3 megapixel one in the front for video chat. The tablet comes with inbuilt memory of 16 GB which expandable up to 32 GB.
It is powered by 4000 mAh Li-Ion battery which is quite big for a 7 inch tablet. Apart from that regular Android features GPS, Push Mail, and apps market access is all there. You can read the detailed review of the Galaxy tab (3G version) here.
This Android tablet is good both in terms of looks and performance. The tablet, although a bit on the heavier side, looks great and the brushed metal all over the body looks amazing and pleasing to the eyes.
Its 10.1 inch TFT LCD display comes with 1280 X 800 pixel resolution. Its 142 PPI Pixel density reduces chances of pixilation even while the device is held closer to the eyes.
The Acer Iconia A501 utilises the famous Nvidia Tegra 250 T20 Chipset that includes a 1 GHz dual core processor based on the Cortex A9 architecture, Geforce 333 MHz Graphics Processing Unit. The combination works well for both multitasking and gaming.
Though the tablet comes with Android 3.0, upgrade to 3.2 is already available and Android 4.0 is just few months away. The tablet is priced at Rs 29,000 for the 3G+WiFi version. Read the detailed review here.
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Blackberry Playbook
This tablet runs on the QNX OS and is powered by a TI 1 GHz OMAP4430 Dual Core processor with PowerVR SGX540 graphics and 1 GB RAM. The combination works well and delivers good multi-tasking and gaming experience.
The PlayBook sports a 7-inch LCD capacitive screen that has resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels. The high resolution screen also has 4-finger multi-touch and gesture support features.
A 5 megapixel camera is loaded at the back of the PlayBook that can record Full HD 1080p videos in MPEG format. There is also a 3 megapixel front-facing camera that allows video chatting.
The tablet currently uses BlackBerry Bridge to connect to a Blackberry smartphone on which it relies
for functions like Push mail and BBM client. However, this has changed with BBX (changed name for QNX) 2.0, which will be rolled out for the Playbook very soon.
Apart from that the operating system of the tablet is real good and easy to use. For someone already using a BlackBerry phone this is the best companion device. Currently the PlayBook is available in 64 GB version for Rs 20,000 much lower than initial launch price. Read detailed review here.
We have done the review of this device very recently and I must say it looks very different from the rest. Perhaps, it is one of the best looking tablets around. It’s not only just a good looking tablet but also functional and aids a good grip.
The Sony S tablet comes with a 9.4 inches wide touchscreen (True Black Display) and Android 3.2 OS with Infra-Red remote control. It’s quite light and provides a more natural angle for typing and browsing.
It has a 5 megapixel rear camera at the rear and a front facing camera. This is a Playstation certified device and so is a good gaming device with exclusive games to play on a hardware optimised for gaming. The Sony S tablet comes with the Nvidia Tegra GHz 2 Mobile Processor along with a dual core ARM Cortex A9 CPU of 1 GHz.
The WiFi only version of the tablet is priced competitively at Rs 30,000 while the 3G+ WiFi version costs Rs 34,000. You can read the detailed review here.