Cheap tablets from NVIDIA soon

NVIDIA is set to release its own cheap tablet and smartphones in Russia and India. It will not be using its NVIDIA brand, but its local partner brands. It is rumored to arrive in May / June 2013.

This is great news for the cheap good tablet pc market, because NVIDIA is a well known chip manufacturers, famous for its graphics card in the dekstop PC market. It is also a well known brand in the PC gaming world, so maybe we will see cheap tablets capable of playing more "graphic heavy" games.

References : Android Tablet Information

Image Credit : Gotta Be Mobile

Acer set to release Iconia B1 in India

Acer Iconia B1 made headlines due to its low price and only available in developing markets. It is now confirmed that the Iconia B1 will very soon make an appearance in India. The price ? Rs 7,999 (US$ 147.20).

Previously, Wall Street Journal quoted a source as saying that Acer was working on a $99 tablet that will have a 7-inch screen with 1024x600p resolution and run on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean). A US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) application for the tablet revealed others specifications of the Google Nexus 7 rival, including 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 512MB RAM, 8GB onboard storage, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi as well as microSD support. 

Source: Times of India

It will be priced much cheaper that the Google Nexus 7. So, it is going to be very interesting to see if it can beat the Nexus 7.

Videocon VT-10

Google did something right by releasing its Google Nexus 7. We are now seeing 10-inch tablet for a very cheap price. India now have the Videocon VT-10, a 10-inch tablet priced at $205, just a little expensive than the Google Nexus 7.

A 10.1-inch 1280×800 touchscreen, a Rockchip RK3066 dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of built-in storage, microSD support, two 2 MP cameras (front and back), and a 6,800 mAh battery. The tablet’s dimensions are 257.3x176x10.3 mm, it weighs 650 grams, and it ships running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. Mobile data connectivity can be added via supported 3G dongles. 

This is a great deal considering the price, and may signify things to come in the near future – $199 10-inch ‘budget’ Android tablets with specs that match or surpass yesteryear’s flagships. Android will win the tablet war when the cheap devices become good enough in terms of performance for most people, and the Videocon VT10 has the specs for that. It could be the first of many similarly specced and similarly priced offerings in this space. 

Source: Unwired View

Well, 2013 is going to be a very interesting year.

Tablet On Sale Before Company Official Announcement

Photos and specifications leak are very common in today's world. A tablet being sold online, before the manufacturer announce the tablet ? First time I heard of this is in India today.

Karbonn Smart Tab 8 Velox is on sale with two Indian online retailers and even listed on eBay India today. According to Gizbot, Karbonn, the company is set to announce the tablet later, in early January 2013.

Relatively, Gizbot contacted the company spokesperson, who further revealed that "Karbonn Smart Tab 8 Velox is the new tablet by the company under its Duple Series." He further informed that, "while the tablet is already available on online retailer sites for consumer purchase, however the company will officially announce the tablet in the first week of January 2013." 

As far as other specifications of the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean OS based Karbonn Smart Tab 8 Velox is concerned, it will land in the market with features including 8-inch capacitive display along with display resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The tablet will come powered by 1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 processor accompanied with 1 GB RAM, 1.51 GB Internal memory with memory expandable up to 32 GB. 

Smart Tab 8 Velox will also house a 3 MP rear camera, VGA front facing camera with the likes of G-Sensor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB port support, 3G data connectivity and a powerful 4500 mAh battery delivering 7 hours of internet surfing time, 8 hours of video playback time on earphones and about 25 hours of music playback time on earphones. 

Source: Gizbot

Things sure are getting hotter in the cheap good tablet PC world.

Aakash 2 Performance

Remember the Aakash 2 tablet ? The cheap $20 Indian tablet ? Now there is a preview of it from Think Digit. Is it any good ?

Does It Feel Good In The Hand? 

So, what do you get for $40? Not much, but c'mon. 

This isn't an off-the-shelf Chinese Android tablet, although it's indistinguishable from some of the models you'd find in a shopping mall in Shenzhen. According to Tuli, the processor is Chinese, the touch screen is made in India and the tablet is finally assembled and programmed in India. 

The Ubislate 7ci is a dull slate gray, about the size of the original Amazon Kindle Fire . It has a plastic screen and a gray plastic back. Turn it on, and the low-quality 800-by-480 LCD lights up. This thing doesn't have a viewing angle as much as a viewing point, and the touch screen takes some noticeable pressure to activate. 

There's a VGA camera right above the screen on the front, and a microSD card slot (labeled "TF slot" for TransFlash, an old name for MicroSD) adorns the back. The tablet has about 2.6GB of free internal memory divided into two partitions. Wi-Fi 2.4Ghz networking is on board, but no Bluetooth; the cellular model will have GPS. The Ubislate runs stock Android 4.0.4 with the basic apps, adding Google Play, Gmail, and a proprietary media player. The Ubisoft browser didn't come on my unit, but it'll be on the models sold in India. Singh said to consider this a fully open-source tablet, hackable by any Indian who wants to develop software for it. 

I ran our benchmarks on the tablet, and the good news is, the benchmarks run. The bad news is that as expected, they run slowly. The Ubislate 7ci has a 1Ghz AllWinner Cortex-A8 processor, so functions like an entry-level smartphone. Scrolling can be laggy and sometimes screen transitions are slow. The browser was also really slow, even over Wi-Fi. Most notably, though, all the usual apps run: the Web browser, email, games. In other words, if it's this or no Internet, this will get you on the Internet. 

Source: Think Digit

As expected, the Aakash 2 tablet is not for the mainstream market. It is more of a means to connect to the internet for cheap. A PC or laptop is not affordable for most India household, so a tablet make sense. It is also heavily subsidized by the Indian government. What do you think ?

Aakash 2 Indian cheap tablet

India has released version 2 of its Aakash tablet PC. The first Aakash was launched in October 2011. So after 1 year, a new update is available. Datawind is distributing the tablet to universities and engineering colleges. It is developed with cooperation from IIT Bombay. The device is subsidized by the government.

"The price is Rs 2,263 at which the government purchases the device from us. The government subsidises it by 50 percent and it will be distributed to students at Rs 1,130," said Datawind CEO Suneet Tuli. 

Source: Zeenews

The tablet will run for 3 hours on battery. Equipped with 7-inch screen, 1GHz processor and 512MB of memory. It is estimated 20,000 devices will be distributed.

India government is very supportive in the use of tablets for their education sector. This is very good news.

Indian Mitashi PLAY BE 100

Image Credit : Mitashi

Look to India for cheap tablets. Mitashi has just released its PLAY BE 100. It runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Since Mitashi is a video game brand, it is very likely that this is an entertainment machine. The price is only Rs 6,790, about US$125.

It has 7” capacitive touch screen with 800×480 pixel resolution. It is powered with 1Ghz processor and RAM of 512 MB. The device comes with internal memory of 4GB which can be expanded up to 32GB with micro SD card. 

It has a 2MP rear camera and 1.3 MP front camera. The dual camera allows one to share endless conversations with one’s close family and friends – all of this makes it the complete entertainment package.This tablet is powered with a 2700 mAH Li-Po battery. Weighing 360 gms,the size of the tablet is 193 X 124.5 X 11 mm. 

The tablet supports 3G through USB dongle. To promote in the market, Mitashi offers a KB100 keyboard as an accessory which is priced at Rs 1,299. 

Source: Truth Dive

Of course, this brand is unlikely to spread beyond India, however it proves that cheap tablet PC is a great market with ready buyers.

A 40USD Cheap Good Tablet PC in India

Trust India to make real cheap tablet PC. Available now is a US$40 tablet PC, Ubislate 7Ci. Made by London based Datawind, it is aimed for India students. The average Indian makes $200 / month, so this is a affordable by Indian standard. The sales of Apple product in India is very small, only about 1 percent of all handset sales in India. It is fascinating that India wants to also enjoy tablets, despite their individual economy situation.

The specification for Ubislate 7Ci includes 800-by-480-pixel touchscreen, Android 4.0.3, a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, and 512MB of RAM, 4GB internal storage, USB port, headphone jack, mic, front-facing camera, and Wi-Fi. Nothing fancy, however it is good enough for daily use.

 

The tablet itself is part of government program to equip every Indian student with a tablet. The cost of assembly is estimated at $37. So there is a margin of $3. However with 2.5 millions unit ordered, that $3 turns out to US$ 7.5 million profit. So, there is money to be made in cheap good tablet PC market.

References:

1. NYTimes profiles impact of $40 Android tablet in India
2. A $40 Android tablet wants to conquer schools in India

Wanted! Cheap Good Tablet PC!

Tablet PC are the big thing right now. Outselling PC and even smartphones. There are a lot of models and variants in the market. Big names, such as Apple, Samsung and Blackberry are producing tablet with high quality, but comes with a high price. The best selling tablet market however is in the low end market, where cheap tablet PC are selling like hotcakes.

Take for example, in India, at the New Market at the Mahatma Gandhi Road, also know as Daily Market, there are plenty of tablets and gadgets for sale at a very low price. Most of them are Chinese produced tablets. Very cheap, with basic features but very popular.

“These tabs usually cost around Rs 5,000-5,600, with almost every basic feature you want with a tablet PC. A screen of good seven inches, Internet connectivity, memory card slots, USB drive slots, good multimedia features and classy looks comes with usually every one of these. And they are quite popular among the buyers too,” shopkeeper in the New Market said. 

“If these Chinese tablets would have been equipped with some better features, they could give established brand names a run for their money,” another shopkeeper said. 

Source:DailyPioneer

Recently, Google is estimated to have sold one million unit of Google Nexus 7 tablet, which retails for $249 during Q3 2012. In the UK, it is a bestseller, outselling popular Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets and competitors. People want to have and use tablet PC, however price is also a very important deciding factor.

According to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster in a research note, “Google likely sold 800k-1m Nexus 7s in Q3.” Profit is not the main success of the near million Nexus 7, apparently. The main goal of the Nexus 7 is to add more tablet PC market share because more Nexus 7 owners will allow Android to attract tablet PC app developers.

Source:PopHerald

What do you think ? Do you know any cheap and good tablet PC out there ? Perhaps you have some experience using cheap tablet PC ? Is is good or bad ? You can share your view and experience with the readers of this blog by leaving a comment below.