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Simmtronics has launched dual SIM Xpad Freedom a 7.8 inch tablet that comes powered by 1.2GHz quad core processor, supports 3G and runs on Android 4.2 OS. This tablet is listed on Flipkart without a price tag. The Xpad Freedom is expected to be priced under Rs. 14,000.

The Simmtronics Xpad Freedom sports a 7.8 inch capacitive IPS touch screen playing around with a resolution of 1024×768 pixels. This tab houses dual SIM slot and supports 3G / 2G with voice calling. Xpad freedom runs on Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 with 1GB DDR3 RAM and 8Gigs of internals storage. There is micro SD card slot that can add additional storage of up to 32GB.

This tab is powered by quad core processor clocked at 1.2GHz with PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU. The tab also comes with dual camera – 2MP on the font (secondary camera) and 5MP on the rear (Primary camera).

The specifications mentioned on the Flipkart site are not clear, we are not sure if the tab supports Bluetooth and GPS. Other included features are Wi-Fi and 3G/2G. Battery looks good with a 5000 mAh capacity and as per the company it will give 5 hours of browsing and up to 6 hours of video playback on a full charge.

The Simmtronics Xpad Freedom could be priced at under Rs. 14,000.

There are many models of iBall Slide tab available, and now another model the iball Slide 3G 8072 has been added to the Slide family. The 8072 tablet supports Wi-Fi and comes with dual SIM slot with 3G and voice call support.

There are quite a few tablet with 3G support belonging to the Slide tablet series iBall Slide 3G 9728, 3G 7334i and 3G 7307. The Slide 3G 8072 comes with dual SIM slot with dual standby mode. It is powered by dual core processor Cortex A9 clocked at 1GHz. This tablet runs on Android 4.1 over an 8 inch touchscreen with 1024×768 pixels resolution.

RAM is 1GB, internal storage of 4GB and micro SD card support of up to 32GB. The iBall Slide 3G 8072 comes with 2MP front facing camera. Other features are Bluetooth, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi and GPS with A-GPS support.

Nokia Mobiles have entered the Tablet bandwagon, they have launched the Nokia Lumia 2520 a quad core tablet with a 10.1 inch screen running on Microsoft Windows RT OS. Shipping will commence by end of 2013 and the expected price tag is $499 + $150 for the optional Nokia Power Keyboard. Nokia launched several devices like the Nokia Lumia 1520, Lumia 1320, Asha 502 and 503.

Let’s start with the display, the Nokia Lumia 2520 sports a 10.1 inch screen with full HD resolution (1920x1080p) i.e 218 ppi. The screen is with clear black display and with corning gorilla glass 2 protection. There is built in Micro SIM slot that supports 4G, 3G and 2G networks.

Windows RT OS comes pre-loaded that runs with 2GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. There is micro SD slot that can add external storage of up to 32GB. Lumia 2520 is powered by 2.2 GHz quad core processor (Qualcomm MSM8974) Snapdragon 800 Krait 400 coupled with Adreno 330 GPU.

The tab will be available in White, Cyan, Black and red colors and also includes a rear camera of 6.7MP with Carl Zeiss lens and front camera of 2MP resolution. Front camera can record videos in HD resolution and rear camera can in Full HD resolution.

Other features included are Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0, USB 3.0, NFC and GPS with GLONASS / A-GPS support. There are accelerometer, proximity, gyro and magnetic sensors. Battery is of 8000 mAh capacity with talk-time of up to 10 hours and standby time of over 500 hours.

The Lumia 2520 is priced at $500 and $150 for optional Power Keyboard. In India it could be priced at under Rs. 40,000 and extra under 12K for the power keyboard.

Swipe Telecom has launched the Swipe Halo Value+ tablet that comes powered by dual core processor with built in SIM slot with 2G and voice call support. The Halo Value+ is priced at Rs. 6,999.

The 7 inch tablet supports 800×480 pixels resolution and runs on Android 4.1 with 512MB DDR3 RAM. There is 4GB on board storage plus micro SD card slot that can add another 32GB of external storage space.

Swipe Halo Value+ comes with built in SIM slot that does not support 3G, however does support the 2G networks. You can even use this tablet as a phone or use the 2G (EDGE) network for surfing. Other connectivity options are Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Halo Value+ tab weighs about 380 grams, is 11.3mm thick and also comes with built in FM receiver. Dual cameras are included – VGA (0.3MP) front and 2MP on the rear (without flash support). The dual core processor (chipset unknown) is clocked at 1.2GHz.

The XOLO Play Tab 7.0 with a 7 inch screen supporting 1280×800 pixels resolution and powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 1.2GHz quad core processor is available for Rs. 12,999. This tab runs on Android 4.1 and comes with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage.

XOLO Play Box Pack

The box contains the 7 inch tablet, user guide, warranty certificate, travel charger, earphone and data cable. The specifications are clearly mentioned on the box pack.

Design, display and OS

The XOLO Play Tablet got a curvy design with elegant silver and black color combination. The rear side is silver color with matte finish. The black part on the rear side has got some textures for added grip.

Tab 7.0 weighs 334 grams with battery and thickness is 10.82mm. The 7 inch IPS screen with 5 point multi touch supports 1280×800 pixels resolution. There are no physical dedicated buttons on the front side for navigation and hence a part of the screen will be taken up by on screen navigation buttons – usable screen resolution is 1216×800 pixels.

There are dual speaker on the rear side. Play Tab 7.0 comes with factory fitted screen guard. 3.5mm audio jack is placed on the right side along the curve (check video), with micro USB port and micro SD card slot. The power / lock button is placed on the top with volume rockers. This tab runs on Jelly Bean 4.1.1.

There are very few apps that came pre-installed. Accelerometer, magnetic and orientation sensors are present.

Memory and Storage

There is on-board 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Of the 1GB RAM 359MB is free and of the 8GB storage 5.6 GB is assigned as internal storage of which 5.5GB is free. 32GB microSD card is supported and you can install apps on the external storage. OTG is supported I could connect my pen-drive using an OTG cable.

Performance

XOLO Play Tab 7.0 houses NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor (Model: TW800) plus a 5th battery saver core. This is coupled with 416MHz 12 core NVIDIA GeForce GPU. The benchmark scores looked good.

Benchmark Scores

Quadrant Standard – 4037.

AnTuTu – 13699.

Vellamo – HTML5 1686, Metal 406.

Nenamark 2 – 55.4 fps

Multi touch : 5 points.

Gaming and Entertainment

The Asphalt 7 gaming play was very smooth and I could control the car perfectly. Dead Trigger too seemed smooth but at times you could feel the frames dropping a bit. Modern Combat 4 game play was also pretty good but when using the scope you could feel the game slowing down. Over all a good gaming experience. This tab can play full HD videos. The games were stored on the external SD card.

Others

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth worked well, I did not get the time to check the GPS. The tablet did not heat up much. The loudspeaker sound is low. Front camera is 2MP resolution good enough for Skype video chats.

Battery

The battery looks good and should last for a longer time as compared with other tablets. This tab comes with 4000 mAh built in battery. I ran the benchmark apps for around 18 minutes the battery dropped by 7% and temp increased to 34 degree. Do note that benchmark apps and high end games use maximum CPU / GPU power and hence for normal usage the battery backup will be much better. I played few games for around 13 minutes – battery dropped by 7%, temp increased to 38 degree.

Verdict

XOLO Play Tab 7.0 got a good look and comes with renowned hardware chipset; it runs on Jelly bean OS with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. Battery backup, overall design and performance are pretty good. The only issue with this tablet is its price tag. Play Tab 7.0 is priced at Rs. 12,999 when surprisingly the Nexus 7 tablet with almost same specifications, 16GB internal storage and also powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 Quad Core Processor can be purchased for only Rs. 9,999.

Even though Gionee India has started advertising the Gionee GPad G3, the Gionee GPad 4 or G4 is already listed on the Gionee.com website and part of it showcased (teaser) on Facebook. The GPad G4 is upgrade G3 in fact it is with a bigger screen and powerful quad core processor.

Gionee GPad G4 is a dual SIM handset supporting 3G. It is 7.95mm thick and comes with screen of 5.7 inches. The handset is powered by MT6589T (MediaTek Turbo processor), however the screen resolution is limited to 1280×720 pixels. The MT6589T is 1.5GHz with PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU.

This handset runs on Android 4.2 with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage. Probably because of the thickness the micro SD card slot might be missing.

Battery is of a very good 3200 mAh capacity. The handset looks cool and comes with DTS sound technology. There is 13MP rear AF camera with flash and 5MP front camera. Other common features included are 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. There is light, accelerometer, proximity, gyro and magnetic sensors.

Videocon has launched a dual core tablet the Videocon VT85C with a 7 inch screen and with built in SIM slot that supports 3G and voice calling. VT85C will come for a price of Rs. 8,999 and will be available within few days.

There are many 3G tablets with voice call support available in the Indian market. The Videocon VT85C will now compete with these tablets. VT85C comes loaded with dual core cortex A9 processor clocked at 1.2GHz running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean with 1GB RAM and 4GB storage. 32GB micro SD card is also supported.

The tablet is 10mm thick and sports a 7 inch capacitive multi-touch screen with 1024×600 pixels resolution. The tab houses a 5 megapixel camera on the rear and a front VGA camera. There is built in SIM slot (single SIM) that supports 3G and the tab can also be used as a phone.

Other connectivity features are 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), GPS with A-GPS and Bluetooth 3.0. There is built in FM radio receiver with recording option. Full HD videos are supported and there is only one sensor – the G-Sensor.

The battery is of 3000 mAh capacity that I believe might not be enough for the 7 inch screen. The Videocon VT85C is priced at Rs. 8,999.

The Yoga Tablets that were in the news for quite some time has finally been launched. Lenovo Yoga Tablets are available in 8 inch and 10 inch variants for Rs. 22,999 and Rs. 28,999. These tablets are listed on the official Lenovo website and can be pre-ordered, shipping will commence from 25th Nov.

It is called the Yoga tablet because it can be used in three different modes (ways), stand mode / Hold Mode / Tilt Mode. There is a kick stand that along with the battery weight helps the device stand of its own.

Yoga Tablet 8

This Lenovo tab sports an 8 inch screen with 1280×800 pixels resolution. It comes with 5MP rear camera and 1.6MP front HD camera. Yoga Tab 8 is powered by 1.2GHz MediaTek MT8389 quad core processor with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage. It runs on Android 4.2. Micro SD card of up to 64GB is supported.

For connectivity there is built-in 3G/2G (Micro SIM card slot), Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. Voice calling is supported. The 6000 mAh Li-ion battery gives usage time of up to 18 hours.

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10

This tab also comes powered by 1.2GHz MT8389 quad core chipset running Android 4.2 with 1GB RAM and 16GB storage. 64GB micro SD card is supported. 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS are supported. There is a 5MP rear and 1.6MP front camera.

The screen is 10.1 inches supporting 1280×800 pixels resolution. Battery is of a 9000 mAh capacity that gives up to 18hours of usage time on a full charge.

DOMO Slate X3G comes powered by 1GHz Allwinner A31 quad core chipset with PowerVR SGX 544 MP GPU. This 7 inch tablet comes with built in SIM slot that supports 3G. The tab runs on Android 4.2.2 and is priced at Rs. 11,490.

Box Pack

The box contains the 7 inch tablet, data cable, charger, OTG cable, warranty card, user manual and free 16GB class 6 micro SD card.

Design and Display

The Slate X3G 4th weighs about 307 grams with battery. The thickness is 10.48mm and breadth is 107.83mm. The rear side is silver colored with matte finish. The build quality looks good. Built in battery is 3200 mAh capacity. There is SIM slot that supports 3G and you can also use the tab as a phone.

On the front there is in-call speaker, 3MP front camera and sensors (Accelerometer, proximity and light sensors). The power button and volume rockers are placed on the right side. The SIM slot and micro SD card slot on the left side. On the top there is 3.5mm audio jack, micro USB port and mini HDMI port.

The 7 inch TFT LCD screen is with 976×600 pixels resolution. There is no dedicated navigation buttons on the front panel and hence on-screen navigational buttons are enabled. Touch is smooth and responsive. The screen also comes with some coating or a factory fitted screen guard that is finger print resistant. Viewing angles are okay not that good. There is LED indicator that lights up when you connect the tab for charging.

Memory, Storage and OS

There is 1GB onboard RAM. After the first boot you get around 512MB free RAM. Of the 8GB storage 1GB is assigned for apps (825MB free) and 4.5GB as internal storage. There is the 16GB free micro SD card too that gives around 14GB of external storage space. Unfortunately this tab cannot install apps or games on external storage. OTG is supported and the X3G 4th tablet runs on Android 4.2.2. Performance

Slate X3G 4th comes powered by AllWinner A31 quad core chipset clocked at 1GHz and coupled with PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU. Overall performance is good. Quadrant benchmark score seems too low.

Benchmark scores

Quadrant Standard – 2215 – 2nd run – 2315 .

AnTuTu – 11248.

Vellamo – HTML5 1168, Metal 322.

Nenamark 2 – 56.5 fps

Multi touch : 5 points.

Gaming

Dead Trigger 2 and Asphalt 8 played really well. Game play was smooth. The games got installed on the internal storage.

5MP camera

The rear 5MP camera as well as the front 3MP camera output is okay, not really that good. These are fixed focus cameras. The rear 5MP camera can record videos in 960×720 pixels at 6.66 fps which is no good.

Others

The speaker sound is quite low. You can use the tab as a phone but the earphone’s call / cancel button does not work with the phone feature. The tab heats up a bit which is normal. There is no Bluetooth and built in GPS receiver. You can use the Wi-Fi / Mobile networks to get the location on Google Maps but that is not very accurate.

Battery

The built in battery is of 3200 mAh capacity. I used the tablet for 20 minutes running benchmark apps – the battery level dropped by 13%. Game play of 11 minutes resulted in the battery level dropping by 8%. The estimated battery life with continues usage will be around 3 hours.

Verdict

The DOMO Slate X34G 4th a 7 inch tab with Allwinner quad core chipset runs on Android 4.2 with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. This tablet comes with a free 16GB SD card. There is SIM slot (normal SIM) with 3G support (does not support HSPA). The build quality and overall performance is good, ignore the camera. The tab is so far the cheapest quad core with 3G, however without Bluetooth and GPS.

The Google Nexus 7 is available in India via Google play store. The Google nexus 5 is also available. The Nexus 7 with 16GB Wi-Fi model is available for Rs. 20,999 where as the 32GB Wi-Fi model will come for a price tag of Rs. 23,999.

A 32GB Wi-Fi and LTE (4G) unlocked variant is also available for Rs. 27,999. The 4G option is only available with 32GB storage. The nexus 7 runs on Android 4.3 with 2GB RAM and 16/32 GB storage options.

The 7.02 inch screen supports 1920×1200 pixels resolution with scratch resistant corning glass. Tab weight is 290 grams with an 8.65mm thickness. Other features are 4G (with 32GB), Wi-Fi (dual band) (a/b/g/n), NFC, dual speakers and Bluetooth 4.0.

The Google Nexus 7 is powered by 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor clocked at 1.5GHz. There is 5MP auto focus camera on the rear and 1.2MP on the front. Battery is of 3,950 mAh capacity with up to 9 hours of continuous usage time. Wireless charging (Qi) is supported.

Interested in the Nexus 7, just head on to Google play store.