Reader review: Top 5 tablet devices in India

Get Ahead readers Anand Parekh and Akhilesh Vind have contributed this sneak review of top 5 tablets in India in response to our reader invite (below). They run their own web site www.ihaveapc.com.

If you are planning to buy a tablet device in the New Year, here's a quick take on the pros and cons of the top 5 tablets released in India in 2010. These are, of course, top 5 tablets according to the authors and the list or the order can change from reader to reader.

5. Nokia N900

Pros: Good reliable hardware platform, abundant applications, support for many video and audio formats, Skype and GoogleTalk VoIP integration, 3.5mm audio socket, great phone, DataViz Documents To Go Premium Edition document editor, PDF document viewer, good browser.

Cons: Expensive (newer hardware platforms are available for similar price), TFT resistive touchscreen, too small for a tablet (but it is a tablet!)

Price: Rs 24,600

Features:

Weight: 181 grams

Dimensions: 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 mm

Screen Size: 3.5 in

Resolution: 800 x 480 px

CPU: ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz, PowerVR SGX530 graphics, 256 MB RAM

OS: Maemo 5 (Linux)

Apps: Ovi Store

Memory: 32 GB internal + supports up to 16 GB microSD

Connectivity: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, Infrared, GPRS, EDGE, 3G

Battery Life: Li-Ion 1320 mAh (6.5 hour talktime)

Camera: 5 MP Carl Zeiss lens with autofocus and Dual LED flash, video light

Sensors: GPS, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor

Check out: The all new Gadgets and Gaming page

Reader invite

Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Send us a sample of your writing to gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject as 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.

4. Notion Ink Adam

Pros: Reasonably priced, powerful hardware platform, optional dual mode Pixel-Qi transflective LCD display that saves power, multi-touch touchscreen layer, 3.5mm audio socket, can download apps from Android Market and upcoming Genesis marketplace, 2 USB ports, 1 HDMI port, back-side trackpad.

Cons: Tablet is still under development but seems promising

Price: Rs Backlit LCD, Wi-fi only (Rs 21,267 approx.), Backlit LCD, Wi-fi + 3G (Rs 23,767 approx), Pixel Qi LCD, Wi-fi only (Rs 27,473 approx.), Pixel Qi LCD, Wi-fi +3G (Rs 30,000 approx.) (Prices mentioned on site are in dollars excluding $50 shipping charge, but you have an option of ordering it in India)

Features

Weight: 725 grams

Dimensions: 269 x 191 x 14 mm

Screen Size: 10.1 in

Resolution: 1024 x 600 px (Pixel-Qi display or Normal LCD)

CPU: 1 GHz Dual Core Cortex A-9 processor, NVIDIA Tegra 250, ULP GPU, 1GB DDR2 RAM, 1GB SLC

OS: Customised Android 2.2 known as Eden

Apps: Android Market, Genesis (Notion Ink's own marketplace)

Memory: 8+ GB eMMC + supports up to 32 GB microSD

Connectivity: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, 3G HSPA

Battery Life: 3 cell 24.6Whr battery (16 hours of normal usage)

Camera: 3.2 MP Auto Focus Swivel Camera

Sensors: GPS, 3-Axis Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor, Digital Compass

Check out: The all new Gadgets and Gaming page

Reader invite

Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Send us a sample of your writing to gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject as 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.

3. Dell Streak 5

Pros: Supports variety of audio and video formats, 3.5mm audio socket, QuickOffice document viewer, can download apps from Android Market, multi-touch TFT capacitive touchscreen, multi-touch input method

Cons: Expensive, too small for a tablet and too big for a phone

Price: Rs 34,500

Features:

Weight: 220 grams

Dimensions: 152.9 x 79.1 x 10 mm

Screen Size: 5 in

Resolution: 800 x 400 px

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, 512MB ROM

OS: Android 1.6 (upgradable to V2.2)

Apps: Android Market

Memory: 16 GB internal + supports up to 32 GB microSD

Connectivity: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, 3G

Battery Life: Li-Ion 1530 mAh (approximately 8 hour talk time)

Camera: 0.3 MP front, 5 MP rear (with Dual LED flash)

Sensors: Geolocation, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor

Check out: The all new Gadgets and Gaming page

Reader invite

Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Send us a sample of your writing to gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject as 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.

2. Olive Pad V-T100

Pros: Reasonably priced, supports variety of audio and video formats, 3.5mm audio socket, DataViz Documents To Go document editor, can download apps from Android Market, multi-touch TFT capacitive touchscreen, multi-touch input method, Bonus 16GB Memory card (as on 13th December 2010), Free lifetime subscription to MapmyIndia worth Rs2500 (as on 13th December 2010), Free 6 months subscription to Zenga TV (as on 13th December 2010)

Cons: Faster CPU and higher screen resolution would have been better

Price: Rs 25,000

Features:

Weight: 375 grams

Dimensions: 179.4 x 110 x 11.5 mm

Screen Size: 7 in

Resolution: 800 x 400 px

CPU: ARM11 600MHz processor, Qualcomm MSM7227 chipset, 512 MB RAM

OS: Android 2.2

Apps: Android Market

Memory: 512MB NAND Flash internal + supports up to 32 GB microSD

Connectivity: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, 3G

Battery Life: Li-Po 3240 mAh (approximately 26 hour talk time)

Camera: 0.3 MP front, 3 MP rear

Sensors: GPS, Accelerometer, Ambient Light Sensor

Check out: The all new Gadgets and Gaming page

Reader invite

Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Send us a sample of your writing to gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject as 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.

1. Samsung galaxy tab P1000

Pros: Supports variety of audio and video formats, full HD (1080 p) video player, 3.5mm audio socket, Thinkfree Office, can download apps from Android Market as well as Samsung Apps, screen supports multi-touch zoom, swype input method support.

Cons: Expensive

Price: Rs 36,000

Features:

Weight: 0.385 Kg

Dimensions: 190.1 X 120.45 X 11.98 mm

Screen Size: 7 in

Resolution: 1024 x 600 px

CPU: ARM Cortex A8 processor, 1 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM, PowerVR SGX540 graphics

OS: Android 2.2

Apps: Android Market, Samsung Apps

Memory: 16 GB internal + supports up to 32 GB microSD

Connectivity: Wi-fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, 3G

Battery Life: Li-Po 4000 mAh (approximately 7 hour video playback)

Camera: 1.3 MP front, 3 MP rear (with LED Flash)

Sensors: GPS

Check out: The all new Gadgets and Gaming page

Reader invite

Are you a gadget/gaming wizard/afficianado? Would you like to write on gadgets, gaming, the Internet, software technologies, OSs and the works for us? Send us a sample of your writing to gadgetsandgaming@rediffmail.com with the subject as 'I'm a tech wizard/afficianado' and we will get in touch with you.