Looking For Budget Tablet… here is the answer

It’s the dream of every manufacturer that whatever is produced should get sold out in the first week of production  or that people are waiting in a long queue even before your  shop opens to buy things from your shop. I’ve seen this happen at Barbeque Nation Resto bar where people wait even before it opens to get a seat. Some thing similar happened with the newly launched Google Nexus 7 tablet. The first production lot got sold out in first week itself!

So is it something life changing that Google has produced? It’s a normal tablet PC. There are so many of them already in the market then what is so special about it? Is it the magic of marketing? What is that attracting people so much?

Okay, as Google says, and I also agree with that, it is a no compromise tablet at an absolutely amazing price. No important features have been cut short to reduce the price. Features that have been removed are anyway those that are not so useful and the ones that are included are of the best class.

So what is given and what is not? Here is a quick look at the technical specs in comparison with the other competitors

Feature	Google Nexus 7	New iPad	Amazon Kindle Fire	Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 P3100
Display Size	7 inch	10 inch	7 inch	7 inch
Display Resolution	1280x800	2048x1536	1024x600	1024x600
Processor	1 GHz Quad -core Tegra 3	Dual core A5x	1-GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core	1 GHz Dual Core
RAM	1 GB	1 GB	512 MB	1 GB
Storage	8 GB/16 GB	16 GB/32 GB/64 GB	8 GB	16 GB
Expandable Storage	No	No	No	32 GB
OS	Android 4.1	iOS 5	Android for Kindle	Android 4.0
Connectivity	NFC / WIFI / Bluetooth	4G / WIFI / Bluetooth	WIFI	WIFI / 3G
Front Camera	1.2 MP	VGA	No	0.3 MP
Back Camera	No	5 MP	No	3 MP
Weight	340 gms	652-662 gms	413 gms	345 gms
Battery	4325 mAh	11666 mAh	4400 mAh	4000 mAh
Price (In Rs.)	11,000-15,000 (Expected)	30,500-50,900	10000-15000 (Apprx)	19,300

So the table indicates that the New iPad is far ahead of all! But if you compare the price it has to be. With that kind of price it has to be the best of all. Actually I should not have included  the New iPad since my subject is the budget tablet. New iPad no where fits in the budget definition. It a different class all together. Still I included it here just to show that Nexus 7 is not much behind even if you compare it with the best in the class and still the price tag it carries is much less than the leader. So apart from the New iPad if you compare it with the rest, then Nexus 7 is the best. 

Do you really feel that you can shoot or take a snap using 7 or 10 inch tablet? I don’t think so. And if you are buying a tablet for photography then think twice before you take the decision. There are many better options available at much less price for photography in market. So if Nexus 7 doesn't have a back camera it doesn't matter really. What is really lacking in this power pack offering from Google is the data connection for voice call (2G/3G/4G).  Because getting wireless connectivity on the move is not very easy in India. But you can always use your mobile phone (if you have any Android phone or iPhone) as a wireless router by activating person hotspot / USB tethering on your phone.  However this tablet is definitely not a replacement for your mobile phone, which is possible if you go for Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

Google says it will be launching Nexus 7 in India by the end of Sept or at the start of Oct 2012. But looking at the response it has got in the USA market, whether Google (actually Asus who manufactures this for Google) will able to meet the demand or not is the real challenge.

GadgetDost verdict:

If you are looking for a budget tablet then you should go Google Nexus 7. But if you want to buy it in India then you have to wait for some time... If you are in a hurry then go for the next best one, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 by shelling out little more bucks.