HCL Computers have entered the tablet market with launch of their 3 new Android tablets in India which offers the latest features such as a large touchscreen, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, etc., at an affordable price. Checkout the list of tablets with their specifications.
HCL ME AP10-A1
10 inch Capacitive multitouch display
Android 2.2 Froyo OS
267mm x 173mm x 11-14.3mm
Weight: 750g
1GHz Cortex A9 Processor
1 GB DDR2 RAM
16 GB internal storage
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
GPS/E-compass
Micro SD card slot (upto 32 GB)
3G (HSDPA/HSUPA)
3D Accelerometer Light Sensor
Full HD 1080p video support
1.3 mp front facing camera
USB 2.0 port
3.5mm jack
MIC SIM card Slot
Battery: Li-ion 3650 mAh
Price: Rs. 32,990/-
7 inch Capacitive multitouch display
Android 2.2 Froyo OS
197mmX126mmX13.8mm
Weight: 300g
HSDPA/UMTS（2100MHz) GSM/EDGE(850,900,1800,1900MHz)
800MHz Cortex A8 Processor
512 MB DDR RAM
8 GB internal memory
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
A-GPS support
Micro SD card slot (upto 16 GB)
G Sensor (support rotation)
USB 2.0 port
1.3 mp camera
3.5mm jack
Buit-in speaker
MIC SIM card Slot
Battery: Li-ion 4200 mAh
Price: Rs. 22,990/-
HCL ME AE7-A1
7 inch Resistive Touch Display
Android 2.2 Froyo OS
205.4mm x 110.92mm x 14mm
Weight: 400g
800MHz ARM 11 Processor
256MB DDR2 RAM
2 GB in-built storage
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
GPS
G Sensor (support rotation)
0.3 mp camera
3.5mm jack
Internal MIC
Built in speaker
USB 2.0 port
Battery: Li-ion 2400 mAh
Price: Rs. 14,990/-
The tablets are now available at your nearest HCL dealers.
The first time I laid my hands on the device, it seemed to fit perfectly in my hands ( I must say i have a soft spot for 7 inch devices), with a comfortable form factor and rubberised feel. The device has 5 buttons on its face and the switch on button at the top. It also has a volume rocker on the side. The devices wasn’t switched on at the time and gave me high hopes, but as soon as I switched the device on, all the hopes and expectations of finally seeing a quality Android based tablet had been dashed.
The device screen quality is what struck me first, the colours seemed washed out, even indoors the screen resolution and display quality failed to deliver a decent viewing experience. To add to the woes was the touch screen, a resistive touch screen just does not cut it on a tablet. Simple dragging gestures on the screen were a pain, and don’t even get me started on the click and drag features of the touch screen. The poor touch response eventually made me sick of the hardware.( Take a look at the video and you will notice.)
Talking about speed and responsiveness of the device, there are no positives here as well. The device sports a 800MHz processor but only 256MB of RAM. If you get your hands on this device you will notice the lags that there are, and this is a brand new tablet with very few apps on it, imagine one with that is loaded with apps. Talking about apps, the device has something called HCL app store and no android market pre installed.
The speakers on the device seemed to perform quite well with decent sound quality with average sound clarity but good volume. The camera on the front is 0.3 MP which is Ok i guess for video chat over Skype, but since this device has no 3G capabilities, video calling is limited to third party VOIP apps. The device does not feature a standard micro-USB port and uses a proprietary one from HCL. Although i was excited about the proposed USB host port that will allow you to use a keyboard or mouse in the device, I could not test it there. Also the availability of just one USB host port means that you can use only one device, a mouse or a keyboard but not both at the same time. Read as disappointment again!
Overall if you ask me whether you should buy this device for almost 15K (or go for Notion Ink’s Adam tablet)? The answer is a resounding NO. For the price the hardware that you get is almost out dated for tablets, we have phones in the same price range with better user experience( although no the same screen size , but still). Add to that severe handicaps like the awful touch screen and no Android Market. This device sinks to the bottom of our wanted gadgets list.
via: Pluggd.in
