Beetel MagiQ BMQ-01
For a 7-inch tablet, the Magiq tablet from Beetel has an unorthodox shape. It has Android buttons on one side of the display and because it also functions as a phone, there are call receive /end buttons with an optical trackpad on the other side. The buttons are not touch sensitive. Rather, they are physical buttons that need to be pressed. Button placement and screen aspect seem to the primary reason for the elongated shape as compared to the usual crop of 7-inch tablets from Samsung, Olive and HTC. At the back, there is a kickstand to place the tablet upright – useful when watching videos or using it as a digital photo frame. On the side is the volume rocker, speaker grills, microUSB port and a power adapter port.
On top is the power button and a 3.5mm audio jack. The 7-inch display has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels — quite low compared to the 1024x768 resolution offered by some of the competition. Also, the display is resistive & requires slight pressure to operate. It lacks multi-touch so no pinch to zoom is available. For the price, a resistive display is expected and for those who experience a tablet for the first time, it will not be a disappointment. The Magiq runs a 1Ghz processor with 512MB RAM and comes with 8GB of storage expandable via microSD cards (up to 16GB supported ). Kudos to Beetel as they have managed to provide hardware specifications that even smartphones don't offer in the same price range. It runs Android 2.2 with a custom interface. You get one-touch access to brightness, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings right on the homescreen.
Instead of the usual Android notification bar, you get a notification icon. The icon flashes to get your attention and tapping it brings up a split screen view showing new notifications and a task manager. There are 10 homescreens to swipe through that are placed under 5 different categories. It comes preloaded with a task manager, file manager, Documents to Go (Full version ) and other social networking apps as well. Although, Beetel will not be updating the tablet to Android 2.3. The Magiq had no problem running multiple applications (including games and multiple browser windows ). It also played 720p videos without a hitch using a third party media player. However, the tablet fails to deliver on battery life. It lasted about 3 hours on a full charge with Wi-Fi connected while being used for a mix of things including web, games and music.
The dual 2MP cameras took just average shots with a lot of noise visible across photos. The dual speakers are nice and loud though (for both calls and other audio). As a budget tablet, the Magiq offers a lot and does not feel 'cheap' . It can be used as a phone, provides 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, runs Android 2.2 and offers good specifications. However, the resistive display may not be to everyone's tastes. It is not as smooth as a capacitive display to use, though it is sturdier. Another turn off is the proprietary power adapter. Since this is a sub- 10,000 tablet, there's not much competition other than the Mercury mTab. The mTab offers a capacitive display, but the Magiq has better build quality and overall specs.
Price:
Rs.9,999
Features:
7-inch resistive display 800x480 pixels
Android 2.2
1Ghz processor
512MB RAM
8GB storage
micro SD slot
3G, Wi-Fi , Bluetooth
GPS
