The Battle Of The Budget Tablets

The budget tablet market in India is an extremely competitive one. With more and more companies launching these products, in the last few months we have witnessed an arrival of several new players in the market. This time around we are comparing BSNL's Penta T - Tab WS802C and the Wishtel IRA Icon MID M801.

BSNL Penta T-Pad

Price: $150

BSNL Penta T-Pad

Pros

This tablet's strength lies in its hardware configuration. Equipped with a large 8" multi-touch capacitive screen, 1.2 GHz processor, 1GBDDR III RAM and 8GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB, the tablet's configuration is at par or higher than several others in the market. It does deliver performance that is apt for its price.

The tablet offers connectivity via Wi-Fi, USB, Micro SD card slot and cel­lular. So, you can connect using a 3G USB dongle or use a 2G SIM card too. The micro USB charging feature is a boon as you no longer need to carry the charger around. The battery life of the product is incredibly good too.

The tablet is equipped with a large 8" multi-touch capacitive screen.

Cons

The device fails on the looks front. The white plastic design is awful. Since the processor is a single core, the tablet tends to lag and slow down. The transition from one menu to another tends to lag. Once you have managed to store files of at least 6 GB in capacity, the tab works at a snail's speed. The display looks highly pixilated, a little washed-out on the colors front and lacks the sharpness and crisp picture quality. The clarity offered by the camera is not too great either.

BSNL Penta T-Pad Specifications

·         4 GB

·         7 inches

·         1.2 GHz

·         Android 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich

·         0.3 Megapixel

Wishtel IRA Icon

Price: $235

Wishtel IRA Icon

Pros

Although, this tab too functions on a single core processor, it offers better performance. The tablet has a 1024*768 pixel full angle TFT LCD capacitive multi-touch screen and runs on Android 4.0 with 1.2 GHz processor and a non-standard 1GB of RAM. Its USP is the built in 3G SIM that offers connectivity better than several other products in this category. The tablet has an 8 GB internal memory that can be ex­pandable memory of up to 8 GB. The 2 megapixel camera offers great performance too.

The tablet has a 1024*768 pixel full angle TFT LCD capacitive multi-touch screen and runs on Android 4.0 with 1.2 GHz processor and a non-standard 1GB of RAM.

Cons

The battery life of the product is extremely poor. It drains much quicker than what we expected. The 3G connectivity could be one of the reasons for this but even when we were using just the apps, we had to plug in the charger within 4 hours. The product fails on the design aspect too. Wishtel has offered an 'On/Off' toggle switch that does not function at all. The back cover, which is metal is prone to scratches. The audio quality is below average too.

Wishtel IRA Icon Specifications

·         8 GB

·         8 inches

·         1.2 GHz

·         Android 4.0 - Ice Cream Sandwich

·         2 Megapixel

Verdict

Having extensively used and reviewed both BSNL Penta T - Tab and Wishtel IRA Icon, the Wishtel IRA Icon offers a tad bit more than the Penta T - Tab on the per­formance front. Right from the hardware to the design, the IRA ICON is the better product. But, the negative aspect here is the price. If you truly have a budget close to $235 only then can you afford the product, otherwise you may want to settle for the Penta T - Tab. As is the case most times, shell out more and you will receive a better product.