For a budget of Rs. 15,000 you are essentially looking for a mid range tablet. The tablets available here not only give you the ability to access the Internet on the go via a SIM card, but some of them give you the option to make calls as well.
A smooth Android experience, some interesting skins, and the ability to make calls are some of the features you can access on a tablet priced around the Rs. 15,000 mark.
The display size of these tablets ranges from 7 to 10 inches. The devices are also capable of running all the apps from the Google Play store quite smoothly. A good thing about the Rs. 15,000 price point is that you have products from manufacturers that include Samsung, Asus, Acer and more.
Today, we have with us a list of five tablets around the Rs. 15,000 price bracket we think you should check out:
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 P3100
The Galaxy Tab 2 is Samsung’s venture into the budget tablet category. The device has been available for quite some time now. For Rs. 15,990 the Tab 2 gives users an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean experience skinned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI. You also have access to Samsung apps apart from the Google Play store. If you are a part of the Samsung smartphone/tablet universe, you will feel right at home with the UI. It is the same interface as the Galaxy SII, S III, S4 or the Note and Note II with the only difference being that the interface is on a 7-inch display. The tablet can be connected to your Mac or PC via Samsung’s Kies desktop application.
The Tab 2 has the ability to house a SIM card, giving you the ability to make calls as well as use mobile data. Playing games, watching videos and browsing the Internet were all a treat on the tablet. Also, if you have used an Android powered Samsung smartphone you will feel right at home with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.
If Rs. 15,999 is a bit much for you and you can do without the 3G and calling capabilities, you can consider the Wi-Fi only version of the Tab 2, the P311. It is priced at Rs. 10,499
Asus FonePad
One more device with the ability to make calls in the 7-inch form factor is the Asus FonePad. The tablet is a direct competitor to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. The FonePad is priced at Rs. 15,999 and there is no budget Wi-Fi only version available as we have for the Tab 2. Under the hood, the FonePad is powered by the Intel Atom Z2420 CPU clocked at 1.2GHz along with 1GB of RAM. This is the same chipset we have seen on the Xolo X500.
Running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the tablet has a skin overlaying it. A cool feature of the tablet is that it has what Asus calls Floating Apps. These are apps that appear as small windows on the display. The only downside here is that if you want to access content in the background, you will have to close or reposition the floating app. If you have used the Asus Transformer Prime or the Asus PadFone, you will feel right at home with the UI.
Nexus 7
For the hard core Android user, the Nexus 7 is the ideal weapon of choice. It not only shows off the most vanilla Android experience out there but is also the device that will receive all the updates first when compared to other devices. Sure, at Rs. 15,999 you get the 16GB Wi-Fi only version and if you want the 3G capable Nexus 7, you will gave to increase your budget. But for the price what you get is a very smooth performing Android tablet that you will fall in love with almost instantly.
The Tegra 3 processor along with the IPS display makes multimedia consumption, gaming and browsing the Internet, multitasking and reading books on the tablet a real treat. The 7-inch form factor is comfortable to use as well.
Zync Quad 8
Running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean the Zync Quad 8 shows off an 8-inch IPS display with a 1024×768 resolution. The device is lightly skinned but nothing that drifts from the core Android experience. It has 8GB built-in storage expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card. It has a 5MP rear camera and a VGA front facing camera. Under the hood, a 1.2GHz quad-core processor along with 2GB of RAM powers the device.
To start with the interface of the tablet is smooth. It runs all the apps from the pay store quite easily. The tablet has a good battery life as well. In our continuous video playback test, it lasted for 8 hours and that is really good. The design of the tablet is quite good too. It has a metallic finish to it that gives it a premium feel when compared to the plastic body found on the competition. If you aren’t brand conscious, then the Zync Quad 8 is worth the risk as the product is good.
Iberry Auxus CoreX2 3G
The best thing about the iberry Auxus CoreX2 3G is its display. For the price you pay, you get a display which is the same as the Nexus 7 in terms of the resolution.
The CoreX2 3G also has the ability to house a SIM card slot for 3G data as well as calls. The downside is that the onboard speaker is underwhelming. It also runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean straight out of the box. For Rs. 10,990 the Auxus CoreX2 3G can rank high on your consideration list.