As the curtains on the year 2015 draw to a close, let us look at the seven most promising tablets that made the cut in the sub Rs 20,000 price segment. This list does not follow any particular ranking, but remains a collection of the most popular tablets in this price category.
Apple iPad Mini 2
Photograph: Courtesy, Apple
The Apple brand has a charm of its own that places it apart from its mainstream rivals. The Apple iPad Mini 2, with its powerful processor and brilliant display, occupies the pole position in any competition. The sparkling 7.9-inch fingerprint resistant Retina display of this device supports images in 1536 x 2048 pixels resolution.
It’s all Aluminium body -- designed tastefully -- is packed with some serious hardware configuration, such as a capable 1.3GHz dual-core processor along with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard memory.
For taking photos and shooting videos, it has a 5-megapixel camera at the rear and a 1.2-megapixel camera at the front. It comes out of the box with iOS 7.0.4, which is upgradable to the most recent version.
There major downsides are its inability to place a call, no support for memory cards and the a non-removable battery. Apple offers this tablet at a price tag of Rs 19,137.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A LTE
Photograph: Courtesy, Samsung
This offering from Samsung is a brute performer. This single SIM handset runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop OS and is powered by a capable 1.2GHz quad-core Cortex A53 Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916 processor along with Adreno 306 GPU and 2GB of RAM.
For storage, it has 16GB of onboard memory and a microSD card slot that allows you to further add up to 128GB of external memory.
The user can use its huge 8-inch screen that supports 768 x 1024 pixels resolution to watch movies or play high end games, effortlessly. It has two shooters: one of them being a 5-megapixel camera at the rear and the other a 2-megapixel camera at the front.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A LTE is powered by a 4200mAh non-removable battery and supports a wide range of connectivity options including 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, A-GPS and GLONASS. The tablet carries a price tag of Rs 18,140.
Lenovo Yoga 2
Photograph: Courtesy, Lenovo
Lenovo has steadily improved its brand image in the Indian market, thanks to some good hardware and software configurations of its devices as well as competitive pricing. The new Lenovo Yoga 2 is at the upper limit of the Rs 20,000 price range. Its unique foldable design, ultra slim looks, an 8-inch screen that supports 1200 x 1920 pixels resolution and 16GB of storage, make it a powerful competitor in the market.
It is powered by a 1.86GHz quad-core processor along with Intel HD Graphics and 2GB of RAM.
For taking photos, it has an 8-megapixel primary camera at the rear and a 1.6-megapixel camera at the front. This powerful tablet from the Chinese multinational supports 4G and 3G networks, besides supporting Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a micro USB slot.
It also has a couple of sensors including Accelerometer and Compass. This good looking tablet is powered by a massive 6400mAh Li-ion non-removable battery. Besides these powerful features, the tablet also has some negatives stacked against it, such as the absence of GPS and the fact that its battery cannot be removed. The company offers this stunning tablet at a price tag of Rs 19,999 only.
Xiaomi Pad 2
Photograph: Courtesy, Xiaomi
The new Xiaomi Pad 2 unveiled recently is a mid range tablet that takes all the positives of the earlier Pad 1 and puts in several new features to make it an amazing device. The full HD 7.9-inch IPS display of this handset supports 1536 x 2048 pixels resolution.
It comes out of the box with two capable shooters, including an 8-megapixel camera at the rear and a 5-megapixel camera at the front. It has overall dimensions of 200.4mm x 132.6mm x 7mm and weighs only 322 grams. It is run by a very power efficient 2.24 GHz quad-core Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processor in conjunction with Intel HD Graphics and 2GB of RAM.
Other major features of this tablet include 16GB of inbuilt memory (the user can add a further 128GB of external memory through a micro SD card), a video and an audio player. It supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and comes powered by a humongous 6190mAh Li-ion battery that provides this tablet with 12.5 hours of talk time, 100 hours of music playback and 27 days of standby time. The negatives of this tablet include its inability to support GPS and the absence of any SIM support. The company is believed to bring out this tablet at a price tag of Rs 13,599.
Lenovo Tab 2 A10-70
Photograph: Courtesy, Lenovo
This trendy looking tablet has overall dimensions of 247mm x 171mm x 8.9mm and weighs 509 grams on the scales. It has a 10.1-inch full HD IPS display that supports 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution giving it a pixel density of 218ppi. The viewing angles of the screen are great and the images appear crisp and clear. It runs on the dated Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS and is powered by a 1.5 GHz, quad-core MediaTek MT8732 processor along with 2GB of RAM. For storing your audio and video files, there is 16GB of ROM and a microSD card slot allowing the user to add a further 64GB of external memory to it.
The shooting department is taken care of by an 8-megapixel primary camera at the rear for shooting good quality videos and a 5-megapixel camera at the front for taking selfies as well as for conducting video chats over apps like Skype. Lenovo Tab 2 A10-70 supports a lot of connectivity options, including 4G, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and micro USB 2.0 USB slot.
This large screen tablet is powered by a massive 7000mAh battery that gives it around 15.5 hours of talk time. Its major disadvantages, however, include the absence of GPS and Compass sensor, and the non-removable battery.
Google Nexus 7
Photograph: Courtesy, Google
Google Nexus 7 is a powerful communication device packed with a large number of advanced features, making it a great value for money product. The front profile of this tablet is distinguished by a 7-inch full HD IPS display that supports 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution. This Wi-Fi enabled tablet supports a lot of connectivity options, including Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, a micro USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack. To run it effectively, it has been provided with a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor along with 2GB of DDR3 RAM and NVIDIA ULP GeForce GPU.
Google Nexus 7 comes with two cameras, wherein one is a 5-megapixel camera placed at the rear to shoot good quality videos and the other a 1.2-megapixel shooter placed at the front to take selfies or for conducting video chats with your friends. The storage feature of this handset is represented by 16/32GB of ROM options. On the flip side, there is no option to add any external memory to this tablet. The company has priced this tablet at Rs 15,999.
Samsung Galaxy Tab4 8.0 SM-T331
Photograph: Courtesy, Samsung
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 48.0 SM-T331 has an 8-inch HD display that supports 800 x 1280 pixels resolution, giving it a pixel density of 189ppi. The dimensions of this tablet are 210mm x 124mm x 8mm and it weighs 320 grams. It is a 3G enabled device that also allows users to use 3G and 2G networks besides using connectivity features such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a micro USB port. For taking photographs, it has been bestowed with two cameras: one of them being a 3.15-megapixel sensor placed at the rear to take good quality photos and videos, while the other a disappointing 1.3-megapixel front facing camera that can be used for taking selfies or conducting video chats.
To store your audio visual files, this tablet provides 16GB of inbuilt memory and a microSD card slot to further add 64GB of external memory, should you so desire. To run this tablet, Samsung has provided it with a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and 1.5GB of RAM. It also features Accelerometer, AGPS, HDMI, NFC and TV out. The tablet derives its power from a 4450mAh Li-Po non-removable battery that includes a music playback time of 141 hours. This tablet also possesses a few shortcomings -- including a non-removable battery and the absence of the Compass sensor. Samsung has made this tablet available at Rs 17,790.
