All Aakash needed was a commercial rival in the form of BSNL Tablet to come sweeping across the field and upset  the gravy train it was riding on. After the rather disappointing and lackluster performance of Aakash (we all have heard the horror stories) another company Pantel and Indian company decided to take a shot at the volume based ultra low cost entry level tablets.

Pantel and BSNL has tied up to distribute these tablets across India. They (Pantel) have come up with three different models

1. T-PAD IS701R

2. T-Pad WS704C

3. T-PAD WS802C

of which the T-PAD IS701R is the cheapest and getting major attention. In fact the T-PAD IS701R has already been dubbed as the BSNL Tablet. After handling a lot of tablets and reviewing quite a few of them on this blog, the specification sheets read like books to me.

To top it I have a Infotmic IMAPX200 powered tablet since 2010 and I can take you through a review so you will know what to expect for Rs. 3250.00

What the BSNL Tablet T-PADIS701R has?

CPU	IMAPX210 at 1 GHz
RAM	256 MB DDRII
Internal Storage	2 GB NAND Flash
External Storage	up to 32 GB using microSD card
Screen	7 inches , 800×480 resolution with resistive touch
Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 /b/g/n
Ports	1 x Power1 x 3.5 mm Audio1 x HDMI1 x microUSB1 x microSD
Camera	0.3 Megapixel
Phone	NO SIM CARD
G-Sensor	Yes
Battery	3000 mAh
OS	Android 2.3 ( Gingerbread)

Video Review

The tablet in the video review has the exact same specification as that of the BSNL Tablet. It has a IMAPx210 CPU, 256 MB RAM, 7 inch Resistive touch screen.

Processor of the BSNL Tablet

The IMAPX210 is an ARM11 processor a generation behind and inferior than the Cortex A8. So do not expect stellar performance or speed from this CPU even if it is rated at a clock speed of 1 GHz it will perform slower than an equivalent Cortex A8 based CPU.

But for a super low budget tab such as the BSNL Tablet Penta T-PAD, it will work well and considering the demographics of first time tablet users and in many cases first time Internet enabled computing device users it will do quite well, in fact they will not notice it since they(first time users)  won’t have a previous experience to base their comparisons on. The CPU is notches ahead and better than that of Aakash and it should sail through most common tasks such as office documents editing, browsing, videos, audio simple gaming etc.

Here is how the tablet itself looks. Click on the image to view the actual size.

 

GPU of the BSNL Tablet

The IMPAX210 CPU used by the BSNL Tablet has Vivante GC600 GPU. This GPU came out in early 2008 and was among the first to sport full support for 2D/3D Open GL ES2.0 . In plain speak it means this GPU can support most Open GL based games available on Android market. Also the graphics performance will be good.

Screen of the BSNL Tablet

The screen is 7 inches with single touch resistive touch interface. You may have to use a stylus to get around the screen, if you have thick fingers. The resolution is 800×480, which is common in budget tabs. Quality of photo display, graphics and video will be dependent on the PPI and refresh rate of the screen. If I have to take a guess, I think it should be ok.

The touch sensitiveness however will not be like multi-touch screen and you may have to calibrate the screen before you can use it.It is expected of a super low budget tablet.

Memory and Storage

The BSNL Tablet Penta T-Pad reportedly has 256 MB DDRII RAM of which at least 71% or 181 MB should be free for user level apps. In a stock Android firmware for most budget tabs the figure is somewhere around 61% free for 512 MB. Since Android 2.3 has good memory management it can run two or more apps at the same time. But I do not think you can add open lot of tabs in the browser while on the Internet. 256 MB RAM is just not enough for heavy multi tasking. But with the target demographics in mind, it should be enough and at Rs. 3250 you can not complain.

The internal storage is of 2GB which is likely to be used for storing the operating system (Android 2.3) and various apps and games you install, some apps will definitely come pre-installed in that 2GB. While at first glance the 2GB size looks to restrictive and small, you can move your installed apps or can install apps in a microSD card. The BSNL Tablet supports microSD card upto 32 GB in size.

Ports and Interfaces on the BSNL Tablet

The BSNL Tablet or the Penta T-Pad has the following ports

1. 1 x microUSB

2. 1 x miniHDMI

3. 1 x power

4. 1 x 3.5 mm Audio socket

USB

The microUSB, should be usable as both OTG and HOST. In the OTG mode it can be charged through a computer or used with an external keyboard  or mouse or both. The OTG mode will also come handy if one wants to connect a portable USB Hard disk or USB thumb drive to the tablet.

In the USB HOST mode, you can transfer files from your computer to the BSNL Tablet or from the tablet to the computer.

HDMI

The BSNL Tablet has a mini HDMI port, you can use it to connect the tablet to an LCD TV or monitor and stream videos, games, powerpoint presentations etc. Both the CPU and the GPU supports full HD 1080p video playback so watching videos from the tablet on a big screen will be a pleasure.

Sensors

The BSNL Tablet has a G-Sensor which is likely being used to change the orientation of the screen. This sensor can also be used to play tilt motion based games.

Power and Battery life of the BSNL Tablet

The BSNL Tablet is powered by a 3000 mAh Li-On battery. The battery life is dependent on usage and the voltage at which the battery discharges itself. If it discharges at 7.5V the battery life between charges will be bad if it discharges at 3.75v the battery life should be 3.5hrs to 4  hours for video, 3 hours for internet browsing, 6 hours for reading books etc.

WiFi Connectivity on the BSNL Tablet

The BSNL Tablet supports 802.11 a/b/g/ WiFi connectivity. You can connect to the internet using a WiFi connection. You will need a WiFi router with Internet connectivity for this to work.

2G/3G Internet connectivity on the BSNL Tablet.

The BSNL Tablet T-PADIS701R does not have a SIM slot so you can not pop in a SIM card and access the Internet, but you can get a USB 2G/3G dongle and connect it to access the Internet. There are no words on what models of USB 3G dongles are supported, but I think most BSNL dongles should be supported, after all they are lending their name to this device.

Camera on the BSNL Tablet

The BSNL Tablet has a 0.3 MP VGA camera, which will not be much good for taking photographs but will work decently for video chatting. But it will not work well in low lit conditions. At a price of Rs. 3200 this is understandable.

My Take on the BSNL Tablet

The tie-up with BSNL to launch their tablets has garnered them over 1 lakh pre-bookings. How many of them translates in to actual sales is any one’s guess. But that does not take away anything from the fact that cheap, affordable and functional electronic device that provides access to the Internet does capture the information of the masses should be a wakeup call to other companies to develop products especially targeted towards the Indian market. (2581)

What people visiting this page search for:

• Bsnl tablet review
• t-pad is701r review
• bsnl tab review
• bsnl tablet reviews
• bsnl penta t-pad is701r review
• t-pad is701r
• t-pad is701r with bsnl review
• bsnl tablets review
• review of bsnl tablet
• bsnl tablet pc review

Share and Enjoy

Some More Nuggets of Wisdom:

1. Aakash vs. Bsnl Tablet T-Pad S701R World’s most talked over and Datawind’s revolutionary tablet Aakash...
2. Aakash Tablet or Ubislate 7 – Review and hands on video. The guys at VentureBeat were able to get their...
3. iBerry BT07i Review – First Look and Video review of Android 2.3.4 iBerry tablet. Complete Review and Rooting Guide Introduction The first time I used an AllWinner A10...
4. Revolution X7 Android 2.3 Tablet with built in 3G – A Complete Review and Video. I started dabbling in Android Tablets more than a...
5. XTAB Android 2.3 Tablet – A Complete Review and Video. Rooting the XTAB with Custom Firmware. Another new startup decided to jump on to the...