Hand on Review

A year and half with Penta IS703C

December 10, 2013 by Tablet Guru Leave a Comment

Penta IS703C, one of the oldest tablets, not just in my almirah but also in the Indian budget Tablet PC market. I have been working with this Tablet PC for a year and half now and by jove, it still feels new. I have spared this Tablet in no single way. But hats off! to the robust built of this Tab, it still works the way it should.

Obviously my experience working with and on Penta IS703C has been truly satisfying and so, I would like to share the experience with our readers.

1 year old BSNL Penta IS701C — 1 Year & half old BSNL Penta

It was in the year 2011, when we actually thought of starting a website which could cater to all the Tablet PC lovers. We found out that the Tablets were getting very popular every day in and out, especially the Tabs from the no so expensive makers. We had to start rolling out our plans. When we were making up our mind over a quite a number of Tablets, to start with; BSNL Penta 703C caught all our attention. We knew a little about this Tab but it was quite evident that it was being sold like hot cakes. The price was a big factor and maybe the tag BSNL also added a great deal of credibility to this product.

We bought it and reviewed it for our readers. Now, since we started exploring the issues with the Tabs, apart from its normal functioning we had to choose a Tablet which could serve as our subject for all our experiments. We chose Penta 703C as this Tab, by it’s looks and performance had already convinced us that it can do the job for us.

From tweaking the software, adding impossible Apps, game reviews, adding external devices, hardware inspection by opening the Tab more than 10 times and what not, our Penta 703C has seen all. Despite of such a torture this Tab still smiles boisterously, every time we switch it on.

Therefore, the points I would like to make are the simple points below:-

1) Although the design is not so impressive and bring glitters in our eyes, but at least it looks convincingly tough.

2) We tested it with all popular internet dongles (viz. Reliance, Airtel, Tata photon, Idea) and it supported them all. You can even have a look at our Youtube channel to see it all for yourselves.

3) This Tablet has gone under the knife a lot of times for our vested reasons. It has been opened inside out numerous times and still it is going good. (Sadly, to be honest, only the home button isn’t responding as nimbly as it used to be. )

4) Gaming is a delight, but with RAM rated just 512 MB, high end games cannot be played. Otherwise the games like temple run, angry birds run seamless.

5) Touch screen is still very responsive and better than many of its competitors.

We have tested the tab in every possible way. Tried with different dongles, different tab software. Tried to modify the software/hardware. Some worked, some didn’t. Long story short, Penta 703C has been “the” tab for us for most of our budget tablet testing and hence has served as a bench mark for all the other peers in its segment.

However now, a lot of days have passed since Penta 703C was launched, there is a good number of other promising Tabs in the market. With higher quality built and design, better screen resolution and many more new features which came riding on the improving technology, Penta 703C is enjoying the same demand. But for us, it has been more than just another Tab.

A week with Swipe MTV Slate

December 8, 2013 by Tablet Guru Leave a Comment

Swipe MTV Slate is the tablet I am using for this post, in every sense. We have had this surprisingly well made Tab for a week now. Motive was to obviously test this Tab at all fronts. We have done it thoroughly, and now it’s time for you to know how did the Swipe MTV Slate fare on our testing parameters? We will take you through our experience with this Tab right from the beginning. Following is the hands on review:-

The moment we opened the box, we saw a white iPad Mini, wrapped in frost plastic sheet inside. We thought that Swipe has trolled us by sending us iPad Mini to review in place of their own tablet but we were quick to notice that there was no ‘Home’ button on the face of the front and hence, this wasn’t an iPad. But it has stark similarity to the Apple’s smaller tablet in terms of screen size, tablet dimensions and looks. More on that in a while.

The front is clean, without buttons and just four small blank dots on an otherwise white border for an earpiece, front 0.3 MP camera, two sensors (one ambient light and other proximity sensor) and a notification light.

The back is full brushed metal, aluminium perhaps, but not close to the quality of one used at the back of iPad. The idea is the same, but the execution isn’t. Also, it isn’t as solidly attached to the panel. That said, it does provide a comfortable hold to the device while maintaining the grip and an assuring feel that it won’t slip out of your hands.

The device feels solid to hold in hands and seems tough enough to take occasional falls. It’s light and comfortable to hold in one hand and operate, no problems here. Although you have to use two hands for typing.

There is an audio jack on the top with a white plastic module, which houses the WiFi and cellular antennas. The same module has a pin hole and comes out so that you can put a full sized SIM card. The left side is clean. The standby/wake button is at the right with volume buttons. On the bottom there are two speaker grills and a mini-USB port with OTG support.

The device runs on MediaTek MT8389 which is a 1Ghz quad-core processor and an 1GB (972 MB usable) RAM. It comes with 1GB of internal storage space for apps and 5GB for media and document files. Jelly Bean 4.2.2 is stocked with the device with support for lockscreen widgets.

The screen is bright, bright enough to be read in direct sunlight. We had no problems in reading off the screen in the sunlight.

The device is snappy, really snappy like the ones we have seen with few high end Android devices, but not as fast as last year’s Nexus 7. Not that you’ll notice, or care. Apps launch with very less delay, sometimes making us feel as if the app is already loaded in the RAM. Not much to complain here.

The resolution of the screen is with par on the iPad Mini. It does boast of 768 x 976 pixels, providing sharp enough texts to read without gouging your eyes out.

The rear of the device has a 5MP camera and a reset hole.

Now the most important part of the post for the gamer community out there. How was the gaming experience? Allow me to state it point wise:-

1) Games run seamlessly smooth.

2) Even heavier games, as heavy as Fifa, Vice City can be played without any hiccups.

3) In the budget segment, this Tab is proving very promising as it houses a quad core processor which helps gaming a great deal.

Seldom things are perfect. So let us now see what are not so good with Swipe MTV Slate:-

1) Its design will remind you an iPad, but obviously of a lower quality. An original design would have been much more appreciated.

2) A typical Chinese charger and typical Chinese alerts, which might get on your nerves , if you aren’t very tolerant.

3) No support for dongle. Albeit, inbuilt 3G SIM slot is there to cater to your fast internet needs. But at times we want to attach an external dongle and get our job done.

4) Screen appears to be quite delicate and demands a screen guard. We say this as we found a few scratches on the screen, despite of the fact that we took utmost care. So better to have a screen guard.

This is as much we had in our experience with the first hands-on with the device. Stay tuned for more reviews of the tablet.

Hand on Review

April 17, 2013 by Tablet Guru Leave a Comment

HANDS ON REVIEW is a section which we incorporate here for our viewers, for them to know how a particular tablet pc feels in a real working scenario, away from its manufacture’s claims. Here we examine the official specification-lists issued by the companies for their respective Tabs and henceforth assert its workable credibility to our viewers.

This section will mostly help those who understand or care little about the technical jargons and believe in only the overall performance of the Tablet PC as they want it.

For the respect of brevity, let’s quickly list the features which we will be observing the most, for they would be the most important ones as well:-

-> Looks that matter

-> Display and the touch panel

-> Speed and performance

-> Battery charging and discharging stories

-> Call feature functionality

-> Weight to handle

-> Competitors and alternatives at each step.

BSNL Penta IS701C Hand on Review

April 17, 2013 by Tablet Guru 22 Comments

And it has been unreal so far. Every 5 out of 10 inquirers ask about BSNL Penta 701c Tablet PC, about its performance, features, availability, price and what not. So, we couldn’t resist much and get our hands on this very Tab so that we can tell you all about this tablet.

See the Specification and features list of Penta Is701c Here.

NOTE: BSNL Penta IS701c at Rs 2499 offer is no more valid. See here the list of Tablet below Rs 5000.

So now, first and foremost, let’s start with how the appearance of the Tab is?

I have a white cased beautiful looking 7 inch Tab in my hand and the appearance is very soothing, the credit goes to the white color casing of the Tab.

How heavy is the Tab?

A little more than what you would think but is ideal and feels good and griped.

Is it an early riser; startup time?

It takes almost a minute for this Tab to start and initialize completely. The first sound which bursts out of the tablet as soon we start the tablet might scare you to run away. But after that, it is just normal.

How nippy is it inside run; switching screens and inside the menu?

This is something which is really impressive at this price. I have used the Tab for at least an hour now but the moment out of any running application, I can browse for another without experiencing any delayed response. So, I could say 701C is surprisingly seamless, given the price.

How big storage is featured here?

The storage status is: 4GB internal which expandable up to 32GB using external memory card. Fair enough!

What about the processor and the RAM?

‘Decent’ is the word keeping in mind the price at which one can buy this Tab. Both complement each other very nicely and not very often you would feel disappointed by its performance.

Is screen resolution good enough?

Well screen resolution seems to be an issue. If you are used to higher end Tabs you might find this one a bit repulsive. Having said that, the Tab’s resolution is just as good as any other budget Tablet in the price vicinity of Penta 701c. Now the issue is also the viewing and. Of course you don’t get it as broad as a mid range or high range tablet pc. But it all boils down to the fact that with its price, 701c is still a good buy.

Can I insert a SIM?

No, no chance.

The big question: How about the dongle support for the internet?

Well, I tried this Penta 701c Tab with three different dongles and with three different SIMs. The three different dongles which I used were MTS, IDEA and Airtel. The different SIMs used were Docomo, Idea and Airtel. I paired each one of the available options and could reach to the successful internet connectivity every time.

So, I assert you don’t have to worry much about dongle support here. We have also uploaded a video on the Youtube showing how to connect BSNL Penta 701c to the internet successfully using different dongles.

By any chance GPS or at least A-GPS is featured inside?

No, not yet. Let’s hope the makers incorporate this technology very soon as a few others have already started coming up with Tabs with A-GPS in this very budget segment.

What are the major worries tied to this Tab?

1> The Tab gets heated up too quickly, which might spoil your longer experiences with the Tab.

2> Though the battery back-up is alright, making it i.e. charging it full takes a lot of time(near about 4hrs)