Indian smartphones and tablets maker iBall has added a new 7-inch tablet to its fold with the launch of the Slide 3G 7271-HD70. The rather weirdly named device is an ultra-affordable Android powered tablet that will retail for Rs.8,299 ($137) making it among the cheapest tablets you can buy in India. iBall’s strategy clearly seems to be to reach out to the ultra-low end segment where there is demand for affordable tablets. Other manufacturers like Lava and Micromax too have been launching low cost tablets in India of late. Let us check out the detailed specifications of the iBall Slide 3G 7271 HD70
Display
This iBall Slide 3G tablet features a 7-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024*600. This is of course not that great – but then considering the price at which it will retail, it would be criminal to expect anything more.
Hardware
iBall says that the Slide 3G 7271 HD70 uses a 1.3 Ghz Dual Core processor to power the device. It doesn’t clearly mention which SoC is being used. There is thankfully 1 GB of RAM which should make the device relatively snappy. There is 8 GB of internal memory and no information has been provided whether you can expand this further using micro SD cards. We are awaiting confirmation regarding this bit from iBall and will update the same as soon as we have it. The device has plenty of connectivity options ranging from Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS, A-GPS to USB, FM Radio and EDGE. One of the most unique features of this iBall tablet is the presence of a dedicated extendable telescopic antenna for clearer FM radio reception. I am unsure how many users would actually use this feature in public. Under the hood, powering all this hardware is a 3000 mAH battery that should last an entire day of usage.
The iBall Slide 3G is also a large-screened phone with support for video and voice calling. There are Dual SIM slots on the device as well.
Camera
The iBall Slide 3G 7271 HD70 gets a very basic 2 megapixel main camera for its imaging needs. There is an LED flash added for low light situations. The camera however is not auto focus enabled – again, not surprising because of the ultra-low pricing.
Software
The iBall Slide 3G runs Android 4.2.2 at launch and in all likelihood would not see an upgrade to Android 4.4 KitKat. We are however hopeful of a pleasant surprise from iBall.
If you are on the lookout for a tablet for a really low, shoestring budget the iBall Slide 3G 7271 HD70 is the device to go for.
