Reference Auto

HCL has also entered the tablet race and has come up with one of the cheapest gizmos by any private player – the company’s 7 inch Android tablet, the HCL ME X-1 – which is now available across the country for almost a steal (at Rs 5,495) but the gadget is a dampener on features while Lava’s Connect Z7C tablet is less on features but is priced high.

The HCL ME X-1 capacitative multi-touch touchscreen tablet operates on the Android Gingerbread 2.3.3 operating system.

The tablet supports 800x400 pixel resolution and functions like pinch to zoom, tapping, dragging or swiping during navigating or while surfing the Internet can be performed easily.

The tablet has a highly ‘ingenious’ ME Launcher user interface, which allows a user to operate the gadget seamlessly on a Cortex A8 processor, at 1 GHz.

The tablet has a 512 MB RAM along with 4 GB of internal memory and this to a certain extent could come as a dampener for users willing to pick up the HCL ME X-1.

However, the memory of this tablet is also expandable up to 32 GB, which is usually less than the standard 64 GB. The tablet has a 2 megapixel primary camera, which supports video recording and this also is not too great.

This tablet has a 3,500 mAh lithium-polymer battery which gives up to 8 hours of battery life per charge. The HCL ME X-1 tablet supports Wi-Fi, USB, HDMI and 3G, which is a plus though.

Lava also rolled out the 3G voice-calling E-Tab Connect Z7C tablet for Rs 9,499. The device is the first voice tablet from the company. This is the only striking feature of the Lava tablet.

The tablet is powered by a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM7227A processor and operates on 4.0 Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

It has 512 MB RAM, along with 4 GB of built-in storage expandable via a microSD card up to 32 GB, which is a shade above average.

Lava’s Connect Z7C comes with 7 inch screen with a WVGA (800x480 pixel) resolution, 2 MP rear and 0.3 MP front camera, which is depressing.

Connect Z7C’s connectivity options are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. The Lava tablet operates on a 3,000 mAh battery and comes pre-loaded with a litany of apps, including Hungama, Bigflix, Edukart and Diamond Comics to name a few.

Despite the cheap pricing, HCL ME X-1’s features are average and only students may flock for it, as the tablet seems ‘unsuitable’ for professional use while Lava’s Connect Z7C tablet is also low on features and high on price (except the voice-calling feature).