pajat 1 Report post Posted August 21, 2011 When 3G’s for everyone Reliance launches the most affordable Android tablet—but is it really a game changer? Gopal Sathe LiveMint With the launch of the Reliance 3G Tab, 3G tablets may really catch on in India—for the company has brought us a tablet that has a good combination of hardware and software at a price that’s almost a third of high-profile tablets such as the iPad and Galaxy Tab. At the same time, the company has also bundled it with 3G data plans that are priced extremely reasonably because the goal, according to a Reliance spokesperson, is to introduce people to 3G and bring tablets to the masses. People who have been interested in an iPad but put off by the high costs are very likely going to be tempted by this device, because of the aggressive pricing. Reliance 3G Tab: A balance of features and value, the Reliance 3G Tab is a good economy device.The Reliance 3G Tab costs Rs12,999 and is locked to Reliance, with three data plans. Each plan is for 12 months, and the cheapest option of 1 GB data every month costs Rs375 per month. The 2 GB monthly plan costs Rs458 and the 5 GB plan, Rs583. The speeds are good—not quite meeting the advertised 7.2 Mbps, but when downloading apps we were able to get 20 MB per minute. For comparison, that’s a download of four or five songs in 1 minute. Video-streaming works fine on the connection as well, with minimal buffering while watching a movie on YouTube. One issue, considering that the 3G bundles are a big selling point for the device, is that connectivity and speed is still reliable only in parts of the country, and even has its ups and downs in different parts of cities. The Reliance 3G Tab is a 7-inch device, weighing 389g, making it easy to carry around with you everywhere, but the battery is one of its weakest points—it will die after about 6 hours, so heavy users will end up charging it twice a day. The design is basic, with a boxy shape and the three Android soft keys below the screen, with a power button and the volume rocker on the side. One minor quibble with the design is that the Android soft keys are not backlit. You have to use them all the time, and finding them at night is really difficult. It has a capacitive multitouch screen, and runs Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) with all the standard Android features in place and the Android Market preloaded. This means that you can set up live wallpapers, and have widgets for apps such as Facebook and Twitter on the home screen. The device also comes preloaded with Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Talk, YouTube, Orkut, Facebook, Twitter and Documents to Go (which allow you to view and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents). Since the apps are already on the system, even people who don’t want to use Android Market can access a wide range of features from the moment the device is out of the box. The company has given no word about upgrades to the Android version, but today, the majority of apps are still designed for Gingerbread, not the newer Honeycomb. The touch screen doesn’t seem as sensitive as it is in some of the top-end devices, and while typing occurs without significant lag, swiping across home pages or scrolling lists can feel imprecise and jumpy. While the touch screen works with no real problems, the screen itself is hardly as sharp as most of the high-end tablets today, but at that price some compromises must come with the package. In outdoor conditions, the tablet has some problems, but looks all right indoors. Held vertically, it functions as a nice e-book reader, running the free Kindle app. An 800 MHz processor powers the device, which is also good enough for most uses. Running some games with 3D graphics can be a somewhat painful experience, and is best avoided. Augmented Reality (AR) browsers such as Wikitude and Layar worked with only a little lag, while simple apps such as Twitter and Facebook work smoothly. While the top end tablets have 1GHz processors, the hardware on the Reliance Tab is at par with more expensive smartphones like the HTC Wildfire and Motorola Defy. The Reliance 3G Tab comes with two cameras, a serviceable 2-megapixel camera in the back and a VGA camera in the front for video calling. The camera is definitely a weak point, and clearly one of the compromises made to keep the price down. Video chat, through Google Talk, works well too, though there were occasional problems with pixellation and sync, but that could have been because of the connection on the other side of the conversation. The Reliance 3G Tab would be easy to write off as just another me-too Android tablet, and if you have the money for it then the premium experience of an iPad is in a league of its own. But I’m considering buying one for my parents because it answers all their needs, and offers tremendous value with the 3G plans. gopal.s@livemint.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
asheet 3 Report post Posted August 22, 2011 Some more info on Rcom 3G Tab. 1. Tab IMEI number is mapped to SIM card. SO if you sell the Tab, the buyer can't get the 3G discounted data plans. 2. If you choose regular 1Gb/2GB/5GB data plans. Post your limit, the data speed will reduce to 64kbps & it will be free Unltd usage on monthly basis.. 3. If you buy the Tab on say LetsBuy.com, you can't get dicounted tarriff (Annual discounting). This discount is valid only on purchase from RWW (Web world) 4. For postpaid, you need a minimum Rs 99 voice plan (99 SMS Free) or 199 Plan (150 talktime free) 5. Prepaid plan on Tab will be launched in a few weeks (No timeframe given) 6. For Inserting SIM or SD card, you need to take the base apart. There is no visible USB/HDMI etc slots on teh Tab. Has anyone found a way to unlock teh Tab so It can be used with other SIM cards?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
P. K. Daga 3 Report post Posted August 26, 2011 Aircel Chennai has a plan in 3G, 1275.00 per month for Unlimited Download, without any FUP. I had recently been to Delhi and similar tabs are available in the market for around 8000 only. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FEVIN-RAJ 61 Report post Posted August 26, 2011 check this ndtv review http://www.ndtv.com/article/technology/review-reliance-3g-tab-129003 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
drsandyppc 6 Report post Posted September 12, 2011 Dagga sir where in Delhi we will find similar tabs in the market for around INR 8000 /- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
city02 63 Report post Posted September 13, 2011 whoever has got this please give your review / feedback on the experience thanks, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
copperco2 24 Report post Posted February 22, 2012 I guess.. a review is long overdue for the tablet. It seems it can also be unlocked to work on another sim but can it be upgraded to ICS? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
me_saket 73 Report post Posted February 22, 2012 unlocking will at least help to boost sales in non-reliance 3G circle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aalok 442 Report post Posted February 22, 2012 link to Reliance Tab Unlocking & Rooting on forum > http://www.rimweb.in/forums/topic/32317-reliance-3g-tab-rooting/page__hl__%2Breliance+%2Btab+%2Brooting__fromsearch__1 Originally posted > http://9456655694.blogspot.in/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
city02 63 Report post Posted May 24, 2012 relaunch for rs. 10 k [sent from an employee] my guess is that it must have flopped so that price cut should boost volumes by 5-10% may 10th employee offer 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
