Reliance 3G Tab
Vishal Mathur
The Reliance 3G Tab (essentially the ZTE V9C) changes the price dynamics of the tablet market, quite dramatically.
Minimalistic looks. Quite simply, this is the most matter to fact tablet we have seen till date. The display has a glossy black frame around it. The build quality overall is pretty acceptable. There are no hardware buttons for home, menu and return – just touch based ones. They don’t light up in the dark, and that can be a little uncomfortable.
The Tab 3G just feels very compact- thanks to the 7-inch display. However, those of us who have used the very first Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000 would most probably agree that the P1000 felt much bigger than this one. And it was slightly thicker too. Weight wise, the 3G Tab tips the scales at 389grams.
We expected the pricing would dictate the power game, in a negative way. However, an ARM11 800MHz processor along with 512MB of RAM powers this tablet - not bad. While there is literally no internal storage space to boast of, Reliance has nicely bundled a 4GB microSD card with the tablet.
Open the rear panel and this is the smartphone-ish visual- the huge 3400 mAh battery, the SIM card slot and the microSD card slot.
We are impressed! That is to say the least. The initial apprehension that this’ll perform like a low cost tablet (and will essentially be a disappointment) evaporated very quickly. The 800MHz processor coupled with 512MB of RAM helps the Android 2.3.4 chug along quite nicely. While the interface does have a slight lag, it is minimal. This is mostly felt when flicking through the multiple home-screens or the application list. But the age-old problem with Android – open too many apps in the background and it will become sluggish.
The phone feature is back in the tablets, something missing of late in most. Calls can be made, and calls can be received!
The 7-inch display is the humble TFT with a very basic 800x480 pixel resolution. While the display quality looks a little rough in general, but there is enough sharpness to make text look crisp. Colours aren’t very vivid, but enough for most usage scenarios. The touchscreen responds well for the most part, but tends to suddenly go into a trance every once in a while!
The camera is a huge disappointment. The 2MP camera clicks pictures that can be called ‘very grainy’ at best.
Battery life is surprisingly good. With uninterrupted 3G we had this running for slightly more than two days – full charge to full discharge. During this time, there was quite a bit of web browsing, the daily dose of Angry Birds, and even used as a Wi-Fi hotspot for a few hours. The huge 3400mAh battery does the job.
The most interesting thing about the Reliance 3G Tab is the price, undoubtedly. What this does is lowers the entry price barrier for branded tablets. We were pretty impressed by the performance in general. While it isn't a multimedia or gaming powerhouse, the 3G Tab does a little bit of this and a little bit of that- steady performance, good battery life and a surprisingly sleek form factor. You do sacrifice on certain things – touch response that is slightly iffy at times and a bad camera. Remember, the critical point is the “at this price” factor. If the Rs 30000+ Android tablets are out of your budget, this may just be the one to introduce you into the world of tablets.
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