14 DAY TRIAL // The Aakash tablet may be cheap, or even distributed for free, but it is also very weak, something that Pantel and Indian telecom operator BSNL want to capitalize on.
Pantel has built three tablets, all of which will be offered by BSNL with 5GB 3G data plans starting on March 1, 2012.
Two of them have screens of 7 inches in diagonal, while the third has a display of 8 inches.
The white 8-inch model bears the name of Penta TPAD WS802C and relies on a 1.2 GHz processor, 512 MB RAM and 4 GB internal memory.
It also boasts two cameras (2 megapixels at the front and 0.3 megapixels at the back), plus Bluetooth, GPS, a microSD card and HDMI, for 1080p media streaming.
Android 2.3 is the operating system and the touch support is owed to a capacitive panel. Pricing hovers around INR 13,500 ($275 / 206 Euro).
Moving on, the 7-inch slates are called Penta TPAD WS704C and Penta T PAD IS 701R, respectively.
The former has a 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, an integrated SIM card and 4 GB of internal flash storage.
Naturally, this product also has its own Bluetooth support, microSD card slot, two webcams (the same as above), GPS and 1080p over HDMI. The price is INR 10,999 ($224 / 167.57 Euro).
Finally, the Penta T PAD IS 701R, also 7 inches, has a resistive touch panel and overall weaker specs than the others.
A 1 GHz CPU is backed by just 256 MB RAM and 2 GB of internal storage space, even though the OS is the same Android 2.3.
HDMI is still present, though, as is Wi-Fi and the microSD card slot, plus a 0.3 MP webcam (the front 2 MP one is absent, apparently). Its price is the lowest: INR 3,250 ($66.20 / 49.51 Euro).
BSNL will offer each of the three slates with a 5 GB 3G data plan for INR 750 ($15.27 / 11.42 Euro) or 7.5 GB 2G plan for INR 245 ($5 / 3.80 Euro).
