Review: Karbonn Smart Tab 1 Android 4.0 Tablet PC

Decent display, touch sensitivity. Good battery back-up. Worth the money. Xburst processor doesn't support all the apps on Google Play. Given the price, this is a great tablet for starters.

Inside the box:

When you buy a Karbonn Smart Tab 1, you will get- a USB cable, a USB OTG connector or dongle connector, screen protector, hands-free, user manual, warranty card and a Reliance Netconnect dongle.

First look and feel:

The tablet has a white posterior with a black border along the display. The first feel that you get when you look at it is that the screen could have been bigger- only if the black border was kept thin on the edges. Owing to its size, the tablet is a little heavy. I tried playing Angry Birds for 15 minutes, holding the device in my hand on purpose and by that time I finished it, my wrist had started to ache.

Talking about the port, this tablet includes a 3.5 mm jack, HDMI port ( HDMI connector not included in the box) mini USB, microSD and charging socket. All these are placed on the left side of the tablet, while the 2 MP front camera is on the top right, just opposite the Karbonn logo on the screen. 'Power', 'options', 'home' and 'back' physical buttons are placed on the top left corner. The 'Home' and 'Option' button look more like volume controls. The tablet carries no dedicated volume control buttons, which ideally should have been included.

The overall built feels sturdy and the finishing is pretty decent.

Start up and first view:

The device took some time to start, however, once switched on, it appeared smooth. The touchscreen was responsive and smooth too. The tablet includes apps like Karbonn Browser and Karbonn Games (powered by ibibo), which offer free games. Angry Birds, Angry Birds Space, Turbo Fly 3D, Wow Fish, Talking Tom, NexGTV are all pre-loaded.

I started toying first with Talking Tom and trust me, Tom wasn't fine inside the device (pun intended). The poor cat appeared almost deaf, even when I tried shouting my lungs out. Moreover, the cat was pixelated at the sides with dull colours, making Tom appear weak and pale.

A deeper look into the device:

After Talking Tom, it was time for Facebook. I connected it to the Wi-Fi at my workplace and I must admit, it was smooth with no hiccups at all. The reception was great too. The tablet comes with a Reliance NetConnect dongle. If you are looking to connect it to Internet via a USB dongle, please note that all dongles are not supported. Karbonn has added a list of compatible dongles for its Smart Tab 1.

Modem support list:

Tata Photon (Huawei -EC156/ EC1261)

MTS-MBlaze (Huawei EC156)

MTS-3G (ZTE AC2746)

Reliance-3G (Huawei EC159, ZTE MF190, ZTE AC2737)

Airtel-3G (Huawei E1731)

Display:

Without getting too much into its specifications, I will rate the display 'average'. Though Karbonn has added a HD video of Desi Boys, showcasing the quality of the screen, the overall display is just satisfactory, keeping in mind the low price. The touchscreen is good and works with multiple touches easily.

Sound:

The sound quality is bad, making you steer away from using it to listen music. However, with headphones it works better. The volume level is also average.

Media Player:

A dedicated media player is there, which plays almost all popular file formats like flv, avi, mkv, RM, MP4 and more. You can watch movies from your pen drive as the tablet includes support for USB OTG. But do not plug in your portable hard drive, unless it's self powered.

Performance:

I must admit that the tablet functions pretty good. Though it's not lightning fast, it works fine. On several occasions, the apps crashed while I tried opening or took too long to open. Gaming experience on the device was OK. Angry Birds was smooth, motion sensing games worked fine. But the main problem is that the Xburst processor doesn't support all the apps on Google Play. You hardly find any 3D games that are supported on this tablet. The front facing 2 MP camera is useless as none of the video chat apps are supported.

It's also noteworthy to mention here that if you do a reset, you will not be able to install Google Play. Coming to RAM, 350 MB of memory out of 512 MB is actually available.

Camera:

No comments! Don't think of using it for capturing pictures. Video chatting will work fine though, only if you find any supported apps.

Battery:

The battery back-up is good! The 3700 mAh battery truly delivers 7 hours Web surfing time using Wi-Fi, as it claims. I even manged to see a short 45 minute serial with just 20 per cent battery. If you use a 3G dongle, the Web surfing back-up will reduce, but still it's far better than other devices in this range. Also, the device doesn't heat up at all. Even after watching a full movie, playing Angry Birds for around 4 hours along with two hours of Web surfing, followed by recharging, the device did not heat up at all.

Final verdict:

Firstly, remember this tablet costs just Rs 6,999. So, don't expect it to be a replacement for iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab! Given the price, this is a great tablet for starters. If you need a tablet for watching movies, surfing the Web and playing games, then this is a good buy. I pointed out several problems with this tablet but none of these will paralyse the experience of a first time tablet user. You also have the Micromax Funbook in this price range, so, you can consider that too. This tablet will leave a low end tablet buyer well satisfied and the device is worth the money. I would rate this tablet 7 out of 10.

-Debashis Sarkar