A tablet computer. For the price of a smartphone. At a bit under Rs 13,000, the Reliance Tab definitely had me curious. After using it for a week, I'd say I'm pretty satisfied. Not that I have anything to benchmark it against. But still, there's enough bang for the bucks you pay.
First, among the things I liked – the bright, sparkling screen display. Very welcoming after a long hard day at work. The silver back and sleek bodywork – didn't strike me as a "Chinese" hand me down from any angle. (Reliance doesn't make the tablet, China's ZTE does. Reliance provides the 3G network that powers it.)
While we're on the 3G network – it's fast! Not that I've used 3G much before – but the connection's definitely faster than the broadband connection we have in office. (It's another matter that our office bandwidth is shared across a zillion terminals. When all of us journos try to pile onto Google at the same time, you can imagine the crawl our systems slow down to.)
Well seriously – the 3G was fun. Even on the Delhi Metro where call drops and iffy connectivity is the norm, the network didn't let me down. Back home in Dwarka, I could see the bars that display network strength flicker as I walked into different rooms. But still, I watched both Bheja Fry 2 and a Malayalam movie called Traffic on YouTube. The playback didn't stutter or stop to buffer.
Strangely, browsing seemed faster on the inbuilt Android browser than on the Opera I specially downloaded from the Web. Surprising – because I always believed Opera's specially configured to work on handheld devices that lack the full processing power of a PC. Is probably something I'll have to look into again.
A word of caution. Watching movies and downloading stuff is so painless on the Reliance Tab – you don't think too much about the quantum of data you're consuming. Or the moolah you're shelling out for it. Haven't had a chance to look up my bill for the week that I used the Reliance Tab – but I have a sneaking suspicion it wasn't cheap.
What else did I like? The screen responds quickly to touch – I didn't have to ram my fingers into any of the icons on display to get them to work. Also, apps like "Docs to Go" come preloaded. Which means every time I want to open a Word document, Excel sheet or PowerPoint file that comes attached in my email, I can. Without fumbling around for solutions.
I mention this only because the Reliance Tab runs on the Android operating system. While a lot of our email attachments are generated on computers that run the Microsoft OS. Getting different platforms to talk to each other is important – else we'd probably quickly lose interest in these machines.
Oh, I also really liked the fact that this thing can also make telephone calls. I didn't use that feature. But I somehow like the idea of carrying just a single device in my pocket. Finally, my wife really liked an app – which senses your location to show you places of interest near you. She apparently found a few new places to shop at, within driving distance from our place. I'm not sure if the app was Google Latitude or something else called Places. But yes, it could be an interesting plaything to use on weekends, to discover new hangouts.
Now, for what I didn't like:
Number 1. there are no orifices I can plug into. Perish your dirty thoughts. What I mean is that I can't plug in USB drives that contain my data. Which means I'm forced to download everything I need straight from the net. Which means I shell out more money daily than I'd really like.
Number 2. There's no slot for a separate SIM card. Which means I'm locked into the Reliance network. Tomorrow, if I decide BSNL offers me a cheaper deal for my 3G usage, I can't shift. Makes me feel like a sucker – not cool.
Number 3. The screen does tend to get grimy after a while. I'm not sure if that's because my fingers are dirtier than most of you. But the display did seem like a dirt magnet. Which means I have to use a gentle cleaning solution on the glass. Something I detest doing even for my spectacles. Oh well!
Number 4: This is something I found while reading up on the web. Apparently, even though the tablet includes a camera, you can't use it to do video chats on Google or Skype. That's sad. Because one of the easiest times to catch up with far away friends and distant family is when we're on the daily commute to and from office. When we have time and nothing much to do. If we could see our loved ones on the 7-inch screen while we're talking to them, it would make a tablet so much more precious. No?
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