Observing the current market situation, Apple and Samsung devices are maintaining their dominance in the tablet market segment. However, as per a recent report by analysts at Gartner Research, the demand for the low cost tablets has gone up. Not only in the enterprise verticals but also in the educational sector.
So there is quite a possibility that these low-cost tablets can actually challenge the expensive tablet manufacturers in the price conscious Indian market. After all the tech history has proved it! Going back to the past records, when in 2011, Apple iPads were crazily dominating the UK and US markets, Amazon launched a $199 (apprx. Rs 11,000) Kindle Fire tablet. It was assembled by Quanta and was based on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet’s core design. Amazon reportedly went with the “stock” design, in order to raid the market with its own tablet before the 2011 holiday season. The gamble worked with sales of over 4.7 million units by the end of the fourth quarter of 2011 and a 16.8 percent tablet market share.
While they may not be as cool to own as Apple in a lot of people’s minds, however the original Kindle Fire obviously met the basic needs of some consumers. Hence it can be said that Amazon certainly caused a few ripples in the tablet pool with its Android-based gadget and butterflies in Apple’s officials stomach.
Similarly, this year in India, two differently priced tablets have been launched simultaneously. Samsung’s S-Pen equipped Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, which is now on pre-order in India at an upfront payment of Rs 2,000. While the company has not revealed any details on its official release date and price, however the South-Korean giant is offering a free book cover worth Rs 3,249 along with the tablet. Although, once placed, a pre-booking can’t be cancelled (which means you stand to lose Rs 2,000 in case you don’t buy it).
On the other hand, Micromax has also released their new Android-based tablet Funbook Pro, which is available on Snapdeal at a price of Rs 9,999.
Hence, the big question over here is, can the Micromax budget Android tablet challenge the dominance of a high end gadget like Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1. Well, Gizbot believes all depends on the specs and features of a device along with a wallet-friendly price tag. Hence here is comparison on both the devices, as to how will they stack up against each other on the Indian retail shelves.
Form Factor
While the Funbook Pro’s dimensions and weight are not revealed by the manufacturer yet, Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 measures 262 x 180 x 8.9mm and weighs 580 grams. Both the tablets sport a 10.1 inch display, although with different resolutions. The Samsung tablet fares well in this segment with a screen resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels (149 ppi pixel density), as compared to 1024 x 600 pixel resolution (117 ppi pixel density) of the Funbook Pro.
Operating System
In this case, both the tablets can be judged equally as they run on the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
Processor
The Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet is powered by a quad core Exynos processor running at 1.4 GHz speed. On the other hand, Funbook Pro is powered by a 1.2 GHz Cortex A8 processor.
Camera
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 sports a 5 MP rear camera with autofocus, LED flash and geo-tagging features. The camera can record 720p videos @30 fps. The tablet has a front facing 1.9 MP camera for video calling.
While, the Funbook Pro has only a VGA front camera for video chatting. However, the tablet lacks a main camera with a larger resolution.
Storage
Galaxy Note 10.1 comes in three variants – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB internal memory and 2GB RAM. Currently, in India, the pre-order is available only on the 16GB version. Further, there is a micro SD card slot on the tablet supporting up to 64 GB expandable memory.
On the other hand, Micromax Funbook Pro has 8 GB flash memory along with the same 1 GB RAM and it also has a microSD option, through which the memory of the tablet can be expanded to 32 GB and .
Connectivity
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is packed with connectivity features like Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP and micro USB 2.0 with USB Host feature, whereas the Funbook Pro has Wi-Fi only tablet, which lacks Bluetooth connectivity. The latter tablet supports 3G through dongles.
Battery
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 is powered by a 7000 mAh Li-ion battery while Micromax Funbook Pro is powered by a 56mm mAh Li-ion battery.
Verdict
Though both the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Funbook Pro have similar hardware and operating system, they are very different in terms of specifications. If you are a budget conscious consumer, the educational Funbook Pro should be enough, as it will provide you with the basic level of features. If you are looking for more impressive specifications, you should undoubtedly choose the tablet from the Korean manufacturer. However, it is to be noted that the specifications of any device depends on the price you pay for it. So in the end, the decision is completely yours. But, do let us know in comments.
