If you are looking forward to purchase a budget tablet, Asus is making an irresistible offer. The company's recently-released ZenPad series has officially stepped in India, challenging rivals such as Xiaomi. The all-new ZenPad 8.0 and ZenPad 7.0 are two new tablets in the market that strike as powerful budget devices. Interestingly, Asus has priced the ZenPad 7.0 at Rs 11,999 and the bigger 8-inch ZenPad 8.0 tablet at Rs 14,999.
With these prices, Asus is clearly targeting Xiaomi, which has established a secure ground in the Indian mobile market. Xiaomi's competing 7.9-inch Mi Pad costs Rs 12,999, but it remains to be seen how well it stands against Asus' newest releases. To get a better look at who's who, we compare both Xiaomi Mi Pad and Asus ZenPad tablets.
Display
The ZenPad 7.0 has a 7-inch display. ZenPad 8.0 has an 8-inch one. Both tablets are identical in many aspects. The screen resolution of ZenPad 7.0 is set at 1280 x 800 pixels, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. ZenPad 8.0 also has the display resolution set at 1280 x 800 pixels.
Xiaomi Mi Pad features a 7.9-inch IPS display with 2048x1536 pixel resolution, 324ppi and Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Processor, RAM and Storage
The smaller tablet is powered by a 64-bit quad-core Intel Atom x3 processor and comes with a choice of 1GB or 2GB RAM with corresponding 8GB or 16GB built-in storage, according to NDTV Gadgets.
Like its younger sibling, ZenPad 8.0 comes in 1GB or 2GB RAM variants, supported with either 8GB or 16GB storage options. The ZenPad 8.0 has a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 SoC but buyers have an option to select an octa-core Snapdragon 615 processor.
Both models of ZenPad series support microSD card expansion up to 128GB.
As for the Mi Pad, the tablet is powered by a 2.2GHz Nvidia Tegra K1 quad-core Cortex A15 processor, mainly focused on gaming along with a ULP GeForce Kepler (192 cores) GPU. It has 2GB LPDDR3 RAM and 16GB onboard storage, expandable up to 128GB.
Camera
The 1GB RAM variant of the ZenPad 7.0 sports a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a VGA front shooter. But if you choose to upgrade to 2GB RAM, the same tablet gets bumped up with 8MP primary snapper and 2MP front camera, NDTV reports.
The higher-end ZenPad 8.0 features a 5-megapixel primary camera and a 2MP front snapper. 4G LTE connectivity is limited to the ZenPad 8.0 while the 7-inch model has 3G.
Xiaomi offers an 8-megapixel primary camera with f/2.0 aperture in its Mi Pad along with a 5MP front snapper.
Battery
The battery in the ZenPad 7.0 is expected to last up to eight hours while the ZenPad 8.0 gets up to nine hours. Xiaomi, however, packs a mammoth 6,700mAh battery that delivers more than 13 hours, which was achieved during our product review of Mi Pad.
Added Benefits
What sets the ZenPad apart is the integrated DTS-HD Premium Sound technology and interchangeable covers, which come in five colours. There's also an Audio Cover that adds six speakers to the back of the tablets to create a 5.1 surround sound effect. If you are looking to extend your battery life, Asus Power Case comes handy, which promises life up to 15 hours.
Price
Xiaomi Mi Pad, which is priced at Rs 12,999, is available off the shelf and there is no need to wait for flash sales. Asus ZenPad 7.0 is the base model, which costs Rs 11,999, while the high-end ZenPad 8.0 costs Rs 14,999.
