In calender year 2013, Tablet market in India recorded 4.14 million unit shipments with a staggering year-to-year growth of 56.2 percent over the previous year.
However, the record breaking report showed some contrasting figures in first half and second half of the year, reported market watch dog, IDC (International Data Corporation) India.
First-half of 2013 reportedly witnessed substantial growth in tablet volumes driven largely by low-end devices, whereas, in the second-half of the year, despite hosting many festive seasons, spending on tablets slowed down.
"The popularity of phablets has in fact crossed over the demand for 7 inch tablets. For a price conscious market like India, it is about owning a combination device, meeting the needs with one device instead of two. Also, the return rates on low cost 7 inch tablets have been unexplainably large. First time users latching onto such devices are now looking to move to products that offer better experience in terms of life span and quality" said, Karan Thakkar, Senior Market Analyst with IDC.
As noted by the IDC analyst, the Indian market is becoming mature and hints that the consumers who already own low-cost tablets are expected to go look for top-of-the-line devices for quality.
The Indian market is already flooded with low-cost tablets from domestic players like Micromax, Xolo, while MNCs like Samsung and Apple have begun catering to high-end market.
Here are some of the premium tablets available in the market.
Apple iPad Devices:
Since its first of inception of iPad in 2010, American company has been dominating the niche tablet business and now the latest fifth generation iPad Air and new iPad Mini (second generation) with Retina display continue to increase the gap between the competition. Both Apple iPad Air (9.7-inch) and iPad Mini 2 (7.9inch) were launched in December 2013 in India with prices ranging from ₹28,999 to ₹58,900.
Apple iPad Air standout features:
- Measures just 7.5 mm thick and despite made of metal (Aluminum) it weighs only 469 g (a little over pound), it is slimmest tablet in the iPad (9.7-inch model) series.
- Boasts 64-bit architecture based A7 processor making it most advanced tablet in the market.
- New generation Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n; dual band: 2.4GHz & 5GHz) with MIMO for faster wireless data transfer.
- iSight 5.0-megapixel main camera boasts 5-element lens, f/2.4 aperture, HDR photos, full HD video recording capability, 3 x video zoom and more features
- Built-in 32.4-watt/hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery capable of powering device for close to 10 hours surfing web on Wi-Fi mode and 9 hours via SIM.
Apple iPad Mini 2 standout features:
- Like the bigger sibling, it also measures just 7.5 mm thickness and weighs 331 g making in one of most portable device in the market.
- 7.9-inch screen with retina display makes iPad Mini 2, a good device for reading e-books and it can also in terms of reading e-books.
- Boasts 64-bit architecture based A7 processor making it most advanced tablet (apart from iPad Air) in the market.
- New generation Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n; dual band: 2.4GHz & 5GHz) with MIMO for faster wireless data transfer.
- iSight 5.0-megapixel main camera boasts - 5-element lens, f/2.4 aperture, HDR photos, full HD video recording capability, 3 x video zoom and more.
- Built-in 23.8-watt/hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery capable of powering device for close to 10 hours surfing web on Wi-Fi mode and 9 hours via SIM.
[For more info on specifications of Apple iPad Air and iPad Mini 2, click here]
| Models | iPad Air (Wi-Fi Only) | iPad Air (Wi-Fi+ 3G SIM support) | iPad Mini 2 (Wi-Fi only ) | iPad Mini 2(Wi-Fi + SIM support) |
| 16GB | ₹35,900 | ₹44,900 | ₹28,900 | ₹37,900 |
| 32GB | ₹42,900 | ₹51,900 | ₹35,900 | ₹44,900 |
| 64GB | ₹49,900 | ₹58,900 | ₹42,900 | ₹51,900 |
| 128GB | ₹56,900 | ₹65,900 | ₹49,900 | ₹58,900 |
Samsung Galaxy Tablets:
Samsung, known for its affordable Galaxy Tab 3 models dominate the Indian market with more than 52 percent tablet market share in India. Apart churning out cheap android slates, the company also caters to the high-end markets with Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition] and Galaxy Note Pro devices, which are equally capable of competing with Apple's premium devices.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition] Key Features:
- Though back-cover is made of less impressive faux-stitching, it boasts one of the best display in its class. It features 10.1-inch WQXGA super clear LCD display with 2560x1600p resolutions with pixel density of 299 ppi (pixels per inch)
- For easy navigation over the vast display, it is optimized with S-Pen functionalities- S Note (Easy chart), S Planner, Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen White, S Finder, Pen Window, and Direct Pen Input.
- 8.0-megapixel main camera with BSI sensor, LED flash.
- Powered by 8,220 mAh Li-on battery. [For more info on specification, click here]
Samsung Galaxy Note Pro Key features:
- It boasts 12.2-inch WQXGA (1600x2560p) Super clear LCD screen.
- Exynos 5 Octa-core processor with 1.9 GHz Quad-core and 1.3 GHz Quad-core.
- It also features S-Pen functionalities- Action Memo, Scrapbook, Screen Write, S Finder and Pen Window.
- 8.0-megapixel camera with CMOS sensor Auto-focus, LED flash and zero shutter lag.
- Powered by 9,500 mAh Li-on battery capable of running 54 hours of talk time. [For more info on specification, click here]
| Models | *Price[MRP] |
| Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 [2014 Edition] | ₹49,470/- |
| Samsung Galaxy Note Pro [SM-P9010] | ₹65,575/- |
*price can be bargained at local mortar and brick stores.
Sony Xperia Tablet:
Japanese consumer electronics, after tasting success in smartphone business, forayed in to slate arena with the launch of Xperia Tablet Z in 2013. Despite being more than eight months old, it boasts top-of-the line specifications.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z key features:
- It sports a 10.1 LCD WUXGA (1920x1200p) display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2.
- Slim and light body with only 6.9 mm thick and 495 grams weight.
- Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor with 1.5GHz CPU speed.
- 8.1-megapixel Exmor R camera lens with CMOS sensor, 16x digital zoom.
- One striking feature of Xperia Tablet Z is that it boasts IP55/57 water and dust-proof body case which can survive underwater for close to 30 minutes and also low pressure jets of water.
| Model | *Price |
| Sony Xperia Tablet Z | ₹46,990/- |
*Available for much less price at some online stores.
Asus Nexus and hybrid tablets:
Taiwanese tablet maker, Asus has reaped success globally with 7.0-inch Google Nexus branded slates. Apart from this, the company has come up with innovative hybrid devices capable of performing as a tablet as well as PC with detachable dock like Transformers series.
Eee Pad Transformer TF300TG-1A134A Tablet:
- 10.1-inch HD (1280x720) LED backlit IPS screen.
- 1.2GHz quad-core processor with NVIDIA Tegra 3 GPU.
- Detachable keyboard.
- 8.0-megapixel main camera with auto-focus and f2.2 aperture, full HD recoding.
- Li-ion battery capable of powering the device for 10 hours under standby mode.
Asus-Google Nexus 7 (2013 Edition):
- 7.0-inch full HD IPS LCD screen with pixel density of 323 ppi.
- 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor.
- 5.0-megapixel camera with full HD video recording ability.
- 3950 mAh battery with up to 9 hours of backup.
| Models | Price |
| Eee Pad Transformer TF300TG-1A134A Tablet | Around ₹37,500 |
| Asus-Google Nexus 7 (2013 Edition) Wi-Fi only | Around ₹23,999/-(32GB) & 20,999/- (16GB) |
(Edited by Anu James)
