Android 4.0 aka ICS tablets available in India

The mobile industry is eagerly waiting for Google’s next update to hit the market and “reform” their experience. But we’re not talking about ‘Jelly Bean’ unfortunately; we’re still discussing Ice Cream Sandwich i.e. Android 4.0. The reason for this unusual delay is unknown but while there might be only a couple of select mobile devices available with ICS, in India, there are quite a few tablets that are already out there with ICS. Oddly enough, the devices that do come with ICS are all of the budget variety with no high-end tablet on the cards yet. Here’s a list of five ICS running tablets available right now in India. 

Micromax FunBook – 6,990

After making it big in the mobile segment, Micromax has finally entered the tablet fray with their well priced FunBook designed for the masses. While it’s not as cheap as the Ubislate that is yet to be made easily available, the FunBook is out now. The tablet runs ICS on a 1.2GHz ARM Cortex A8 Processor and 512MB RAM. To ensure virtually all video format playback support Mircomax has infused the FunBook with the NEON instruction set for decoding files. With a  powerful set of built-in speakers and plenty of video and audio support the FunBook makes for a very decent multimedia device and more so with HDMI on board as well. 

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The FunBook from Micromax

Here are some of the AX02’s other specs - 

• 7-inch capacitive display with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• 3G (via USB dongle), Wi-Fi, 
• USB 2.0 (mini)
• Front facing VGA camera for video chats
• HDMI out
• 4GB internal storage + microSD card support up to 32GB
• 3.5mm earphone socket

Ainol Novo 7 Paladin –  7,990

With a simple looking rectangular design and thin form, the Novo 7 may not be a tablet you would have heard of right off the bat. It runs ICS on a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM. Like the others, the Paladin supports 1080p video playback but has no HDMI port. Instead of what seems like the standard 4GB of internal memory, Ainol’s Novo 7 offers 8GB. 

The Novo7 Paladin

The Paladin also comes with -

• 7-inch capacitive display with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• 3G (via USB dongle), Wi-Fi, 
• USB 2.0 (mini and Standard ports)
• Front facing VGA camera 
• HDMI out
• 4GB internal storage + microSD card support up to 32GB
• 3.5mm earphone socket

Zync Z990 –  8,990

The Z990 could be considered the first ICS running tablet to hit the Indian market. With design not too unlike the rest on the list, the Z990 tried to keep things simple. It runs on a 1.2GHz processor with 1GB (DDR3) of RAM and uses Google’s ICS version of the platform as its OS. The Z990 is capable of handling full HD videos in specific formats out of the box and offers quite a few modes of connectivity. From HDMI to a standard USB 2.0 socket the Z990 is quite well equipped. 3G support via a USB dongle is also possible.

The first to arrive, the Zync Z990

Other features that come with the Z990 include -

• 7-inch capacitive display with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• 3G (via USB dongle), Wi-Fi, 
• USB 2.0 (mini and Standard ports)
• Front facing VGA camera 
• HDMI out
• 4GB internal storage + microSD card support up to 32GB
• 3.5mm earphone socket

iBerry Auxus AX02 – 9,990

iBerry is relatively new to the Indian sector but has already made a name for itself by being one of the first tablet manufacturers to launch an ICS running device in India. The AX02 7-inch tablet features a 1GHz ARM Cortex A8 Processor and comes with 1GB of RAM which keeps things running smoothly for usage. Its build seems sturdy and un-complicated making it easy to manage. Natively the Auxus AX02 is equipped to handle full HD i.e. 1080p video files encoded in acceptable formats. 3G support comes in the way of 3G Dongle support via USB. 

iBerry Auxus

Here are some of the AX02’s other specs - 

• 7-inch capacitive display with a 800 x 480 pixel resolution
• 3G, Wi-Fi, 
• USB 2.0 (mini)
• 2MP camera and secondary front facing VGA camera for video calling
• HDMI out
• 4GB internal storage + microSD card support up to 32GB
• 3.5mm earphone socket

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 310 – 19,900

The latest edition to Samsung’s Galaxy tab range is their first product to launch in the country with ICS running out-of-the-box. While devices like the Galaxy S II smartphone have received updates, the Tab 2 310 will be shipping with Android 4.0. It’s a well-equipped, well designed product that features a 1GHz Dual Core processor. At just 10.5mm in depth, the 310 is also one of the slimmer tablets available. It supports HD video playback (1080p) with quite a few popular video codecs preloaded. Samsung has also included quite a few extras along with their TouchWiz UI and All Share in-home networking option. 

Well priced and feature rich, the Galaxy Tab 2 310

The 310 also features -

• 7-inch capacitive display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution
• 3G, Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi direct,
• GPS with A-GPS support
• Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 
• 3MP rear camera with Front facing VGA camera
• 8GB/16GB/32GB capacities internal + microSD card support up to 32GB
• 3.5mm earphone socket

ICS updates are rolling out to some of the other tablets that are out there, though not as quickly as we hoped. While the global roll out for some may have started already, the Indian updates might still be on the way.