Micromax unveils FunBook for ₹6,499

Mobile phone maker Micromax has forayed into the burgeoning tablet PC market with its 'FunBook'. The seven-inch tablet is based on the Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich platform and has a...

FunBook-is-based-on-the-Android-4-0-3-Ice-Cream-Sandwich

It's raining cheap tablets! Just when you thought there were enough low cost entry-level tablets in the market, first HCL and now Micromax has launched their own Android 4.0 based tablet in the Indian market. The Micromax Funbook runs the latest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, out of the box. Micromax is known for its cheap mobile phones in India, quickly grabbing a good amount of market share when Chinese phones were flooding the market.

The Micromax Funbook is powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor combined with an ARM Mali GPU to handle the graphics. Similar to the HCL tablets, the Funbook also features an internal memory of 4GB and a 512MB of RAM. It includes all other standard features you would expect from an entry-level tablet such as a front facing VGA camera, 3G support (via USB dongle), HD video playback. It is supported by a 2800 mAh battery which is expected to run out of juice pretty soon, with heavy usage.

Micromax has targeted its Funbook tablet at students from all age groups. They have tied up with Pearson and Universal tutors to provide educational content on its tablet. It includes over 500 courses on various educational topics. Not only that, the Funbook is also an entertainment factory with access to over 600 movies, 6000 songs and 4000 videos for its users.

Micromax has priced its Funbook tablet at ₹ 6,499. If you buy now, you also get a free Tata Photon+ dongle with a limited data connection. At such a price point and the nature of content, Micromax clearly scores a lot more than HCL's recently launched tablets. The Funbook is available in midnight black and slate grey colors.

What remains to be seen is how students adopt the much hyped post-PC era in India. The tablet market is still at a very nascent stage with Apple truly as a leader with their iPad tablets. Students who cannot afford the expensive new iPad in India can now try their hands on cheaper, much stable options from HCL and Micromax. From where I can see it, both HCL and Micromax are aiming at providing a value-for-money package to their consumers to compete with Aakash.