How low can prices go? iBall's announcement of the launch of its latest tablet, the Windows-based Slide i701, made us sit up and take notice. Our first reaction was disbelief, and then we had to resist the urge to dismiss it as a joke. There have been plenty of products over the years promising advanced functionality at unbelievable prices, and most of them have been absolute junk.Such products infuriate us not only because they are essentially e-waste before they're even out of their boxes, but also because the people who actually buy such things tend to be the ones who don't have any money to spare in the first place; ones who trust advertisements and hope that they're getting a killer bargain only to be devastated a short way down the line. Low-brow manufacturers know this and deliberately prey on those who are the weakest, which is something we cannot abide.
iBall has somehow managed to cut the price of a 7-inch, Intel-powered Windows 8.1 tablet to just Rs. 5,000. We were initially doubtful that it could possibly be any good, but our review showed that it has reasonably powerful components and no major corners have been cut. The screen is low-quality and makes the Slide i701 difficult to use, but its main weakness is the Windows 8.1 interface which simply cannot scale to work on a touch-only device of this size. With a proper monitor, keyboard and mouse, you could have the makings of a very affordable and capable PC, but on it’s hard to see anyone being able to use this tablet on its own.
Brand | iBall |
Model | Slide i701 |
Price in India | ₹4,999 |
Release date | May 2015 |
Dimensions (mm) | 610.00 x 201.00 x 125.00 |
Weight (g) | 599.00 |
Battery capacity (mAh) | 3200 |
Removable battery | No |
Colours | Black |
Screen size (inches) | 7.00 |
Touchscreen | No |
Resolution | 600x1024 pixels |
Processor | 1.33GHz quad-core |
Processor make | Intel Atom |
RAM | 1GB |
Internal storage | 16GB |
Expandable storage | Yes |
Expandable storage type | microSD |
Expandable storage up to (GB) | 32 |
Rear camera | 2-megapixel |
Front camera | 0.3-megapixel |
Rear flash | Yes |
Operating system | Windows 8.1 |
Wi-Fi | Yes |
Wi-Fi standards supported | 802.11 b/g/n |
GPS | No |
Bluetooth | Yes |
NFC | No |
Infrared | No |
USB OTG | Yes |
Headphones | Yes |
FM | No |
Wi-Fi Direct | No |
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) | No |
Compass/ Magnetometer | No |
Proximity sensor | No |
Accelerometer | Yes |
Ambient light sensor | No |
Gyroscope | No |
Barometer | No |
Temperature sensor | No |