Android heading to India in the form of the homegrown OlivePad VT100
With so many Android tablets coming out of China, it's refreshing to hear about manufacturers from other countries also contributing to the Android tablet revolution. Hailing from India's Olive Telecom and launched today in New Delhi is one of the country's first homegrown tablet MIDs, the OlivePad VT100. The company has an impressive list of innovations in the mobile device market of India, and the OlivePad is its latest venture and first foray into the tablet realm.
The MID makes a good first impression with a simple, elegant design, a 7-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen, Android 2.1 OS, 512MB RAM and ROM, 3.5G HSUPA, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, a 3MP rear facing camera, VGA front facing webcam, and a high capacity 3240mAh battery. The mandatory headphone out and mini USB ports are included, and more interestingly, the tablet will also include full phone functionality allowing you to make calls and send/receive SMS messages, making the OlivePad one of the largest MID/phone hybrid devices.
Unfortunately the identity of the processor was not detailed, so it's hard to say how powerful the device will be, but judging by the other specifications, the OS version, and the high-end positioning of the device, it is likely to be a powerful chip.
The OlivePad is set to launch in August costing between Rs.20,000 to Rs.25,000, which works out to around US$426 to US$533. Although initial availability will be in India, Olive Telecom executives spoke of plans to launch the device in Central and Eastern Europe as well as Russia in the near future.
[Olive Telecom via Engadget]
