LAVA eTab Xtron+
Street Price: Rs 7000

The first eTab Xtron took us by surprise by delivering quality screen and good performance in a sturdy package. However, it had a few shortcomings such as the lack of HDMI-port, no rear camera and long battery changing time. This time around, the company has come up with its latest iteration called eTab Xtron+, which supposedly addresses these niggles. So has LAVA managed to come up with a perfect tablet?

Design And Build Quality
The new tablet looks exactly like its predecessor, the original eTab Xtron. It features a sturdy metallic body that you generally don’t expect at this price point. Lava has done a very good job with the design by keeping it sober. Its curved back feels much natural to hold. And of course, it also adds up to the aesthetics. At 11.5 mm, it may not be the thinnest, but is definitely a well-built product in this segment. Overall, the domestic manufacturer hasn’t cut many corners while designing this entry-level slate.



Except for the newly added HDMI-port, the Button and port placements have been carried over from the previous iteration. When in landscape mode, the micro-USB port, DC-in, and HDMI-Out can be fond on the left side. Bang opposite are the Volume rocker, Power, and Back button (physical one). A microSD card slot and 3.5 mm jack sit at the top side. While there’s not much to complain in terms of aesthetics, I wish LAVA would have gone with smaller bezels.

Display and Specs
The device's 7" capacitive touchscreen has pixel dimensions of 1024X600. The screen is fairly sharp and bright. However, unlike the original Xtron, this new tablet doesn’t come with an IPS screen. So the colour reproduction isn’t as good as its predecessor. But the biggest complaint we have about the screen are its very poor viewing angles. The colours tend to distort even if you tilt the tablet by a small angle. And yes, like all the budget tablets, the display is reflective and gets smudgy in no time. Overall, it's a bit of a downer compared to its predecessor which had one of the best displays among budget tablets.

The Xtron+ is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex-A9 CPU, coupled with Mali-400 MP GPU. There's 1 GB RAM, 8 GB of internal storage along with a MicroSD card slot, Wi-Fi, and 3500 mAh battery. The tablet features a 2 megapixel rear camera, along with a VGA front-facing snapper. One thing sorely missing here is Bluetooth. Detailed specs can be found at the end of this review.
 
UI And Performance
The Xtron+ ships with the latest Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). As we all know, the domestic brands don’t bother customising the user interface. In a way, that’s actually good considering you get clean and relatively less cluttered UI. The tablet's hardware is good enough to keep the user experience pleasant. And for Rs 7000, you can’t expect more than that.



The default Android browser isn’t the snappiest one around, but gets your work done nonetheless. Moving on to the subject of gaming, the overly popular Temple Run 2 and Fruit Ninja worked well on this tablet. Moreover, you can even play Dead Trigger, if you’re fine with a few performance hiccups. In AnTuTu, the tablet clocks in 12,155 — slightly better than its predecessor that scores 10,377.



Multimedia
The low-cost tablets generally ship with terrible earphones, and the Xtron+ is no exception. However, when connected with a decent pair of earphones, the device’s sound output is quite good. However, those who like to play with sound settings will be disappointed since the tablet lacks equalisers. And I’m sure its target audience will be disappointed with a weak onboard speaker. The tablet supports various video formats including DivX, XviD, WMV, and MP4. It had no problem handling 1080p videos. Moreover, since the tablet supports HDMI-out, you can hook-up the Xtron+ to your HDTV, and the output is quite smooth.

The tablet’s 2 megapixel rear camera is bad and should be your last resort when it comes to photography. I mean, use it only if extraterrestrials are landing in front of you and the only camera enabled device in your possession is the Xtron+.

Battery
The Xtron+ packs in a 3700 mAh battery (though the site says 3000 mAh) that lasts for approximately a full day with standard usage, which can be termed as average. In our video loop test, with brightness set to 60 percent, it lasted for around 5 hours. The Xtron tablet was plagued with slow charging, which would require more than 4 hours for it to charge fully. LAVA has improved slightly on this front, as it now takes 3 hours and 30 minutes for the same.

Verdict
The latest tablet addresses most shortcomings of the eTab Xtron tablet. The HDMI port and a rear camera are welcome additions, though the latter with its poor quality is as good as absent. However, at the same time, the most important aspect of the tablet, its screen, has actually been downgraded. So it’s up to you whether you want a good screen or additional features such as an HDMI port. Personally, I’ll choose the former.

Features: 3.5/5
Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Value For Money: 4/5
Mojo: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Specifications:

• Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), Google Play Store.
• 7" touchscreen with pixel dimensions 1024x600.
• 1.5 GHz dual-core Cortex A9 CPU and quad-core Mali-400 GPU.
• 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, 8 GB internal storage (5 GB usable), Up to 32 GB microSD support.
• 2 megapixel rear camera, VGA front-facing snapper.
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, NO Bluetooth.
• Micro-USB, Headphone port, HDMI-port.
• Microphone, Accelerometer.
• 7.2" (l) x 5.2" (w) x 0.45" (11.5 mm) (d); 350 grams.
• 3700 mAh battery with 5 hours of continuous video playback with Wi-Fi on.
• Package Contents: Tablet, Battery, Charger, Earphones, USB.

TAGS: Tablets, Android, Lava