Review: LACS Magnum Pepper and price
Oh - I just got off the metro. Isimply folded the leather case that covers this machine (it's easily detachabletoo, in case you want to use the Pepper as a standalone tablet) and walked out.Folded, it looks exactly like a light, leather bound notebook. Something anexecutive would carry into a meeting room. Or a student might carry into class.
Neat! Got a few more curiousglances from fellow travellers stepping off the train. (The laptop guy'salready asked me where I picked up this machine from.) And oh – I'm typing someof the next few sentences sitting cross-legged on the metal benches they haveat the metro station. With a firm flat surface to rest the back extension on,the Magnum Pepper behaves exactly like a tiny laptop - it's easy to type on.It's only when I tried balancing it on my lap, that it became a bit unwieldy.
Before I go on, a quick wordabout how I managed to type this far. The Magnum Pepper doesn't come with aword processor installed. I looked online and found that software likeDocuments to Go, a lite version of which was pre-installed on the RelianceTablet I used last - are not free. You have to pay if you want to CREATE newtext documents, spreadsheets or PDF files. The Android Market did havesomething called Mobi Systems Office Suite 5. It's still under test anddevelopment, so they have a trial version of the software you can download anduse for free for thirty days. That's exactly what I did. It took some gettingused to (I took a really long time trying to figure out how to save this file,for instance). But when it did work, I felt a bit like Napoleon Bonaparte. So there.Now, a quick primer on what Iliked and didn't like about the LACS Magnum Pepper. Let me start with thelikes.
1. The price. At under Rs 7000,it's something many Indians might be willing to buy. From the rickshaw wallahwho ferries me home every night, to my colleagues who wonder what computer theyshould get for their five year old daughters. It works for everyone.
2. The capability. It playsmovies, music, games. It surfs the net, creates and saves documents. It acceptspen drives, accepts 3G dongles, even accepts the Internet broadband cable ifyou want to plug that in directly. Plus, it works on Wi-Fi. It does everythingan average computer should, everything that a casual user would ask it to do.3. The free accessories. Yes,more glamorous tablets from more famous companies also offer covers andkeyboards you can attach to them. But together, the extra bits might cost asmuch as the machine itself. Here, you get the basic accessories as part of thepackage – and they do add a lot of value to the tablet.
It says something about how muchthe company respects its customers. Someone who carries around a seven thousandrupee Magnum Pepper will draw curious glances and good natured questions. He'sgoing to feel special.
4. The gumption. Companies havebeen talking about cheap tablets for more than a year now. But it took a smallcompany in Bangalore to fire the first salvo. LACS is headed by a restlessyoung man called Mahendra Kumar D Jain. He's gearing up to launch his ownbranded retail stores across India. He offers a replacement warranty for allhis products. Plus a upgrade warranty - you get bored of the Magnum Pepper, yougive it back, shell out some more cash and get a more capable machine from thesame company. LACS has some thirty different models in its kitty. They have abusiness plan, when others are still talking.
Now, for what I don't like
1. The screen: After using theReliance tablet, this one felt a bit insensitive. I'd have to press icons extrahard to get them to work. My finger felt a bit strange after a while. The touchcalibration also felt a tad unpredictable. Sometimes, a gentle flick would sendit racing over pages while at other times, I'd have to laboriously drag througheach page. Also, resolution isn't as sharp as on the Reliance. It's not bad -simply not that exciting. But remember, the Reliance Tablet costs almost doublethis one.
2. The looks: Slip it out of thefancy leather cover and keyboard attachment and the Magnum Pepper loses some ofits novelty factor. As a standalone, it isn't very glamorous. At least, not thestandard black version that I got for review. It's built to work. Not toseduce.
3. The USB adaptor: Technicallyof course, it adds a huge amount of value. But it forces me to carry an extraattachment in my pocket. Plus, it doesn't slide perfectly, snugly, into itssocket. It sort of dangles loose sometimes - which can irritate a user if he'sreally concentrating on something.
4. The keyboard: It seemed reallycool initially - like one of those ultra thin plastic keyboards the evilhackers in that Bruce Willis movie Die Hard 4.0 use.
But then one of the letterspopped out after a week of use. Made me wonder how long the rest of it willlast. Also, the keys are sometimes extra sensitive - for example, if I use theback arrow key to scroll back or delete a few lines, the cursor takes a life ofits own and erases many, many characters before it comes to a stop. Had toretype a few sentences because of that. Is a minor irritant when used initially- but could be frustrating if it happens on a regular basis.
5. The battery life: Lasts aboutfour hours if I don't connect the keyboard through the USB adaptor. About halfthat if I do. Really drains out if I use Wi-Fi and the connected keyboard.
This was probably the mostdisappointing bit. For something about thrice the size of my Nokia smart-phone(which lasts around 2 days) but a quarter the size of a fully-spec'd, powerfullaptop (which lasts around 3 hours), I figured the battery should have lasted alot longer. It didn't. And it will probably drain faster as the machine getsolder.
Last gripe – there's a camera,but it faces you, not the person you want to take photos of. (Probably designedfor video chats over the Internet than for serious photo taking.) Theresolution and clarity is nothing to write home about really. (Though I don'tlook particularly nice on any camera.).
But hey – look on the flip side.In an age when even multinational corporations try to scrimp and deliver as fewfeatures on a cheap tablet as possible – LACS delivers an inbuilt camera.Experts might differ here – but I got the impression these guys are trying hardto make the customer happy.
Here's a quick look at the techspecs, in case you're really curious:
LACS Magnum Pepper (M74V):
- 7-inch LCD sensitive touchdisplay (800x480)
- Wi-Fi enabled
- Supports 10/100 BASE-T EthernetLAN (RJ45)- USB 2.0
- Supports Micro SD card (maximum32 GB)
- 3G compatible dongle
- 3.5 mm stereo headset jack
- G-sensors 360 degree
- Front camera
- Built in 4GB memory
- Android 2.2
- Supported audio formats: MP3,AAC, WMA, AAC+
- Supported Video formats: 3GP,AVI, MP4, H.264 (upto 720p)
So, would I recommend the LACSMagnum Pepper? If I compare it to the Reliance Tab, in terms of pure userexperience and satisfaction, I would not. But then, when I factor in that it'shalf the prize, it's got a physical keyboard and cover, it accepts USBs and isnot tied to any one telecom provider, I begin to see the scales levelling out.
I'm not completely satisfied withwhat the Magnum Pepper delivers. But it is undeniably a very bold stride into avirgin market. One that might find a lot of interested buyers.
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