Quick review: Croma 1179 Windows 8.1 tablet

Croma teamed up with Intel to release its low cost Croma 1179 Windows 8.1 tablet in India with a starting price tag of ₹13,990 – by far the cheapest Windows 8.1 tablet. The tablet is available in both 8-inch and 10-inch configurations. Here we present a quick review of the tablet based on its specifications.

Specification

Parameter    Value
Display    8 Inch qHD IPS LCD, 1280 x 800 resolution
Processor    1.33 GHz Quad Core Intel Atom Processor Z3735D
RAM    2GB
Operating System    Windows 8.1
Primary Camera    2-megapixel fixed focus
Secondary Camera    2-megapixel fixed focus
Internal Storage    32GB
Extra Storage    microSD card support
Battery    5000mAh
Connectivity    Wi-Fi, MicroUSB, 3G Via external dongle
Design & Build

Right off the bat without lurking around we will lay it on the table – the Croma 1179 feels like a slab of plastic with a matte finish rear. The keyboard case also feels of average quality and instead of a docking station like connectivity, the keyboard connects through to the tablet through a USB cable. The keys on the keyboard aren’t that great either.

Display

The display seems to be particularly prone to fingerprints and isn’t that great as far as quality is concerned. With a 1280 x 800 resolution that translates into 188 pixels per inches, the 8-inch Croma 1179 provides a rather mediocre visual experience despite the fact that it has a resolution greater than 720p. We wouldn’t recommend this tablet to those who are avid multimedia fans and love watching videos and movies on their tablets.

CPU & RAM

Intel has powered the Croma 1179 with a Z3735D quad core chipset clocked at 1.3 GHz which is based on its Bay Trail architecture. The 22nm process based SoC promises longer battery life. The hyperthreading feature has however been removed from this chipset for some reason.

As far as RAM is concerned, the 2GB seems to be enough and is impressive considering the outlay of the tablet. The combination of the chipset and the RAM is definitely impressive in theory, but we shall know more once we are able to test the tablet fully.

Storage

With 32GB internal storage, there is plenty you can store on the tablet, but chances are that 8 to 10 GB of the storage won’t be available to you as it will be occupied by the Windows 8.1 OS. Croma has provided a microSD card slot where you can insert a memory card and extend the storage by another 32GB.

Camera

Both the rear and front facing cameras are fixed focus 2-megapixel ones – something that we aren’t delighted about. The rear camera won’t give out great shots, but the front facing camera should do great for video calls and conferencing.

Conclusion

For a starting price of ₹13,990, the Croma 1179 isn’t promising a whole lot beyond a regular tablet experience and from the looks of it the tablet is great for basic tablet specific tasks of browsing, note taking, and email related tasks.

SRC:The newsreports