Mega retailer Croma today launched 2 Windows 8.1 based tablets in India with 8 inch and 10.1 Inch display starting from 13,990 INR. The tablets are meant to allure users looking Windows 8.1 productivity on a portable platform and perhaps the Croma 1179 is one of the cheapest Windows 8.1 tablet you can buy in India as of now. Here is how it felt when we first examined it.
Croma 1179 Tablet Quick Specs
- Display Size: 8 Inch qHD IPS LCD, 1280 x 800 resolution
- Processor: 1.33 GHz Quad Core Intel Atom Processor Z3735D
- RAM: 2 GB
- Software Version: Windows 8.1
- Camera: 2 MP camera Fixed Focus
- Secondary Camera: 2 MP Fixed Focus
- Internal Storage: 32 GB
- External Storage: yes
- Battery: 5000 mAh
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi, MicroUSB, 3G Via external dongle
Croma 1179 Tablet Hands on Video
Coming Soon
Design, Build and Display
Croma 1179 is definitely not winning any design awards and it’s not meant to. It feels like a cheap slab of plastic with matte finish back and an 8 inch display which is quite prone to fingerprints. The tablet comes with an average quality keyboard case but the case connects to the tablet via external USB cable (not Bluetooth). The keys on the 8 inch tablet weren’t much to our liking either.
The display is not very bright or sharp (188 pixels per inches) but it is 8 inches in size and will be usable for the purpose it is intended for. If watching multimedia content is high priority for you there are several android tablets to serve you better, but this one is meant to let you browse your productivity apps anywhere any time.
Processor and RAM
This is the first time that we have come across Intel’s Z3735D quad core chipset clocked at 1.3 GHz. The Bay Trail architecture based SoC is formed on a 22 nm Process which makes it energy efficient in theory. The hyper threading feature we have seen in last generation processors in Zenfone series has been removed in this chipset.
The chipset is aided with 2 GB RAM which again sounds impressive in this price range. The chipset looks good in theory but we will save our verdict till we test it extensively in our full review.
Camera and Internal Storage
For basic photography, Croma has provided with a 2 MP rear and front camera. Since both are fixed focus units and also because of the large forma factor, you will be rarely using the camera of this device. You can however engage in that occasional video conference or Video chat. It would have been better if Croma had provided with one front camera better in quality in place of two average performing fixed focus units.
The Internal storage is 32 GB and can be further expanded using MicroSD card support.
User Interface and Battery
The operating system is Windows 8.1 and the tablet will support all your PC apps and productivity tools you choose to carry around in your travel gear. For connectivity you can use WiFi or a 3G dongle. Battery be capacity is 5000 mAh, which sounds good enough since the chipset is based on a 22 nm process. Croma didn’t provide any usage stats so we can’t be sure how much on screen time you can extract from the device.
Photo Gallery
Conclusion
Croma 1179 is meant to provide moderate Windows 8.1 productivity on a low cost device and it seems capable enough to deliver on that count. We wouldn’t rate it as a decent all-round device with Android tablets like Nexus 7 2013 and several others selling in the same price bracket. This one will have a separate target audience and main highlight will be its competitive cost in Windows 8.1 arena.
