Five reasons why the OlivePad will not dethrone the iPad

We got some time with Olive’s Android tablet, the OlivePad, which is the first 3G tablet in India and while we must confess to being rather impressed with it, we still think it is some way from knocking the iPad off most people’s list of preferred tablets. No, we are not saying that because we are Apple fan boys (for the record, we are not), but because for all its amazing features (support for expansion cards, high speed broadband connectivity, 3.0 MP camera, Android 2.1, decent battery life, GPS, phone calling ability, et al), the OlivePad gets outclassed by Mr Jobs’ tablet in five key areas.

1. Looks: All those who claim that they are not swayed by the appearance of a gadget have clearly never used one from Apple. There have been tablets before but what made the iPad different was its sleek appearance. Alas, the OlivePad is more chunky with the glossy back and steel border not exactly giving it a drop-dead-gorgeous look. Unlike the iPad, which is very two-handed, seems too big for one hand, and too small for two. We can see people using the OlivePad, but flaunting it? Nahh….
2. Interface: We love Android, but honestly, we think it currently is not as adaptable to tablets as iOS 4. Using the OlivePad was not half as smooth as using the iPad. There were frequent lags and the touch experience was not that smooth – we often found just unlocking the screen a pain. As for typing, the iPad’s onscreen keyboard simply runs away a clean winner here.
3. Multimedia: On paper, the OlivePad should not compare too unfavourably with the iPad, although the latter has a bigger screen, but we found sound and video to be a different league altogether on the iPad. Gaming too seemed much better. Of course, the fact that the iPad has so many more games and that we cannot yet access paid Android apps in India, helps.
4. Apps: No, we are not going to get into the “App Store has so many more apps than the Android Market” argument, but are simply going to point out that there seem to be far more apps designed for the iPad in particular (and we do NOT mean iPhone apps that you can run on the tablet) than for Android tablets. The net result of which is that while the iPad looks like competition for a netbook, the OlivePad ends up seeming more like an oversized Android phone.
5. Price: Yes, we can hear people saying that at less than Rs 25,000, it is more than a match for the iPad which currently comes for Rs 30,000 in the Indian grey market, but in our opinion, the price is just too close to that of the iPad for comfort. Had it been sub-Rs 20,000, we would have had no hesitation in labelling it a potential iPhone slayer, but at around Rs 23,000 (which we hear will be the final price), it is way too close to the ubergizmo.

Our final call: The OlivePad is a very good device if you have never used a tablet or an iPhone before, but if you are looking for something that will match the iPad, keep waiting.