OG Hands-on with the OlivePad, Quick Review

Although it was first announced in August, the OlivePad has finally made it to leading electronic stores and much to the surprise of many people, is actually slugging it out with the much-hyped Samsung Galaxy Tab. Yes, it might not be as easy on the eye or as sleek as Samsung’s attempt at slaying the iPad but at around Rs 23,000 (as per the price at Croma), it is a much better value for money proposition, especially as it runs Android 2.2, has the same screen size (although slightly lower resolution), and camera (no flash, though).

Well, we got our hands on a completely packed unit from the good folks at Olive and spent no time in getting busy clicking ourselves unwrapping it. So here without any more ado is the unpacking of the OlivePad.

The Pad complete with its plastic covering – we just wanted to PROVE that we had an absolutely fresh new unit and not a prototype.

The cover is off and you can see that the packaging of the OlivePad is actually pretty impressive with green and black. It is not a very bulky package either. You can easily carry it in one arm.

The cover opens and we get our first look at the OlivePad- well, almost, it is inside that cover which Olive has very thoughtfully thrown in along with the tablet, saving us the need to go running around looking for one (you cannot imagine what dust magnets these tabs are!).

We have taken out whatever was in the box and chucked it aside and what we have is the OlivePad (still in its cover), some manuals and two packets that we wager contain cables and the like. Right, let us open those two worthies then!

And they did contain some cables. Here’s all that lies inside an OlivePad box – the OlivePad (yes, you can finally see it as we flip open the cover), a mini USB charger, a USB cable, the headset and joy of joys, a 16GB micro SD card with MapMyIndia Maps GPS navigation on it.  And the manuals, but we decided to keep them out of the pic, as you had already seen them. Now, on to that pad.

We have got it out of the cover and now you can see the OlivePad with what seems to be a very basic screen protector on it (we are not removing it, though, until we get a decent substitute – no, we are not scratching this baby, we are not!). As you can see, it is a seven inch display with four soft buttons beneath it – back, search, home, menu.

Moving on to the sides, which could have been slimmer, perhaps, but are still not over bulky. The metallic band running around the side of the OlivePad gives it a slightly industrial look, although we think it is smart enough – on one side you have the volume buttons, and covered slots for the microSD card and the SIM card (yes, you can put a SIM in this tablet and use it as a phone).

And on the other side, you have the slots for the mini USB charger and the headset, as well as the microphone.

And the back of the OlivePad, covered in plastic. Yep, it looks kinda ugly so we will get rid of that…

And there you have it, the back of the OlivePad with no plastic to obstruct the view. Glossy black with the camera close to the centre, rather than being in one of the corners, as seen in some tabs. Looks good, we must confess.

So there you have it – the OlivePad unpacked. First impressions: it does seem a tad bulky and is not as sleek as the Galaxy Tab or the iPad, but neither does it look bad. We are not going to feel ashamed to be seen working on this. And the addition of a cover is a very neat touch! As to how it works, stay tuned, we are getting started on it!