Review: LG Optimus Sol E730 and Samsung Galaxy Tab P620

LG Optimus Sol E730
Dazzling Surface
LG's new Ultra-AMOLED display on the Optimus Sol E730 gives Samsung's Galaxy S2 a run for its money. If clarity of display and colour vibrancy are what you care most about, you should not look beyond this. With a 9.7 cm diagonal screen, the display is large for the price. But the device falls short on a few other criteria. Crucially it does not have a camera flash. Still, the images it produces are not that bad - among the better pictures obtained using devices in this price bracket. The Android interface is fairly clean, but the company is silent about whether there will be an upgrade to the next version of Android.
+ve: Lovely screen, well-priced, decent camera
-ve: No camera flash, lack of TV out cable, no indication of software update
Price: Rs 19,000

Samsung Galaxy Tab P620
Costly but Nice
If you can live with holding something that looks like a thin paperback to your ear while making calls, you could try this device. If you have to get a tablet with a seven inch diagonal screen, Samsung's P620 is the best one, with a slick touchscreen and decent looks. Apps from Google's new Play Store that are designed for tablets work beautifully on the P620, since it uses the Honeycomb tablet version of Android. Angry Birds thankfully works like a charm too on it, though that cannot be said of all apps. The only hitch is the reduced price of the iPad 2 (Rs 24,500) in India, which makes it cheaper than this product. The iPad 2 is also bigger, though the P620 does have a Micro-SD slot for additional memory. Sure, one can hold out for a price cut on the P620 in the future.
+ve: Smooth touch interface, works as a phone, fits in your back pocket (just do not sit on it)
-ve: More expensive than the iPad 2
Price: Rs 25,900