The tablet business an app built

A guest feedback app at a tourism event has been turned into a tablet computer import business that offers South Africans quality Android tablets at bargain prices just in time for the holiday season.

Usually, app businesses are built on tablets. It is rare for a tablet business to be built from an app.

A company that used Android tablets to obtain guest feedback at an awards ceremony last year discovered such a demand for the devices, it turned its feedback app into a thriving Android tablet import business.

Now Android-tablets.co.za offers a high-quality 10.1‚” tablet for R2 999, and a 7‚” option for R2500, available online.

“We originally brought in Androids to run the app for obtaining guest feedback in the 2011 AA Accommodation Awards,‚”” says company co-founder Vanessa Sand. ‚””The demand for the devices themselves showed the potential of the Android tablets. The improved quality we are now receiving from our supplier makes these Androids a winner. The price/performance is extremely hard to beat.””

It took time to resolve quality issues, but stock has now arrived in the country in time for the holiday season. Android-tablets.co.za are marketing it as the ideal high-tech Christmas gift at a time when the demand for cost-effective tablets is growing.

Sand, who has been involved in Information Technology since the early seventies, started out working on IBM mainframes, and has worked on every mainstream hardware platform since. Android tablets, she says, have the greatest potential she has yet seen for mass-market use.

However, the high-tech functionality of the Android-tablets.co.za offering mean they will also appeal to the high end of the market.

‚””One of the best features of these tablets is the HDMI port,‚”” says Hadley Shapiro, company CEO. ‚””This allows you to connect to a large TV screen, bringing in both the audio and the video. This means you can take your movie on a USB stick or any other removable drive and plug it in to the USB port and then, through your tablet, play a movie which shows on a 42‚”” TV screen or similar.‚””

HDMI cables, he says are ‚””ridiculously expensive in general‚””, but their supplier ‚””has provided excellent quality HDMI cables which we are able to sell for R100‚””.

The 7‚”” generation 2 tablet has a built in 3G card, 1.2Ghz CPU, 8GB hard drive and runs Ice Cream Sandwich, or Android 4.0.3 software.

The 10.1‚”” tablet has an HD display, ideal for watching movies. It can be used with 3G data cards, offers an 8GB hard drive and hides an A9 cortex processor. On the long rim, it sports a headphone connector, HDMI port, Micro SD port and power button. The short rim houses volume buttons and a camera button.

Both models come with standard apps, including Google Maps, Messenger and Gmail, along with 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

The built in cameras include continuous focus, zero shutter lag exposure and decreased shot-to-shot speed in order to capture clear, precise images. Stabilised image zoom allows users to concentrate on composing images as it pleases them, including video while recording. It allows snapshots at full resolution while recording video, just by tapping the screen as the video continues to record.

The Gallery app allows photos to be sorted by time, location, people and tags.

Shapiro is also enthusiastic about the accessories: ‚””We have some really funky accessories for both models, including leatherette cases and keyboards for both the 7‚”” and the 10‚””models, soft skin pouches, styluses, multi-purpose stands and SD memory cards that come with computer adaptors.‚””

The Android tablets offer a robust environment in which to play Angry Birds and other games, with responsive screens and fast processor time. Thousands of games are available for Android Ice Cream Sandwich, many of which are free.

The 7‚”” is also ideal for combining cellphone and other functionality that Android tablets offer, while the 10‚”” shines for those who want to combine watching videos with all the other Android functionality.

* The tablets can be ordered online at www.android-tablets.co.za or by phoning 011 713-2000 or 072 590-2726 for more information. Email info@android-tablets.co.za.

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