SmartTab – Why a cheap android tab?

I bought a new Karbonn SmartTab2. It was roughly INR 7K ($140). Many of my friends were surprised that I bought a cheap tablet (especially because I have plans of upgrading my Nexus One by year end). I have been exploring cheap tablets for a while and I settled down for SmartTab at last for a couple of reasons.

• It’s sturdy, portable and affordable.
• It has all the connectivity I wanted—USB (can connect to USB modem, hard disk etc), Bluetooth, MicroSD, HDMI out, WiFi and front camera. GSM was not required as I have a phone which is capable of getting onto cellular network and also tethering.
• Enough power—1GHz and 512 MB RAM.
• Decent OS, ice cream sandwich
• Apps that matter like 3G app which can connect to Internet using my USB modem.

I have plans for some hardware hacks which need cheap, accessible (ports) and decent computer to use. I think Android as an OS suits the deal and hence SmartTab is a perfect fit.

I will probably use Processing + Android (Amarino) + Arduino + bebox for my hacks. Any suggestions are welcome.

As of now I am just watching movies, reading books ad taking Internet offline. I must say I am very impressed with it and I might buy one for my parents.