Huawei MediaPad 10

8/10

1920 x 1200 display
Android
10.1 inch display
Multi Touch
HDMI
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth
Screen Zoom
GPS
Memory slot
View full specs

There are only a handful of 10-inch tablets with full HD screens available on the market today, and the Huawei MediaPad 10 is one of them. It comes with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed and 4G LTE connectivity. In other words, it is fully equipped to handle most any mobile computing task that might be thrown at it, from wherever. And it will handle all while looking sleek and feeling lightweight, to boot. Many big name brands have been in the mobile computing device game far longer than Huawei. And yet offerings from many of these same companies are lagging behind the MediaPad 10, whether in terms of hardware or software features. It not only comes with 4G LTE, but also HSPA+, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi connectivity. So you’re sure to have a mobile Internet connection whenever you like.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about this tablet is the fact that it houses a full HD resolution 10-inch screen in its 9mm thin casing. It also features a 6600 mAh battery, 8MP auto-focus camera with dual-LED flash, GPS with A-GPS, HDMI and microUSB ports, as well as support for microSD cards. This is to augment the available storage space onboard, which can be 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB.

One of the few things that might look kind of bad is the default operating system, which is Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. An update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean may be released before the end of 2012, but if you need to get your hands on the latest version of Android right now, then you may want to explore other options.

Need to Know: Huawei MediaPad 10

1. Full HD resolution (1920x1200 pixels) 10-inch screen. (The Good)

2. Available in a number of different models with support for various wireless networking technologies and amount of internal storage. (The Good)

3. Doesn’t come with the latest version of the Android software. (The Bad)

4. Lacks NFC wireless technology. (The Bad)

Prices (Where To Buy)

Anti Scratch Screen Protector Film Shield for Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Tablet from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Located In: USA

$3.79

Cover Book Case PU Leather For 10 inch Tablet HUAWEI MediaPad 10 FHD SmartQ T19 from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Located In: USA

$13.99

Cover Book Case Leather Folio For 10 inch Fits Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Kickstand from eBay

•Condition: New
•Availability: In Stock
•Located In: USA

$13.99

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Latest Reviews

Ultra-thin, compact, businesslike design, high-quality finish, stunningly-sharp screen

What Mobile from What Mobile (about 1 year ago)

8/10

At 10.5mm can just about be described as ultra-thin. It’s compact, with a businesslike design and high-quality finish comparable with similarly-priced rivals. Huawei vaguely hinted that it chose the 7in route (rather than the 10in) so the MediaPad would fit into handbags, and appeal to women. But there’s... More

At 10.5mm can just about be described as ultra-thin. It’s compact, with a businesslike design and high-quality finish comparable with similarly-priced rivals. Huawei vaguely hinted that it chose the 7in route (rather than the 10in) so the MediaPad would fit into handbags, and appeal to women. But there’s little to suggest this will be the case – unless a collaboration with Louboutin is in the offing.

Picking the MediaPad up for the first time is a pleasant surprise. It’s light and the aluminium body is extremely comfortable to hold. And if the MediaPad does have a standout feature, it’s the screen. While many budget and mid-range tablets are blighted by a tragically-bad screen resolution, the MediaPad’s 7in LCD touchscreen offers an impressive 1280×800 pixels, outstripping the Galaxy Tab’s 1024×600 offering. Head to head, the MediaPad’s display is actually better than those found on some 10.1in tablets. What’s more, it features the same IPS technology found in the iPad 2 and Kindle Fire, ensuring an excellent viewing angle.

Sensibly, Huawei has realised that rather than invest a small fortune on laboured Android tweaks, it has pretty much left the standard Honeycomb 3.2 OS alone. Pre-installed apps include the standard (Facebook and Twitter) along with Let’s Golf and Huawei Office, which gives the device out-of-the-box compatibility with PDFs, Word and Excel documents. It’s pretty much the only OS flourish you’ll find. The 5MP rear camera is promising given that the 7in Galaxy Tab offers a 3MP. It’s fairly ponderous and there’s no flash, but it’s unlikely that consumers who want to take a great shot will reach for a tablet, this is a hardly a deal-breaker.

Connectivity is good. One of the plastic sections on the back of the MediaPad can be removed to insert a microSD card slot while on the side you’ll find a microHDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB port. Apple’s market share may have decreased to a ‘mere’ 80%, but the tablet market remains a tough nut to crack. While high-profile offerings from Motorola, BlackBerry and HP have been mercilessly snubbed by consumers, Huawei has watched, eager not to make the same mistakes.

The comparisons to Samsung’s excellent Galaxy Tab are well deserved, though if there is a drawback to the MediaPad, it’s that – initially, at least – it will be Wi-Fi only. Samsung, on the other hand, provides a choice of Galaxy Tab models: Wi-Fi only or 3G+Wi-Fi. Naturally, Huawei was never going to outshine Apple but neither did it intend it to. After all, what’s the point of going over the top with all guns blazing – only to beat a hasty, and very public, retreat. The MediaPad is a competent, Android Honeycomb tablet that, crucially, gets all the basics right from the start. If you can find the MediaPad for a sub £300 price, it’s one of the biggest tablet bargains around and, for this month at least, it’s a close call between the MediaPad and Xoom 2: Media Edition.

Read original review at What Mobile.

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