Hands-On: Huawei MediaPad X1 LTE

Huawei announced a number of interesting smartphones and tablet during MWC here in Barcelona so we checked out their booth to see what all the fuss is about that MediaPad X1 everyone is talking about.

True enough, we were greeted by this 7-inch full HD tablet that looks and feels like the iPad Mini. The size, shape, texture and finish really looks like it is the iPad Mini, less that iconic circular Home button.

But that doesn’t mean the MediaPad X1 has nothing to be proud of — really sleek design and look, very thin at just 7.18mm on the side, metallic body, and a premium feel that will put even the Nexus tablets to shame.

The full HD 1080p display uses a LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) LCD which is some sort of IPS LCD as well, giving the device great display quality. The bezels are also very thin, just under 3mm.

At just 7-inch, the tablet is still comfortable enough to be held in one hand (almost similar in size and form factor as the Nexus 7 2013).

This is also the first time we’ve heard of the new chip, the HiSilicon Kirin, but it seems it’s the update to the old K3V2 chip they’ve been using for a long time. The Ascend Mate 3G model also uses the same chip.

Huawei MediaPad X1 specs:
7-inch LTPS HD display @ 1200×1920 pixels, 323ppi
HiSilicon Kirin 910 1.8GHz Cortex-A9 quad-core processor
Mali 450MP Graphics
2GB RAM
16GB internal storage
up to 32Gb via microSD card
LTE CAT 4 100Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
GPS with aGPS support
13MP rear camera with LED flash
5MP front-facing camera
Android 4.2 Jellybean
Li-Ion 5,000mAh battery

With the LTE functionality, the MediaPad X1 is also capable of making voice calls and SMS functions. The 5,000mAh battery is also capable of reverse charging so it can be used to charge other devices or smartphones.

The Huawei MediaPad X1 is set to be released sometime in March 2014 with a suggested retail price of €399 (or just under Php25k).