Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/20/huawei_mediapad/

Huawei outs 'first' Android 3.2 7in tablet

Confirms Honeycomb currently not good for seven-inchers

By Tony Smith

Posted in Personal Tech, 20th June 2011 09:46 GMT

Chinese handset maker Huawei has taken the wraps off its latest tablet: the 7in, Android 3.2-based MediaPad - the first of its kind to run that version of the Google OS, Huawei claimed.

Huawei confirmed that 3.2 is the first version of Honeycomb to be "suitable" for 7in tablets - previous versions, 3.0 and 3.1, are not, said Victor Xu, Huawei's marketing chief - and the first designed specifically to support that size of screen.

Huawei MediaPad

Key features include a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU; 1080p HD output through HDMI; 15Mp and 1.3Mp rear- and front-facing cameras; 2.4/5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi; Bluetooth 2.1; and 14.4Mb/s HSPA connectivity.

Huawei made a big deal out of the MediaPad's 217 pixels per inch display, comparing it to the iPad 2's 132ppi, the Samsung Galaxu Tab 10.1's 149ppi and the Motorola Xoom's 160ppi.

Huawei MediaPad

These rivals are all 9.7in or 10.1in displays so for a given resolution, of course they're going to be lower than a 7in panel. It's a lot lower than the iPhone 4 3.5in screen's 326ppi.

Huawei didn't state the display's resolution.

And the MediaPad is a chunky boy too: 11mm edge on, though it weighs just 390g, Huawei said.

Huawei MediaPad

There's a 4100mAh battery on board good, the company said, for six hours' video playback.

The MediaPad will be available in "selected markets" in Q3. Huawei kept mum about pricing. ®