Huawei is the latest vendor to produce a tablet computer, announcing plans to launch a 7-inch MediaPad based on Google's as-yet-unreleased Android 3.2 "Honeycomb" operating system.
Huawei introduced
MediaPad, a 7-inch tablet computer running Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) forthcoming
Android 3.2 "Honeycomb" powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon
1.2GHz processor.
Huawei,
which
unveiled its plan June 20 at the CommunicAsia
conference in Singapore, said the device weighs less than a pound and is less
than a half-inch thick.
The slate
supports 1080P full high-definition video playback and an HDMI (High-Definition
Multimedia Interface) port, and features a 5-megapixel auto-focus, rear-facing
camera with HD video-recording capabilities, as well as a 1.3-megapixel
front-facing camera to enable video chat.
Intended as a
media consumption tablet to challenge the likes of Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tab
and HTC's Evo View 4G, the MediaPad supports Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Flash 10.3 and
comes preloaded with Facebook, Twitter, Let's Golf and the Documents to Go
applications. There is 8GB of internal storage.
The device,
shown on
Engadget,
connects to HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) networks with a peak of
14.4M bps, as well as WiFi.
The biggest
news with this machine is the Android 3.2 platform. Android 3.2 is basically
the same as the current Android 3.1 platform-with scalable widgets and USB host
support, among other perks-rolling out on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
However, 3.2
is tailored for the 7-inch screens and other slate sizes and supports Qualcomm
(NASDAQ:QCOM) chips, according to
This is My Next.
The MediaPad
has only 6 hours of playback, which might inhibit some consumers expecting the
10-hour battery life Apple's iPad affords people. The MediaPad could ship in
the U.S. in the third quarter of this year.
Huawei is
mostly known around the world as a telecommunications solution provider, but
the company has launched about 10 low-cost Android smartphones and sold some 7
million mobile devices in the first quarter.
Huawei is just
the latest of several companies perhaps unexpectedly coming to the fore with
Android tablets.
Panasonic
unveiled a ToughBook last week, while Lenovo has
two Android tablets on tap for the summer, one for consumers and one for
businesses. Toshiba meanwhile is
launching its 10.1-inch Thrive Android tablet
July 10 for $429.
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