Huawei's Super Slim MediaPad X1 Hands-on Look

Huawei made a splash at CES with the unveiling of its Ascend Mate 2 with that huge 4050 mAh battery. MWC brought even more devices from Huawei including the MediaPad X1. Measuring in at 7.18 mm thick, it's not quite as thin as Sony's Xperia Z tablet (6.9 mm) but it does beat out the iPad mini, the iPad air, and the Kindle Fire.

 

We went hands on with the MediaPad X1 at Huawei's booth today and were pretty impressed with the feel of the device. Though it's 7 inches in size, it doesn't feel overly large (perhaps a side-effect of ever larger smartphones). Huawei has included 4G LTE support as well as a messaging app and a dialer so phablet fans could technically use this as a phone. While this device might be thin and light, it's still a bit cumbersome in terms of size, so we're not sure you'd want to use it as a phone regularly, but the functionality is there if required.

 

The software is Android 4.2 with Huawei's Emotion UI layer on top. This includes some major changes, like ditching the app tray and displaying every app on your home screens, as well as some minor tweaks, like the nice 'rolling' effect you get when you swipe from home screen to screen. The 

 

Under the hood you're looking at a quad-core 1.6 Ghz processor, 2 GB of RAM, up to 32 GB of storage, 13-megapixel camera in the back, 5-megapixel front facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, support for LTE, a 5000 mAh battery, and a total weight of 239g. The display is a 7-inch 1200 x 1920 LTPS with 10-point capacitive touch.

Pricing and availability haven't been announced but we'll keep you posted!

Check out all our Mobile World Congress 2014 coverage here!

Follow Jane McEntegart @JaneMcEntegart. Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.

  • robochump
    Cool, another iPad clone. Just what we needed.
    Reply
  • Johnsonator1
    "Though it's 7 inches in size, it doesn't feel overly large."That's what she said.
    Reply
  • Shaun o
    So what is it then a phone or a tablet.Or a tablet with the ability to make calls on.At 7" I think it would be a bit of a hand full when using it for phone calls.If you have small hands that is.
    Reply
  • robochump
    Cool, another iPad clone. Just what we needed.
    sorry little iTroll but Apple is the one that copied other companies when it comes to mini tablets! wipe that drool off your face and run along.
    Right, and Apple didn't revitalize the tablet market. Thanks for the laughs iHater.
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    I'm excited about this because it shows us that apple is doomed. in comes a never heard of manufacturer capable of building high quality products without the MASSIVE profit margin.
    Reply
  • PMSoft_hub
    Couldn't agree more jasonelmore. I myself is an Android smartphone user and have never regretted the switch. With the emergence of many new company's who can come up with quality products at a more reasonable price, Apple's strategy of premium pricing to create an image of high quality is doomed. :-)
    Reply
  • hajila
    It will cost 399 euros, so about $550 here.
    Reply
  • zodiacfml
    i will take that for the price of a Nexus 7 2013
    Reply
  • James Emmans
    China is going to win in the end. We may as well start buying Huawei and look to the future. I can see myself owning one of these very soon.
    Reply
  • capdien
    look like a big phone
    Reply