iPad Alternatives – Huawei S7 Android Tablet PC

The Huawei S7 Tablet Brings the App-tastic Android Market to a Tablet PC

Today on whattabletpc.com we look at the Huawei S7 Tablet PC, what the key features are and what that means if you’re considering buying it as an alternative to the iPad. This tablet is launching imminently so we’ll keep it light on what we know so far…

Huawei S7 Tablet Overview

Here we have a mid-range priced 7-inch tablet that should allow you to watch high-definition video, play your music and enjoy your pictures. It will also allow you to make voice calls and send text messages. The exciting stuff with the Huawei S7 is we have a device running Google’s Android 2.1 operating system so unlike other tablet PCs on the market that run older versions of Android (such as the Archos 7), it should allow full access to the huge range of apps to download form the Android Maketplace. It’s too early to tell yet how much impact this device will have, concerns are around battery life and the responsiveness of the screen but once we have the device in the hands of real users we’ll know how this and the user interface stacks up.

What’s the Huawei S7 tablet design and screen like?

The Huawei S7 tablet screen is 7-inches (measured diagonally) with 800 by 480 pixel screen resolution. It’s an LED back-lit LCD screen and reports suggest the build quality is good. A concern is that the screen is of the resistive type which means you really need to use a stylus (included) to accurately navigate the on-screen activity. You can use fingers but it’s not as responsive as a capacitive screen that you find on the iPad. There’s no multi-touch either so pinch-to-zoom type functionality is not possible.

What are the Huawei S7 tablet specs?

• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (768 MHz) – decent enough processor that’s nippy enough for this kind of device. RAM is 256MB so a little on the low side but still fine.
• Weight – we’re expecting around 500g so pretty light and highly mobile.
• Storage Space – you’ll need to buy a microSD card to add more storage space to the device. You can take this up to 32GB though with this which is plenty for films and a decent size music collection.
• Email – dealt with via Exchange & POP3 so you can either use a web based email or install an application and hook it up to your Google mail account for example.
• 2 Megapixel front facing camera – means you can install the Skype application and use video calling (providing you have a decent internet connection)
• Battery Life – this is a concern as initial reviews/spec lists suggest we’ll only get around 2-3 hours of continuous use out of the device and about 100 hours on standby – not very good if you’ve taken it on a long flight or want to watch a film.
• Bluetooth – means you can hook up a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse for use with the tablet.
• Headphone jack – 3.5mm means you can use a standard pair of headphones with the device.
• USB port – single port means you can transfer files on and off the device via a USB memory stick or attach peripheral devices such as printers or anything with a USB 2.0 connection. Would be better if it had more USB ports as just the one is quite limiting and means you may end up slotting devices in and out rather than having 2 in use simultaneously.
• Ambient light sensor – should adjust the screen brightness depending on the surrounding light so it automatically dims and is less stressful on the eyes in low light or alternatively brightens so you’re still able to read the screen in the bright sunlight.
• Built-in mic – for recording sounds directly to the device
• Accelerometer – this means it should orientate the screen to portrait mode or landscape mode depending on how you hold the device.
• Kickstand – a really useful kickstand at the back will allow you to prop up the device without having to pay for an expensive accessory to do this for you.
• Side buttons – these should cover power on/off, volume up/down, navigator selection, home, back, menus and calling.
• Check out the full Huawei S7 feature list and reviews.

How do I browse the internet on the Huawei S7 tablet PC?

• Wi-Fi – connection means you can get online easily providing you can hook up to your in-home network or find a Wi-Fi hotspot when out and about.
• Sim Card Slot – you can insert a Sim card from a cellular provider and make calls, send SMS text messages or surf the web via the 3G network. Obviously you’ll need a voice and data contract with the provider to do this but having the 3G access means you don’t need to find a Wi-Fi connection to get hooked up online.

How do I watch video on the Huawei S7 tablet PC?

• 720p high definition playback is touted as possible so you should be able to watch high-definition movies. No confirmation on file types yet but the spec suggests it should handle the H.264 and MPEG4 file formats which are the two most common.

What will the user interface and apps be like on the Huawei S7 tablet?

• Android 2.1 – Access to the Android Market means you can download the apps you require relatively easily and as more applications are added by developers this should grow. Android 2.2 is being launched currently but we don’t know yet how easy it will be to upgrade the Huawei to this which would improve the operating system even further.
• User Interface – it looks like there will be an additional layer on top of Android to enhance the user experience but little is known about this and it could make or break the device depending on how slick it is – watch this space for when we know more.

• eBook Reader – doesn’t look like this comes pre-installed but you should be able to download the Kindle app from the Android Marketplace to read ebooks if you want to.
• Music – the device is likely to ship with an app for playing your favourite MP3s but nothing is confirmed here yet and again there are options you should have access to via the Android Market.

Huawei S7 Release Date

The release date is expected early August and available via Expansys

Huawei S7 Price

Expansys is selling the Huawei S7 for $360 in the US and £300 in the UK

Conclusion – The Huawei S7 has some interesting specs but with some substantial concerns too.

The Huawei S7 Tablet PC looks like a welcome addition to the current list of tablets on the market bringing (almost) the latest version of Google’s Android and it’s associated ranges of apps. It’s disappointing that the screen is only resistive as these are less responsive than capacitive screen but this keeps the cost down to bring this much more into the mid-range tablet category. The other big concern is the battery life which looks weak and could be a killer if it’s less than 3 hours continuous play – lets hope this is better than expected but we suggest holding off buying until we know more on that.

Image Source: Expansys