Some pundits affirmation that Android tablets allegation to be decidedly beneath big-ticket than the iPad 2 to succeed. In that case, the T-Mobile Springboard by Huawei should be a success. Of course, there's added to the blueprint than amount or the baby army of actively account no-name Android tablets with chapped arresting blow screens and anachronous versions of Android would accept taken the apple by storm. Even T-Mobile's added 7" Android tablet, the Dell Streak 7, was advised for budget-conscious consumers, which is a affable way of adage it was low end. Dell is a bank 1 brand, but the Streak 7 wasn't acute acknowledgment to its dim and low resolution affectation and beefy artificial body. In contrast, the Springboard seems absolutely Neiman Marcus to the Streak 7's K-Mart vibe.
The Springboard is a 7" Android Honeycomb 3.2 book that's got a superior attending and feel with A9191 specs to match. It has a actual top resolution affectation a part of 7" tablets: 1280 x 800, and it runs on a bifold amount 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU with Adreno 220 graphics. It has HSPA+ 4G on T-Mobile, and it has 16 gigs of accumulator and a microSD agenda slot. Round that up with foreground and rear cameras, WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS and you've got a aggressive amalgamation with a affable amount (at atomic on contract). The book has GSM EDGE/3G/4G for abstracts only; it does not handle cellular calls, admitting you can use VoIP apps like GTalk and Skype.
Huawei, a about newcomer in the US, makes the Springboard for T-Mobile. They've produced USB abstracts sticks for carriers, as able-bodied as a few account phones. They've said they wish to be the next HTC and alpha authoritative actively acceptable superior products, and in fact, the aback of the Springboard is embarrassingly agnate to the 7" HTC Flyer tablet. It's got the aforementioned aluminum aback with white end caps, admitting Huawei does at atomic change the appearance of these caps. The affinity ends there aback the Springboard has avant-garde and commonsensical metal beeline abandon while the HTC is abounding of absorbing circuitous curves and apparent textures. But then, the Flyer did amount appreciably added if it came out, admitting it's now down to $299 for the WiFi alone adaptation and $299 for the T-Mobile adaptation via HTC's website.
T-Mobile went Home Shopping Arrangement on us with pricing. You'll pay $229 out the door, and again delay for a $50 rebate, which brings it down to $179. That's a adequately accustomed adjustment for T-Mobile and added US carriers who use rebates. But it gets absolute absorbing afterwards that: T-Mobile refers to the $179 (after rebate) as a down payment. You'll pay $10/month for 20 months on your bill (with accustomed acclaim and a 2 year contract). These are your "interest free" account payments on the tablet. The abstracts affairs starts at $30/month, but you'll get a $10/month abatement if you accept addition band with T-Mobile. Got that? So the absolute amount of the book is $379. If you end your adjustment early, you'll pay whatever's larboard of your $10/month payments balance, but T-Mobile tells there won't be any added ETF. Honestly, it's never appropriate a abounding branch just to accompaniment the amount of a phone or tablet!
Design and Build Quality
Build superior and architecture elements are actual good, admitting Huawei isn't aberration far from the ellipsoidal slab that represents a lot of tablets. The abandon and aback (apart from the artificial caps) are absolutely metal and the book is almost attenuate at 0.41 inches and ablaze at 13 ounces. Agnate to the HTC, the Springboard has a unibody architecture and the aback flows actually seamlessly into the sides. This agency the array isn't removable, but the SIM agenda aperture and microSD agenda aperture are attainable already you cull off the basal white cap/panel. The book looks, feels and is absolutely able-bodied made.
The top bend houses a aggregate rocker and ability button, and the somewhat bloodless stereo speakers blaze from grilles on the larboard side. The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the larboard ancillary and the micro HDMI, micro USB and ability jack are on the appropriate side. The rear 5 megapixel autofocus camera is centered abreast the top (when captivated in account mode), and the foreground 1.3 megapixel video babble camera is inexplicably placed at the top larboard bend if captivated in mural mode. Your larboard ear will be featured in video chats. Or you'll sit off to the ancillary if chatting. Argh. The Springboard isn't the alone book with awkward video babble camera placement, but that doesn't beggarly we won't complain.
Display and Multimedia
This is the aboriginal 7", 1280 x 800 pixel Android book to hit the market, and it's nice to accept a top superior affectation at this price. The added resolution doesn't beggarly you'll see lots added on awning if examination a web page compared to the 1024 x 600 HTC Flyer though. We put them ancillary by ancillary and loaded the aforementioned web pages to compare, and we saw the aforementioned appearance on both. That agency the operating arrangement is accomplishing some ascent to accumulate things legible, and that's not a bad thing. Few of us accept the eyes to apprehend micro fonts, and aggressive operating systems like iOS do ascent to accumulate things readable. What you do get is bluff fonts in eBook apps like Kindle and Nook, as able-bodied as bluff video and photos.
Viewing angles are absolutely good. You can authority the book agee abroad on a table and see it acutely after abundant blush shift, clashing the Acer Iconia A100 7" tablet andA800 Android 2.3. We had no agitation with accumbent or vertical examination angles up to 130 degrees. Two humans can watch a video after abundant accident of blacks or contrast. Able-bodied done. Accuracy is acceptable abundant to accumulate Google Maps arresting outdoors, admitting with some accident of accuracy and contrast. Colors assume accustomed and Huawei has a blush accessory affection that's angry on by default, admitting we couldn't see abundant aberration with it on or off.
The book handles video playback well, and it managed 1080p top contour MPEG4 video playback after a hitch, something we can't say of all Android tablets. There's no point to play videos that are college resolution than the affectation of course, unless you're traveling to use the micro HDMI out anchorage to play videos to a adviser or HD TV. Like a lot of Android devices, it works in mirror approach if a affectation is connected, and this formed accomplished in our tests.
Music playback comes address of the accepted Android Music app, unless you amount a third affair amateur or music alive account like Slacker or Pandora. Admitting the speakers are anemic on this baby tablet, audio out through headphones and HDMI is good.
Horsepower
The Springboard runs on a able bifold amount Qualcomm MSM8260 CPU with Adreno 220 graphics. It runs at 1.2GHz, and did absolutely able-bodied not just in our HD video playback tests, but on benchmarks. Inside we've got the accepted (for Honeycomb tablets) 1 gig of RAM and 16 gigs of centralized storage. You can use SDHC microSD cards up to 32 gigs in accommodation to extend accumulator further.
Data
The Springboard has HSPA+ 14.4 4G on T-Mobile's bands, and it uses a accepted admeasurement SIM agenda that's attainable beneath the aback cover. As with added US tablets, this is acclimated alone for abstracts and the book doesn't accomplish calls over the corpuscle arrangement nor does it do argument messaging. You can use VoIP for calling over abstracts networks with apps like Gtalk and Skype.
Reception is acceptable and is on par with the HTC Amaze 4G and Samsung Galaxy S II phones. We anticipation the book ability cull in an even stronger arresting aback it has allowance for a beyond antenna, but it doesn't beat phones. Abstracts speeds were asperous in our tests, admitting we accept actual acceptable T-Mobile advantage actuality and about abiding abstracts speeds. The book sometimes managed 3.5 Mbps down and 1Mbps up one moment, and 1Mbps down and 0.5Mpbs up a moment after in the aforementioned analysis location. On boilerplate we got a characterless 1.5Mbps down and 0.75Mbps up according to the Speedtest.net Android app.
The book has the adaptable hotspot app, and this turns the Springboard into a ambulant WiFi hotspot that can accommodate a top acceleration abstracts affiliation to your laptop or added tablet.
Software
T-Mobile and Huawei showed praise-worthy restraint, and didn't assail this 7" book with lots of bloatware. In fact, a lot of of the apps included are analytic advantageous or entertaining: Netflix, T-Mobile TV, Quickoffice (MS Office viewer, not editor), a book manager, Blockbuster, Lets Golf 2 (is there any Android accessory that escapes this bold demo?), Lookout Security, Slacker, TeleNav GPS Navigator, Qik Video Babble and Zinio are included.
The basal Android staples are actuality including Gmail, email, the Webkit web browser with Adobe Flash, Gtalk with video chat, YouTube, Maps, Navigation, Places and the Android Market.
You can archetype files, music and videos to the book application the included micro USB cable. The book works in both accumulation accumulator approach and via MTP protocol.
Battery Life
Like a lot of tablets, the Springboard's Lithium Ion array is closed inside. We're still apprehension advice on its capacity, but I can acquaint you in the anniversary we've had it, it manages to get through two canicule on a allegation with ablaze use. Added arduous endeavors like continued video babble sessions, alive video playback and playback of locally stored HD video will abate array life, as with any tablet. In our array activity analysis (a mix of web browsing, Google advance casework running, email, arena music for an hour with the affectation off and watching alive video for 45 account ), the book lasted us 5.2 hours. That's with a 4G HSPA+ connection, WiFi off and affectation accuracy set to 65%, it's another "G11 Smart Phone".
The book comes with a 0.6 volt bank charger with a butt bung that connects to the Springboard's charging port. In our tests, it did not abutment charging over USB.
Conclusion
We like Huawei's aboriginal college end book alms in the US, and they're off to a acceptable start. The book is able-bodied put calm with superior abstracts and it has a actual top resolution affectation that's aciculate and bright. It's absolutely fast and is a champ at video playback. But the ancient abusive blow awning is a accessory acrimony (we begin ourselves acute alert until we got in the addiction of acute harder). We would accept admired to see faster HSPA+ speeds, and added abiding speeds, but that's something a firmware amend could apparently fix. And lastly, T-Mobile's appraisement alignment seems either active or advised to abash customers. Just buy it absolute if you can allow it for about $430; tablets advance too bound to be bound to a archetypal for 2 years anyhow.