Huawei MediaPad Now Available at T-Mobile as Springboard

Unveiled earlier this month, T-Mobile's SpringBoard tablet was initially slated for a November 9 release, but for unknown reasons the carrier postponed the device's release for November 16.

Well, it appears that Huawei has just announced the availability of the SpringBoard at T-Mobile USA for a suggested price of $430 (315 EUR).

Customers who cannot afford to come up with such an amount can sign up for a new two-year agreement and grab the SpringBoard for just $170 (125 EUR).

T-Mobile SpringBoard, also known as Huawei MediaPad, is a small but powerful tablet that could be an interesting alternative to other top-tier Android tablets that are more expensive.

Unfortunately, the tablet cannot be ordered online yet, but the carrier is expected to put it up for sale within the next few hours.

Even though it's not the cheapest 7-incher, the Springboard is stuffed with goodies that somewhat justifies its price. As a matter fact it's a bit surprising that Chinese manufacturer Huawei came up with such a high price, though the company is known for pricing its devices very low.

T-Mobile recommends the tablet to all those who want to “get a new mix of fun and functionality at an amazingly affordable price. Check email, weather, and news on your commute. Adjust your family’s schedule while you’re running errands. And catch up on TV shows and movies in the extra moments you carve out for yourself.”

Hardware-wise, the SpringBoard is equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual-core mobile processor and packs 8 GB onboard memory, 1 GB of RAM and microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).

In addition, the tablet sports 5-megapixel rear camera with autofocus and LED flash, as well as a secondary 1.3-megapixel front facing camera for video calls and chats.

It is powered by Google's Android 3.2 Honeycomb platform and comes pre-loaded with several apps, including Netflix, Blio eReader, MobileLife Family organizer, Slacker Radio and TeleNav GPS Navigator.