The carrier is looking to attract more customers into picking up its slates

May 20, 2014 12:17 GMT  ·  By

Looking for a budget-tablet companion but you are having a hard time deciding which would be the most convenient for you?

Maybe you want to take a moment and consider T-Mobile’s latest news. This week the magenta carrier has announced it has partnered up with Walmart in order to offer a range of affordable tablets with prices ranging from $179-$229 / €130-€167.

And here comes the important part. Customers picking up one of the two tablets involved in the promotion from Walmart locations across the country will be awarded Free Data for Life. That means T-Mobile will offer 200MB a month free of charge.

Certainly, this won’t mean much for demanding users who need to stay connected all the time, but 200MB is more than enough if you want to check your mail and keep in touch with Facebook acquaintances.

The tablet models you get to choose from are the Trio AXS 3G (which sells for $179 / €130) and the HP Slate 7 HD (will set you back with $220 / €167).

Let’s take them one at a time and go through their specifications to see what you’ll be getting. The Trio AXS 3G comes with a 7.85-inch touchscreen display that offers a pretty bland resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.

The device draws life from a 1.2GHz Cortex A7 quad-core mobile processor fitted with 1GB of RAM and backed up by 16GB of internal storage (with additional microSD card).

Further specifications include two tablets (5MP on the back and 0.3MP up in front), microUSB 2.0 port, 2 speakers, GPS, accelerator and a battery capable of providing up to 6 hours of juice. The tablet runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

However, if you want something a tad more capable in the screen department, check out the HP Slate 7 HD. The machine arrives with a 7-inch display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution. HP has added a 1.2GHz dual-core processor under the bonnet fitted with 1GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

The slate has Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, Miracast compatibility, Accelerometer, GPS and a battery that is said to provide up to 7 hours of life. Like the Trio, the Slate 7 HD runs Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean by default.

It appears T-Mobile is not being successful at selling lots of tablets. The carrier has removed the Nexus 7 and Samsung Galaxy Tabs from its portfolio, but it will soon offer the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) to those interested. Will this help T-Mobile see its tablet sales rise?