This week both Vodafone and EE have launched 8-inch Android tablets, packing cellular connectivity, which are own branded and reasonably priced. The firms are attempting to leverage the new devices to boost the popularity of their respective networks. Does either mobile network offer anything particularly tempting?
The Vodafone Smart Tab 4 is the cheaper of the two tablets. It costs £125 with a PAYG SIM card or £39 up front on a £20pm 2GB 3G data plan. Vodafone calls its new tablet "your everyday big screen," which can enjoy being "connected everywhere".
The EE Eagle costs £199 on PAYG, or £49.99 up front on a £15pm 2GB 4G data plan. EE says the Eagle is the "UK's most affordable 4G tablet," which offers "specifications and features traditionally associated with more expensive devices".It looks a bit like an inflated HTC One and is said to be based upon a (rebranded) Huawei MediaPad M1.
From various sources I have made a comparison table for the two new tablets, so you can easily determine the key differences. See below.
|
Vodafone Smart Tab 4 |
EE Eagle |
|
|
Dimensions: |
209 x 122.8 x 7.99 mm |
214.4 x 120.7 x 7.9 mm |
|
Weight: |
328 g |
329g |
|
Colours: |
Basalt Black |
Silver |
|
Screen: |
8-inch IPS 1280x800 |
8-inch IPS 1280 x 800 |
|
Camera: |
2 MP rear camera, VGA front camera |
5 MP rear camera, 1MP front |
|
Platform (OS): |
Android 4.2 Jelly Bean |
Android 4.3 Jelly Bean |
|
Chipset: |
1.2 GHz quad-core, MTK8382 |
1.6GHz quad-core processor |
|
Memory: |
1GB RAM /8GB eMMC, MicroSD card up to 64GB |
1GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage, MicroSD card up to 32GB |
|
Battery Capacity: |
4,060 mAh |
4,800 mAh |
|
Connectivity: |
GSM/EDGE/3G/HSPA+, Wifi b/g/n, BT 4.0 |
4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n |
You can see that these 8-inch tablets are not a million miles apart in terms of value. The Vodafone tablet has some lower spec components, and of course 3G rather than 4G network connectivity, but you pay considerably less for it if buying it outright rather than on a data plan. If you want to buy on a monthly plan the EE makes much more sense though, simply tallying both the 2GB plan monthly fees and initial outlay.
If you live in the UK and would like mobile network connectivity on your next tablet then one of the above could make a good choice. Are any HEXUS readers tempted by these new mobile network connected tablets?
