Huawei MediaPad X1 announced, lightest tablet which doubles as a phone

The Huawei MediaPad X1 was announced today at Huawei's MWC event, as the "lightest and narrowest 7-inch tablet". The device weighs 239 grams and has a width of 103.9 mm which makes it smaller than the Google Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HDX, and thinner than the iPad mini.

The MediaPad X1 is not only the slimmest tablet, but it is also being marketed as the largest smartphone with LTE Cat4 connectivity included. Huawei has made this device 7.18 mm thin, too, so you can hardly ask for a lighter, more compact aluminum slate than this. The IPS-LCD display sports the hearty 1200 x 1920 pixels of resolution, but the screen occupies the whopping 80% of the tablet's front, making it the slate with the best screen-to-body ratio.

The device is powered by a  1.6 GHz quad-core processor of Huawei's own 28nm HiSilicon Kirin 910 variety, which supports LTE connectivity. The tablet is backed by a huge 5000 mAh battery, which reportedly delivers 21 days on standby, and "up to 5 days of continuous use". Huawei also equipped the MediaPad X1 with a 13 MP camera on the back that sports a Sony-made Exmor R sensor, as well as a 5 MP front-facing shooter.

Unfortunately the device runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean instead of the newer Android 4.4 KitKat. The tablet will be available next month, but will only be available in select regions, such as China, Russia, Western Europe, the Middle East, Japan and Latin America.

Press Release