Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD review: a high end premium tablet delivering great performance

Written by B Johnson February 23, 2014
Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Specs
Hi guys, welcome back to my website!

In the past few weeks, i’ve been showing you a lot, Acer Iconia tablets which i thought would be great gaming tablets.

(Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Specs)
Today i want to move on to the next tablet manufacturer, which many of you here probably are not really familiar to hear especially in tablet market.

The tablet manufacturer i’m talking about here is Huawei.

Even if you’re tablet geeks, i don’t think you can even name one of the tablets made by this company, right?

Well, there’s nothing wrong with that because just like Acer or HP, Huawei actually never chimed any sales record in tablet market.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD benchmarks and gaming performance

Therefore, today, i want to start reviewing some of the Huawei tablets on this website.

Hopefully, you’ll love them too.

But i’m not gonna talk a lot about other things besides their gaming performance and battery life.

Anyway, the first Huawei tablet that i’m about to show to you on this review is Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD.

As the name of this tablet says, Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is a 10.1-inch Android tablet sporting the 1920x1200 pixel resolution.

Well, if you’re interested to know more about this tablet, then here you go, my personal review of first Huawei tablet on this website, Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD.

Introduction

If you go to the mobile phone or even tablet stores, i believe it’s pretty rare to find tablets made by Huawei.

It’s even really difficult for you to get other tablets from HP or Acer.

Well, no surprise on that.

Most of today’s tablet markets are still crowded with popular names like Samsung GALAXY tablets, Asus tablets or iPad (although this Apple’s tablet is also pretty hard to find on some random mobile stores).

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD - Full tablet specifications/SPECS

However, despite being a not-so-popular tablet manufacturer, Huawei actually has some cool tablets that i believe are still worth worth recommending to you guys here, especially if you’re looking for an affordable Android tablet, but still has good quality specs.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is probably one of the tablets you’re looking for.

Just like Asus MemoPad 10 FHD, Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is actually similar with that Asus tablet, especially on the screen department.

They both share the same 10.1-inch display sporting the resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, which has become today’s standards for 10.1-inch tablets, even 7-inch tablets (2nd-gen Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HDX 7).

However, given that they both are manufactured by 2 different companies, then there will be many sectors that set them apart.

Specs-wise, this Huawei tablet is actually really good.

It has great camera, high-resolution display, big battery capacity, fast Huawei’s homemade processor and many more.

But the question is, does this tablet stack up against other big high-end rivals across the market?

Well, we’re about to find out about that in this review.

So you better stick around!

Design

When it comes to design, Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD can actually be considered as great given that it is using an aluminum-plated material on its back, accompanied with some plastic finish on top area around rear-facing camera.

However, on the front side, this tablet definitely looks generic with other regular Android tablets out there.

It doesn’t have its own characteristic nor footprint which tells people that this is Huawei tablet.

Compared to Acer’s Iconia tablets, i think this Huawet’s tablet has nothing special on its design.

But then again, the good thing is, the back side of this tablet is made from aluminum material, which is pretty rare to find on Android tablets, except LG G Pad 8.3.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD Review and Gaming Performance

If only Huawei could improve the entire design characteristic of this tablet, along with other Huawei tablet line as well, i believe this manufacturer could become one of the best tablet makers on the market, just like Sony, LG or Apple.

But overall, i’m really impressed a lot with the whole design and material of this tablet.

It may not be as premium as iPad, but we should appreciate Huawei’s efforts to make premium designed tablet in Android tablet market.

I mean, not many Android tablet manufacturers have the guts to make tablets with aluminum material, right?

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  • 3G and 4G LTE
  • Mini-SIM
  • Released 2012, September
  • 10.0 inch IPS LCD, capacitive touchscreen1920 x 1200 pixels,, 16M colors, (~226 ppi pixel density)
  • K3V2 Quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 chipset
  • 16 GHz GPU for graphics
  • 2 GB RAM
  • Android OS 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  • Dolby Mobile sound enhancement
  • 8 MP rear-facing camera, dual-LED flash, capable to take 1080p videos
  • 1.3 MP front-facing camera
  • MicroSD card slot for up to 32 GB
  • 8/16/32/64 GB Internal storage
  • GPRS
  • EDGE
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot
  • USB
  • Java MIDP emulator
  • No Radio
  • GPS
  • Bluetooth
  • Non-removable Li-Po 6600 mAh battery
In terms of specs, Huawei definitely puts all of the wager on the display of this tablet, which is a full HD 1920x1200 pixel resolution display.

However, given that most of today’s mid-end tablets already jump to this FHD bandwagon, then the 1080p display on this tablet doesn’t make it look so special in front of rivals.

In fact, it’s not that impressive anymore given that most of 7-inch mid-end tablets like Google Nexus 7 (2013) or Kindle Fire HDX 7 already adopt 1080p display.

The good thing is, Huawei can still brag about the aluminum-plated material on this tablet, and this is something that can’t be found on today’s mid-end tablets, even high-end ones (*cough* Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 *cough*).

So this kind of gives a huge plus point to this Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD comes with some good quality specs on it, from, of course, the 10.1-inch full HD 1920x1200 pixel display, a quad-core K3V2 processor clocked at 1.2GHz per core, 1GB of RAM, a “16GHz” GPU, an 8MP camera on the back with LED flash (which is able to take 1080p videos), 1.3MP on the front as well, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich pre-installed, 6600mAh power battery and many more.

With this type of specs, then Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD deserves to be positioned on mid-end tablet market alongside LG G Pad 8.3 or Sony Xperia Tablet Z, although these 2 tablets are just way more powerful than Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD, in terms of performance and hardware.

Screen

Screen is definitely one of the strongest points on this tablet. Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is packing a 10.1-inch display sporting the resolution of 1920x1200 pixels, which translate to 1080p display.

This is actually a higher resolution display on the market to date, even for today’s tablet market.

So that is one plus point for this tablet.

However, there is something that could probably be a downside on this tablet. And that is its performance.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is equipped with a K3V2 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2GHz per core. All due respect to this processor, but compared to other processors across the market, like Snapdragon S4 Pro, Snapdragon 600/800, A7 chipset on iDevices or Tegra 4, this K3V2 processor is not as powerful as these big rivals.

Therefore, by using a 1920x1200 pixel screen, this processor may not be able to perform much faster and smoother given its high-resolution display, especially when doing some heavy tasks at once, compared to if it uses medium 1280x800 pixel display.

The decrease of its performance can be noticeable mostly when playing some graphically demanding games or browsing the web. There will be some frame choppiness and stutters along the way when playing games or loading some heavy web pages.

However, for daily tasks like watching HD movies, using live wallpaper, reading books or magazines, its performance is still considered as fast and smooth, although not that fast compared to rivals.

User Interface and Features

Just like any other regular Android tablets either from Asus, Sony, Samsung, Acer or LG, this Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD also comes pre-installed with a standard Android UI, with the normal homescreen that you can fill with widgets, apps or shortcuts, plus the notification and setting bars that give you control of the tablet (screen brightness, Bluetooth, WiFi, sound, etc).

This Huawei’s tablet is also equipped with a bunch of features and multi-window apps (like calculator, music player, video player, etc).

Performance

On the performance sector, Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is actually not disappointing at all. However, something that becomes the downside of this tablet is probably its FHD display.

Don’t get me wrong – i like the fact that this tablet is packing that full HD 1920x1200 pixel display, ensuring that all the contents like movies, games, books, magazines or web pages will look insanely sharp and clear on this tablet.

However, the thing is, this full HD display can also be a heavy burden to this tablet, especially its processor.

Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD may not run so laggy and buggy when doing daily tasks, even multiple things at once, given its K3V2 that is quad-core and powerful for that matter.

However, when stepping to the games, especially the most graphics intense ones, there will be some noticeable lags here and there inside the game.

And this is unavoidable given that its full HD display is there to stay, although you can probably find the control that could set its screen to just HD resolution, instead of using the full power HD 1920x1200 pixels (similar like my laptop can do).

However, i’m glad to see this tablet is packing Huawei’s homemade K3V2 processor (which i’m not really familiar to hear on tablet market given that this processor is made only for Huawei devices).

It is a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.2GHz Cortex-A9, accompanied with 1GB of RAM and the so called “16GHz GPU for graphics”.

So these specs can easily translate to a fast and smooth performance for daily tasks.

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As i’ve mentioned above, there is one downside of using a full HD display on a tablet that is not powered by the most powerful processor (e.g., Tegra 4, Snapdragon 600/800 or Apple A7 chipsets).

And that is the decrease of performance, especially when playing games.

So as a result, some of the latest and most graphics intense games like GTA San Andreas or Asphalt 8: Airborne will probably run so laggy, especially in full high graphics.

The good news is, for other games released in 2013 or older ones, this tablet is blazing fast in performance.

Some popular games like Need for Speed Most Wanted, Modern Combat 4, Dead Trigger, Asphalt 7, ShadowGun, N.O.V.A 3 and other high performing games, all can be played in smooth performance on this tablet, plus in high graphics.

However, as for Need for Speed: Most Wanted, yes - this game may run well on this tablet, but there are still some noticeable frame drops and lags here and there along the gameplay, although not that significantly.

I believe the full HD of this tablet is the one that causes that problem. But overall, this tablet is still a good gaming tablet, if not the best.

Camera

As a mid-end tablet, then Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD doesn’t want to be left behind in tablet camera party.

This tablet comes with a solid 8MP camera on the back with LED flash that can capture 1080p videos, which is really nice.

However, in terms of quality, compared to other high-end rivals like iPad, Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 or Sony Xperia tablet, the camera of Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD may not be as great as those top shelf rivals.

But at least, it still can get the job done whenever you need to take some good shots and i believe the photos are still worth showing off to your Instagram or Twitter followers.

Battery Life

It’s great to see that Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is packing a huge 6000mAh power battery inside.

This battery capacity may not be that big especially compared to other big names like iPad Air (8020mAh), Samsung GALAXY Note (8220mAh), Google Nexus 10 (9000mAh), Lenovo Yoga Tablet 10 (9000mAh) or even the older Acer Iconia Tab A700 (9800mAh).

However, having the 6000mAh battery capacity is actually more than enough to keep the engine going for a full day of usage.

So for doing some mixed tasks, of course with mixed screen-on and off, you can expect to see this tablet survive in a solid day with one single 100% full charge.

But if you’re gonna use this tablet to do some heavy intense usage without resting the screen all day long, like for watching HD TV series in marathon or playing games in the row, then its battery life could probably last around 6 to 8 hours, which is still considered as great for today’s standards.

My Personal Opinions

In conclusion, i personally thing that Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is still a pretty good and solid offering from Huawei.

It may not be as powerful as other competing rivals like Sony Xperia Tablet Z, iPad Air, Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1, Google Nexus 10 or Asus Transformer TF701T (with Tegra 4).

However, with that full HD 1920x1200 pixel display, a good 8MP rear-facing camera, powerful K3V2 processor, good gaming performance, smooth experience and great battery life, this Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD is still a worth buying tablet, of course in the price range below the rivals aforementioned above, around $200 - $250.

However, if you’re looking a more solid alternative that is just better than this Huawei tablet, at $300 price point or above, then you should definitely get LG G Pad 8.3, iPad Air, Sony Xperia Tablet Z, Samsung GALAXY Note 10.1 (LTE 2014 edition), Asus Transformer Pad TF701T or Google Nexus 10.

Besides offering a higher-resolution display (except LG G Pad 8.3 and Sony Xperia Tablet Z that have the same full HD 1920x1200 pixel display), these tablets also have way more powerful processor (Snapdragon 600/800, Tegra 4, 64-bit A7 chipset, etc), better software, better camera, stronger battery life and other things that are just way better than Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD. Period.

But then again, if you manage to snatch this tablet in $250 price range, or even cheaper than $200, then you just definitely made a great deal for you.

It has great full HD display, great gaming performance (if not the best), good 8MP camera with LED flash, great battery life, fast performance and many more.
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