Huawei MediaPad T3 7 3G Review - Stylish Budget Tablet with 3G

Do you think this entry-level tablet you are looking for? Here's our review of the Huawei MediaPad T3 7 3G. Read on!

The newest budget tablet to try?

Huawei MediaPad T3 7 3G Specs

Display: 7-inch IPS 1024 x 600 resolution at 148ppi

CPU: 1.3GHz SC7731G quad-core processor

GPU: Mali-400MP2

RAM: 2GB

ROM: 16GB expandable via microSD card slot up to 128GB

Back Camera: 2MP f/2.8

Selfie Camera: 2MP f/2.8

Battery: 4,100mAh

OS: Android 7.0 Nougat w/ EMUI 5.1

Connectivity: WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, HSPA+, GPS, A-GPS, SIM

Sensors: Accelerometer, proximity, sound

Others: Colors: space gray, moonlight silver

Dimensions: 187.6 x 103.7 x 8.6 mm

Weight: 265 g

Price: PHP 5,790

Disclaimer: This is a borrowed unit from Huawei Philippines for our honest review.

Unboxing / Accessories

Everything inside

The Huawei MediaPad T3 7 3G is packaged in a simple blue carton box and comes with micro USB cable charger, 5V power adapter, quick start guide, and warranty card. It has no case included though.

Build Quality / Design

Metallic looking back

The Huawei MediaPad T3 7 3G is built with durability in mind. Its back is made of carbon fiber texture matte that is not that prone to scratches and feels tough to break. The screen has a layer of glass like material on top.

Camera at the back, 3.5 mm headphone slot on top

Below, you'll see the micro USB port

Power button and volume rocker at right

Design looks decent for the price as well. It has a metallic like look. It isn't that thick at 8.6 mm. The camera behind is isn't protruded too. However, screen bezels are much thicker than your average modern smartphone as expected.

It's a well designed compact tablet!

All ports and buttons are on familiar placements. The device has the right amount of thickness and weight to be held by one hand when watching.

However, typing with one hand is hard due to its size. Doing calls using your tablet while holding it like a regular smartphone would look awkward too.

Display Quality

7-inch big screen!

The tablet features a 7-inch IPS display with 1024 x 600 resolution at 148ppi. Compared with other Huawei devices we tested in the past, pixels are very visible in this tablet. You can easily spot the distorted sides of the app icons.

Fortunately, viewing experience is still pretty acceptable considering its price. It can still let you  enjoy watching your favorite series while munching your sour cream flavor of popcorn.

Viewing angles and sunlight legibility is far from the best. But again, its quality is acceptable for the price.

We weren't able to determine its number of touch support though. Fortunately, the touch screen is still quite responsive in general.

Audio Quality

The Huawei MediaPad T3 7 audio quality through its speaker is actually great. It matches the good quality of the video that even though I just read the subtitle of the Korean Drama that I am watching, I can still enjoy hearing the music accompaniment and feel the emotions of the actors and actresses of the drama.

It is also nice to know that it still comes with a 3.5 mm headphone jack slot. It allows you to listen to decent tunes using your favorite small headphones or earphones.

It also has a decent microphone that can be used for recordings and calls.

Battery Life

Battery saving features

The 4,100mAh battery of the tablet lasted me with 5 episodes of Black (KDrama) without interruption. That's around 1 hour per episode or a total of 5 hours playback time. On standby, the battery life will last for 1 day. It also has the usual

Charging time from 0 to 100 percent is roughly around 4 hours. That's slow.

Camera

2MP at the back and in front

Don't expect so much on the camera of this tablet, with 2MP f/2.8 rear and front cameras, you can only appreciate the shot you have in daylight. It has no autofocus so you need to have steady hands when shooting.

Daylight shots are even grainy. There is no flash that you can use when taking photos in the dark.

Camera Samples

Daylight 1

Daylight 2

Indoor close-up

Night shot

It can record videos too, but only use that when you have no other choice.

Performance

The tablet is equipped with a 1.3GHz SC7731G quad-core processor inside. It is coupled with Mali-400 MP2 graphics and 2GB RAM. It even has 16GB of expandable storage up to 128GB for your apps and files.

Sadly, performance is sluggish even if it has ample 2GB RAM

However, even if it has 2GB of RAM and the not that high screen resolution, the tablet is very slow and sluggish. We weren't even able install apps for benchmarking because it keeps on failing for unknown reasons.

Even browsing on Google Chrome is sluggish. Only the usual SMS, calls, and video playback natively and on YouTube are acceptable to use. Even light games are not that playable.

EMUI 5.1

Intriguingly, it has that not that great performance even if it has Huawei's EMUI 5.1 skin based on Android 7.0 Nougat OS. Usually, that skin is fast and far from sluggish on other Huawei devices.

Maybe, this tablet is simply not that optimized. Let's hope that Huawei will push a software update or upgrade to make the experience better.

Fortunately, it has a usable 3G connection. It also has a phone function for calls and SMS. It also has GPS for navigation. Bluetooth works as usual.

Pros - Elegant design, durable build quality, acceptable video watching quality, 3G and phone functionality

Cons - Pixelated graphics, usual system crash, low camera quality, slow charging time

Verdict

Coming from the regular MediaPad T3 7, the MediaPad T3 7 3G is a clear step-up in terms of specs.

With its elegant design and phone functionality, this budget-friendly Huawei MediaPad T3 7 tablet has actually the chance to be your everyday companion.

However, with the quality we experienced, you won’t believe it is a Huawei product.

As one of the best manufacturer of smartphones and other electronic devices, we expected this tablet to be better.

We think that the price of PHP 5,790 is a bit high for its quality.

Build / Design - 4
Display - 3.25
Audio - 3.5
Battery - 4
Camera - 2
Performance - 2.5
Average - 2.625 / 5