If you don’t mind signing a two-year contract with a carrier in order to get an Android tablet on the cheap, then we have some good news for you. Sprint just announced the availability of the ZTE Optik, a 7-inch Android Honeycomb tablet that will run a mere $100.
ZTE is about to push itself into the US market harder than it ever has, and while we’ve seen some lower end devices coming from the company, the Optik is a well-rounded tablet that should please just about anyone who picks it up. The Optik rocks a 7 inch display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 1 GB of RAM, 5 megapixel rear camera, 2 megapixel front-facing camera, and 16GB of storage. It’s also 3G enabled, and only 3G enabled, so if you were hoping for some WiMAX love, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. Still, the lack of “4G” connectivity options helps to keep the price point low.
ZTE Optik is ZTE’s first tablet in North America and makes the tablet experience available to a new segment of consumers,” said Lixin Cheng, CEO, ZTE USA and president, North America Region, ZTE. “Paired with Sprint’s cutting-edge network, ZTE Optik provides an exceptional user experience to consumers who demand affordability, flexibility and mobility in one package.
If you wanted to grab this thing off-contract, you won’t have to break the bank, as it’ll only cost $350. The Android Honeycomb tablet definitely has the specs to get upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich in the future and we’ll see just how much effort ZTE will be putting in to ensure a hasty update waiting period.
Overall, the ZTE Optik seems like a great option for many people and even the off-contract pricing is reasonable. That said, with the 7-inch Asus/Tegra 3 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet for $250 should be on its way at some point, which may be worth waiting for. We’ve also got some hands on with ZTE’s 7-inch Ice Cream Sandwich tablet at CES but that particular model likely won’t land on US shores any time soon, if at all.
At the moment, the release date for the Optik is unclear but we’ll be sure to keep you in the know as we hear more!