T-Mobile Adds SpringBoard To 4G Tablet RosterT-Mobile Adds SpringBoard To 4G Tablet Roster

Huawei SpringBoard Tablet

T-Mobile wants you to know that it is serious about tablets. Its latest device comes not from Samsung, Apple, nor HTC, but Chinese manufacturer Huawei. The Huawei SpringBoard is the newest in a series of tablets that can access T-Mobile's fast HSPA+ wireless broadband network.

The Huawei SpringBoard comes with a seven-inch HD display and a small enough footprint that it can slip into a coat pocket. The tablet runs a stock version of Android 3.2 Honeycomb, which is Google's tablet-optimized platform. It is motivated by a 1.2-GHz dual-core processor and also includes Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS radios for connectivity.

It includes a 5-megapixel main camera that can capture 720p HD video, in addition to a 1.3-megapixel user-facing camera for video chats. It has a microSD slot as well, and supports cards up to 32 GB for storing media such as photos, videos, and music.

T-Mobile clearly envisions the SpringBoard as a media consumption device. It ships with the Blockbuster movie rental/purchasing app, Netflix, and T-Mobile TV to satisfy customers' video content cravings. It also ships with the Blio eReader app, Slacker Radio, and TeleNav GPS.

T-Mobile said the Huawei SpringBoard will be in stores before the holiday shopping season. Though T-Mobile called the SpringBoard an "affordable option," it didn't provide pricing details.

T-Mobile also announced Monday that the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available in a 4G flavor in the coming weeks. T-Mobile didn't provide pricing for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, either.

The T-Mobile-branded Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 weighs 1.24 pounds, and has a dual-core 1-GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, dual-cameras, 10.1-inch HD display, and the latest Adobe Flash software.

T-Mobile's Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes equipped with preinstalled content and applications, too, including T-Mobile TV, Qello, Samsung Media Hub, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline HD demo, SIM City Deluxe demo, Blio eReader, and Zinio. This is in addition to what is available from the Android Market, which offers an improved selection of tablet-specific apps.

Both tablets will be able to use T-Mobile's HSPA+ network at 21 Mbps, but not the faster 42-Mbps speeds. With the 21-Mbps HSPA+, however, users can expect real-world download speeds in the 7 to 12-Mbps range, which is plenty fast for tablet needs.