Telstra launching 'cheapest' 4G tablet

Telstra plans to put a new 4G tablet on its shelves tomorrow, taking on Apple's iPad with its own, self-branded model.

The Telstra 4G Tablet (not just a description, but its official name, too) will be on sale from 30 October, with an AU$480 price tag. For the money, you get a 10.1-inch tablet with a dual-core 1.5GHz processor and 16GB of storage, with the option to expand this with a microSD card. It runs on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, with no word yet on whether a Jelly Bean upgrade is in the works.

This price makes Telstra's tablet one of the cheapest to offer mobile data in Australia, being AU$200 cheaper than a 16GB Wi-Fi plus mobile iPad.

Perhaps most impressive, the Telstra 4G Tablet comes with a 6900mAh battery and nine hours of promised video playback, according to Telstra. This is nearly the same sized battery as the one in the Motorola Xoom 2, which we reviewed earlier in the year, although this doesn't guarantee comparable battery performance.

The real concern for us is the weight of the tablet. At 670 grams, the Telstra 4G Tablet is a bit heftier than the Xoom 2 and other more comfortable tablets. It is the same weight as the new iPad, though, and plenty of people are comfortable carrying those around, so perhaps it isn't too great of a consideration.

Below is a Telstra-made video of the tablet in action. Watch for Telstra's answer to Apple's "swipe to unlock" patent.