Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD

So far, no single Android tablet has managed to make much of a dent in Apple's shinier-than-thou iPad, but it doesn't look like manufacturers are ready to throw in the towel just yet. Huawei is still in the fight, having just revealed its latest Android effort, the shoddily named MediaPad 10 FHD.

Read on for everything you need to know about the MediaPad 10 FHD, and check this page again later for more photos and -- eventually -- an exhaustive review with a star rating.

Right now the FHD is only confirmed to be released in Germany, coming out in October and costing €429 (about £340). Stay tuned for news of a launch in other nations.

Design

Like lots of Huawei gadgets, the 10-inch FHD is all about powerful hardware with no bluster. As such, this tablet's style is pretty minimalistic. Expect basic styling with a silver back and black glossy bezel, while the Huawei logo spruces up the middle of the tablet's rump.

The tablet is slim at 8.8mm deep, so you're unlikely to find it too bulky to handle. It weighs 598g, which isn't too heavy.

Around the sides there's the usual assortment of lock and volume buttons. I don't spy a USB port, but Huawei says you can bolster the tablet's 8GB of storage with a microSD card, if you have loads of movies and photos you need to hoard.

The display is worth a mention, because it sports a 1,920x1,200-pixel resolution. That's rather high, so I'm keen to see how this panel handles things like high-res video and photos. Of course, a high-resolution screen means nothing if the panel itself looks drained and lifeless, so stay tuned for our verdict on exactly how colourful this display is.

Hardware

The most interesting feature of this tablet lurks on the inside, in the form of a 1.2GHz quad-core processors. Quad-core chips are still relatively rare in tablets, and while there are a healthy number of rival four-core gadgets to choose from, packing a wallop in the processor department is a good way for an Android tablet to impress.

I'll be keen to see how the FHD copes when it comes to graphically intensive apps and games, and whether or not it can compete in the benchmark stakes with powerhouse gadgets like the Google Nexus 7, the new iPad or the Asus Transformer Infinity.

Around the back of this tablet there's an 8-megapixel camera, while a 1.3-megapixel snapper adorns the front, for video calling and such.

As for battery life, Huawei reckons the 6,600mAh battery inside this tablet will get you over 8 hours of use before the FHD begs for its charging cable. We'll put that claim to the test in the full review.

Software

So far, so good, but there's a catch -- the FHD is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which isn't the latest version of Google's mobile operating system. There's nothing especially wrong with Ice Cream Sandwich, but gadgeteers hunting for a new tablet may want to check out something running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, because it's the latest edition, and brings several exciting new features.

Finally, Huawei says it has a range of accessories planned, with a keyboard dock also on the cards.

Outlook

A high-res screen and powerful processor are reasons to be excited, though with stiff competition out there, the FHD will need to really impress in other areas if it wants to earn your precious, precious coins.