Tablets with LTE don't come cheap, unless it's one of these new Lenovos
None of these models have killer features, only killer pricing.
It's been a slow year for tablets, but that's not stopping Lenovo. The company unveiled a trio of new models at Mobile World Congress 2016. All three are reasonably priced, with a 10-inch model geared towards business use starting at $199, and a 7- and 8-inch LTE-packing pair that start at $129 and $149 respectively.
The Lenovo Tab 3 10 Business, available as Wi-Fi only or with an LTE connection, features a durable design with a Gorilla Glass 3 panel. It's an attractively affordable point-of-sales system and it comes pre-loaded with Android for Work, an app that lets you separate your business apps and docs from your personal ones.
The 10-inch tablet houses a microSD card slot for expanding its storage and a full-USB port for easily connecting a flash drive or mouse. Rolling out in July, its US pricing starts at $199 for the 32GB model and $299 for the 64GB model. Pricing hasn't been announced yet for the UK and Australia, but the 32GB model and 64GB model convert to £140 and £210, or AU$280 and AU$420.
A big tablet for a small business.
On the other end of the spectrum, we find the petite Lenovo Tab 3 pair. The 7- and 8-inch tablets make up for their mediocre specs with rock-bottom pricing. The 7-inch model with LTE starts at $129, while the 8-inch variant starts at $99 if you only need Wi-Fi and $149 for the version that also has LTE. Pricing and availability in UK and Australia for the Lenovo tablets have yet to be announced, but the Lenovo Tab 3 7 converts to £90 and AU$181. The Wi-Fi only version of the 8-incher converts to £70 and AU$140, and the LTE model converts to £105 and AU$210.
Though both of these budget tablets are simple, unremarkable and bring nothing new to the table, they're very reasonably priced if you take the LTE connection in to account. Models with cellular capabilities tend to be rather expensive, so it's refreshing to see budget-centric models. The specs are mediocre at best, but should work fine for streaming video, browsing the Web and light gaming. Both are expected to hit US stores in June.
