Sprint's next tablet to be $100 ZTE Optik
The carrier aims for mass appeal with a budget-friendly tablet with moderate hardware.
Details for Sprint's next Android-powered tablet have leaked online and if you thought the carrier was going high-end you'd be completely wrong.
According to a leak obtained by SprintFeed, we can expect to see the ZTE Optik arrive in early February with a $100 price tag. You'll still have to sign a two-year agreement with a minimum rate plan, but things could be worse.
Hardware for the 7-inch ZTE tablet is impressive for the money and includes a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 16GB storage, and 1GB RAM. Running Android 3.2 Honeycomb, its additional specifications include a 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, microSD expansion, and 4000mAh battery.
For connectivity, the Optik offers 3G support as opposed to Sprint's WiMAX or 4G LTE network. I suspect this won't matter all that much to the user-base as most tablet owners I speak with tend to prefer Wi-Fi anyhow.
Assuming the leak is true, we can look forward to seeing the ZTE Optik arrive online February 5. Sprint's retail stores are expected to offer the budget-friendly tablet one month later, on March 11. For those of you who prefer to buy your tablet without a contract, the document indicates pricing should be $249.99.