Hands on: Alcatel 1T review

It's rare these days that we see companies launch new Android tablets, but these new slates from Alcatel are super low price and come with some relatively good specs considering.

For starters, the new Alcatel 1T 7 and 1T 10 run the latest Android 8.1 Oreo software right out of the box.

We've tried out both tablets at MWC 2018 and put our first impressions together in this combined hands on review. 

Alcatel 1T price and release date

We don't currently have UK, US or Australian release date and pricing details for either tablet, but we do know what they'll cost in Europe so we can at least estimate. The 1T 10 will cost €99.99 (about £90, $120, AU$160) while the 1T 7 is set to cost €69.99 (about £60, $80, AU$110).

An exact date for the tablets release isn't clear yet, but Alcatel has said they'll come to Asia, Latin America and Europe at some point during Q2, so expect them before the end of June this year.

Design and display

Both the Alcatel 1T tablets come with simple designs, but neither feels premium in the hand. Each has a plastic back that is reminiscent of Amazon Fire tablets. The company refers to it as 'raw material', but don't expect anything that feels luxurious in your hand here.

In terms of color choice, you can choose from Premium Black or Blueish Black for both tablets too.

The Alcatel 1T 7 has dimensions of 190 x 111 x 9.15mm and weighs in at 245g, which means it's easy to hold in one hand. It's only a 7-inch display with quite hefty bezels, so you're not going to struggle to handle this without using both hands.

The resolution on the display is not stunning at 1024 x 600, so if you're hoping for a super clear and vibrant picture that isn't going to be possible here.

The Alcatel 1T 10 has a larger display at 10.1-inches with dimensions of 255 x 155 x 9.35mm and a weight of 415g, which means it's not easy to hold in one hand. But you've got a lot more screen real estate which should make watching video or doing general tasks easier.

The resolution here isn't much better than that of the 1T 7 at 1280 x 800 pixels, so don't expect a stunning visual experience from this display, either. We did prefer this one due to the slimmer bezels than the 7-inch edition, but don't anticipate a beautiful design from either version.

Specs

Both tablets are running off MediaTek's MT8321 quad-core chipsets with 1GB of RAM onboard. It seemed like an okay experience in our short testing time, but don't expect these tablets to handle high end games or lots of apps running at the same time.

We'll be sure to put both versions through their paces in time for our full review to see just how much they can handle.

If you're planning to use your new tablet as a media machine, you'll likely be disappointed to learn the 1T 7 comes with 8GB of storage (4GB after software) and the 1T 10 comes with 16GB  (11GB to use after software).

That's not enough for most tablet users, so if you want one of these we'll likely recommend putting in a microSD card. Both tablets are compatible with cards up to 128GB.

If you're interested in the camera tech, there's a 2MP rear and VGA front camera on the smaller tablet, while the larger one comes with a 5MP sensor on both sides of the slate.

Perhaps one of the most surprising things about these tablet is that they're running Android 8.1 Oreo software right out of the box. Whether Alcatel will manage to keep them up to date with software upgrades in the future remains to be seen, but it's great to have the latest software already running on here.

The Alcatel 1T 7 comes with a 2580mAh battery while the 1T 10 comes with a 4000mAh cell. We won't know just how long the battery life on the tablets lasts, however, until we get time to try them out for our full review.

Early verdict

It's hard to get excited about tablets that feature such low end spec as the Alcatel 1T range, but the prices are low so they will suit those looking for a simple experience or want something to entertain their kids.

There are many frustrating elements of both new tablets, but it may be you'll be able deal with those in a trade off for such a low price.

MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2018 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.