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Welcome to the 2010 Telstra T-Touch Tab review. The Telstra T-Touch Tab is a tablet and mobile phone and is the cheapest Android OS based combination you can buy in Australia for November 2010. The Telstra Tablet which sells for $299 as a pre-paid package is quite an amazing mobile phone in Tablet format. Yes this is literally a very BIG mobile phone and there is nothing else to compare it with at the moment because of the price. (Note that the T-Touch Tab is not made by ZTE.)
Build quality of the T-Touch is very good. It is solid and relatively heavy in comparison to anything bar an iPad. It may not look as good as an iPad but at least its construction quality appears to be just as well put together. Of course the design is old school and design for use without buying additional protective case. The low tech screen also make it less prone to smudges and finger prints to other tablets.
The web browser, widgets active backgrounds and everything else except for Flash of course works perfectly and speed only limited by the quality of your wireless connection. There are some games to keep you happy at first and then you can explore the Android market. There's also A-GPS if you need it. If there was anything wrong was that it required a GoogleID before even the calender (and other basic stuff) would work. We weren't pleased with that.
The Telstra T-Touch Tab's main problem is the old technology touch screen. While the screen image quality was good but it was the touch screen that was slow to relay the input occasionally or it doesn't recognize that something has been pressed. Thankfully they have included a stylus and a kinetic scrolling button on the surface which when used as the primary navigation is just as fast as any mobile phone running Android and the Apple iPad. We where impressed at the 'hidden' touch sensitive button and when found realized that that the T-Touch is fast!
The other problem is the short battery life. It comes with a small replaceable battery which you will find too small to get you through the work day if you use the T-Touch for longer than an hour or so but then neither will the iPhone and most smartphones. Think of it as a around the home phone and or work lunch usage and there will be plenty of battery life. Turn down the screen brightness etc.. to get longer life.
The speaker is nice and loud but like and the forward facing camera means that you can also do video calls as per a mobile rather than other methods, like Skype. Used as a mobile phone it is best as a speaker phone or bluetooth rather than the wired headset. Regardless any method works really well. Seriously there are not many phones with this level of functionality for the price.
Overall any legitimate review of the Telstra Tablet must take into account its price. In terms of functionality it easily beats the Apple iPad which it will inevitably be compared to. Due to the tablet format the Telstra T-Touch is huge by mobile phone standards but because it is a mobile phone as well with full Android functionality you just need a nice bag to put it in for your daily travels. However it is obviously designed for bed or lounge usage rather than out and about. It also comes with a 2GD microSD card!
Our T-Touch sits on the bedside table as the alarm clock and morning paper and live TV streaming machine and of course the spare phone.
Hence despite the flaws we love the T-Touch format and it can only get better over the next few years. Sure it does not have the easy of use of smaller phones caused soley by the finicky touch screen but other wise for price it is an amazing bargain. Just ask yourself what other mobile phone can you get for $299 that has a 7 inch screen and everything communication option you can think of? None except for this particular niche. We will certainly be getting further upgrades.
Note we saw all the negative reviews and realized how so many so called product reviewers just don't get it! We do thankfully!
Specifications
- Telstra T-Touch Tab
- Network
Tri-band 3G/NextG 850/1900/2100 (Dependent on country)
HSDPA 3.6 Mbits data speed (download)
- Design
Touchscreen
- L103 x W49.9 x D15.3 mm
Weight 500 grams
- Display/s
7 inch External TFT 800 x 480
- Camera
2MP
- Video Camera
Front camera - limited
- Connectivity
Bluetooth V2
- CPU
768 Mhz
- Memory
Up to 512MB
MicroSD up to 16Gig
- Ring tones
MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
- Features
A-GPS
Accelerometer
Android Apps
Music and Media player
Organiser/Calender
SMS, MMS, IM, Email
Speaker Phone/Hands free
Li-Po 950mAh battery
Up to 140 Hours Standby
Up to 150Mins Talk Time
- Price history
Under $299 AUS November 2010 (Pre-paid)
