Friday, May 23, 2014

Hands on: EE Eagle evaluation

Hands on: EE Eagle review

The EE Eagle is a tablet that you've already noticed. For these of you with a great memory you will instantly recognise it as the Huawei MediaPad M1.

There is no hiding the reality that the 4G-enabled Eagle is generally a carbon copy of Huawei's 8 -inch slate which EE is hoping can tempt men and women away from the iPad mini.

It gets off to a excellent commence with a PAYG cost of £199.99, making the Eagle from EE considerably cheaper than the Wi-Fi + 4G iPad mini, which will set you back £349.

If you'd rather not portion with £200 up front you can minimize your initial outlay to £49.99 if you sign up to a two year, £15 per month contract which offers you 2GB of information.

EE Eagle review

I managed to get some short hands on time with a pre-production model of the EE Eagle, while I was told that it wasn't final hardware or computer software.

It won't be far off though as the EE Eagle release date has been set for Could 28, so if this 4G tablet takes your fancy you will not have to wait long.

EE Eagle review

You'll find an 8 -inch screen and dual-speakers on the front and a 5MP snapper on the rear, when below the hood the Eagle comes with a 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and CAT four LTE assistance permitting you to take advantage of EE's double speed network.

At the moment double speed is only readily available in some regions of London, but EE claims it will have rolled out the quicker network to 40 towns and cities by the end of 2014.

However the EE Eagle comes running Android 4. 2. 2 Jelly Bean, a rather old version of Google's platform, and the network was unable to confirm anything on a prospective KitKat upgrade.

EE Eagle review

As with the MediaPad M1, I can't support but make similarities to the HTC 1 when it comes to the style of the EE Eagle.

The familiar searching, front-facing speaker grilles are laid out in the exact same fashion as the Taiwanese smartphone, whilst round the back the metal- impact plastic rear with white bumpers above and under tends to make for a striking resemblance to the LG G Pad eight. three.

EE Eagle review

The plastic strip on the base can be peeled off to reveal the microSIM and microSD ports, enabling you to gain uncomplicated access to them. This does imply you cannot get to the battery inside the Eagle even though.

Huawei hasn't gone huge on looking for exceptional design and style then, but to the Eagle's credit the physique is solid and it feels like it could take a couple of bumps.

EE Eagle review

The EE Eagle does not feel overly premium - where the G Pad 8. 3 and iPad mini have metal bodies this tablet is entirely plastic. That is hardly a surprise contemplating the cost, but it is not that heavy and I was in a position to hold it relatively comfortably in 1 hand.

The screen on the EE Eagle is acceptable at 800 x 1280, and it is on a par with the original iPad Mini, but it does not come close to the iPad Mini 2 or G Pad in terms of detail or brightness, with colours appearing washed out.

EE Eagle review

I also identified the Eagle was a small sluggish as I moved about, opened and closed apps and fired up multi-tasking, but as I've already pointed out it wasn't operating final application so factors may well boost.

EE has stuck with Huawei's Emoition UI on the Eagle also, which sees the standard Android app tray disappear in favour of housing all your applications on homescreens.

EE Eagle review

This is a easier method from those who are new Android, but knowledgeable customers may possibly locate the layout a tiny frustrating and the childish style of the icons makes the Eagle look like a toy.

Of course the Eagle also come with EE's own applications pre-installed, despite the fact that they never seriously get in the way and they are essentially fairly beneficial.

There is no flash to accompany the 5MP rear facing camera, but you do get a front facing snapper which I assume is the exact same 1MP providing you get on the MediaPad M1, but EE was unable to confirm that.

EE Eagle review

Early verdict

If you are desperate for a 4G-enabled tablet, but don't have a massive quantity to commit, the EE Eagle is a strong option.

That stated, if you happen to be not fussed about a web connection on the go then the Wi-Fi-only LG G Pad 8. 3 is the same price tag and boasts a far far better screen, a lot more energy and the latest version of Android.

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