Huawei Honor X1 making that thin cut

Byline: By Fazri Nuha

Small tablets are always fun to use, especially when you’re out in the field and full-sized slates are just too bulky for mobility purposes. Huawei is really, really trying to impress with its ultra-thin smart device and I have to say, the thinness is not just for show. Even the bezels at the sides are incredibly thin.

Power Packed
Despite its dimensions and very modest weight, the Honor X1 packs a 5000mAh battery. That means a superb and healthy operation time of about 14 hours without stamina mode. Then again, unlike a phone, you’re not likely going to pull it out every 30 seconds so your battery might last even longer. That’s great news for a power user like me!

Hover Wonder
The screen offers an interesting ‘suspended touch’ technology, something probably inherited from classic drawing tablets where you can control the cursor by hovering the stylus tip over the surface. Problem is, the tech and paradigm behind this idea is still new and it might take a while to get used to. I’m personally interested to see where this will go from here.

Mixed Display
Having a 16:10 display is a little awkward, though. That’s the aspect ratio for video players where you expect to see the video control bar at the bottom. This results in very slim yet slightly awkward letterbox appearing during playback of 16:9 Full HD videos. Why it’s designed that way remains a mystery.

Power Packed
Personally, the 22mm wide-angle selfie camera is an interesting addition to a tablet. Sure it makes for great group selfie moments but there’s more potential to be found in video recording with such a large lens on the front. In fact, it does make for a more exciting video chat on Skype.

Dimensions (HxWxD): 183.5 x 103.9 x 7.2 mm
Weight: 239g
Processor: Hisilicon Kirin 910 quad core 1.6 GHz
Memory: 2GB DDR3
Storage: 16GB (also available in 32GB)
Operating System: Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
Display: 7in 1200 x 1920 LTPS
Graphics: Mali 450MP4
Connectivity: WiFi, LTE
Ports: MicroUSB
Expansion: MicroSD, supports up to 32GB

Value: 9/10
Features: 8/10
Performance: 8/10
Design: 9/10
Usability: 9/10

Score: 8.6/10

Verdict: Thin, sexy, good battery. Hovering takes some getting used to.