Xiaomi unveils Mi Pad tablet

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun last week announced the company’s first tablet, the Mi Pad in a Beijing event. As reported by Engadget, the 16GB version will retail for CN¥1,499 (SG$300), while the 64GB variant will sell for CN¥1,699 (SG$341).

This new tablet is no ordinary tablet, but it’s one of the first to run the powerful Tegra K1 SoC by Nvidia. The K1 SoC is running a 2.2GHz “4+1” core CPU plus a 192-core PC-class Kepler GPU. Powered by Android 4.4 OS, the tablet features a 7.9-inch display with a high resolution of 2048×1536 and a corresponding pixel density of 326 ppi.

Memory wise, the Mi Pad ships with 2GB RAM and will come in 16GB or 64GB of built-in storage with storage space, which will be expandable to 128GB via microSD card. Battery life will probably not be an issue with the hefty 6,700mAh battery capacity. As the tablet is targeting the mobile gaming community, it will feature a stereo speaker setup.

Like a majority of other Android tablets currently on the market, Mi Pad will also come with two cameras, a 8 megapixels and 5 megapixels on the back and front respectively. The tablet looks like an enlarged iPhone 5C with its polycarbonate glossy body measuring in at 8.5mm thickness.

As of the time of announcement, it will only come with 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0, but no 3G and 4G options. And while there will be a beta test program for the device in China slated to take place in early June, no official release date is confirmed at the moment.