As everyone around the world looks for solutions to bring the workplace and provide education remotely to the home, in the wake of the ongoing global pandemic, laptops and mobile devices have been a godsend. Now, with two new devices - the NXTPAPER and TAB 10s - TCL looks to offer an extremely compelling option for working professionals, college students, and parents who need the best tablets out there.
Revealed at CES 2021’s all digital event, with the show floor taking a break this year due to the ongoing pandemic, there’s a lot to love in both of these devices and there’s something here for everyone at appreciatively varied price points.
TCL NXTPAPER
The most immediately striking element of the TCL NXTPAPER is its paper-like, colored E Ink, IPS touchscreen display, sized at 8.88” with a 1440 x 1080 resolution. Being an E Ink display, viewing content on the NXTPAPER is just like reading from a piece of paper with all the benefits of no glare, flickering, or screen burn-in. Given that Amazon Kindle devices, like the Kindle Oasis, have complete domination of the e-reader space at the moment, this is a bold move from TCL.
The NXTPAPER uses Google’s Android 10 OS and is powered by a MediaTek MT8768 octa-core processor, a PowerVR GE8320 GPU, 64GB of internal storage, and 4GB of RAM, all of which should provide more than enough horsepower for all forms of e-learning. Additionally, the 5500mAh battery, which TCL claims can provide 400 hours of standby time and be charged in 4 hours, should remove any anxiety surrounding the NXTPAPER’s ability to get through plenty of study time.
For those in need of a strong camera, for conferencing or lessons conducted by services like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, the NXTPAPER is armed with a rear 8MP camera and a front 5MP camera. With its support for Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi, and LTE there should be no worry about call quality or dropouts.
The NXTPAPER doesn’t yet have a US release date but it will be available in other territories from April with a starting price of €349 in Europe. It will also be launching in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia Pacific from April onwards. We’d be shocked if this doesn’t make its way over to the US later this year.
TCL TAB 10s
While the TCL TAB 10s is the more budget friendly option of TCL’s offerings, it still packs plenty of punch. Its 10.1” touchscreen display with a 1200 x 1920 resolution, has built-in eye protection which comes with automatic brightness and tonality controls for both daylight and low-light conditions.
The TAB 10s is available with the same internal specifications as the NXTPAPER but is also available in a slightly cut down version, with 32GB of internal storage and 3GB of RAM. However, what the TAB 10s may lack in power it makes up for with its astoundingly large 8000mAh battery.
Parents will be pleased to know that the TAB 10s, and NXTPAPER, come with highly customizable parental controls. These controls allow the ability to manage study and rest time as well as what third-party applications can be used on the device.
The TCL TAB 10S will be available from March, with pricing starting at €199 in Europe.
€249 for the 4G LTE version. The Tab 10S has been confirmed to be coming to the US (along with the rest of North America, Middle East, Africa, China, Asia Pacific, and Latin America), but we don’t have price details yet.
