Alcatel 3T 8 Android Oreo Go Edition Tablet hands on at IFA 2018

This week at IFA Alcatel announced an intriguing entrant into the Australia tablet landscape, the Alcatel 3T 8, powered by Android Oreo Go Edition (seriously Google fix this nomenclature). The sub-$130 AUD 8-inch Android tablet will be released in Australia later this year and I think it may have legs.

I spent a little time with the Alcatel 3T 8 today and while it’s too early for any in-depth impressions here’s our initial hands-on thoughts. Before we get to that, however, we were able to get the full device specs for the device, check them out below.

My first impressions are that it’s surprisingly fast, at least in comparison to Android Go phones I have used. While the devices weren’t ladened up with apps I did open a half dozen in quick succession and that didn’t seem to slow it down. Unfortunately, the tablet wasn’t really set up to allow me to play with features like Assistant and Lens.

As promised the tablet isn’t bundled with a lot of bloat wear, there are all of the standard apps you need to use the device. The only 2 “bundled apps” I could see installed were Facebook Lite and Netflix. Overall not too bad.

From a build perspective the tablet is solid but light, as you would expect it’s made from plastic but considering the market and price point of this device that’s exactly what you would expect. The buttons seem sturdy and responsive and the touchscreen exhibited no lag.

Now, it’s difficult to really evaluate a device that has no Google account installed, no data connection, limited apps and is tethered to a desk by a cord. That said just my surface experience has already convinced me to buy one of these myself to test it out.

The Alcatel 3T 8 will be released in Australia late this year for under $130 AUD.