Huawei is facing a tough time with several restrictions placed on its use of Google services and, more importantly, the Play Store. But that hasn’t stopped the Chinese tech titan from churning out its new smartphone and tablet models in all price brackets. The latest one to join the list is the entry-level MatePad T8, which embraces the new MatePad branding instead of the older MediaPad.

The T8 is a compact tablet that is presumably made keeping in mind the people who stay on the move and like to get some basic emailing or browsing done while traveling. Here is everything that we know about the newly announced Huawei slate, including its detailed specifications, pricing, availability details, and some alternatives.

Read: Our Huawei MatePad T8 Review

Huawei’s latest budget offering gets a mid-sized 8-inch HD panel on the front, surrounded by thick top and bottom bezels — nothing fancy here. That display size helps the tablet stay small enough to be held in a single hand and be carried along in your bag. Its back is made out of metal, which is not only sturdier but also gives a premium in-hand feel. The rear camera housing is a bit raised from the flat back, while there is no fingerprint reader for additional security on the device.

On the inside, you’ll find an octa-core MediaTek chip running everything, together with 2GB of RAM and up to 32GB of onboard storage that you can expand using a standard microSD card. As for the software, the MatePad T8 comes running the EMUI 10 version based Android 10, though the Google Play Store won’t come preinstalled, nor will you get any of Google’s apps. Huawei has included a dedicated kids’ mode, as you can also get this cheap tablet for the younger members of your family.

Read: Top 5: The Best Chinese Tablets You Can Buy | 2020 Edition

A basic 2MP camera sits on the front to enable video calling, while you also get a 5MP sensor on the opposite side. The tablet comes fueled by a 5100mAh battery that charges using a rather slow 5W charger. To let you stay connected to the internet, the MatePad T8 allows you to pop in a 4G LTE SIM or connect to a Wi-Fi network. For physical connection, the tablet relies on an aging micro USB port and a headphone jack. You can pick it up only in a dark blue shade.

Read: These Are The Best 8-Inch Tablets | 2020 Edition

Huawei made its latest budget offering available first in Romania, while the rest of Europe should also get it pretty soon; in fact, it’s already up for pre-order in Germany. The MatePad T8 has been priced at 119 euros for its base model, which is around 134 USD. However, the company didn’t make it clear exactly when the slate will land in the US or, for that matter, other international markets.

In this price bracket, the best option would be Amazon’s all-new Fire HD 8 or the 8 Plus, both of which offer incredible value, and you can even install the Play Store on them quite easily. Apart from these two, we also have the Tab M8 (review) from Lenovo, which has turned a few months old now, but it does get the full-blown support for Google’s app store.

Samsung came out with its 2020 Tab A 8.4 not too long ago. While its price may seem a little high, the tablet comes packed with a decent set of features and specifications. If you can afford to go as high as the Samsung offering, you should also consider the 10.2-inch iPad 7 (review), which is an excellent tablet for its often-discounted retail price of $250. In case, for some reason, you want to get absolutely the cheapest tablet for, say, your kids, then there’s no better option than the Fire 7 (review) from last year.

Read: The Best Cheap Tablets Under $100 | 2020 Edition