MetroPCS launches its first tablet

Pre-paid carrier MetroPCS has introduced its first tablet, the Alcatel OneTouch Pop 7. Not only is the slate available for just $149, it can be used on one of three new rate plans being offered by the T-Mobile owned subsidiary. All three rate plans offerunlimited data. For $10 a month, you will receive 1GB of high-speed 4G LTE data, with the balance at a slower speed. Pay $20 each month, and you will get 3GB of high-speed 4G LTE data at your disposal, with the balance at a slower speed. And if you cough up $30 each month, you will be given 5GB of high-speed 4G LTE data, with the balance at a slower speed.

What about the tablet? We can tell you that the Alcatel OneTouch Pop 7 features a 7 inch TFT display with resolution of  1024 x 600. That works out to a pixel density of 170ppi. Driving the tablet is a dual-core 1.3GHz MediaTek MT8312 CPU, with the Mali-400 GPU handling graphics. 1GB of RAM is on board, and native storage available to the user is 2.4GB. Luckily, there is a 32GB capacity microSD slot available for those who need extra storage. The 2MP rear-facing camera is about as basic as they come with no auto-focus or flash.There is a .3MP front-facing camera, and the whole shebang is powered by a 3240mAh battery. The tablet supports 4G LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and Android 4.2 is pre-installed.

Of course, T-Mobile CEO John Legere had to use the opportunity to get in a shot against MetroPCS competitors Boost and Cricket. Neither of those two pre-paid operators offers tablets at this point.