Sprint's first sub-$100 tablet is official, the ZTE Optik is slated for release on February 5th

Heading into any of the vast carrier stores littered across the country, US consumers can find a wide range of tablets vying for attention, and more importantly, your highly coveted business. However, when we quickly peek at some of the prices associated with these tablets, we tend to be rather hesitant due to their higher costs – plus, not to mention they require you to sign up for a 2-year contract.

Well folks, if you’re on a budget and itching to get an Android tablet of some sort, you’ll be enticed by Sprint’s latest offering. Today, the Now network officially announced its very first sub-$100 on-contract tablet in the ZTE Optik, which will go on sale starting on February 5th. Needless to say, its super affordable cost might hint to the kind of hardware this budget tablet is packing along for the ride, but you’ll be utterly surprised that it’s pretty decent.

Specifically, the ZTE Optik features a 7” WXGA (1280 x 800) display, 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera, 4,00 mAh battery, 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, stereo speakers, aGPS, microSD card slot, and Android 3.2 Honeycomb. With the last point, there’s no mention in the press release about the possibility of seeing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with it, which might be a deal breaker for some. However, if you can somehow overlook that and possibility of seeing it stuck with Honeycomb, then you’re looking at one sweet tablet that’s fit for your tastes.

Frankly, its $99.99 on-contract price is its absolute best feature! And when you think about it more, pricing alone might aid this tablet in gaining visibility amongst consumers when it goes on sale this Sunday, but then again, you can forgo that contract route and pick it up for a mere $349.99 outright.

source: Sprint