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Vmall (Huawei’s official online shop for China) is already taking pre-orders for the MediaPad X1, asking $294 (1,799 CNY) for the 3G model, and $326 (1,999 CNY) for the LTE one. The tablet is called Huawei Honor X1 in China, because the Honor brand is well established there.
$294 looks like a bargain for such a tablet, but that price will be significantly higher in other markets. For example, Huawei intends to sell the LTE-capable MediaPad X1 in Europe for $549 (€399). Why is that? Well, according to Engadget, which spoke to Huawei Device's CMO Shao Yang, the company believes that the X1 will be perceived differently in each market. It will be seen by many as a large phone in China, while in Europe it’s going to be perceived as a tablet that has phone functionality.
Yang said that, since the Apple iPad Mini 2 LTE costs about €499 in Europe, Huawei's partners "are extremely happy" with the €399 price tag of the X1. Of course, customers should also be happy about this price, and it remains to be seen if that's the case.
