Above the freezing water, you can find tablets from manufacturers like Apple and Samsung but beneath the surface, the iceberg extends into the darkness. Here you find pads from Lenovo, Asus, and Dell. Even deeper you find the likes of Alcatel, Premio Tab, or even Telefunken.

Somewhere between the rime sit the tablets of HMD Global, of which two have been launched locally.

One of which we got the chance to review. This is the Nokia T10, and we approached the review with very few expectations due to its rather obscure nature. We were pleasantly dazzled with the tablet, which launched in South Africa only in February.

It is a no-fuss little gadget, with hefty battery life, a surprising camera setup and loads of capabilities. While its hardware lets it down in the performance department, its low price balances it out towards the positive.

It is a simple machine, available only in Ocean Blue, with not much to talk about when it comes to looks. It won’t turn any heads, but it is sturdy, quite heavy on the hand and feels solid enough to maybe survive a fall or two.

Nokia T10 specifications:

• 8-inch HD display (1280×800),
• 8MP rear camera, with a 2MP selfie cam,
• ARM T606 8-core processor,
• 3GB RAM
• 32GB storage space,
• MicroSD slot (to expand storage by 512GB),
• 5 250mAh battery,
• Android 12 OS,
• WiFi + SIM slot for LTE internet,
• Headphone jack.

Again, the Nokia T10 fields a humble hardware loadout, with the 3GB of RAM a primary concern for us heading into the review. Its storage space isn’t much to write home about, and will only really be for a few songs or some games you have installed on the disk, at least without a MicroSD.

The device functions mainly as an entertainment unit – it even has a quick left-scroll option that takes you directly into Google’s TV and streaming suite – and here the display is pulling overtime. While it can’t offer AMOLED picture-perfect clearness, the small HD screen is more than capable of 1080P streaming, and users won’t miss any of the tiny details, from skin imperfections to light reflecting on floating dust particles.

Colours aren’t over vibrant, the reds are deep and the image quality is high overall when streaming. The Android UI, however, for some reason, isn’t as clear and eye-catching as the streaming. We’re not sure what happened here.

Performance is the Nokia T10’s Achilles heel, but it isn’t frustrating in day-to-day use, such with the Poco C40. Instead, the T10 is passable in this department. With social media use, app swapping and even gameplay rumbling along at a fine enough pace.

Benchmarks on Geekbench 6 only produced a score of 369 for single-core testing. While multi-core testing saw it shoot up to 1 371. Meanwhile, 3D Mark Wild Life saw a score of 415 with an average framerate of 2.50 FPS.

While some higher-end mobile games like PUBG and Fortnite might produce lower frame rates at higher graphical settings, lighter-on-memory titles will provide solid gaming experiences.

We found that the Enhanced Edition of RPG classic Baldur’s Gate was fantastic on the T10, and we would often retreat to it in the dark of loadshedding.

Unfortunately, however, the fact that it only comes with Android 12 can hamper some users looking to take advantage of the latest apps and software. Especially as Android 14 is set to be released later this year, near August, and Google will be looking to use that OS for all its latest products and services.

Camera

A humble array is on offer here, with the Nokia T10 bringing two cameras to the party. A main 8MP shooter, and a 2MP selfie cam.

While the main camera can pick up distinct detail, it doesn’t have the sharpest visual fidelity when you take command of the considerable zoom it gives you. It is a bit hit-and-miss here.

Some photos will look high quality with the right lighting, but close-up photos become blurry sludge. Again, it receives a passable grade in the camera department.

Battery

The battery life of the T10 is another highlight of the pad. HMD Global says that the device can last for 24 hours of use on a single, full charge. We found that with occasional use of a few hours at a time, each time, the 5 250mAh battery can last you just under a week on a single charge.

This is fantastic for a country like South Africa, wracked by loadshedding – sometimes four hours at time, with 11 hours of the day without power. We enjoyed having the T10 as an early bedtime companion, bringing up Netflix to watch the outage hours go past.

Even gaming on low-end games will barely affect the battery life, and it charges to full within an hour or two as fastcharging is not available here. We believe it is by far the best aspect of the device, other than its affordable price.

Nokia T10 – Verdict

Like the Nokia T10 itself, there isn’t too much here to waffle on about. It is a simple, sturdy tablet that offers great battery life, high-quality streaming and a passable camera for R2 999 for the WiFi-only version, and R3 199 for the extra ability to insert an LTE SIM card. You can pick it up from online retailers like Takealot.

While the Nokia T20 has better specifications for about R1 000 more, if your budget is really tight, then you should seriously consider the Nokia T10 if you’re in the market for a tablet. We honestly will be a bit sad to see it go.

FINAL SCORE: 8 OUT OF 10.