AT&T has a few devices that they can call their own. The Trek 2 HD is the successor to the Trek, an affordable tablet that was made in house by the carrier. Well, the Trek 2 HD is here, and it is positioned with a focus on entertainment. This tablet is not meant to compete with the high-end tablets of the world, but rather can hold it’s own in the low to mid-range spectrum.
Design
The Trek 2 HD has a bland design that will fit in with the most style. And no it doesn’t come in Rose Gold with a solid aluminium build like the iPad Pro. Instead, AT&T and ZTE, the tech company who makes the Trek for the carrier, opted for a polycarbonate plastic build.
And it does feel pretty solid in hand and, it can be held comfortably with one hand. The back has a slight grip to it that makes it easy to hold, and it gives you some texture. Although it does not truly serve any ascetic purposes, mainly just for a high-end like feel.
It is not waterproof, or drop proof like the name might suggest. The Trek 2 HD comes in at 12.8-ounces in weight and is a small tablet at 8.46″ x 4.92″ x 0.35″. Similarly to iPads and the upcoming Google Pixel smartphones, there is a chin at the top and bottom. AT&T only offers the Trek 2 HD in this black color.
Hardware
The display is an 8-inch TFT HD panel with a 1280 X 800 resolution. This does not give off the sharpest picture, but most users shouldn’t have an issue with this. It performs well in low light situations, so if you want to watch some Netflix in bed, the Trek 2 HD can accomplish this. But be warned that is not the brightest display out there.
AT&T has opted to put a 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon processor with 2GB of RAM inside. This is a pretty standard processor with mid-range smartphones the Moto G4, but this is new ground for a tablet. With that being said it did perform well with web surfing and using not power intensive applications. If you are looking to game on a tablet, I will steer clear of the Trek 2 HD. It had substantial latency with games and even at times with multitasking between applications. On Geekbench the Trek 2 HD scored a 698 single-core and 2148 multi-core scores.
The front-facing and back cameras are 5-megapixel lenses. The front one is good for making hangouts, Snapchatting, or even duo calling. AT&T’s decision of a 5-megapixel rear camera delivered then average results. Images were not presenting colors in a very true way, and lighting was hard to get right.
Software and Connectivity
When the Trek 2 HD launched it was running the latest version of Android, 6.0 Marshmallow, but now it is not. There is no word on when or if the Trek 2 HD will get updated to Android 7.0 Nougat, but I wouldn’t be too concerned about this.
The software experience is smooth; it can have some latency at times, but this is to be expected with a low to mid range device. It is a relatively clean interface with not many customizations, but you do get plenty of pre-loaded applications.
AT&T’s 4G LTE network is accessible on the Trek 2 HD. In our testing region of Northern NJ and NYC, the device performed similarly to other AT&T devices. You can expect it to hit a majority of bars and should have 4G connectivity in most locations. After all, AT&T has covered a majority of the country with 4G LTE service.
Conclusion
At just $180 with no contract or commitment, the Trek 2 HD is not that bad of a deal. Especially when you consider that you get cellular service on this device. If you’re looking for a simple tablet that can handle some light multitasking and that is mainly for streaming Netflix or videos, this might be for you. I would suggest looking elsewhere for a device that can handle gaming and true multitasking.
The Trek 2 HD is available from AT&T now both in-stores and online. On AT&T Next the tablet comes in at $7.50 a month or $180 with no contract.
