The Alcatel Joy Tab ($168) is a relatively inexpensive tablet that supports LTE connectivity on T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile.
It's a fine choice if you're looking for an affordable slate that can access the internet from anywhere, but if you can get by on Wi-Fi, there are stronger options out there.
The $64 onn.
8-inch tablet from Walmart offers similar specs for significantly less money, while the $149.99 Amazon Fire HD 10 is the best pick for beginners and our Editors' Choice for budget-friendly tablets.
Design and Display
The relatively nondescript Joy Tab looks like your standard budget model.
It measures 8.25 by 4.92 by 0.34 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.37 ounces, which is comfortable to hold for extended periods of time.
The black plastic back is textured, providing a little extra grip, and is home to a camera, speaker, SIM/microSD slot, and an Alcatel logo.
There's a textured power button and a volume rocker on the right, which you might find a little difficult to reach if you have small hands.
The top holds a micro USB charging port and a headphone jack, while the left and bottom edges are bare.
On the front of the tablet you'll find an 8-inch IPS LCD surrounded by chunky bezels.
Resolution comes in at 1,280 by 800 pixels, the same as the Amazon Fire HD 8.
Colors are a little warm, and it's not bright enough to use in direct sunlight.
Viewing angles are also an issue; if you're not looking at the screen straight on, a lot of detail is lost.
It also lacks any oleophobic coating, making it a fingerprint magnet.
Network Performance and Pricing
The Joy Tab is sold by T-Mobile and Metro.
It supports LTE bands 2/4/5/7/12/17/25/26/41/66/71.
It's nice to see band 71 support for rural users and travelers who want reliable coverage on long stretches of highway.
Network quality is solid.
We tested the Joy Tab with a T-Mobile SIM in downtown Manhattan and got consistent speeds of 45Mbps down and 22Mbps up, which is more than good enough for streaming audio and video on the go.
The tablet also supports dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity.
On T-Mobile, the Joy Tab costs $168 upfront or $7 per month over two years.
Financing the tablet means you're required to pay for 24 months of LTE service at a minimum of $10 on T-Mobile ONE.
If you decide to purchase the tablet at full price, you don't need to commit to data service.
In addition to the cost of the tablet, you'll need to pay $10 for a SIM card and an additional $20 upgrade support charge.
On Metro by T-Mobile, the tablet sells for $159.99 plus a $15 activation fee; you need to purchase a data plan for at least a month as well.
The least expensive plan comes in at $10 per month and offers unlimited data with 480p streaming.
There's also a $30 plan that comes with unlimited data and HD streaming.
There's no obligation to renew your plan after the first month, but if you want to move the tablet to T-Mobile, you'll need to have active service for at least six months.
Camera and Audio
The Joy Tab has 5MP camera sensors on the front and back; neither sensor has auto-focus or flash.
The front-facing camera is fine for a quick Skype or Google Hangouts session if you're in adequate light.
In low light, the camera performs poorly with lots of noise and blurring.
Similarly, the 5MP rear sensor does well in bright light.
We tested it with several photos and scans, all of which were acceptable, though we noticed a little noise around the edges of images.
Low-light test shots were disappointing, once again with significant noise and blurring.
For audio, the single rear-firing speaker has a peak volume of 85dB.
Overall it sounds crisp and clean, but at higher volumes, the tablet starts to vibrate.
Because the speaker is placed toward the bottom, it's easy to accidentally cover with your hand.
Hardware and Performance
The Joy Tab is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8165A processor and 2GB of RAM.
Storage comes in at 32GB, of which about 25GB is available out of the box.
The microSD slot can accommodate up to an additional 128GB.
See How We Test Tablets
While the tablet has a faster processor than the 8-inch onn.
model, it doesn't feel as snappy.
It's fine for basic tasks like watching videos or surfing the web, but there's a noticeable lag when opening apps or swiping between screens.
Gaming performance is mixed.
We tested the tablet with PUBG Mobile.
It took several minutes for the game to load, and even on the lowest graphics settings, we still encountered skipped frames.
Candy Crush, a game that requires far fewer system resources, loaded quickly and worked without issue.
The Joy Tab packs a 4,080mAh battery.
In our battery drain test, in which we stream HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, it lasted 5 hours and 1 minute, slightly better than the onn.
tablet (3 hours and 58 minutes).
A micro USB cable and 5W power adapter are included in the box.
It's slightly disappointing to see Alcatel using a micro USB charging port here, now that Amazon has finally brought more modern USB-C connectivity to its latest Fire tablet.
Software
The Joy Tab ships with a nearly stock version of Android 9.0 Pie, with a few custom apps like CloserTV and Kids Launcher.
CloserTV lets you log into your cable and streaming accounts to make it easy to find your favorite movies and shows on demand.
Kids Launcher is a custom interface for children where parents can add approved apps and set daily usage limits.
Alcatel sells a Joy Tab Kids edition of the tablet for $192 that includes a colorful case and runs Kidomi, which is loaded with child-friendly content.
In addition to CloserTV and Kids Launcher, there are also Smart Manager and System Update apps, as well as WPS Office.
T-Mobile's Customer and Hotspot apps are also preloaded.
None of these additional apps can be uninstalled.
Conclusions
If you need a basic, relatively inexpensive tablet with LTE connectivity, the Alcatel Joy Tab fits the bill.
If LTE isn't a necessity, however, there are better options.
The onn.
8-inch tablet offers similar performance for significantly less money, while the Amazon Fire HD 10 is more powerful and has a bigger, sharper display.
The $329 entry-level iPad is also worth considering, with significantly better hardware than any of the above-mentioned tablets, as well as Apple's unrivaled third-party app experience, though LTE connectivity increases the price significantly to $459.
Cons
The Bottom Line
The Alcatel Joy Tab offers LTE connectivity on T-Mobile or Metro and can handle basic tasks relatively well, but you can get better bang for your buck from a Wi-Fi-only model.
