Rugged Tank Pad 5G Android Tablet Doubles As A Portable Projector

Chinese mobile tech company 8849 has just released an interesting tablet called the Tank Pad. It's marketed as a rugged 11-inch Android tablet with a built-in 100 lumens short-throw DLP projector. With this mish-mash of concepts and innards (more on this below), 8849 has left us to wonder who the target audience for the Tank Pad is. Nonetheless, tablets have become boring and we need something like this to show us what's possible.

The Tank Pad by 8849 is definitely different. It's not the first to merge a tablet with a built-in projector (raise your hands, Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 Pro), but definitely something more capable than previous attempts, at least on paper. Starting with the build, the Tank Pad is a ruggedized Android device with IP68/69 and MIL-STD-810H durability ratings, although it must be noted that the latter doesn't give us specifics of what the Tank Pad itself can withstand. There's also no mention of what sort of glass protection the 10.95-inch FHD 120Hz display has, so a third-party protector is in order here.

Powering the device is one of MediaTek's "Premium B" Dimensity 8200 SoCs with 16GB RAM (plus an additional 16GB extended RAM) over Android 14. There's also 512GB of built-in storage, dual 5G SIM support, a large 21,000mAh battery, plus a 50MP main camera (that's probably not very good, if we had to guess).


Of course, we can't ignore the DLP short-throw projector in the top-rear of the unit. It's not very bright at all (100 nits) and because there's no mount or kickstand, users will have to find the best ways to prop this thing up on their own. In projector mode, we can see the Tank Pad being used for short stints, such as while camping or for quick screen shares at work meetings.

What possibly holds the Tank Pad back is the price. Potential buyers might be put off by the $1,000 MSRP, although it's currently on sale for $800 on 8849's retail site. Better still is when searching through AliExpress, you can find the Tank Pad at $550 for the global version.

By the way, if you're wondering why "8849," well, the company's website states that the brand has a "commitment to creating the world’s finest rugged electronics", therefore the name comes from the aim to surpass the height of Mount Everest (which is 8,848 meters). As simple as that.