After somewhat a rocky start with their first ever budget Android tablet, Slate 7″, which was not a massive success from our point of view, HP have decided to soldier on, announcing four new Android tablets which the company are aiming for the mid to high end market.
The new HP tablets using the HP ‘Slate’ branding come in four flavours across 3 screen sizes, starting with the HP Slate 7 Extreme followed by the HP Slate 7 HD, the HP Slate 8 Pro and ending with the HP Slate 10 HD.
HP Slate 7 Extreme
First up, the HP Slate 7 Extreme which offers a 7-inch 1280 x 800 resolution display with a Tegra 4 SOC powering it. It comes with a 5MP rear facing camera and a VGA front facing camera. Available in in a WiFi version only it also offers Bluetooth capabilities and comes with a stylus.
The HP Slate 7 Extreme is sounding familiar right? Well thats because it is based on the NVIDIA Tegra Note 7″ device which was announced this week.
HP Slate 7 HD
Next up is the the Slate 7 HD is bring reported as a ‘true’ HP tablet instead of a rebranded one like the Slate 7 Extreme.
The Slate 7 HD offers a 7-inch 1280 x 800 IPS display powered by a Marvell PXA986 CPU. The tablet will include Beats Audio, Front and rear facing cameras – though no word on the specifications if the sensors for either are stated, as well as a battery that is rated for about 9 hours of life making it great for media playback and to store all that media a microSD card slot is included to expand internal storage.
HP are stating the Slate 7 HD will come in a 3G/4G model. No word on the exact frequencies supportedby the tablet but its safe to say the 4G model will be only available in the US at this stage.
HP Slate 8 Pro
Next up we have the HP Slate 8 Pro which isn’t still has somewhat descent specs which include 7.98-inch display offering 1600 x 1200 resolution display powered by Tegra 4 CPU and include both a 8MP rear camera with a 2MP front facing camera.
The Slate 8 Pro also comes with micro-HDMI output and expandable memory through microSD card slot.
HP Slate 10 HD
Last but not least we have the HP Slate 10 HD, which HP are actually aiming for the lower end of the market.
The Slate 10 HD offers a 10″ display with a 1280 x 800 resolution, it’s powered by a Marvell PXA986 CPU and includes both rear and front facing cameras – but again there is no indication on the sensor size – Beats Audio, 9 hour battery life and a microSD card slot are also included.
The Slate 10 HD will come in a 3G/4G model, though like its brother, the Slate 7 HD, there is no word on the exact frequencies available for the tablet but its safe to say the 4G model will be only available in the US at this stage.
HP are stating that all four tablets will run with near close to stock Android, though the company did not state what version of Android would be running on each tablet. The usual inclusions of HP Printer Apps and possibly the File Manager and Media player will be included but HP are remaining close to the AOSP experience for their first forays into the Android market.
Pricing is said to be starting around the $199 US mark, but we will have to wait and see what happens between now and their eventual launch in stores in the US. If and when the four Slates will make their way down under has not yet been announced by HP Australia.
Would you consider buying one of the four tablets? Which one to you seems the best out of the bunch?
Why would anyone buy these over the Nexus tablets? They have to be really really cheap otherwise they’ll be destined to be doomed from day one? Touchpad anyone?
I see where you are going with this but one reason that pops into mind is expandable storage. Sounds like all new HP tablets come with MicroSD slot.
I’d probably get a State 10 HD for Mum, if the price was right. I mean, I did give her my TouchPad with Android!
You gave your mother a Touchpad??? YOU MONSTER!!! lol, I still have my Touchpad, it sits in the car for my 2 year old to watch Thomas the Tank Engine on.
Hey! It’s a good bit of kit, at the time anyway! She still loves it. As long as she can watch YouTube, it’s fine.
We are at the dawn of 4k… 1200×800 doesn’t cut it any more
You forgot to u’se apo’strophe’s to warn u’s about all of the ‘s’s’ in the article.
P.’S. I’m not the ‘same Greg to the other one po’sting below.
That has to be a branding mistake right? 7″ HD is full HD, but 10″ HD is ~720p.
Just glad to see someone other than Asus trying a highish-end series of tablets.
Unfortunately at 720P it’s considered ‘HD’ which is why you see manufacturers now using the FHD tag on their models with Full HD (1920×1080 and above) resolutions.
None, no wide screen, joke resolution, the Pro will cost arm+tessties. There are better alternatives