HP Back In Tablet Game With Android-Based 'Slate7'

theodp writes "You know the old adage, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me?' Still, even if you got bit by the HP TouchPad debacle, HP's newly-announced $169 Slate7 tablet could prove hard to resist. Specs-wise, the Slate7 sports an ARM Dual Core Cortex-A9 1.6 GHz processor, 7-inch 1024x600 HFFS screen, Android 4.1 (Jellybean), three-megapixel camera on the back, front-facing VGA camera, 8GB of on-board storage, HP ePrint, Beats Audio, and a micro SD expandable card slot. It measures 197mm x 116mm x 10.7mm thick, and weighs in at 13 ounces. It will be available in the U.S. in April. Engadget has some pics and their initial hands-on take."

Comments

The innovation we've come to expect from HP

[MrEricSir]

This represents the innovation we've come to expect from HP -- none at all.

Re:The innovation we've come to expect from HP

[AmiMoJo]

My thoughts exactly. Compare it to the Nexus 7:

- Shit screen
- Shit CPU
- Shit camera
- Old version of Android
- Usual HP "quality"

About the only thing it has going for it is the SD card slot, which would put it on a par with Chinese tablets costing half the price except that it will inevitably have HP's bloatware pre-installed and un-removable instead of vanilla Android.

Re:The innovation we've come to expect from HP

[blind biker]

- Shit camera

The Nexus 7 has an even shittier camera.

And I am a proud owner of a Nexus 7, but the camera really isn't anything to write home about.

Re:The innovation we've come to expect from HP

[blind biker]

To add to my sibling comment: the Slate 7 has a rear-facing 3 MP camera. Not fantastic, but much better than 0 MP rear facing camera of my Nexus 7.

The CPU of the Slate 7 is somewhat comparable to that of the Nexus 7.

So, while I love my Nexus 7 and think it's still the best value for money you can get (outside the Nexus 10, which is just phenomenal value for money - you get the absolute best tablet on the market at any price), I don't think the Slate 7 is a clear loser in all aspects, to the Nexus 7.

Re:Kindle HD

[Threni]

Nexus 7 (pure Android), or Nexus 10 (pure Android, larger, loads more powerful). Don't see the point of saving a little money for some crappy customised machine. There's no problem looking at pdfs, movies etc on any Android device, so no advantage in Amazon hardware.

Re:I find it fishy

[mwvdlee]

The only thing you can be sure about is that presenting the non-functional end of a device has absolutely nothing to do with recognizing that people buy these as fashion statements rather than functional devices.

Re:great name!!

[Anonymous Coward]

I dunno.

How many people returned the Nexus 7 because they thought it had Windows 7?

It's a first step

[Anonymous Coward]

Part of the problem with HP is they make an entry into a market, and its not perfect and they turn and run immediately. WebOS was a case in point, overpriced, not perfect, immediately dumped. No attempt to refine it and retry.

Here Android tablets have moved on from this, they'll need to have a few stabs at this to get it right. But they won't, they'll turn and run.

So what exactly is 'beats audio?'

[SuricouRaven]

Seriously. I've tried to google, and the most informative things I find are other people asking the same question. Nowhere on the HP site does it actually say what this technology is, though they do seem to insist on putting a (tm) after every use of the term. There's a lot of marketing rubbish like "With Beats Audio(tm) on board, the richest, most dynamic sound on a laptop is at your fingertips." But nothing that actually says what Beats Audio is or does. The best I've come up with is http://tunelab.com/2012/01/09/what-exactly-is-beats-audio-update-an-answer/ - which suggests that it's just a trademarked name for a few changes as trivial as changing the headphone jack surround from metal to plastic (which most have anyway) and installing common-sense things like putting the headphone amp away from any noisy digital traces.

Re:So what exactly is 'beats audio?'

[Chewbacon]

It's licensed from Dr. Dre's line of headphones (which I believe is manufactured by Monster cable). Existing technology that they had to slap some hip guy's name on. I have it on my HP laptop and it honestly sounds pretty good as far as laptop speakers go.

Re:So what exactly is 'beats audio?'

[Fri13]

It is a brand for idea to use EQ to make bass sound deeper/stronger and have a higher quality for audio than typically (no distortion at any volume level you could hear) is offered in mobile devices.

It is similar than what Creative has for its SB Live! branding

Re:great name!!

[WizardFusion]

I got a Nexus 10, where's my Windows 10? :)

Touchpad burns? I think not.

[TrentTheThief]

Burned by HP's Touchpad? Not hardly. My TouchPad dual boots WebOS and CyanogenMod 10.

It was well worth the moeny. The graphics are tremendous and the audio is soooo sweet.