After flirting with Windows Mobile for their maiden foray into smartphones and then pinning hopes on webOS before it got killed two years ago. HP is taking another stab at the smartphone market with Android this time.
HP VoiceTab series – Slate 6 and Slate 7 – hit the crowded phablet market in India intended for consumers who prefer to have one device for calls as well as web browsing, media consumption, and games. Also, Slate 6 is a dual SIM device, and that appeals to a lot of users in India.
The HP VoiceTab Slate 6 is a surprisingly nicely designed phablet. It's just 9mm thick, making it one of the slimmest device in the category. Also, at 160gm, it is surprisingly light for its size.
The slim chassis of the 6-inch device makes it easy to hold and grip despite the large size. Of course, phablets of this size aren't made for one-handed operation despite what the marketing folks claim, but the Slate 6 is not unwieldy and is quite easy to carry.
The removable back cover has a grey checkered design pattern with matte finish that gives the device a premium feel despite being all plastic. The gold finish on the sides and the metal buttons also adds to the appeal.
While the build quality of the phone is pretty good overall, the plastic materials used are very average. When you hold it firmly and attempt to twist, you'd feel as you'd break it. The back panel too is pretty flimsy.
Powered by a not-so-popular 1.2 GHz Marvell PXA1088 quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and Android 4.2.2, the Slate 6 looks good on paper for a mid-range device. The 16 GB internal storage with microSD expansion is at par as well.
However, the overall responsiveness of the device is a let-down. HP stays away from heavy customizations and skinning, and runs stock Android, but the optimizations seem to be missing. The UI has a noticeable lag and apps take a few extra, I won't say seconds, but maybe milliseconds. It wouldn't have been annoying for most users, but the performance is inconsistent and apps like the default browser would sometimes hang and require a force quit. Casual games work all well on the Slate 6, but graphic-intensive games like Asphalt 8 obviously struggle at high graphic settings.
The HP Slate 6 features a 6-inch IPS 720p display. While the display is good enough and colors are accurately bright, the viewing angles are below average.
The 5MP rear camera of the Slate 6 is a decent camera in good light. The contrast isn't right there and you wouldn't have a lot of details in the photo, but they are pretty okay and sharp. In low light and outdoors in evening though, the camera app takes quite a while to focus, and there's too much noise in the photos. The camera optics and the software disappoint overall. The 2MP front camera though works well for video calls and those selfies.
The HP VoiceTab Slate 6 works, but does not impress much. The design is surprisingly sophisticated, but the user experience is listless and the camera offers sub-par experience. The 3000mAh battery last through the day, which is pretty good for a phablet.
At INR 22,990, the Slate 6 is not a bad device, but the performance issues make it hard to be recommended, especially in a crowded market. A software update could take care of most issues, but that's shooting in the dark. The HP VoiceTab Slate 6 is well-intentioned, but an average comeback from HP.
Last night at MWC, HP announced its first Android tablet – the Slate 7. However, the 10.7mm thick Slate 7 fails to impress in every way. The 7inch tablet sports mediocre specs – a dual-core 1.6GHz Cortex-A9 processor, 1024*600 resolution, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, microSD card slot, Bluetooth 2.1, shooters in the front (VGA) and back (3.1MP) and Wi-Fi b/g/n.
The Slate 7 also packs in a couple of front-facing stereo speakers with Beats audio branding and is capable of providing up to five hours of video playback. The suggested retail price of the Slate 7 is around $169, and will be running on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.
Compared to the Nexus 7, the Slate 7 may be slightly cheaper and sport a microSD card slot, but is inferior in every other way. Plus, the Nexus 7 successor is just around the corner, which makes the Slate 7 a not so tempting deal. If anything, HP's Slate 7 is going to meet the same fate as all other recent offerings from HP in the mobile market.
Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, wants HP to get back into the ever booming tablet business, reports Bangkok Post. Having burnt their hands with WebOS powered TocuhPad tablets, this time HP will be bringing tablets in the market with Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system.
After acquiring Palm for $1.2 billion, HP launched their first WebOS based TouchPad tablets in the market. However, due to poor response from the market, HP decided to shut down TouchPad tablets and sold the available stock for $99, which sold like hot cakes. HP then shut down their smartphone business and was looking to sell WebOS. However, since it didn't find any buyer, HP decided to open source the OS.
Now, HP is ready to start production on its tablets based on Windows 8. HP's Windows 8 based tablets will come with cloud-based integration that will allow users to sync files between multiple devices.
Meg Whitman, after taking charge of HP, reversed the decision to spin off the PC business. Under her leadership HP gain its foothold again in the market.
During a surprise appearance at the Global Influencer Summit 2012 in Shanghai, Whitman said that, as the world becomes more digital, HP's PC and printing franchises continue to increase in importance. She said that, "PCs are a part of how we create and access digital information. We've found that we can differentiate our products through design and innovation. As the only player with leadership positions in both the consumer and the enterprise markets, we can bridge that gap that is being created by the consumerisation of IT," reports ARNnet.
Apple still remains the darling of consumers when it comes to tablet market share with Apple's iPad capturing 68 per cent tablet market share in the first quarter of 2012, according to IDC.