MUST READ: Congress demands answers from Google over Glass privacy concerns

Topic: Tablets

MWC 2013: HP's $169 Slate 7 Android tablet hands-on

Summary: HP has announced its first Android-powered tablet and it will cost just $169, but does it have the skills to go up against the best of the rest at the lower end of the market?

Ben Woods

By |

 |  Image 1 of 4

HP's Slate 7 tablet was announced at a press event just ahead of the start of Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona on Sunday. ZDNet went hands-on with the tablet to see if it would be able to measure up to the competition when it is released in April.

The low-cost device is the first from HP to use the Android operating system (rather than Microsoft Windows) and comes with 7-inch display that has a 1024 x 600 pixels resolution. In initial tests, the screen looked a little washed out but a spokeswoman said it was a very early build of the hardware.

"To address the growing interest in tablets among consumers and businesses alike, HP will offer a range of form factors and leverage an array of operating systems," Alberto Torres, senior vice president of the Mobility Global Business Unit at HP, said in a statement on Sunday.

HP recently announced its first Chromebook, showing that it is eschewing Windows altogether for some of its newest devices.

  • Thumbnail 1
  • Thumbnail 2
  • Thumbnail 3
  • Thumbnail 4

Topics: Tablets, Hewlett-Packard, Mobility, MWC

About

With several years' experience covering everything in the world of telecoms and mobility, Ben's your man if it involves a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or any other piece of tech small enough to carry around with you.

Google+ Contact

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily email newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Talkback

19 comments
Log in or register to join the discussion

  • Two smart decisions

    Two smart decisions:

    1. Using bog standard Android
    2. SD card slot

    For people whose main use is storage intensive, rather than speed-demanding, say showing off family photos and videos, the SD slot is a winner. Google take note: Cloud storage is a crock for 90% of the population.
    splatman
    Reply 6 Votes

  • Meh....

    This tablet is a "you get what you pay for" kind of device. These are basically throwaway devices.
    gud2seau
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Every piece of electronics .....

      becomes a "throw away" device.

      I do not get your point. If it meets someone's needs and budget, it is a good solution for them, even if you ignorantly hold your nose.

      Astounding mindlessness.
      D.T.Long
      Reply 6 Votes

    • Throw away?

      I highly doubt the majority of the people who buy this would consider $169 to be throw away money.
      Would you please throw $169 my way?
      dangeorges
      Reply 6 Votes

    • It's only a "throwaway" device if...

      you are careless enough to drop it and smash it. If someone buys one in April when they are
      released and uses it carefully they may very well still be using it two or three years down the line, especially since it won't require rooting to get rid of all the OEM crapware that comes on other devices.
      bunkport
      bunkport
      Reply Vote

  • Hands on?

    Not as much a hands on article as it is a clumsy rundown of the specs (and an incomplete one to boot).
    dangeorges
    Reply 2 Votes

  • Touchpad competitor?

    I wonder if this will compare favorably to my $150 Touchpad running CM9.
    RandiTrollop
    Reply Vote

    • Yeah, I would

      I would trade in my Touchpad cm9 with this in a heartbeat.
      Aliephe
      Reply Vote

  • A picture of a hand next to a device is not a "hands-on" the device

    Neither is regurgitating the same crappy specs everybody else has being posting for the past few days.
    wackoae
    Reply 1 Vote

  • solid device

    Pretty solid device for it's price...great decision to have an almost stock android OS.....I might get one of these as a secondary tablet....
    oaba10
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Who would buy this vs a Nexus7

    HP was once a great engineering company but now they can't even do a simple tablet. The Nexus7 came out nearly a year ago, an eternity in mobile device time, yet this HP thing isn't remotely competitive. The most important spec on a tablet is the screen, the N7 has a 1280x800 display, this has a useless 1024x600 display. The other really important thing is the software, while I'm happy that HP has chosen not to mess up Andoid with their own variant there is no excuse for a tablet that isn't even shipping yet to already be a revision behind, that doesn't bode well for the future.

    The other stupid decision is to put a rear facing camera in it. Tablet's don't need a rear facing camera. Almost everybody who owns a tablet also owns a smartphone. The phone is much better form factor for a camera then a tablet. They should have left the rear facing camera out and put the money into the screen or if they really belive that they had to have a camera they should have put a decent sensor into it, 3Mpixels in 2013? what were they thinking.
    bjrosen@...
    Reply 2 Votes

    • Really? 1024x600?

      1024 x 600 seems ridiculously low res. There are 4.3" hand sets with better. Granted, I'm probably not in the device's target market, but if this is HP's idea of taking the Google device market by storm, they should have just mailed it in.
      sedewicki
      Reply 1 Vote

    • rear facing camera

      is an absolute must for me as I use it for barcode scanning and receipt scanning which would not be practical with front camera only.
      warboat
      Reply Vote

  • A throw away budget

    They would have been better off recreating the Touchpad with up to date specs and running Android or Win RT than putting out a product that can't compete. It's hard to believe they actually pay someone to come up with something like this. They need to clean house and while sill able, do a 360, and like GenMotors start innovating.
    primartcloud
    Reply 1 Vote

  • Another Failure

    Going with Android is a common user death march. HP needed to come strong with an enterprise device, but they failed again. They need an enterprise OS that supports PKI/Smart Card login... and the hardware. If HP can manage to integrate card readers on their keyboards and laptops, why can they not manage to implement the same for a tablet...
    tomxfoolery
    Reply Vote

  • did the people who complain notice the price?

    For $169 the device is a good deal. I hate people who try to compare a $169 device to a $299 device.Why not just rip it apart because it is not a iiPad.. .. for the money I would buy one just for travel or a kid . At that price when it gets broken or stolen it is not such a big deal. I do agree the rear camera may not be needed but for kids who do not have a smart phone , they would disagree. Just because a device is not for you it does not make it a bad idea.
    dave0420
    Reply 1 Vote

    • That assumes you can do anything with cheap crap

      And history has shown that cheap crap is usually useless or has a very short lifespan.
      wackoae
      Reply Vote

      • all tablets ARE cheap crap

        except some manufacturers charge double for the cheap crap.
        I'm pretty sure this tablet runs most games and 99% of android apps so it is not useless.
        warboat
        Reply Vote

        • Used to Agree

          As I used computers for business and not personal things until not long ago, I tended to agree with you. But then I wound own the business and shelved my desktops and 17" laptops for a netbook that originally I could not figure out why anyone would want only tofind out they had a use. Finally decoded to spring for a tablet but for the prices asked for Apple and others could not justify it mentally. The Android based units seemed too dependent on the Internet and Google. Finally went with a BB Playbook and it has replaced the netbook. It is neither spec challenged nor cheap feeling. I easily expect to use it for 3-4 years so pee year cost will be about the same as my desktops and laptops. It is not a matter of initial cost but the annual cost per year until end of life that matters.
          BrianLevyEsq
          Reply Vote
CNET Join | Log In | Privacy | Cookies Close