| Key specifications • Android™ 4.4.2 Kit Kat • NVIDIA® TEGRA® 4 A15 Quad-Core Processor • 7-inch HD diagonal capacitive multi-touch wide viewing angle display (1280 x 800) • 0.3MP VGA fixed focus • 5MP Auto-Focus instant HDR • Up to 9 hours of battery life(30c • 16GB eMMC(4c) • Micro USB 2.0 • 802.11 b/g/n (Wireless Display Enabled)(19) • Bluetooth® 3.0(26) • 2mm-tip Passive Stylus included |
This is HP's newest member of the Slate 7 line-up dubbed the 'Beats Special Edition'.
The 7" HP Slate Beats Special Edition tablet is a nice piece of hardware. After the initial start-up and update, it has worked well, with no fuss, no muss.
Comparing it to Apple iPad mini MD531LL/A (16GB, Wi-Fi, White / Silver) (which is currently around the same price), the HP Slate does well. The screen real estate is nearly that of the iPad Mini in a slightly more compact package. It is as responsive or better than the mini when it comes to using the apps and OS. The screen looks almost as good as the Mini's - most might not be able to notice a difference. I can't say the speaker sound quality is better than that of the Mini, but it is definitely louder. And with quality headphones, you do get the full "Beats" experience with enriched bass response. Sound quality overal is comparable though. The 7-4501's ace in the hole is the memory card slot. I have another 64GB added using a MicroSDXC Memory Card which should serve me well for audio, photo and video files.
Battery life is comparable as well (though not as good), and charging from a computer is easy. Apps are plentiful at this point. The ones I've used have not caused any problems for the hardware, and a lot comes pre-installed. The integrated stylus is a bonus, though I've not had much opportunity to use it yet.
It comes preloaded with the latest Android Kit Kat 4.4.2. When I first turned it on, it did go to about 1 hour long system and software update which gave me a chance to go over the Manual. I also have Android Smart phone and was amazed how easy it was to sync my phone with HP tablet. All my existing Apps were copied and downloaded automatically to HP tablet once I entered my phone number. Great feature.
Next feature that really impressed me is the Tegra 4 processor. It’s blazing fast. This feature highlights next great feature of this tablet, the battery. I was expecting to have to charge it twice a day like my previous tablets. I am medium to heavy user, watching Netflix, playing some games and Facebook and this battery lasts me all day. Charging time is under 2 hours from almost completely down.
When it comes to display it doesn't get any better. NVIDIA did it right for this tablet. Impressive speed as well as the quality of display. Touchscreen is very accurate and responsive. Stylus pen is well hidden yet easy to access for use.
Dual cameras are very good feature when using Skype . Both the front and rear view cameras have great quality of picture.
Overall a great tablet when it comes to quality and value.
