Slated for the Casual User

Product Review

(Daddy reviews)

I reviewed the HP OfficeJet 6700 Premium in June - the monkies loved it by the way - and thanks to HP, I got the HP Slate 7 for keeps too.

The Slate 7 is priced at the lower-end of the tablet spectrum, with modest specs that include a dual-core A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of built-in storage, a 7-inch 1,024 x 600 display and rear-facing 3MP & front-facing VGA cameras.

With a nifty price tag of S$199 (U.P. S$249), the Slate 7 feels decently well-made and robust to hold. The 7-inch screen is bound by a stainless steel frame while the matte, soft-touch finish on the back gives it a comfortable feel. The back comes in either silver or red, though I'm inclined to choose the red any day.

Let's delve straight into the key gripe of the Slate 7, which is its display. The screen is no high definition screen for sure. Compared to its most obvious competitor - the pricier Nexus 7 - the colour tones are not that vibrant and the screen seems a tad duller. 

But I guess that would not be as big as an issue if you are thinking to purchase it as as alternative tablet for the kids. Parents who already have an iPad or other Android Tablets, but they are not comfortable with their kids playing with it. Just think of all those grubby finger smears and heart-stopping water-spilling-all-over-it scenarios!

The Slate 7 is an economical and sturdy unit that could quite happily keep kids entertained. At least it did keep both Ash and Ayd adequately occupied when we brought it along on our Sydney trip in June.

Ayd in particular, went bonkers snapping photos with the Slate 7 during our trip with his trigger-happy spree no doubt starting on our plane journey.

Erm, even being the photo-edit guru as well.

And by the end of our trip, both of them declared it to be “really good for games” too after downloading a few of their fave free games from the Google Play store.

Rounding up the Slate 7 specifications, it features Beats Audio technology which is designed for the best sounding and richest audio on a tablet and a microSD slot (expandable up to 32GB) - something the Nexus 7 is missing.

And this being a HP product, it comes loaded with the HP ePrint feature as well. What this means is as long as you know your HP web-connected printer's unique email address, you would be able to send a print job from the Slate 7 to the printer, even from overseas!

At S$199, the HP Slate 7 is suited for the casual user minus all the bells and whistles. Certainly it was good enough for the monkies because for once, I had the iPad all to myself. 

For more information, visit www8.hp.com/sg/en/ads/slate-7/landing.html.