Hewlett Packard has announced a new bumper sized tablet with a kick-stand, keyboard and mouse - the HP Slate21. It is described as an ‘All-in-One PC’ within HP’s press release, but I hope no one would buy it aiming to do ‘PC things’ such as run PC games or PC applications. HP is targeting the system at “home entertainment and productivity users”.
The sales pitch for the HP Slate21 goes like this: “The HP Slate21 All-in-One enables families to enjoy cloud-based entertainment features such as TV streaming and Android apps… (It is) ideal for family activities, providing easy access to entertainment and productivity features, plus fun Android apps. Through Google Services, customers can reach shared content such as calendars, email, notes and documents, which can be created with the built-in productivity apps.” HP also implements its wireless printing tech.
Let’s look at the hardware behind this product:
- Screen: 21.5-inch full HD 10-point multi-touch IPS screen, standard VESA mount
- Processor: Nvidia Tegra 4
- Storage: 8GB on board, plus SD card slot plus external disk drive compatibility
- Sound: built-in DTS Sound technology
- Connectivity and communications: Dual band wireless, HP TrueVision HD Webcam and Wireless Direct sharing, Bluetooth 3, 3 x USB 2.0 ports
- Software: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2, Splashtop 2 HD, KingSoft office
- Accessories: Keyboard and mouse
HP accompanied the news release with a blog post on its site The Next Bench. There we find a few more details and pictures of this Android AiO and also some more reasoning behind its development. The blog contains interview snippets with HP’s Eric Wiggins who talks about how he sees this AiO being used in a family environment.
The HP Slate21 is keenly priced and when launched in September in the US will be just $399.
