21” Android tablet…my personal review

[Type R Tom]

Starting to wish I hadn't seen this! Thinking headphone socket out to ceiling speakers or the Sonos app and a play 5 or connect for a jukebox attached to the wall, would be much easier to switch songs while cooking etc.

[pavka007]

Type R Tom said:

Starting to wish I hadn't seen this! Thinking headphone socket out to ceiling speakers or the Sonos app and a play 5 or connect for a jukebox attached to the wall, would be much easier to switch songs while cooking etc.

You haven't done it yet? Come on you can do it

[ZesPak]

I want to chime in on this.

I've had an Android HDMI stick in the desk drawer for a number of months (drunken purchase, sub £35 here).
Even as a big fan of the flexibility of the Android OS, I was very sceptical about the actual use of it.
So, two months ago I gave it a go in a 55" tv and I was actually blown away. I used a simple USB cordless mouse, but everything worked great.
Adding mouse and keyboard, it can be a computer for most people. I'm eagerly waiting for this Microsoft Keyboard to hit the shelves.

So far we've used it to demonstrate apps, set up slideshows at tradeshows and just playing various movies on the tv/computer screens/beamers.

This "tablet" has similar capabilities, but the touchscreen is what gives it the edge. Apparently it has 3 usb ports, which is a great thought. On the sticks you usually have one so you have to chose between input (mouse/keyboard) or USB storage. Biggest miss imho is the lack of other input possibilities to use it as a display.

For those interested, Plex is a great app for media playback/management.

All in all it's ridiculous that you can get devices like this for that amount of money. The Moto G is another example of this.

Great times to be a techy, I'm now justifying one of these for myself to hang on a wall .

[tribbles]

ZesPak said:

Biggest miss imho is the lack of other input possibilities to use it as a display.

There is a Pro version which has an HDMI input as well...

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/aio-products/slate21-...

But not £199....

ETA: Can't even find it on the UK web site, so maybe it's not available over here...

Edited by tribbles on Friday 16th May 12:02

[pavka007]

tribbles said:

There is a Pro version which has an HDMI input as well...

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/aio-products/slate21-...

But not £199....

ETA: Can't even find it on the UK web site, so maybe it's not available over here...

Edited by tribbles on Friday 16th May 12:02

Not available yet in the UK, however fort additional to the speck: HDMI port, 2GB Ram (vs 1GB) and 16GB of storage (vs 8GB)doesn't justify almost 250 quid more for the price.

[hornetrider]

fk me that's cheap. Bought!

Cheers for the heads up OP.

[ZesPak]

pavka007 said:

Not available yet in the UK, however fort additional to the speck: HDMI port, 2GB Ram (vs 1GB) and 16GB of storage (vs 8GB)doesn't justify almost 250 quid more for the price.

250 quid more?
If it goes to the exchange rate, it'll be hardly £50 more. The storage alone nearly justifies that! Not to mention that it can act as a touchscreen for external devices (ie a computer). That's what the USB "B" connector is for if I'm not mistaken. Oh it also comes with Mouse & Keyboard. Not a biggie but still at least £10 each.

[pavka007]

hornetrider said:

fk me that's cheap. Bought!

Cheers for the heads up OP.

You are welcome

[hornetrider]

Hmmm. Didn't read the full description - thought it would be ok for occasional hand held use but it's 2.5" thick, so not really and probably weighs a ton too. Still, got it for our caravan and bedroom tv watching for the mrs so should be ok

[ZesPak]

hornetrider said:

Hmmm. Didn't read the full description - thought it would be ok for occasional hand held use but it's 2.5" thick, so not really and probably weighs a ton too. Still, got it for our caravan and bedroom tv watching for the mrs so should be ok

Not to mention it needs a power lead?

[Foliage]

Next big thing will be TVs with android (or other OS), look at the variety of home brewed setups (raspberry pi/xbmc) and the new boxes (now tv) you can get that add this functionality, current smart TVs are a tad lacking.

After that the next big thing will likely be headsets/glasses.

[hornetrider]

ZesPak said:

hornetrider said:

Hmmm. Didn't read the full description - thought it would be ok for occasional hand held use but it's 2.5" thick, so not really and probably weighs a ton too. Still, got it for our caravan and bedroom tv watching for the mrs so should be ok

Not to mention it needs a power lead?

Power is fine... big and cumbersome not so much That said we'll stick films etc on a card and stick it to a wall in the van/bedroom. We'll be fine!

[pavka007]

ZesPak said:

pavka007 said:

Not available yet in the UK, however fort additional to the speck: HDMI port, 2GB Ram (vs 1GB) and 16GB of storage (vs 8GB)doesn't justify almost 250 quid more for the price.

250 quid more?
If it goes to the exchange rate, it'll be hardly £50 more. The storage alone nearly justifies that! Not to mention that it can act as a touchscreen for external devices (ie a computer). That's what the USB "B" connector is for if I'm not mistaken. Oh it also comes with Mouse & Keyboard. Not a biggie but still at least £10 each.

Sorry my bad on this. The HP website is listing price starting FROM £307 going up to £398...ouch., but not available yet.
The system is listed as Android 4.3 out of the box, but HP have announced that they will roll update to the "basic" one (£199.00 quid)to 4.3 as well. So the real difference between the two is one HDMI port plus 2GB ram vs 1GB of Ram... Not really justifiable for over 100 to £200 quid on the price.
The £199.00 quid one is with wired mouse and keyboard as well, so not difference there either.

Here are the links:

£ 307.00 quid
http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/desktops/product...

£398.00 Quid
http://www8.hp.com/uk/en/products/desktops/product...

Edited by pavka007 on Friday 16th May 17:47

[P-Jay]

That does look cool, I have to admit I think I saw a release from HP about this a while ago, but thought it was just another tablet PC.

I'll have to see what I can get one for trade price from work.

[jas xjr]

it has just arrived today . worked out of the box without any problems . youtube looks great on it. oh and its bigger than i thought

Edited by jas xjr on Monday 19th May 19:43

[tribbles]

As did mine. Not 100% sure what I'll do with it, but typing on it's screen seems very like using a children's toy

[14-7]

Mine arrived yesterday and I'm very impressed with it so far. It's going to get wall mounted in the kitchen for home automation use, TV etc.

My 64 year old mother popped round and was so impressed she's also got one on order so I can wall mount it in her kitchen!

Absolute bargain as far as I'm concerned.

[98elise]

When you say wall mount, do they use the standard TV mounts. i'm seriously thinking of one of these for the kitchen. It seems perfect as a replacement for a small flat screen we have in there.

[ParanoidAndroid]

Also thinking of getting one of these for the kitchen but in order to pass the wife test it must be simple to watch telly on. How are you guys getting on with it in that regard?

[hornetrider]

TvCatchup bish bash bosh