As global PC shipments drop, HP is making a push to re-enter the highly lucrative smartphone market. With the launch of the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab and the Slate 7 VoiceTab, the company have their sights set on the midrange phablets which is a segment that is currently dominated by local upstarts. Competition from global brands is heating up in the midrange 6inch phablet segment as Nokia too introduced its Lumia 1320 recently. We got to spend some time with HP’s new Slate 6 VoiceTab and here are our impressions.
We are live from MWC 2014 at Barcelona where we have HP showcasing the tablet. We made a quick hands on video which you can check out right below.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJfiBuAutFg
The screen of the phone is its standout feature. At 6 inches, it is definitely large but the 720p resolution means that everything is just a bit blurry. Color reproduction is generally fine though viewing angles could definitely be better. That said, we’ll reserve judgement till we’ve spent a substantial amount of time with the handset. On first glance though we feel that the hyper reflective surface is going to prove to be detrimental to outdoor visibility.
Under the hood is a quad core 1.2Ghz Marvell processor. This is paired with 1GB of RAM. Truth be told, HP has really cheaped out here with its processor choice and the performance of the handset reflects that quite well. Lags are very evident throughout the interface and we don’t expect gaming performance to be particularly good either. Built in storage is 16GB that can be expanded via a microSD card slot. The operating system on board is Android 4.2.2 and HP did not have a definitive answer about updates so we wouldn’t hold our breath over it.
Build quality of the handset is it’s one redeeming factor. HP has used quality materials all around and though the front does remind you of the HTC One, it eschews the metal construction for plastics. The back of the phablet sports an interesting digital camo pattern that is going to be polarising for sure. What came off as elegant on the LG Nexus 4 looks pretty tacky here. A 5MP camera is placed at the rear while a front facing 2MP camera can also be seen up front.
The HP Slate 6 VoiceTab is not a particularly exciting device. What it brings to the table is quality construction, backing of a reliable brand name which aren’t enough to justify the sub par performance of the device. Priced at Rs. 22,990, the HP Slate 6 VoiceTab competes with the Samsung Mega 5.8, Intex Aqua Octa and Nokia Lumia 1320. We’ll have more for you on the device shortly.