It is on the extreme cheap side of traditional tablets, but is the HP 7 Android good enough to compete on the market? While the low, inexpensive, side of tablets is made up of a litany of unknown companies attempting to attract those who don't want to dish out the big dollars for a top shelf tablet, Hewlett Packard is a household name who is entering exactly in that market.
It's a pretty sleek model, with its white shell and easy to use functionality, HP 7 Plus aims for the market that doesn't need a tablet to be their sole computing device.
The specifications for the model are pretty bare as well, as the price tag would suggest. It is fixed with a 1024 x 600 resolution 7-inch screen, but the battery will only last for around five hours without needing another charge. It also has eight GB of storage, but no Bluetooth. There is Wi-Fi capability however, so getting online on the go is possible.
It is what it is, many experts believe: a solid device but without any of the features that its more expensive cousins tout.
"It's got responsiveness that delivers entertainment where you want it. Sleek and smart with technology you can trust, the HP 7 Plus is big on performance, slim in style, and small on price," says HP in its shopping page description of the tablet.
But many experts argue that HP is making a move into the lower bracket of pricing on the tablet in order to shore up sales and revenue that can be made in the lower edges of the market, where customers still want the expensive looking device, but don't need all the gadgetry and extra burden on the wallet.
Many, however, remain skeptical that by going this route, HP is giving up on the upscale higher end market that is currently dominated by Microsoft, Apple, Google and Samsung.
The tech media observers are undoubtedly going to watch closely how the sales of the new HP 7 Plus, as it could open the doors for smaller, cheaper products that still appeal and are marketable and sellable to the general population at fractions of the high-end products currently available.
HP should know this market, though and have solid expectations considering they sell the $150 Slate 7 based on a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.
