Google's Nexus 7 is one of the best budget Android tablets in the smaller tablet space. Gearing up to give the device some stiff competition to the ASUS-made tablet is the newly launched HP Slate 7 from HP.
The HP offering tries to entice users with its "carry the world in the palm of your hand" pitch. With both 7-inch tablets looking to lock horns, it remains to be seen who will win the race.
Here we examine the features of the HP Slate 7 and Nexus 7:
Form Factor
The Nexus 7 measures 7 .81 x 4.72 x 0.41 inches, making it taller, wider and thinner than the HP Slate 7, which sports 7.76 x 4.57 x 0.42 inches dimensions.
Weight-wise, at 0.82 pounds, the HP Slate 7 is heavier than the Nexus 7, which weighs 0.75 pounds (Wi-Fi version).
Processor
The Nexus 7 packs in a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor. On the other hand, the HP Slate 7 tablet features a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor that is clocked at 1.6GHz.
Display
The Nexus 7 touts a 7-inch HD IPS display. The HP Slate 7 has a similar-sized 7-inch FFS+ LCD capacitive touchscreen. However, the Nexus 7 has a higher pixel resolution of 1280 x 800 when compared to the HP offering's 1024 x 600 pixels.
Moreover, the Nexus 7 has a much higherpixel density of 216 pixels per inch (ppi), whereas the HP offering is a paltry 170 ppi.
Storage and Memory
The Nexus 7 and HP Slate 7 are available in 16/32GB and 8GB versions, repsectively. However, the HP Slate 7 has a clear edge on the Nexus 7, as it comes with an expandable memory option of up to 32GB via a microSD card, unlike the latter.
Memory-wise, both the devices offer 1GB of RAM.
Software
The Nexus 7 runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and Google pushed out the Android 4.2.1 upgrade in October 2012. The HP Slate 7, by contrast, comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.
Camera
The Nexus 7 only has a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and no rear-facing snapper. The HP Slate 7 is the clear winner in this department as it touts a 3-megapixel rear-facing snapper and a VGA secondary snapper, bettering the Google offering on both counts.
Battery
A non-removable 4325mAh battery powers the Nexus 7 and offers 10 hours of usage. By contrast, a non-removable battery fuels the HP Slate 7; however, HP did not reveal the size. The usage support offered is believed to be five hours.
Availability and Price
The 7-inch Nexus 7 is available in black via the Google Play Store in three options 16GB (Wi-Fi), 32GB (Wi-Fi) and 32GB (Wi-Fi and HSPA+) for $199, $249 and $299, respectively. Google initially offered an 8GB version but discontinued the same.
The HP Slate 7 was announced in February and will cost $169.99. The tablet is expected to hit the U.S. shelves in April in black and red options.
