HP Pro Slate 8 Tablet Review

The casing makes the business tablet: HP's Pro Slate 8 is plain yet elegant in its matte-silver metal casing with perforated speaker grilles above and below the 4:3 display. The rear is also unobtrusive matte-gray. It has a pleasant feel and is slip-proof. Four small Torx screws are also found here. According to HP's recycling instructions, savvy users can even replace the battery. However, that should be well-considered to avoid damaging the device.

The casing's stiffness is rather middling. Pressure and twisting instantaneously becomes visible on the screen. The tablet's weight of 350 grams is a bit higher than that of the iPad Mini 3, but it is pleasant to hold and not too heavy. Buyers looking for a much lighter device should take Sony's Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.

The configuration of 16 GB storage capacity and 2 GB working memory is not outstanding, but there is at least a micro-SD slot for expanding the storage. Google's Nexus 9 and the iPad Mini 3 could follow that example. HP's Pro Slate 8 features Miracast for wireless image transmission to corresponding monitors, and NFC. The device also has a docking port but the matching docking station is very expensive at 278 Euros (~$309).

HP promises security features, which will likely be one of the key reasons for business customers to prefer HP's Pro Slate 8 over other tablets. ARM Trust Zone is actually a standard technology that allows executing particularly sensitive processes in a dedicated zone protected by hardware and software. There is also a hardware-supported encryption module for the tablet's storage. It is additionally possible to set up 256-bit encrypted VPN networks.

Software

HP's Pro Slate 8 was initially shipped with Android 4.4. However, a software update to Android 5.02 is now available, which we also used for testing the system. HP uses the "Vanilla" version, i.e. Google's stock version, and it only preloads some additional programs. For example, there is an alternative media player from HP, an office suite, service software "Rescue" that enables technicians to provide help directly on the tablet via remote access, and "KeyVPN" for managing VPN networks.

"Avast Mobile Security" is completely under the banner of security. The user can scan the Wi-Fi network for weak points, filter short messages or calls, lock applications or set up a Firewall. Some features, such as "Anti-Theft" or "Cleaner" have to be installed first, though. "Corel Painter" and "HP Notes" are applications that support HP's Duet Pen - a digitizer that is included. Fortunately, no senseless adware is preloaded.

Communication & GPS 

The Wi-Fi module actually supports all modern Wi-Fi standards, i.e. 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. Thus, the 5 GHz band can be used, and it is possible to set up (at least theoretically with the matching router) extremely swift Wi-Fi networks of 1 GBit and more. The reception is also good. 4/5 of the signal was still displayed at a distance of ten meters from the router and through three walls. Pages opened there just as fast as beside the router. 3/5 was still available at another two meters and with another wall; pages opened a bit slower.

The spec sheets disagree as to whether or not a GPS module for localization is in HP's Pro Slate 8, even on HP's websites. In any case, the signal was not strong enough even outdoors, and the position could only be determined coarsely using the surrounding Wi-Fi networks. Consequently, we sooner presume that a GPS module is not installed.

Cameras & Multimedia

The cameras' resolution is category standard. The 2-megapixel front-facing camera has a slightly higher resolution than in the comparison devices. The iPad Mini 3 clearly lags behind with its lower resolution cameras.

HP's Pro Slate 8 features an 8-megapixel camera with auto-focus on the rear. There is no flash, and only Google's Nexus 9 can offer that. The image quality is decent. However, the sharpness could be a bit higher. We like the color reproduction, which is quite natural. Videos can be recorded in Full HD quality at 30 frames per second. The recordings' image quality is also quite decent.

The 2-megapixel front-facing camera also delivers a relatively good color reproduction but slightly lower image sharpness.

The screen's high resolution of 2048x1536 pixels is also category standard. Sony's Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact lags behind slightly here. The brightness is sooner middling in the comparison: HP's Pro Slate 8 has an average brightness of 388.4 cd/m². That is enough for outdoor use, but other devices have brighter screens. The screen is relatively homogeneous with 86%, and its illumination is quite even. However, minor brightness differences are visible on large, colored surfaces.

The glare-type screen is a major problem in outdoor use. In particular, bright backgrounds cause issues with the screen's legibility.

Temperature

The absolute maximum temperature of HP's Pro Slate 8 is 35.4 °C at the lower front. The increase is limited to one region and particularly decreases toward the camera's area. The heat is barely perceptible even under full load in total. The tablet remains even cooler in idle mode with a maximum of 30 °C.

HP's Pro Slate 8 scores quite well in battery life. Although the battery's capacity of 21 watt hours is not exactly lush, the tablet still manages 10:13 hours in our renewed Wi-Fi test based on sophisticated web technologies. Playing demanding 3D games is possible for up to 3:57 hours. HP's Pro Slate 8 provides decent runtimes, but it cannot catch up to the long-lasting Sony Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact.