HP ElitePad 900 travels to the FCC, brings pros closer to Windows 8 tablet utopia

HP ElitePad 900 travels to the FCC, brings the pros closer to Windows 8 tablets

HP couldn't help but harsh the mellow of cutting-edge workers when it revealed the ElitePad 900 wouldn't ship until January. Still, there's less chance of any setbacks now that we know the FCC has rubber stamped the Windows 8 tablet. The version passing through the agency is a 3G model for mobile road warriors and touts the 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands we'd expect to for HSPA on AT&T, T-Mobile and Canadian networks. Few other surprises exist; we're mostly happy to know that NFC exists alongside dual-band 802.11n WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. No, the approval won't be much consolation to the suits and ties wanting a tablet of their own as of yesterday, but it should be a relief to IT managers planning a much more creative use of the company budget in 2013.

Filed under: ,

HP ElitePad 900 travels to the FCC, brings pros closer to Windows 8 tablet utopia originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceFCC  | Email this | Comments

HP announces the ElitePad 900, a business-friendly Windows 8 tablet arriving in January

DNP HP announces the ElitePad 900, a businessfriendly slate arriving in January for $699

Remember those hazy days of summer when HP ran an ad during the Olympics, slipped in a a shot of an unannounced tablet and thought we wouldn't notice? (P'shaw!) Well, you can finally lay your speculation to rest, as HP just formally unveiled the mystery tab, along with a slew of accessories. It's called the ElitePad 900 and, as rumored, it's a 10-inch Windows 8 slate meant for business users, with features like pen input, drive encryption and optional 3G / 4G.

Like HP's high-end EliteBook laptops, the ElitePad has a premium look, marked by a machined aluminum back cover and 400-nit IPS display coated in Gorilla Glass. Also similar to the EliteBooks, it meets the military's MIL-spec 810G durability requirements, and can withstand three-foot drops, among other accidents. All told, it weighs 1.5 pounds and measures 9.2mm thick. Going by weight, that's more along the lines of what you'd expect from a larger, 11-inch tablet, but 1.5 pounds is still manageable, especially considering how armored this thing is.

On the inside, it runs an Atom-based Intel Clover Trail processor, buffered by up to 2GB of RAM. Like so many other systems with this kind of chip, it promises about 10 hours of runtime -- a clear improvement over similar devices packing Core i5 CPUs. Storage-wise, you'll have your choice between a 32 or 64GB SSD. The screen has a resolution of 1,280 x 800, making it the one feature likely to disappoint power users. Take a tour around the device and you'll find an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 1080p shooter up front for video chats. Hidden behind a service door on the back are two slots: one for microSD cards, and another for 3G / 4G SIMs.

And how 'bout those accessories? In addition to the tablet, HP will be selling two so-called SmartJackets, cases that do a little more than just shield the device from wear and tear. One of them, for instance, has two USB ports, HDMI output, a full-size memory card slot and room for an optional battery slice. That battery, by the way, has a capacity of about eight hours, so while the case does add some heft it could be worth it if you need a PC that will last through a flight from New York to Tokyo. As for the second case, its defining feature is a built-in keyboard, which plugs directly into the tablet.

Though HP announced the ElitePad 900 today, the tablet won't go on sale here in the US until January. Hopefully we'll also get a final price as we get closer to that launch date. Luckily, we've already gotten a chance to play with it, so meet us after the break for hands-on photos and a short walk-through video detailing our first impressions.

Continue reading HP announces the ElitePad 900, a business-friendly Windows 8 tablet arriving in January

Filed under: ,

HP announces the ElitePad 900, a business-friendly Windows 8 tablet arriving in January originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments