The HP ElitePad 900 is a well-built business tablet with an impressive array of add-ons and accessories.
Disadvantages of HP ElitePad 900:
The base tablet starts out expensive, and those docks and jacket accessories add even more to the cost. Intel's Atom performance continues to underwhelm.
The Windows 8 tablets we've seen are essentially nearly identical black slabs of metal, glass, and plastic, whether from Acer, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, or others. Most of these devices even have identical specs, with Intel Atom processors, 2GB of RAM, and 64GB of solid-state drive (SSD) storage, so coming up with the proper accessories is even more important for differentiating from the pack.
The HP ElitePad 900 could have been just yet another slablike Windows 8 tablet, but this business-oriented system offers the widest range of tablet accessories we've seen to date, making it very flexible for mobile, home, and office use.
| Price as reviewed / Starting price | $799 / $699 |
| Processor | 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z2760 |
| Memory | 2GB, 800MHz DDR2 |
| Hard drive | 64GB SSD |
| Graphics | Intel GMA |
| Operating system | |
| Dimensions (WD) | 10.3x7 inches |
| Height | 0.4 inch |
| Screen size (diagonal) | 10.1 inches |
| System weight / Weight with AC adapter | 1.3 pounds / 2.0 pounds |
| Category | Ultraportable/tablet |
This may come as a bit of a surprise, but the actual slate part of the ElitePad 900 ecosystem looks pretty much like every other Atom-powered Windows 8 tablet we've seen so far. In the hand, however, the build quality stands out, with a one-piece aluminum body and a Gorilla Glass screen.
While the dimensions look similar to those of tablets from Acer, Asus, Dell, and others, a concession to the corporate user is a screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio, rather than the more common 16:9 found in most laptops and tablets; this ratio gives you a little more vertical resolution. The 1,280x800-pixel resolution is the same as what you'd find on a non-Retina Display 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the screen is bright, with decent off-axis viewing, and is very responsive to finger input.
The flat-topped island-style keyboard built into the case is as good as the best iPad keyboard cases, and reminds me of the excellent keyboard case for Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet, but built into a much thicker base.
So far, so good. But, here's where the hp ElitePad 900 and its keyboard case run into trouble. The Surface Pro keyboard cover includes a small but functional touch pad. The Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 has a small pointing stick built into its optional keyboard dock. But the ElitePad keyboard is just a keyboard -- there's no cursor control available at all, aside from directly using the touch screen.
The expansion jacket is more like a protective sleeve, but includes HDMI and SD card ports, plus two USB ports. There's a compartment inside for a not-yet-available extra battery, making it feel like an oversize version of an iPhone battery case. The docking station is the most familiar of the accessories, and includes both HDMI and VGA outputs as well as an Ethernet jack. Dongles that connect directly to the tablet and offer Ethernet, SD card, USB, and video connections are sold separately for $29 to $39 each.Amazing HP ElitePad 900 Battery
Battery Type: Li-ion
Voltage: 7.4 V
Capacity: 2850 mAh
Color: Black
Property: original
Battery Source: http://www.laptop-battery.org.uk/laptopbattery/hp/elitepad%20900%20table-batteries.htm
