HP Announces 10" ElitePad 900 Windows 8 Tablet with Smart Jackets

From DailyTech: Peter Misek, an analyst for Jeffries, recently made the statement that "HP will aggressively attack the smartphone and tablet markets, which we believe are risky investments." Well with today's announcement of the 10" ElitePad 900, it appears that HP is looking to attack the tablet market, but we wouldn't call it an aggressive move by any means.

The ElitePad 900 starts off with some promise thanks to its inclusion of an Intel Atom Z2760 processor (Clover Trail backed with 2GB of memory) that should provide plenty of backwards compatibility with existing apps for the Windows platform. The tablet also hits the right notes when it comes to its form-factor -- it features an aluminum body (MIL-spec 810G) that measures just 9.2mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds.

The device offers a choice of 32GB or 64GB SSD, an 8MP camera on the rear, and a 1080p-class camera on the front for video conferencing. HP even includes the option of 3G/4G wireless connectivity. In addition, the ElitePad 900 supports pen-input for those that prefer more precision than your fingertips can provide.

Things get even more interesting when you take a look at what HP is calling its line of Smart Jackets. The Productivity Jacket provides an integrated keyboard and SD card slot while the Expansion Jacket provides USB and HDMI connectivity along with an integrated battery for added runtime. Other accessories include a rugged case that provides "military-grade" protection and a docking station that allows an external keyboard and monitor to be connected.

So with so much promise, how could we possibly be disappointed with the ElitePad 900? Well, the tablet is only equipped with a meager 1280x800 display in an era when even lowly Kindle Fire HDs are packing 1920x1080 screens (the Nook HD+ is even higher still at 1920x1280). There are a number of Android tablet that provide a screen resolution of 1920x1080, most Windows 8 tablets announced so far are at least 1366x768, and the iPad trumps all with a screen resolution of 2048x1536.

And with such a "low" screen resolution, you can't even snap Metro apps to the side of the screen in Windows 8. That is a big oversight in our opinion.

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