In the early 2000s, companies like Microsoft and IBM began to reveal a hybrid like computer, one that was controlled by your finger on a large touch screen and ran off of an internal battery. Today, we call this device a tablet.
Tablet computing first became popular five years ago when Apple released their first generation iPad, a thin and portable device that ran mobile applications rather than programs. From there, tablet computing has continued to innovate and the market is now filled hundreds of choices.
Two years after the first iPad was released, PC Magazine reported that 31% of all US internet users had purchased a tablet computer. They found that its main use was for video and news entertainment.
These hybrid devices have come down in price since 2010 and we are beginning to see more and more of them in people’s hands. While the market is growing in the home user area, in the business world companies are slow in upgrading to the latest and greatest technology.
Recently I took a look at the HP Two-In-One Hybrid machine, the Pro x2 612, a device that gave the user the option to use either a tablet or laptop. As I mentioned in the review, HP has been pushing hard for a change in the business world, a change that includes a workforce armed with tablet computers.
In another strong effort to change things, HP engineers have recently updated the ElitePad 1000 to its second generation. Cutting back on size, increasing performance, and offering even more productivity, the new ElitePad 1000 has a lot to offer to the user.
Welcome to my review of the HP ElitePad 1000 G2 Tablet. Throughout this in-depth review, I will be discussing the following subjects: the design, performance, functionality, and, finally, my overall thoughts. I would like to thank HP for providing me with the unit.
The Design
The front face of the ElitePad marks a 10.1 inch multitouch display that features Coring’s Gorilla Glass 2. HP uses a 1920 x 1200 60Hz monitor which gives a stunning picture at nearly any angle. More on the display later. Also on the front is a 2.1MP 1080p front facing camera and a LED Windows haptic feedback button.
Flip the unit 180 degrees and you’ll find what gives the ElitePad its structural integrity. The back uses an all metal body that allows the ElitePad to pass the United States Military Usage Standards for resistance against drops, shocks, and temperature changes. Even with great force, the ElitePad does an excellent job at resisting flexing and while I did not drop the tablet, I would ensure that a four to five foot drop would leave the unit unharmed.
Moreover, the rear of the unit supports a shiny HP logo, a rear mounted volume rocker, an 8MP rear facing camera with LED flash and finally an access panel concealing the MicroSD and SIM trays. The access panel can be somewhat irritating to open because to open the panel a paper clip is required to be inserting into the very small hole for the panel to pop open. I was told this was done to increase the unit durability and while I am happy to have a strong unit, the amount of paper clips you may go through trying to get your MicroSD cards may become annoying.
When it came to the cameras, I used the ElitePad on a recent live chat meeting where I needed to present a product. The rear facing camera is located way off center, towards the left on the back. Its location made controlling the tablet difficult as your fingers may be in the way or when attempting to present something in front of you, you tend to constantly readjust as you need to have the tablet off center. Additionally, the rear facing camera did not like capturing video of a LCD display like a TV or smartphone. I decided to change to the front facing camera and things drastically improved. The camera is centered and things like smartphone displays can easily be read by the person on the other side. That being said, the quality of both cameras were decent and there were no complaints aside from what was mentioned.
On the bottom of the unit, there are two downward facing speakers and a proprietary HP connector that doubles as the charging port and data transfer port for the included USB 2.0 adapter. The top contains the power button, two microphones, one for voice capture and the other for noise cancellation, an enable/disable auto screen rotation slider, and, finally, a 3.5mm headphone jack.
HP sees the ElitePad as an all-purpose device that can be used in retail, healthcare, and in rugged environments. To assist in all environments, HP offers some useful accessories for the ElitePad. The first of the accessories are their cases or Jackets. There are three available Jackets that are designed for the three markets. Each Jacket serves its own usage, for example, the retail Jacket contains a credit card reader, while the heath care Jacket is water resistant and has use for a portable stand. While I personally did not test the Jackets, I would recommend using one to increase the durability and productivity of the ElitePad.
One accessory that I did get to use is the ElitePad docking station. For those business men that spend their time at a desk and out in the field, a docking station is a must have accessory. The design of the dock offers an all rubberized body and uses a very strong rubber foot that stops the unit from sliding around on the desk. Around the sides of the unit are four USB ports, an HDMI and VGA output, an Ethernet connection, an audio out jack, a desk lock, and, lastly, a power jack to charge your unit. The dock offers a hefty weight to it that I prefer as it keeps it from moving about and using the tablet with the onscreen keyboard is also pleasing. One tiny annoyance is that there is a small front facing LED that will glow orange when the device is charging and bright white when the unit is fully charged. The LED stairs you right in the face and can be annoying if you’re in a dark room.
Performance
Its HP intentions for the ElitePad to be the replacement for your laptop and/or desktop, therefore, it’s crucial that it performs like one.
Windows 8.1 Professional 64bit is the default operation system for the ElitePad which is a nice inclusion and the operation system is quite smooth throughout. I give kudos to HP for not loading a lot of unwanted software to the ElitePad. In fact, the only additional software on the unit is a PDF Creation software and a few Windows 8.1 applications.
The power behind the ElitePad is the quad-core Intel Atom Z3795 processor that runs at a maximum speed of about 2.2GHz with a multiplier at x18. Alongside the CPU is 4GB of RAM running at CL8.
I chose to use the PassMark PerformanceTest 8.0 bench testing software to put the ElitePad to its limits, allowing me to see what it truly is capable of. Before I continue, a disclaimer is that this software is very intensive and demanding of the computer.
During the bench test the Intel Atom did much better than expected. This passively cooled CPU runs at 32°C at idle, but when the bench testing began, rose to a reasonable 60°C and completed its testing in a minute or two. It should be noted that never did the back of the tablet feel hot or warm, it was always cool to the touch.
Visual content is powered off the Intel Atom CPU using Intel’s HD Graphics. Although the Intel HD graphics work well for the OS, internet browsing, and MS Office applications, any load from a graphic intensive program hinders its performance. During the bench mark, the video testing portion had the CPU running at a choppy 3FPS. Even though this shouldn’t affect your business work with programs like MS Office, IE or Acrobat, it is something that should be mentioned. Videos from YouTube or Twitch have excellent playback at 1080p quality without any choppiness or screen tearing.
I can easily overlook the processor and video performance as daily usage shouldn’t hinder the tablets strong daily performance and, honestly, it shouldn’t sway you way from this tablet. One thing that is hard to overlook, is the decision to use a Hitachi SD card for the main storage of the ElitePad. Its HP intention for you to use ElitePad for all of your business work and using a 64GB SD card for storage is a large setback (HP does offer the unit with 128GB). ATTO Disk Benchmark shows that reading speeds of the SD card are quite quick, but write speed doesn’t get above 40MB/sec. I would have love to seen HP choose a M.2 SSD storage device over the SD card. If more storage is required, you can always choose to use the built in MicroSD card reader I mentioned above.
For those that are interested, the PassMark PerformanceTest 8.0 finished with a score of 620.2. All benchmarking results can be found here:
PassMark PerformanceTest 8.0
ATTO Disk Benchmark
Functionality
Although performance may not be at the highest achievable level, it certainly doesn’t change the functionality of this unique device.
I’ll begin with the long term usage of the tablet. I carried the tablet around the house and would move about throughout the day. Its compact size allows for your hands to hold onto the tablet quite well, even for longer periods of time. Furthermore, the weight of the tablet is spot on as it’s not too heavy where your arms become tired, but not too light where it feels like it’s going to break. I will mention that the Jackets do offer a hand strap which would be quite useful.
During CES of last year, the ElitePad won the Innovations Design and Engineering Award. This is a prestigious award that is well given and well deserved. The Elitebook’s design and superb engineering makes it a one of a kind.
The display supports 10 finger multitouch and its stunning pictures are pleasing to the eye. Even though I said this above, I can’t help but get over the outstanding viewing angles of the unit. The touch surface does an excellent job at keeping off fingerprints
Sound quality is worthy for what I used it for and having two speakers is always better than one. I tend to use headphones with the unit as people around me would have been able to hear what I was listening to.
When it comes to functionality of Windows, it doesn’t change over another Windows computer. HP includes all of their goodies like Drive Encryption, BIOS protection, Bluetooth, NFC, and additional HP software.
Finally, the most important usage of a tablet, the battery life. The ElitePad uses a 30WHr 2-Cell Lithium battery that lasts for hours. With normal usage, Windows reported that the battery would last five hours when it was at 50%! I easily got two days out of the battery when using it for around four to five hours a day.
My Overall Thoughts
HP has crafted a clever and unique little tablet that is perfectly suited for the business world. Its strong military grade components, superb design, reasonable performance output and functionality make it a true productivity machine. When matched with the appropriate Jacket and desk dock, the unit just becomes better and better. Furthermore, when using the dock, you can choose to use a HP keyboard and mouse to have a laptop when you need it and a tablet when you’re on the go. With a price of $740, it makes for an excellent purchase and makes for an excellent device.
Buy it Now:
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