HP and budget Tablet fans unite. HP has just announced and added a new Android tablet that is of the budget persuasion to it’s line up of devices. To be fair, the tablet isn’t exactly new the way we normally think of it. HP actually released this tablet in the Chinese market last year, but the tablet is now being released in the states so it’s new to us. You know how stuff like that goes. This budget tablet that is receiving a first time U.S. launch is called the HP 8 1401, and the cost is something that should fit right in line with folks who are looking to grab something at a reasonable price from a manufacturer that they know. Does $170 sound about right? If that seems like a price you’d pay for a tablet then that’s good news because that’s what HP is going to retail the Hp 8 1401 for.
So what does this tablet have under the hood that makes it better than other budget tablets, and is it worth the $170 or should you look at other options? Well for starters, the HP 8 1401 comes packing an Allwinner A31s ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor.(try saying that chip name 5 times fast) It has 1GB of RAM which isn’t bad for something that lands in the budget category. Everything you use this tablet for can be viewed on a 7.85-inch display with a 1024 x 768 resolution. Storage wise you’d be looking at 16GB of space should you decide to give it a try, and the 3,800 mAh battery should be able to provide you with about 7 full hours of juice during the day give or take depending on what you use it for.
If 16GB is just not enough storage for you, you can turn to the microSD slot and insert an expandable microSD card for extra space. As far as the camera goes, you won’t be getting much in terms of quality images, as the front facing camera pumps out an underwhelming VGA quality shot, and the rear camera provides you with 2MP. Basically, don’t go expecting to take any breathtaking pictures with this device, as the camera’s are merely there to provide you with something in the event you need or want to take a picture, or for use with video chat. You’ll be just a little behind on the software, as this device comes running Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and not Kit Kat like some might have hoped. It certainly has enough RAM to support Kit Kat, but we have to remember that this tablet was technically released last year, so the specs are more in line with what we had then. Overall, the HP 8 1401 is more than capable of meeting your tablet needs if you want something with a bigger display that you can browse the web on, read books, listen to music, watch videos etc. If you want something that can handle the best graphics of the most memory intensive and visually stunning games, this tablet is not for you, although plenty of games will play just fine on this device.
