HP ElitePad 900 Business Tablet, or What should be a Business Tablet?

What are we talking about?

Each of us, working in the field of at least a little more technological than collecting lime flowers, probably faced the need to have a mobile and functional work center with us. Workers and vacationers first moved from the hulks of computers to more compact, but still not very mobile personal computers, and then to compact laptops. The power of the latter was growing, and the thickness was decreasing - and now tablets were replaced by mobile, but large laptops. To the question "Why do you need a tablet first?" Just two months ago, more than half (56%) of the 353 respondents said that they were working. In order to evaluate what users want from business tablets, we conducted a small survey (893 respondents). Below is a step-by-step comparison of what people answered, with the existing HP tablet for the business sector - the HP ElitePad 900. The device has already been reviewed many times, including on the Habré, so it makes no sense to consider in detail all the technical specifications, synthetic test results and similar things. And for those who don’t follow the links at the end of the article, there are a couple of plates with the main technical characteristics.

Source: article by Vadim Sterkin, www.outsidethebox.ms/14978

How did it go

The mechanics of our work were quite simple: at various sites experts were selected who were asked to ask their readers a few questions about tablets for business. After participants conducted a survey and evaluated “who, what, and why,” they were delivered HP ElitePad 900 tablets. Their experts tested, including on the factors identified in the study.
After testing, review articles were written, from which the jury (in the person of HP product manager Andrei Terlyakov) chose the best. The author of the best review (it was Vadim Sterkin) received the HP ElitePad 900 itself as a prize.

Why do people need tablets

First you need to understand why people need tablets in principle. Perhaps no one needs tablets at all? Or are they used, say, only to watch anime on the subway? Then talking about business tablets makes no sense. It turned out that there is still a sense: to the question “Why do you first need a tablet?” only 4% (14 of 353 people) boldly replied that they did not need a tablet. Interestingly, only 28% reported that they needed a tablet for entertainment. This means that people need a business tablet and did not have to stop on the first question.




When assessing the evolution of computer technology used for work, one cannot but notice that the transition to business tablets is possible only from laptops. However, what exactly motivates people to switch and what are the advantages of the tablet over the laptop users note? After combining many disparate options (there were 545 answers) into large groups, the following picture was obtained.



Ease of transportation, portability of tablet devices is really much higher than the absolute number of laptops. Proof: the weight is only 630 grams and the thickness is about 9 millimeters. With such parameters, it is difficult to compare existing laptops. Alexei Trizno and Vadim Sterkin in their reviews say that the tablet primarily surprises with its dimensions: it is very thin and light. Alex also compares the appearance of the HP Elitepad 900 with an iPad (where without it) and says that the device from HP looks more representative.
But Yevgeny Kozlov found a minus in the design of the tablet. The stylish mirrored logo on the back of the HP Elitepad 900 loses its beauty on the second day. Due to its location (the logo goes a bit out of the general level of the surface), the metal quickly scratches even with simple contact with the table. We will definitely take this disadvantage into account when developing a new series of tablets.

The most important thing about tablets

Having ascertained the need for tablets in work and assessing their advantages over laptops, experts clarified the following question: “What are the most important characteristics of a tablet used for work?”. The obtained answers allow us to construct the following histogram. As you can see, the most exciting and important characteristics are: “Battery life”, “Network access”, “Integration into the company's IT system” and, finally, “Power / performance”.





Work time — the absolute leader in responses — is an important, but not very clear, characteristic. Long battery life - how much? How much battery should be enough for us to feel confident on a business trip / trip / meeting and not run our eyes around in search of an outlet? After clarifying how long the tablet / laptop can be considered minimally sufficient, it became obvious that the principle “the more the better” fits this segment perfectly. Three quarters of the vote were cast for 8 hours or more. For example, the HP ElitePad 900 battery has a capacity of 25 W * hour of stored energy, which provides approximately 10 hours of battery life when performing office tasks. For comparison: when playing HD-video AVC (MKV) 2933 Kbps 1280x720 @ 29. 970 in VLC at 60% of the screen brightness, the tablet discharges from 100 to 2% in 5 hours 15 minutes of continuous playback. Obviously, such a stock is more than enough for everyday business tasks. By the way, the figure of 60% of the maximum brightness was not taken from the ceiling. Vadim Sterkin in his review says that such a parameter is convenient for work. However, in his opinion, 40-50% brightness will be enough for some users (which, of course, will positively affect the battery life of the tablet).

Put in second place (17% of 269 answers), the characteristic “Network Access” does not need additional explanations. It is unlikely that now you can meet any large business that does not need global and local networks. The more wireless interfaces, the better. Therefore, in addition to minimal Wi-Fi and Bluetooth outside the office, you may also need access to mobile (2g and 3g) networks. The ElitePad 900 offers a full range of communication capabilities: Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n), 3G, LTE (for the Russian frequency range), Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC.

The issue of integrating a tablet into an IT system (in addition to the actual physical connection via communication interfaces) also depends on the OS installed on the tablet and the main OS used in the IT system. Given that the most common OS for personal computers is Microsoft Windows, a business tablet should also work on this system. The version of Windows 8 Pro installed in the considered HP ElitePad 900 (D4T16AA) model has the ability to include in the Windows Server domain, work with group policies, Hyper-V. The architecture (x86) used in combination with the OS allows system administrators not to be sophisticated in the search for new software and its installation: the familiar system provides functionality that is completely similar to desktop PCs or laptops running Microsoft Windows 8.



Source: article by Alexei Trizno, habrahabr.ru/post/176121

The last of the most important points - “Power / Performance” - for tablets (as for most other modern computing devices) is expressed in three main technical characteristics: processor, graphics accelerator and RAM. For a business tablet, the priority in the dispute is “GPU vs. CPU ”is clearly given to the central processing unit. The processors in business tablets are designed to be not only powerful enough for ordinary office tasks of a low level, but also energy efficient enough to satisfy the thirst for long battery life. The Atom Z2760 1.8 GHz processor and 2 GB of RAM allow you to work without delay both with text data, and, for example, with tables and presentations in normal mode.

Specifications and prices

The main technical characteristics of the tablet look like this:
10 ”screen, 1280x720
RAM 2 gigabytes
Atom Z2760 processor 1.8 gigahertz
Dimensions 260.2 x 177.3 x 9.2
Weight 630 grams
SSD 32/64 gigabytes
Windows 8/8 PRO OS
Wi-Fi / Wi-Fi + communications 3G

There are 6 models on the Russian market that differ in the version of the operating system, the amount of internal memory and the availability of access to 3G networks. In this case, the model D4T16AA was considered.
Obviously, even the cheapest HP Elitepad 900 model will be focused on all characteristics, primarily for business representatives.



The authors of the reviews are almost unanimously inclined towards models with 64 GB of internal memory. After all, after installing all the necessary office programs and updating the OS, there is not much free space left on the tablet’s disk. But part is still reserved by the system for cache and hibernation. However, some consider the problem uncritical: it is quite possible to work on a model with 32 GB, if you also get a memory card.

Accessories

A bad specialist, and even more so an IT specialist who does not want to improve the gadget. HP has developed a wide range of accessories for the HP ElitePad 900, in particular hubs. Ivan Kulish cites the following situation as an example: an almost exhausted tablet needs to be connected to a monitor to show a presentation. In this case, a docking station or cable with several connectors is simply irreplaceable. It is supported by Ivan and Aleksey Trizno, who not only appreciated the need for expansion, but also suggested placing a proprietary connector on the right side of the HP ElitePad 900 so that the tablet with any connected device could be placed on the table. Of course, we will take into account all the comments when developing the next model in order to offer an option that is even more suitable to meet real work needs.
It does not always make sense to carry an entire docking station - after all, it is precisely the modularity and mobility of devices that active users need. For narrower tasks, HP engineers have developed many adapter adapters from the HP ElitePad 900 proprietary connector to useful standards such as USB, SD MMC, Ethernet, VGA / HDMI, and even COM! Ivan Kulish in his review notes that he did not encounter problems with connecting devices via connectors: “... there were no problems connecting external 2.5” HDDs, keyboards, a 3G modem. The devices were detected and worked fine. ”
In addition to adapters and a docking station , very interesting are the covers from the Smart Jacket series, which includes not only the classic "screen cover" with reliable protection and the ability to transform into a stand, but also more technological:

• Expansion Jacket - a case (254 grams) with a variety of ports and the ability to put an additional battery.
• Productivity Jacket is a case that not only allows you to expand the functionality of the tablet by connecting devices through additional computers, but also includes a keyboard that simplifies typing.
• Jacket Battery is an optional battery for Expansion Jacket. The total increase in battery life achieved by using this battery relative to normal conditions reaches 80 percent. A long trip with these batteries loses the gloomy shadow of searching for an outlet.

Trivia typical for portable devices such as a mouse, stylus and portable DVD-RW drive, also available for the HP ElitePad 900, you can not mention - they are all provided. Among the accessories there is even such an exotic thing as a locker for storing and simultaneously charging several tablets. The device is very highly specialized, but it can be useful in organizations where the HP ElitePad 900 tablet will be issued to employees for work.

Summarizing the assessment of experts and the objective situation with the available range, we can say with confidence that everything is in order with the accessories on the tablet. Thanks to them, you can significantly expand the functionality of the device. For example, with a docking station, keyboard and mouse, the HP ElitePad 900 can become a full-fledged desktop.

Final impressions

Each expert liked the tablet. Someone - a little more, someone - a little less, but in principle, everyone would love to take a device for themselves for daily use.
Aleksey Trizno: “HP has released a beautiful device in a stylish thin case, which contains everything you need, which should be at hand for a business person.”
Yevgeny Kozlov noted some wow-effect from the use of the HP ElitePad 900: “Such an unexpected feeling that you have a compact and lightweight computer that can perform all the usual tasks.”
Vadim Sterkin calls the device “a good business tablet for typical office tasks or special applications,” however, only the 64 GB model deserves this epithet.
Ivan Kulish: “The HP ElitePad 900 is fast and able to cope with all the tasks of a tablet PC.”
Anastasia Tmur: “I especially liked the tablet: design, screen brightness, ease of installation of applications and quick response to user requests.”
The results are concluded by Sergey Savitsky, who says briefly and clearly: “Everything that requires IT is in it [in the HP ElitePad 900].”

Reviews

• Alexey Trizno: habrahabr.ru/post/176121
• Anastasia Tmur: professionali.ru/Soobschestva/biznes-klub/testirovanie-novogo-plansheta-dlja-biznesa
• Vadim Sterkin: www.outsidethebox.ms/14978
• Evgeny Kozlov: ekozlov.ru/2013/04/using-hp-elitepad
• Ivan Kulish:ru.intel.com/business/community/?automodule=blog&blogid=45067&showentry=3976
• Sergey Savitsky: ru.intel.com/business/community/index.php?s=9a1cd8a52c86400ce6e76a179343d79c&automodule=3549&automodule=b49

• Vlad Filatov netnewz.ru/podcasts/nash-obzor-54-hp-elitepad-900-na-windows-8-pro.html