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Why HP's ElitePad 900 beats the Surface Pro

An interesting choice.

on Jun 6 2013 11:39AM

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Meet the HP ElitePad 900 G1. HP is not as big as some of the other hardware vendors on tablets, but this device has some interesting features. In fact, the ElitePad one-ups the Microsoft Surface Pro in a couple of key ways. Click the next photo to see how.

The first difference is weight. This tablet weighs 630 grams without all the accessories like the keyboard and case. That's similar to the competition - the entry level Dell Latitude 10 weighs just under 650g and the iPad weighs 662g. But it's markedly lighter than Microsoft's Surface Pro, which is just over 900g without a keyboard attached.

Here's one reason the Elitepad 900 is reasonably lightweight - certain key features are left out of the main body of the device. Instead, the approach here is that you attach an accessory for certain tasks. Want to connect a keyboard or monitor? Slot the Elitepad into a special dock. Want to attach USB or microSD cards? Slide the tablet into a special "Expansion Jacket", which has ports for those cables. Want to plug the tablet into a big screen to show a presentation? The special case has an HDMI port for that too. There's something else special hidden inside the jacket…

Here's the Expansion Jacket. It doesn't look like much, but as well as protecting the Elitepad and providing USB, SD and HDMI ports, it has something else that's possibly more important - a battery.

HP claims that with this extra battery it is possible to "extend battery life up to 20 hours. Battery life claims like this are hard to rely on - HP says wireless was turned off, for example. Treat that number with a lump of salt. Still, it's clear that this is going to be incredibly handy if you need to use your tablet for hours while you're away from a power point.

The jacket adds an extra 260g to the weight of the Elitepad and costs $79, but the battery doesn't come included. It's an extra $109.

This battery is something to keep in mind when comparing the ElitePad to other tablets. As far as we know there isn't an add-on battery like this for the Surface Pro, and the Surface Pro battery isn't removable either. Given that we've seen some criticisms of the Surface Pro's battery life, the HP Elitepad 900 is looking good from this aspect. Dell's Latitude 10 is another Windows tablet with a useful battery feature - the battery is removable (though not on the entry level model).

Like the Surface Pro, you can also get an attachable keyboard for this tablet.

We only had a brief play with the keyboard during the demo HP gave us, but our first impressions of the are good. It's small, though it didn't feel too cramped. The keys seem "solid", not plasticky and cheap.

The keyboard is part of the this Productivity Jacket.

We've found some tablets and "hybrid" laptops with keyboards attached are very limited in how far you can angle the screen. This jacket has several grooves into which you can slot the ElitePad screen at different angles.

The screen is 10.1 inches, which is just a touch smaller than Surface Pro. Like the Surface Pro, the ElitePad runs Windows 8 Pro, so you should in theory be able to run your x86 desktop Windows programs if you need to.

One reason to spend on a "jacket" is the extra ports.

Various business tablets have optional "docks" like this one. Slot in the tablet, and you have ports to attach a keyboard, monitor, network cable

The ElitePad, without the jacket. There are three ElitePad three models to choose from: $799 with 32GB storage, $899 with 64GB storage, and $999 with 64GB and mobile broadband SIM slot with GPS.

Here's something interesting: the ElitePad comes with a limited on-site service warranty. This is a "jig" that the service technicians bring with them. It let's them easily open up the tablet to look inside.

First a suction cup is attached to the screen...

...then the screen is lifted up. Screws need to be taken out first.

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