HP's new tablet allows people to draw and write on paper and immediately share their work
The HP Pro Slate 12 tablet catches what you write on paper in real-time. So you can scribble away on pieces of paper next to the tablet (with the included stylus) and all the notes and drawings get transformed into digital text and pictures which can be shared right away.
This innovative feature can be joyful bliss for students who need to take a lot of notes and spread them around class, artists who love to draw on real paper and office workers who draw up charts and take short notes all the time in their boring meetings.
The tablet itself has pretty high-end specs that can give you great lag-free content creation and high-definition visual consumption experience. But Androids, to a large extent, lack real hard-core content creation apps (Microsoft Office, Photoshop, video editors). It is therefore still hard to recommend this instead of a notebook since you'll be paying about the same price. I think this product caters to a very niche market.
The included HP Duet Pen, which can switch between stylus and real pen mode easily, catches hand movements very accurately. But, somehow, it is not very accurate when used by children, like my two small daughters (presumably, they put in very little force when they write or draw), which was very odd since I tried putting very little force when I wrote and it was perfectly fine.
One feature on this tablet, compared to most tablets out there, is that it has a set of stereo, front-facing speakers. Even though the sound is not extremely loud, it's still better than having sound firing out from behind or the sides of the tablet. Great for YouTube fanatics for sure.
It also comes with a few built-in apps to secure your data, which can be very handy for high-ranking businessmen who need to keep their information away from prying eyes.
Its 12.3-inch screen size and 0.85kg weight — especially when you put on a special cover and add in a paper scrapbook — means it can be quite heavy to bring along with you. And you can't hide it in a small bag for sure.
Personally, I think this tablet has very interesting built-in technology that will benefit quite a few different types of people. But for me, someone who writes very few short notes and only occasionally draws, this product is not right.
