HP Slate 21 Pro (21" Android tablet) for $239 on Groupon

[Kaido]

The google calendar app for android sucks, and the widget is even worse. We actually use "Touch Calendar Pro" which is the only calendar with a widget that actually shows the entire month in calendar form with all activities actually written out.

We are using Wunderlist to share shopping and project lists.

Still looking for a good weather app with widgets. Currently using 1Weather which so far has the best forecast widget. I'd really like to find a weather radar widget, but nothing has worked all that well so far.

Get the mount and long power cord for it tomorrow. Mounting it on the side of the pantry, running the cord through to an outlet behind the fridge. Should be a nice clean look. Then Bluetooth out to a stereo in the adjoining living room for music/etc.

Nice thanks, I'll try that calendar app out tonight! I'll have to mess with Wunderlist too, especially since it has broad cross-compatibility. Pity about the Google Calendar app; the new one they released for iOS is AMAZING, I really like it! But as long as it can sync to gCal, it's all good.

 

[Kaido]

For those looking for a unit with a battery, they do make one. Details here:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37278610&postcount=30

Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/HP-Slate-17-l010-White-Android/dp/B00NC07T1I/

TL;DR:

1. $360
2. 7-hour battery
3. 10-point multi-touch
4. HDMI out
5. More compact 17" screen with ~5.5-pound weight (available in white/black or yellow/black)

Apparently it has been around since last year, just never really seen it advertised. More expensive than the 21" model, but you get a battery & vastly better touchscreen, although you lose Ethernet, two USB ports, and the ability to use it as an HDMI monitor. Still cheaper than iPad though! :awe:

 

[TwiceOver]

Nice thanks, I'll try that calendar app out tonight! I'll have to mess with Wunderlist too, especially since it has broad cross-compatibility. Pity about the Google Calendar app; the new one they released for iOS is AMAZING, I really like it! But as long as it can sync to gCal, it's all good.

It used Google Calendar for its calendar. It's just a different program. The native google app has no way to show a month view. It is really obnoxious.

 

[Kaido]

The 17" is on sale for $224. The "IMAX of tablets"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NC07T1I

Android 4.4, 7-hour battery life, 10-point multi-touch. Whereas the 21" is more of a desktop computer equivalent (bigger screen, no battery, needs to be plugged in, 2-point touch), this is more of a true tablet...just frickin' huge :awe:

 

[kmmatney]

I would seriously consider this is it weighed less. I like the idea, but 5+ pounds is a little too much. My iPad 4 feels a little heavy at 1.5 pounds. Sounds like a great deal for the 17" version. I have a 17" laptop, and have always wanted a tablet version of my screen, but this weighs almost as much as my laptop!

 

[Kaido]

I would seriously consider this is it weighed less. I like the idea, but 5+ pounds is a little too much. My iPad 4 feels a little heavy at 1.5 pounds. Sounds like a great deal for the 17" version. I have a 17" laptop, and have always wanted a tablet version of my screen, but this weighs almost as much as my laptop!

Yeah, it's more for point-of-use than portability. I use mine for 3 main things:

1. Kitchen (recipes, music while cooking, etc.)
2. Family planning at the dinner table (schedules, finances, etc.)
3. Kiddo (games, learning apps, etc.)

I like the 21" size, but I'm "downgrading" to the 17" to get (1) the battery, and (2) the 10-point multi-touch (better for gaming). The battery will be nice for outdoors too...sometimes I chill on the deck while I'm grilling, so this way I could fire up Netflix or Pandora or whatever to help pass the time. Pretty neat device, especially at less than half the cost of an iPad :thumbsup:

 

[Roland00Address]

Its a baytrail celeron, I am curious if you could install windows on this? Nothing wrong with android of course.

 

[Kaido]

Its a baytrail celeron, I am curious if you could install windows on this? Nothing wrong with android of course.

Hmm, that would be interesting to find out...didn't find much out googling though. A $224 Windows AIO would be pretty awesome :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Got the Slate 17 in today. It's an entirely different animal from the 21". For starters, it's not a monitor, it's an actual tablet - it's about as thick as two original iPads:

Very cool feature - it has dual kickstands built-in. One for standing upright, and one for when you're standing looking down flatter. Fully adjustable, no preset positions either. It looks like a giant iPad as well. It's huge, but as an adult I can comfortably use it in my lap on the couch due to the thinness. Color quality is good & brightness is adequate - wish it was brighter but it is sufficient. HDMI, USB, and SD ports are in dumb places (behind the large kickstand), so you can't have stuff plugged in without having the kickstand out. No VESA mount, so you'll have to use a grip arm if you want to mount it (I'm not planning on it, due to the battery). Touch response is really good, although I kind of miss bopping it with kitchen utensils as I cooked (the Slate 21 used 2-point IR or something, not capacitive touch like this one).

Sound is about what you'd expect for the size - basically like a high-end laptop. No bass, tinny, but clear vocals. If these are "Beats" speakers then they are a completely joke, haha. Tilt sensor appears to be non-functional, which is annoying because I'd really like to play air hockey, but it will only fit vertically on the horizontal screen (lots of wasted space on each side). Will have to revisit that later. Games are awesome. Performance is very snappy. Came with Android 4.4.4 & has no GUI lag. It's quiet, it runs cool, excellent battery life. One gotcha from what I read is that it doesn't do true 1080p playback in Youtube; seems it doesn't want to play HD in Chrome either, another thing I'll have to examine in more detail later.

Overall, an excellent machine for what I intend to use it for. The family is already hooked. Waaaaay easier to use than the 21" due to the portability. So many nice apps that work great on a bigger screen...Google/Touch Calendar, Wunderlist, Evernote (recipes whoohoo!), etc.