HP Slate6 VoiceTab review: the cheapest but great Android tablet you can find right now

Written by B Johnson February 23, 2014
HP Slate6 VoiceTab Specs

In the past few days, i’ve been showing you guys some of HP’s homemade tablets which i thought would be good for gaming.

(HP Slate6 VoiceTab Specs)

HP Slate6 VoiceTab benchmarks and gaming performance

Anyway, besides HP Slate 7, along with other recent HP Slate tablets, which i’ve already showed you last month (HP Slate 7 Plus, 7 Extreme and 8 Pro), apparently, this company also has another Android-powered tablet under its sleeve, and it’s about to arrive on the market possibly this month, or next month.

This tablet is called HP Slate6 VoiceTab.

As the name of this tablet applies, HP Slate6 VoiceTab is indeed a 6-inch Android tablet sporting the resolution of 1280x720 pixels or known today as 720p display.

Interestingly, given its “VoiceTab” nametag, HP Slate6 VoiceTab is also supported with 3G network that allows users to make phone call, thanks to its dedicated mic with active noise cancellation.

Besides its 3G and phone functionality, there is one other thing that makes this device attractive. And that is its design.

Unlike other HP Slate tablet, this HP Slate6 VoiceTab looks really sophisticated and definitely has premium feel all over its body.

Well, if you’re interested to get to know with this to-be-launched tablet, or phablet, if you would, then here you go, my personal review of HP Slate6 VoiceTab.

Introduction

Around the tablet market, HP actually has been doing a good job in making great quality tablets.

In fact, there are some of HP tablets that have become my favorites, like HP Slate 7 Extreme with its Tegra 4 processor and its Tegra-Note-alike design + stylus, and then, HP Slate 8 Pro with its Tegra 4 and high-resolution display, not to mention HP Slate 7 and HP Slate 7 Plus with their great gaming performance, despite using some outdated processors.

But apparently, besides all of these HP Slate tablets, there is one other HP Slate tablet that could possibly be my next favorite tablet from this manufacturer.

And this one is called HP Slate6 VoiceTab.

HP Slate6 VoiceTab - Full tablet specifications/SPECS

And from the nametag of this tablet, then it’s obvious that HP Slate6 VoiceTab is 6-inch tablet that can make phone call.

However, the biggest highlight that makes this tablet so special is definitely its design.

Unlike other HP Slate tablets that i’ve already shown to you guys here, HP Slate6 VoiceTab is nothing like them.

In fact, HP Slate6 VoiceTab is the first HP tablet that really stands out among its siblings.

It seems like HP is finally brave enough to enter to the premium tablet market with this 6-inch slate.

At the glance, we can see how HP Slate6 VoiceTab is made from that aluminum-plated material all over its body, which kind of reminds me with the luxury design of older-gen iPhone, especially with its chrome metallic trim around the side.

But the question is, with this premium design, does HP Slate6 VoiceTab have what it takes to become the real challenger in 6-inch tablet market? Well, we’re about to find out in this review.

Design

If there is one strongest point found on this HP’s tablet, then its design is definitely the one.

Unlike other recent last-gen HP Slate series, HP Slate6 VoiceTab interestingly adopts a premium looking design all over its body.

This is very interesting because most of last-gen HP Slate tablets, like HP Slate 7 Plus, 7 Extreme and 8 Pro, all don’t have anything special on their designs.

HP Slate 7 Extreme may look really cool with 2 speaker grilles on the front side, mimicking the HTC One front design.

But HP Slate6 VoiceTab definitely has its own characteristic and footprint, although this tablet also uses that HTC One's design language on the front side, just like HP Slate 7 Extreme.

HP definitely has done a marvelous job in designing this tablet.

HP Slate6 VoiceTab Review and Gaming Performance

The most noticeable awesomeness on its design can be seen on its rear case cover.

As you can see, on its back cover, there is some unique textured finish all over the back cover. I actually kind of like this design.

It definitely looks unique but also still looks sophisticated at the same time.
HP Slate6 VoiceTab Review and Gaming Performance

The other great thing found on its design is the chrome metallic trim around the side of the tablet. It reminds me with the same metallic trim on older-gen iPhone, which makes it look really premium.

The same thing happens on this HP’s tablet.

That chrome metallic trim around the tablet really makes it look quite elegant and sturdy compared to other 7-inch tablets around the market.

Back to Top
  • Coming soon in 2014, February
  • Weight 160 g
  • 3G Dual SIM
  • 6.0 inch IPS capacitive touchscreen, 720 x 1280 pixels, 16M colors, (~245 ppi pixel density)
  • Quad-core 1.2 GHz Marvell PXA1088 Chipset
  • 1 GB RAM
  • Android OS 4.3 Jelly Bean
  • 5 MP rear-facing camera, LED flash
  • 2 MP front-facing camera
  • MicroSD Card slot for up to 64 GB
  • 16 GB Internal storage
  • GPRS
  • EDGE
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n,
  • USB
  • Bluetooth
  • Stereo FM radio
  • Java MIDP emulator
  • GPS
  • Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery
As a to-be-launched tablet, which will arrive this February or probably next month, HP Slate6 VoiceTab has something special that probably other tablets don’t have, except Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 of course. And that is the ability to make phone calls.

And given that HP Slate6 VoiceTab is a 6-inch tablet, which is probably still on par with 5-inch to 5.5-inch smartphones (*cough* Samsung GALAXY Note 3 *cough*), then having 3G cellular phone functionality is still acceptable on this tablet, or phablet.

HP Slate6 VoiceTab features a 6-inch display sporting the resolution of 1280x800 pixels, a quad-core Marvel PXA1088 processor, 1GB of RAM, Vivante GC1000 GPU or PowerVR SGX GPU (i'm not sure yet), 5MP camera on the back with LED flash, 2MP camera on the front, 16GB of internal storage, microSD card slot for up to 64GB, 3000mAh power battery and other standard features like radio, Bluetooth, WiFi.

Not to mention, given its “VoiceTab” nametag, HP Slate6 VoiceTab is also equipped with mini-SIM card slot that supports Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic.

With this type of specs, then HP Slate6 VoiceTab is still on par with the other offerings around 7-inch tablet market.

In fact, with all the goodies like premium design, good display, great quad-core processor, good 5MP camera with LED flash and its phone call ability, HP Slate6 VoiceTab can actually be the challenger for Samsung GALAXY Note 3, although we know which one is gonna be the winner here

Screen

It’s great to see that HP Slate6 VoiceTab is packing a medium 1280x800 pixel resolution on its 6-inch screen.

For today’s standards, this display resolution is definitely not on par with other 5 to 7-inch devices like Samsung GALAXY Note 3, Google Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HDX that already adopt 1080p display.

However, having a medium 1280x800 pixel resolution on a small 6-inch display actually can produce a sharp looking display for this tablet.

It may not look as sharp as other 7-inch tablets out there.

But even for today’s standards, this display is actually still good and acceptable given that most of 7-inch rivals are still using 720p resolution.

So if other 7-inch tablets with 720p resolution already have sharp looking display, then HP Slate6 VoiceTab with its smaller 6-inch display will definitely have a much sharper looking display than rivals.

So if you love watching movies, even HD movies, reading books/magazines, browsing the web and playing games, you will feel at home when using this tablet.

Everything that you throw on this tablet will look sharp and crisp, although you will always still need to do the pinch-to-zoom gesture all the time, especially when reading books or browsing the web.

User Interface and Features

HP Slate6 VoiceTab will come pre-installed with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of the box.

So it’s probably gonna have the same looking UI and standard features as other Android tablets out there.

But given that this HP device is designed as giant smartphone (thanks to its 6-inch display and 3G cellular functionality), or known today as phablet, then you can expect this tablet to come with some specific features related to phone functionality, probably like phone book, text message app, phone dialer and many more.

Performance

The performance of this tablet is actually pretty similar with other tablets with Marvel SoC, like Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 7.0, which is proved to be great in performance.

In fact, the performance of HP Slate6 VoiceTab is probably better than Samsung’s slate given that this HP’s tablet is powered by a quad-core Marvel PXA1088 processor, compared to the dual-core Marvel PXA986 processor inside Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 7.0.

So for doing some basic tasks like: watching HD movies, reading books or magazines, using live wallpaper, browsing the web or playing games, then you can expect this tablet to deliver a constant fast and smooth performance in the long run.

However, given that this tablet is packing an HD 1280x800 pixel display, unlike Samsung’s slate with its low-resolution 1024x600 pixel display, then there will be some sudden lags or framedrops especially when doing heavy tasks at once, like browsing the web while using live wallpaper.

Back to Top

If Samsung GALAXY Tab 3 7.0 can deliver a great gaming performance with its dual-core Marvel PXA986 processor, then the same thing can happen on HP Slate6 VoiceTab tablet.

Thanks to its quad-core Marvel PXA1088 processor clocked at 1.2GHz, 1GB of RAM and 720p display, this tablet is more than capable to handle many games across the Google Play Store.

I’ve personally already seen the gaming performance of Samsung’s slate and it’s able to run games like Modern Combat 4 (in full graphics), Need for Speed Most Wanted, GTA III, GTA Vice City, ShadowGun DeadZone, Asphalt 8 (not in full graphics though), Minion Rush, Real Racing 3 and many more. So with that being said, then you can expect the same thing on HP Slate6 VoiceTab.

With HP Slate6 VoiceTab, you can also play all older games released before 2013, like Asphalt (5, 6), Modern Combat (1, 2, 3), N.O.V.A (1, 2), ShadowGun, Dead Trigger, 9mm, Need for Speed (SHIFT or Undercover), PES 2012 and many other older games.

However, as for the latest games like Asphalt 8: Airborne, GTA San Andreas or GT Racing 2, i have doubts this tablet can run these games smoothly, especially in full graphics.

But i promise, once i’ve found out about the exact gaming performance of this tablet, i’ll let know immediately on this page. So you might want to bookmark this page for future read.

Update: As i've already seen on some YouTube videos, HP Slate6 VoiceTab unfortunately doesn't have a great gaming performance.

On many 3D games, even the ones that are not really graphics demanding, this 6-inch phablet really suffers a lot when playing games like N.O.V.A 3 and Beach Buggy Blitz, with many frame drops here and there, especially on the cut scenes or intro scenes (and N.O.V.A 3 runs really laggy even in the gameplay).

Weirdly, on other game that i consider as graphics intensive game, Asphalt 8: Airborne, this HP's tablet surprisingly is capable to deliver a decent performance, even in full graphics, with those asphalt and sun glare visual effects running smoothly.

I think this is due to the well-optimization from Gameloft (the developer of Asphalt 8) in this game.

Meanwhile, on simple game like Fruit Ninja, no doubt this game can be played without any problem with HP Slate6 VoiceTab.

So in conclusion, i don't think the gaming performance of this tablet is great. In fact, it's even worse than other note-taking devices, like Samsung GALAXY Note 3/8, Asus FonePad (with PowerVR SGX 544 and Intel Atom CPU) or even its own sibling, HP Slate 7 Extreme or 8 Pro.

So if you're looking for a much better note-taking phablet/tablet with a great gaming performance, i consider you to stay away from this tablet, given its weak quad-core Marvel PXA1088 processor.

But if you're only looking for a decent note phablet with premium design without thinking about its gaming performance, then HP Slate6 VoiceTab is still a good choice.

Camera

As the last-gen tablet from HP, then this manufacturer just can’t compromise the specs of this tablet, especially its camera. The good news is, HP knows that very well.

HP Slate6 VoiceTab is equipped with 5MP camera on the back with LED flash, as well as the 2MP camera on the front side.

When it comes to quality, then it’s obvious that the photos or videos taken with this tablet will not be on par with other rivals out there, especially Samsung’s flagships or Apple’s devices.

But at least, it still gets the job done and the results are still worth showing off to your Instagram or Twitter followers, right?

Battery Life

HP Slate6 VoiceTab is packing a medium 3000mAh power battery.

This battery capacity is definitely not as huge as other 7-inch rivals out there, that mostly use over 4000mAh battery capacity.

But given that this device is packing a small 6-inch display, which makes it a phablet instead of tablet, then its 3000mAh power battery can still deliver a great all-day-long battery life for this tablet.

But this will also depend on which type of users are you.

If you’re type of moderate users and will only use this tablet, i mean phablet, in your spare time, then yes – you can expect this tablet to last all day, of course in one full charge.

But if you’re type of power users and are gonna use this tablet for doing some heavy tasks without resting the screen all day, like for watching HD movies in marathon or playing games in the row, then its battery life could probably last around 4 to 6 hours.

I think its HD 1280x800 pixel display, 3G cellular connectivity and its quad-core processor, which could be power hungry given its 4 set of cores, are the ones to blame if this tablet doesn’t last that long in heavy usage.

My Personal Opinions

So in conclusion, even though this tablet hasn’t been launched just yet by HP, i personally think that HP Slate6 VoiceTab is a good quality tablet.

The most prominent strength from this tablet is definitely its premium looking design.

If you go to the tablet and smartphone stores, then chances are, you’re probably not gonna find a lot of Android devices with premium design.

But that’s the issue that HP wants to tackle through this tablet, i’m sorry, i mean phablet.

HP Slate6 VoiceTab is definitely one of the best Android devices i’ve ever seen in my whole life.

In fact, compared to other high-end Android devices, like Samsung GALAXY Note 3, Google Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HDX 7, then it’s clear that HP Slate6 VoiceTab is the winner here, of course in terms of design.

Besides its awesome gorgeous design, there are many things to be liked from this tablet, like:
  • its HD 1280x800 pixel resolution, which will look sharp on smaller 6-inch display,
  • and then its quad-core Marvel processor,
  • its 5MP camera that has LED flash,
  • its gaming performance
  • and the most importantly, its ability to do any cellular functionality, like making phone calls, browsing the web with 3G connectivity, sending text messages and many more.
So if you’re still looking for a great 6-inch device with gorgeous design and good gaming performance, then HP Slate6 VoiceTab can be one of your best choices out there on the market.

For now, i can’t give you the exact information about its gaming performance.

But in the near future, once this tablet finally launches, i’ll definitely let you know about it on this same page. So stay tuned!
Related Posts
Recent Updates
Our Top Picks
Copyright © GameTabletz.com. All Rights Reserved. Designed by B. Johnson
Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without written permission is prohibited!
Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Archives