While everyone generally thinks of iPads and Androids when they think about tablets, there is another major player in the tablet market, Microsoft. Earlier this year they dropped the price of Windows for tablet manufacturers. Now we are starting to see the result. There are several vendors now offering Windows tablets with prices much lower than an iPad and on par or lower than many Android devices.
Why would anyone want a Windows tablet over an iPad or Android tablet? Good question. If you primarily use Windows apps, a Windows tablet may appeal to you. Even though Microsoft Office is now available for the iPad and soon Android, the Windows version is more familiar to most. Although the Windows version can be a little tough in a touch environment. But there are many more Windows apps that are not available on iPad or Android. Anyone use Outlook?
So when HP rolled out the Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet for $99 I thought I would take a look. At $99 you can buy four Stream 7 tablets for the price of 1 iPad Mini. The device is very well built and light. The screen is very good at 1280×800 resolution. It weighs about .8 lbs. It runs an Atom processor, has 1G of RAM and 32G of internal storage with a Micro SD slot available to add more, although it’s pretty well hidden under the back cover. It has front and rear facing cameras, which are just OK and has a USB port that doubles as the charging port. All in all it’s configured nicely for a $99 device. And it also comes with a 1 year Office 365 Personal subscription, which in itself is worth $70!
I’ve been using the Stream 7 for a couple of weeks now. I’m not the normal user as I switch between various iPad and Android devices on pretty much a daily basis. I find the Stream 7 very useable. I’m used to some pretty fast devices so I find the speed a bit lagging but really not too bad. It supports Miracast so I can project wirelessly to my big screen television. I spent several hours one evening watching YouTube streamed from the device. Good sound and pretty good video.
I will say that Windows applications are tough in the smaller touch based environment. I have to struggle sometimes to touch the smaller buttons and links. But, I’m an old timer. I’m sure others will do better with that. Microsoft is working on that and we can expect Windows based touch versions of Office in 2015. I also purchased an Infiland Bluetooth keyboard and cover for the device to help protect it and because I prefer a real keyboard when I’m typing. I created this article on the device and found the keyboard very usable.
For $99 the HP Stream 7 is a very capable device. I love the fact that I can run my Windows apps in this size environment even though I struggle a bit with touch on this size device. Does it replace an iPad or Android tablet? In some cases, maybe. But for me, I am happy switching between devices, and this device fits in well as a very capable tablet.
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