If I hadn’t gotten myself an iPhone 5S a few months back, I might have been tempted to take a look at HP’s new phablets, the Slate 6 VoiceTab (6-inch) and Slate 7 VoiceTab (7-inch), launching soon in India.
After all, I’ve been considering buying an Android device for a long, long time.
HP Slate 6 VoiceTab – Exclusive for India?
No Killer Features
I live in an Apple cocoon – iPhone, iPad, iMac, iPod and iTunes make up my digital media universe.
So for a long time I’ve been considering exploring the Android universe to see what lurks on the dark side. 😉
But then I took a good look at HP’s new Slate VoiceTabs and realized there was nothing in these devices that stood out.
No killer features, a kiss of death for a latecomer like HP (the company abandoned the smartphone/tablet business in 2011).
Hell, the new HP Slate VoiceTab phones don’t even ship with the latest version of Android (KitKat).
Alas, both devices will ship with Jelly Bean, the older version of the Android operating system.
Only for India
HP is launching the two new Slate VoiceTab phablets (a hybrid of a smartphone and tablet) exclusively in the Indian market .
Slate 6 VoiceTab and Slate 7 VoiceTab should be available for purchase in February.
HP faces stiff challenge in India from the likes of Samsung, Nokia/Microsoft, Micromax, Karbonn, Lenovo and Huawei not to forget an aggressive Apple.
HP is hoping dreaming that its status as the PC king in India (32% marketshare) will translate into robust sales for the new smartphones.
Hey Meg, no harm in fantasizing. I do it all day and certainly all night. 😉
No word from HP on prices for the new Slate VoiceTab devices.
But my unrequited advice to HP CEO Meg Whitman – Price the Slate VoiceTab smartphones/phablets at rock-bottom (say, around $99).
Otherwise there’s no chance in hell Chutiyas a.k.a. Indians will go anywhere near them.
Slate VoiceTab Specs
Both devices have a quad-core processor, 16GB of internal storage, voice calling, dual cameras (5MP back and 2MP front) and front stereo speakers.
Display is 1,280×720 on the 6-inch Slate 6 and 1,280×800 on the 7-inch Slate 7.
You can add up to 32GB of storage through a microSD card.
The VoiceTabs also offer 3G Dual SIM Dual Standby.
If you’re the sort that likes your babes anorexic, read on. Slate 6 VoiceTab is 8.98mm thin and the HP Slate 7 VoiceTab is 9.5mm.
I see no features in the Slate VoiceTabs that are compelling.
Has all innovation ground to a halt at HP?
But then I never expected anything big from Meg Whitman!
HP Dumps 2 Slate Duds on Chutiyas added by SearchIndia.com on
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No chance for HP.
Android market is saturated in India, with Micromax, G1, Karbonn occupying lower priced market.
Samsung, Sony and LG has occupied market for high end and middle level Smartphones.
As you have mentioned, since he doesn’t bring out any killer features, it won’t find consumers.
May be, in future, if HP works hard and bring out slew of products with good features, they might succeed.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
I wonder if HP will even exist in its present form five years from now.
Innovation is not in the genetic code of the current HP.
To add to your response; Innovation, Creativity, Research and Nurturing Talent is not present in genes of Majority of Private Companies of India; the main reason why Indian Economy is in Poor Shape and has no chance of recovery at all.
I am not into gadgets.
Use a very simple Nokia phone – without camera or all this stuff.
But when it was needed for my wife, I had to buy a 3G phone, and bought her a Micromax A76.
She is so happy and proud about it now that her colleagues dont believe that it only cost us 7000Rs, as it looks like any phone above 20k, and does all work done by those high end ones. Some of her colleagues have also bought Micromax now.
What disappointed me was that, a few weeks after I bought this one, I found Gionee had a similar model, exactly the same features and costed 1000 less. A friend who bought it is laughing at others who have the very high end ones. He thinks that is the best Chinese phone.
Gionee, Micromax, Karbonn etc are going to be leaders in India, in a short time, I guess.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Unless the technology/innovation gap widens rapidly between Apple/Samsung/Nokia/LG and the rest of the Chinese mobile phone vendors, the days ahead will be extremely tough for the big names (Apple, Samsung, Nokia and LG). That is a good thing for consumers in terms of lower prices. In my not-so-humble opinion, the best mobile phones should not cost more than $199.
The tragedy of U.S. is that none of the low-priced phones (Gionee, Huawei, Lenovo, Micromax, Karbonn etc) have entered the market here forcing American consumers to pay sky-high prices and get locked into expensive two-year contracts. Apple and Samsung have priced their smartphones at obscene levels because they really don’t have much competition in the U.S.
I dont use these phones, so from my friends words, there is nothing separating Gionee or Micromax with these big brands.
Gionee and Micromax, I believe, will conquer the rest of the world except the western alliances.
I heard that a lot of Apple phones are stolen in the US, and the company was not helpful with the investigations.
Obviously because they can sell more.
Is this true?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
iPhone thefts are a big problem everywhere, particularly in New York City.
http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/13/theft-apple-devices-rise-larcenies-new-york-city/
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/28/crime-is-up-and-bloomberg-blames-iphone-thieves/
My understanding is that it’s not Apple or Samsung but carriers (service providers) are not supporting locking/killing techniques to reduce thefts because they want to continue to make money by selling insurance on these devices.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/carriers-reject-a-kill-switch-for-preventing-cellphone-theft/
Things are better with iPhones thanks to the Activation Lock and Find My iPhone. You can at least “brick” your iPhone after it’s stolen. If all smartphone vendors provide Kill switches or activation locks, then the incentive to steal expensive iPhones or Galaxy phones will decline markedly.
I have left my iPhone at restaurants, rest rooms etc…but luckily I was able to retrieve it each time. I don’t know how long my luck will hold.
Thanks for the links
Off-topic : The Broken Circle Breakdown has made to the Oscar nominations list. Also, The Great Beauty seems to have making a big impact too. Including winning the best foreign language film at the Golden Globe awards this year.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Unfortunately, The Broken Circle Breakdown DVD has yet to release in the U.S. Releasing in March here but available in Europe now.
The Great Beauty may be playing in some theatres here and there but nowhere close by.
Right now, I’m writing the review of Pay It Forward (2000, Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt & Haley Joel Osment). Guess why? 😉
Now, I know why 😀
Trash is easy to find everywhere. Gems like The Great Beauty are very rare. 🙂
I expect Gravity to win a lot of awards this year
Hi Si,
You wrote:
I live in an Apple cocoon – iPhone, iPad, iMac, iPod and iTunes make up my digital media universe.
There is this joke circulating on WhatsApp:
Steve Jobs is now working with GOD to create an “i-Wife” Which will have a slim design, beauty with brains, obedient, less demanding, less of materialistic cravings, willingness to do household chores, less irritating, and most important, comes with a MUTE button 🙂
Bookings are full till 2080, till then kindly bear with your own Wives.. !!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Ha ha ha!
But I’m waiting for an iMistress with all of the same qualities you mention above.
Speaking of Steve, I can’t control my iSchadenfreude everyday when I think of iJobs lying six feet under, iRotting in his iGrave!….iJobs was a callous, monstrous iFreak who deserved his early iDeath. iThrilled! 😉
2. I downloaded WhatsApp some time back to my iPhone but never activated or started using it.
If you start using it (WhatsApp) – SI, you run a risk of reduced traffic / slowing down on the Extraordinary SI Blog, as most readers would message you on WhatsApp from their smart phones – rather than posting comments here !! 🙂
Many Telephone Companies’ SMS revenues have drastically fallen – with the advent of WhatsApp – which is FREE – don’t we Indians grab – what ever is dished out FREE ! 🙂 Apart from Text Message, It has Pic, Voice & Video sending / receiving – what more can we ask for Free ?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Truth be said, I almost never text.
But WhatsApp looks interesting. A lot of features for free. I guess they’re setting themselves up to be acquired by a Google, MSFT, Facebook or Yahoo.
No wonder Verizon introduced $5/mth international Texting today.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/21/verizon-world-messaging-unlimited/