HP Slate 7 tablet hands-on from MWC 2013

It looks like the rumors were true, as HP introduced a 7-inch Android-powered tablet at Mobile World Congress 2013 and we got a chance to play with the Slate 7 tablet. 

I'm not going to lie: I wasn't a big fan of what I saw. There is a handsome stainless steel frame with a soft-touch backing but the 7-inch screen just wasn't eye-popping. At 1024 x 600, the resolution is nothing to write home about and I think there's so much wasted space in terms of the bezel. 

In summary, I think that the HP Slate 7 Android tablet will sell a lot to people who don't know a lot about technology and it won't be nearly as good as the competition.  

The HP Slate 7 packs some decent hardware when you realize that it has a 1.6GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of onboard storage, an expandable memory via microSD and a 3-megapixel camera. That becomes even more impressive when you consider that this will be hitting the market for about $170. 

The HP Slate 7 is the first tablet to launch with Beats Audio, which used to be exclusive to HTC in the mobile space. This improves the bass in songs and it's not really a surprise, considering that HP and Beats have had a long-running relationship. 

The HP Slate 7 launches with Android Jelly Bean and it looks pretty much stock Android. HP has included its own custom apps like one that interacts with its printers and some social elements, so look for those to be on the tablet out of the box.

When you consider the price tag and HP's nice relationship with stores like Staples and OfficeMax, I'm sure that the Slate 7 will sell fine but I'm not sure that it should. In my brief time with it, it seemed like a solid device but one that doesn't really stand up to the competition, even if you have to spend about $20 more for a better experience. 

I hate to be harsh, so I'll wait until I can fully review this to give you a final opinion.