Product Review: HP ElitePad 1000 G2 is Tough, Powerful and Portable

The HP ElitePad 1000 G2 seems almost tailor-made for today’s demanding educational environment. It’s thin, light and portable, yet powerful enough to run a full version of Microsoft Windows 8.1. It’s also rugged enough to survive life inside a backpack or being handled by less than gentle students.

The ElitePad is 8.5 inches wide and 10.6 inches long, just big enough to support an 11.1-inch display. At 0.9 inches, it’s incredibly thin and weighs a quite light 1.5 pounds. Despite its small size, the ElitePad comes in a sturdy frame. The tablet’s wrapped in an aluminum case, and Gorilla Glass protects the touch screen, preventing scratches or outright shattering. The rugged glass doesn’t reduce the responsiveness of the screen, which reacts quickly to the lightest touch.

In terms of the ElitePad 1000’s performance, on the PassMark Performance Test benchmarks, the tablet scored 498.6, putting it solidly in line with other tablets in its class despite its more portable form factor.

Its weakest area was graphical performance, as the integrated Intel HD graphics have trouble serving up the latest 3D applications, though this might be an advantage in the K–12 environment in keeping noneducational games off the unit.

Power and Ports Make the Device Ready for Class

Battery life is good enough for a full day of classes, with time left over for homework. The tablet continuously ran programs for 7 hours and 11 minutes during testing.

Several included programs add security in an educational environment without bogging things down. HP Client Security allows for central management of the device and administrator access for certain situations — say, when a student forgets his password. HP Trust Circles provides easy-to-use encryption, which can protect any personal information stored on the device from unauthorized eyes. And HP SureStart steps in with automatic BIOS and system restoration in the unlikely event of a hack or other corruption.

It might seem strange that there are no USB or other free communication ports, just the docking port — another nod to the device’s intended educational use.

There is an adaptor that can turn the docking port into a USB port, but if the device isn’t distributed to students, a school doesn’t have to worry as much about unauthorized programs being loaded or about the gear being used for noneducational activities. For advanced students or perhaps for a centralized computer lab, HP offers peripherals and cables that can expand the ElitePad for use in almost any environment.