HP ElitePad 900

The HP ElitePad 900 is a bit slow on speed and light on ports, but has been tested at US military standards – the MIL-STD810G, to be exact – to withstand dust, dirt, humidity, temperature extremes and serious drops. The aluminum-finished back and Gorilla glass touchscreen mean few other tablets can match the ruggedness of the ElitePad and yet it’s still very totable at 9.2mm thickness and weighing less than 1.4 pounds.

Where the ElitePad suffers is in processing speed. The 1.8 GHz Intel Atom Z2760 processor is a dual-core unit only and the 2 GB of RAM on which it depends doesn’t help. The ElitePad is available in 32GB and 64GB editions. The only slot is for SIM and micro SD cards, though a tablet dock allows accessories (sold separately) to be added, including an HDMI/VGA adapter, battery pack and a specially-designed full-on keyboard case.

Video viewing is a mixed bag. The high-resolution 1280 x 800 looks great and lighter video files run smoothly enough, but sound quality is not a high point in the ElitePad 900. In terms of business or outdoor use, however, the pros of sturdiness and long battery life (HP promises up to 10 hours of moderate to high use) outweigh the slow-motion cons.