HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 Windows 8.1 In Stores Taking Orders

HP announced several new HP tablets for 2015 on January 20, and with the HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 now in stores for around $300, it's time for a comparative look.

There are three different versions of this tablet, the difference between them being 32GB and 64GB storage options, and the choice between Windows 8.1 with Bing, or Windows 8.1 Pro, all 32-bit. The cheapest version is the 32GB model running Windows 8.1 with Bing, with a MSRP of $299, while the 64GB Windows 8.1 Pro model costs $399.

HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 is HP's second 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet and in a very short time too, after the HP Stream 8 with HP's free Data Pass plan of 200MB of free monthly 4G data was released in November. That tablet can be bought for around $149 these days, so is the HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 really worth twice as much?

In terms of features it is just the enterprise security management software that makes it worth more, a useful feature to look for if you are responsible for the IT of your company, but perhaps not that meaningful for others. So this is a “business tablet.”

The other features are also better than that of the HP Stream 8, but mostly marginally. It's equipped pretty much like the Asus VivoTab 8 (M81C), but it's not as unique as the new Toshiba Encore 2 Write 8 with digitizer.

HP Pro Tablet 408 G1 is the first 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet to run the 1.33 GHz Intel Atom Z3736F processor, and the second tablet to run it after the 2nd generation HP Pavilion x2.

It has 2GB of DDR3L RAM, 32GB SSD storage, an 8-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution, IPS, and a 10-point multi touch display.

Wi-Fi is almost complete, with dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The cameras are 2MP on the front, and 8MP on the rear with auto-focus and flash.

The rest of the specs counts micro-HDMI, a micro-USB port, a microSD slot with support up to 128GB, stereo speakers, mic, and a 4800 mAh Li-ion battery. This makes this Windows tablet weigh 376 gram.

Buyers also get Office 365 Personal and lots of HP software thrown in.
It's listed on Amazon.com, but for over $300. That's a lot to ask for a 8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet, and I don't see how it could be worth it.

– Jim Miller

Jim Miller

Jim's passion for Apple products ignited in 2007 when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone. This was a canon event in his life. Noticing a lack of iPad-focused content that is easy to understand even for “tech-noob”, he decided to create Tabletmonkeys in 2011.

Jim continues to share his expertise and passion for tablets, helping his audience as much as he can with his motto “One Swipe at a Time!”