The HP 7 VoiceTab looks and feels like a sturdy device, which is great since the Slate6 VoiceTab had poor build quality. Made entirely of plastic, the HP 7 VoiceTab is quite chunky at 10.2mm thick and 305g in weight. Even so, the bezels are fairly thin, making the HP 7 VoiceTab feel more compact than some other 7-inch tablets we’ve used in the past.
Thanks to its soft matte rear, the HP 7 VoiceTab doesn’t really offer a good grip but it feels like it could take a few falls. It is available only in a white-and-black colour scheme. The white rear gets dirty really fast.
The power button and volume rocker are on the right edge of the tablet. These buttons have decent travel. On the bottom is the standard Micro-USB charging port and on the top lies the 3.5mm audio jack. HP decided to go with onscreen buttons for navigating through the operating system. Above the 6.95-inch screen are the earpiece, front camera and ambient light sensor.
The primary camera and flash are on the rear along with stereo speakers. There is a removable flap on the upper rear which hides the SIM card slot from plain sight. However, the microSD card slot is exposed, which invites dust particles and grime.
The 6.95-inch display has a resolution of 600x1024, which translates to a low 170ppi density. Images and text look pixellated, colours are washed out, and viewing angles are completely off. Even at maximum brightness the display is quite dim. It is no surprise then that sunlight legibility isn’t good either.