It took them the better part of two years, but HP is finally ready to get back in the consumer tablet game, this time backing Android. Their first tablet will be the Slate 7, a small model that's light on price and even lighter on surprises. Roughly comparable to the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, the 1024x600 FFS+ LCD screen sits on top of a 1.6Ghz dual-core A9 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of MicroSD-expandable storage. According to HP's promotional page, it will be available in at least two colors. The rear camera is a disappointing 3 megapixels, with the front a dismal VGA model, and it runs stock Android 4.1. Wait, what?

You read that right: the Slate 7 will be running almost entirely stock Jelly Bean, with only HP's Beats Audio and ePrint apps added in. (A pair of stereo speakers, which seem to be integrated into the body TouchPad-style, help to take advantage of the audio processing.) That might be enough for HP to turn a few heads, at least among Android purists, and the competitive $169.99 price doesn't hurt. A soft-touch rubber casing that's a little chunky at 10.7mm rounds out the hardware.You could do worse for a 7-inch WiFi tablet, though with a little more dough you could do a lot better.

Still, if HP intends to buck the Android manufacturer trend with a hands-off software approach, we're game to see what they've learned since the TouchPad. The Slate 7 will be available starting in April.