A new manufacturer made its way into the Android tablet space today, as HP has officially announced the Slate 7. Launching in April for $169, this Android 4.1 tablet features a 7-inch 1024x600 display that HP promises will boast wide viewing angles thanks to its High-aperture-ratio Field Fringe Switching (HFFS) tech. Inside the Slate 7 is a 1.6GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor that powers the whole package, and the new slate also touts 8GB of built-in storage, 1GB RAM, Beats Audio and wireless printing support. HP opted to include a pair of cameras with its new Android-based slate, with a VGA shooter placed on the Slate 7's face and a 3-megapixel camera around back.

It's certainly been a while since we've seen any new tablets from HP. The company has been fairly non-existent in the mobile world since it "discontinued operations" on webOS products in late 2011, but HP tells The Verge that it plans to expand its presence in the tablet market with a "broad set of products." While HP didn't go any further to share official details on what it's got up its sleeve, a recent rumor claimed that the firm is prepping an Android tablet with a quad-core Tegra 4 processor, which indicates that it'd likely have other high-end specs as well. For now, though, the Slate 7 is HP's new tablet offering, and the company definitely appears to be making a play for the entry-level, affordable market with its latest device. Would you be interested in buying a new Android tablet from HP?

Via HP, The Verge