Pricing & Warranty
Our review unit HP ElitePad 1000 starts at 839 inc VAT. A variety of next-day business service agreements with three-year onsite support can be bolted-on for 156 inc VAT.
We'd recommend the Expansion Jacket (83) together with the extra battery (83) to get longevity out of the device. A Bluetooth keyboard will add another 32 to the price but if you plan on using it in the office with the dock there's no reason why you can't just plug in a regular USB keyboard.
Don't be fooled by the 639 inc VAT starting price of the Surface Pro 3. This is for the Core i3 model with 4GB and a paltry 64GB of storage.
Our Surface Pro 3 review unit started at 1,109 inc VAT with the pen included.The Type Cover adds another 110 to the price so the total cost of our unit was 1,218.
Microsoft offers two-year limited warranty and 90 days of technical support but after this you're on your own.Although resellers such as Insight are offering the Pro 3 - there don't appear to be any additional warranty options available as part of the package.
Winner: HP ElitePad 1000. You can buy the device, Expansion Jacket, second battery and the three-year on-site support and it's still cheaper than the Surface Pro 3.
Overall
It's been a closely contested head-to-head. The Surface Pro 3 won categories relating to versatility, performance and design/pen input.
However, the ElitePad 1000 excelled when it comes to battery life, security and price. Plus, it gives IT admins peace of mind with comprehensive next-business-day support.
If you're looking for all-out performance in a 2-in-1 form factor we'd recommend the Surface Pro 3. It can be used as laptop/desktop replacement and easily transported on the daily commute.
We see the ElitePad being deployed to mobile workers who need a handheld device. It's suitable for those in the retail and healthcare environments where the extra-long battery life will also be an asset.
