The HP Slate 8 Pro tablet is now finally available for purchase from HP's online store, sporting a $329.99 price tag.

HP launched its tablet with no bells and whistles, it just quietly added the product to its online store. It's worth pointing out, however, that the 8-inch Slate is priced slightly higher than some other tablets in the 7- to 8-inch category.

It's true that the new HP Slate 8 Pro packs the high-end NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, but other tablets powered by the same chip sport lower price tags. The 7-inch EVGA Tegra 7 Note, for instance, costs $199.99, and it's a white label concept from NVIDIA itself.

HP Slate 8 Pro specs

The new HP Slate 8 Pro features an 8-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1600 x 1200 pixels and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, which may justify the higher price tag to some extent.

Moreover, the Slate 8 Pro packs a larger and longer-lasting battery compared to 7-inch rivals. According to HP, the Slate 8 Pro's 5,680 mAh battery will last for up to 11 hours. The tablet also comes with 16GB of internal storage capacity and a microSD expansion slot that allows for additional memory, a feature that's missing in some flagship Android tablets currently available on the market. The tablet ships with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean out of the box.

HP is also selling some accessories specifically designed for the Slate 8 Pro, including an HP Stand Case. This case has a polyurethane exterior and will allow users to enjoy various viewing angles while watching a movie on their tablet. HP currently sells this accessory for $39.99.

What's intriguing, however, that prior to launch the HP Slate 8 Pro spec list included 2GB of RAM and larger storage capacity. Instead, HP's product page now lists the tablet with a single 16GB internal storage configuration and just 1GB of RAM. It remains unclear at this point whether HP will launch a 32GB version with 2GB of RAM at a later date.

With a $329.99 price tag, just 1GB of RAM and a single storage configuration, HP may find it hard to compete with rivals in its category, particularly the popular Nexus 7 (2013) that now rocks the latest Android 4.4 KitKat. On the other hand, the Tegra 4 processor may have a big say.