Early Review Says The HP Slate Is No iPad Killer

John Brownlee ()

Early Review Says The HP Slate Is No iPad Killer

Even HP’s aware that they’ve got a tough fight on their hands convincing consumers that they want to give them their $500 bucks for an HP Slate tablet as opposed to the iPad… but the PC manufacturer may still be be too optimistic.

If an early review of the device is anything to go by, it’s not going to be a fight… it’s going to be a slaughter.

Mexican website Conecti.ca got a chance to play with an early version of the Slate, and they’re just not impressed.

According to Connecti.ca, while the hardware is fine, the real problem is Windows 7, which hasn’t been built with tablets or finger-navigation in mind. When combined with the Intel Atom processor inside the HP Slate, the operating system is unresponsive and takes too long to load, especially when compared to the iPad’s near instantaneous start-up times.

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Their conclusion? The Slate is more of a competitor to netbooks than the iPad. My guess, though, is that it’s going to end up being a competitor to neither.

[via Gadget Lab]

26 comments »

About the author

John BrownleeJohn Brownlee is news editor here at Cult of Mac, and has also written about a lot of things for a lot of different places, including Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, Gizmodo, Kotaku, Lifehacker, AMC, Geek and the Consumerist. He lives in Cambridge with his charming inamorata and a tiny budgerigar punningly christened after Nabokov's most famous pervert. You can follow him here on Twitter.

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Posted in Hardware, iPad, News |

  • nabil2199

    yeah because the ipad is soooo awesome, right?

  • http://www.pendleproducts.com martin_tf

    The Slate running Windows 7 demonstrates what is so awesome about the iPad. The simple fact that Apple have the depth of engineering talent and creativity to create the hardware, the OS and the app store that serves it AND integrate it all together so well.

  • nabil2199

    who says that it has to run windows 7? it’s a pc it can run anything you throw at it

  • http://mackeeper.zeobit.com MacKeeper

    The fact that it is a PC makes it possible to install pretty much any OS onto it.
    But think of the problems that will accure – not many OS versions are fully compatible and have support for touch controls instead of orthodox methods. Navigating Windows on a touch screen just seems a little uncomfortable, and I can’t see the few widespread Unix based systems saving the day either. It needs something new specifically for it to take full advantage of the possibilities touchscreen offers.

    This can all turn the other way around if the developers find a solution and implement it nicely, we will have to wait and see.

  • http://ihbs.co.uk Ben

    Clicking on the link gives this page

    English Version

    “By a direct request of Hewlett Packard Mexico this post has-been removed. The product showed in this post will be reviewed later in the official presentation.

    Thank you for your understanding.

    If you want more information about HP products visit our previous publications. ”

    Very interesting! Seems like HP dont like the review at all!

  • Jeremy

    HP sells hardware, not software.

    Until someone runs Android OS on the Slate and reviews it, the HP Slate has not been reviewed.

    I am an iPad owner by the way and love it, so this is not a reflection on the iPad, I just hate slanted stories.

    Also, I want the Slate to be a huge success. The more people that use Tablet computers, the more tablet computing will advance. It’s good for all of us.

  • http://ihbs.co.uk Ben

    @Jeremy

    Why would Android OS be on the HP Slate? On its list of ‘features’ is Windows 7…

  • Steven Chaffer

    I agree with Jeremy. That’s why the iPad is so attractive. It runs it’s OWN OS that is integrated into it’s hardware. PC people seem to miss this all the time while bashing Apple.

    Putting windows 7 in the slate is like packing an elephant into a backpack and asking it to run!!…. Not gonna happen.

  • http://ihbs.co.uk Ben

    @Steven Chaffer

    On the other hand, it was a review of what HP is offering in competiton with the iPad. If HP chose windows 7 to run on their Slate, then thats hardly Microsofts fault. No one forced HP to go with windows 7?

    Remember that the review is of what the average end user will be using, rather than the possibilities if this and that were different. The review is to let you know what it would be like to purchase this product as its offered.

    A review should be “If you go into a shop, heres what you get.” rather than “well it runs this but if it was doing this instead then what youd be playing with is that”

  • Erving

    It is so funny, how many people still do not get it. Tablets with touch based screens, require a touch based optimized operating system. You can not win against Apple’s iPad without an operating system built around the touch screen and not the touch screen built around the OS. A desktop OS is going to fail, desktop OSes are designed for mouse and keyboard, once again Designed for Mouse and Keyboard. Repeat again, Mouse and Keyboard.

  • Chris12163

    The only thing that I saw from the video of the HP slate is it looks sluggish, why do many phones and products do that but Apples iPhone and iPad is VERY smooth. To me, that what makes or break for me.

  • jr

    I agree with Erving. Additionally, Microsoft just caught onto the fact that open operating system software works great for the desktop/laptop market but not for the smartphone market (it only took them 3 years of watching their rival Apple make huge market share gains) and so finally will be releasing Windows Phone 7. That touch UI upgraded for a tablet computer will be their best shot at the now quickly growing tablet market, thanks to Apple. Because Microsoft and Google (Android) finally figured out the market, its hard to believe they will be 3 years behind yet again… but with the imminant failure of the HP Slate… looking more like Apple may have a one year headstart though.

  • Jeremy

    @Ben

    There is no hardware you can put Windows 7 on, and make it compete with an iPad. Just like if you gave me an iPad that was 10x faster then the one released today, and put OSX on it.

    I would take the iPad today, because the OS is for a touch device.

    This is more of a review of how Windows 7 runs on a decent tablet, then how the Slate competes with the iPad.

    I mean, a week before the release, they could easily announce an option where you buy it with Android OS, and if they did, would you need to re-review the hardware?

    If so, then it’s not a review of the hardware. It’s just a review of the hardware with one software option. my guess is if you put Android OS on it, the faults you find with the Slate are the faults of the hardware (low battery life, network connections, weight, screen rez, whatever.)

    Right now, the only hardware review I see, is it doesn’t run Windows 7 very well. Good to know, but not complete.

  • Nathan

    A piece of crap PC running PC software, limited to a smaller portable screen. It’s exactly a netbook, with no keyboard, twice the price, and a fraction of the functionality. It’s basically a netbook, only worse….. as if “being worse than a netbook” is something to be proud of.

  • nabil2199

    @Nathan: you mean like the ipad? that subpar piece of tech?

  • Erving

    @Nabil, Have you even used the iPad? how can you even call the iPad subpar? The iPad has great battery life compared to a netbook, 10 hours. The iPad is designed around touch. Applications are designed for the iPad’s touch interface. How many applications are going to be designed exclusively for HP slate’s interface? very few if any at all. Why? because it is running an desktop operating system.

  • porkchop1234

    I’ve had the misfortune of owning HP hardware so I actually have a informed opinion concerning their products. THEY SUCK. It doesn’t matter what you put on as a OS HP has no vision on how to actually work a slate form factor with a good touch based GUI. Hell they could install iPhone OS4 on their slate and they would probably still fuck it up.

    The only thing they’re good for is providing low end sub par hardware. In other words if you want to buy a cheap 300 dollar tower for your 9 year old to play his music and music videos on HP is the choice to go with. You want a real computer there’s plenty of other manufacturers out there providing good alternatives in both the PC world and Apple world. As it is I strongly doubt Apple has much to worry about. As other posters above have pointed out the iPad is a touch device with a dedicated touch GUI interface while Windows 7 although it may have touch gesture support isn’t. The user experience will be completely different compared to the iPad ecosystem and that alone will cause the slate to fail.

    As for what Google does with their slate and their touch optimized Android OS only time will tell. Their the ones to worry about and if they actually use their heads and deep pockets I can see them stealing market share from the iPad as well as Apples iphone market.

    “Don’t be evil” Yeah right screw you Google. You’ve become just another mega corp who would steal from your own grandmother. I hope in the long run Apple kills the android handsets. The more I look into Googles business practices the more I hope another search engine unseats their sorry asses.

    Just my two cents

  • nacra

    HP computers, particularly laptops and notebooks have become the new standard for low-end, consumer crap. What a horrible consumer experience.

  • steven

    @nabil2199,

    Your salted comments are getting old and you are starting to resemble a troll. Yes, the iPad is superior, get over it.

  • nabil2199

    @steven, No it isn’t

  • Nabil Binky

    Hey Nabil2199, eat poo you PC loving lush.

  • porkchop1234

    @nibil2199
    If the slate is so great then just STFU and go buy one. Its not like anyone on here really cares what you do. Your opinions mean squat on this forum. I highly recommend you go do your homework eat dinner and go to bed. Its a school day tomorrow and your parents are going to be pissed if they find out you’re in your room wasting time being a troll and not doing the homework for that special needs class.

  • nabil2199

    @porkchop1234, Binky: you are taking this waaaay too seriously

  • http://petebanta.com Peter Banta

    A mexican web site with a .ca domain? That is just funny.

  • charli

    @nabil2199. some 500k+ folks just in the US disagree with you. and in another week that number could triple. then a month after that when it goes worldwide, it could be insane.

    and having used the ipad I can say that yes it is awesome. It’s quick to respond, video looks great even when it has to be letterboxed for widescreen, the OS was built for touch so it works very well.

    now, no it won’t replace a laptop for those that need serious power for things like video editing etc. But for those that were looking at a netbook as a true netbook (for email etc) and not as a mini laptop, the ipad is a viable option.

    not to mention that it’s already coming up for things like hospitals, restaurants etc. And despite some hitches at a couple of schools, universities and colleges are embracing the etextbook uses as well.

    I use one at work myself on filming sets. It was my boss’s idea and it’s working great. As soon as we can order the 3g model, the head of each department will have one.

  • Super Mushroom

    Intel just needs to trash that chip altogether.