Earlier talk of the death of HP’s Slate tablet was incorrect – sort of. While a consumer-oriented tablet using the webOS acquired from Palm may have to wait until 2011, the computer maker is reportedly on the verge of unveiling the HP500, an $800 Windows 7-based tablet designed for the office.
The Slate 500 (the official HP Slate webpage redirects visitors to the company’s inventory of business laptop and tablet pcs) uses a full version of Microsoft’s Windows 7, weighs in at 1.5 pounds and includes an 8.9-inch multitouch screen.
The device also supposedly is powered by a 1.86 GHz Intel Atom chip. Apple’s 64GB iPad uses the in-house 1GHz A4. Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently commented on rival tablets. “Our potential competitors are having a tough time coming close to iPad’s pricing. iPad incorporates everything we’ve learned about building high value products,” he said Monday. The proof will be in the pricing of our competitors’ products, which will offer less for more,” Jobs claimed.
Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer promised rival tablets powered by Windows 7 would appear “sometime this year.” When HP decided to shelve its Slate tablet, observers concluded the computer-maker wasn’t up to the task of going head-to-head with Apple’s iPad. However, HP seems focused on introducing the Slate 500 for the business market, rather than tackle the more amorphous consumer sector.
The Slate 500 is “like a full-function PC, it runs Windows, it will run your office applications, it just so happens to be in a slate form factor,” Carol Hess-Nickels, HP’s notebook marketing director, told Reuters.
Perhaps HP decided to aim its first Slate at the business market after hearing the success Apple is having introducing the iPad into corporate boardrooms. AT&T recently said it would help the Cupertino, Calif. company sell the tablet to its business customers. Several surveys have also shown a growing willingness by businesses to allow the Apple brand (beit the iPhone, iPad or Mac) behind the velvet ropes once reserved for the likes of RIM.
HP’s reported decision to use a full-feature version of Windows 7 may come as a surprise for fellow PC maker Lenovo. Earlier this week, Lenovo’s Technology Director Howard Locker told reporters Windows 7 isn’t suitable for tablets. “The challenge with Windows 7 is that it’s based on the same paradigm as 1985—it’s really an interface that’s optimized for a mouse and keyboard. It has to be optimized for touch. How do you do that?”
[via AppleInsider, Engadget, BusinessInsider]
