HP Windows Slate Leaked
The Web site Gizmodo last week posted a brief video review showing what appears to be a prototype of HP's forthcoming Windows-based slate PC.
While HP has said it will deliver a slate-based on Windows 7 in the coming months, a company spokesman declined to comment on the Gizmodo video, which highlighted a form factor that was similar in size to Apple's iPad. The reviewer, Kat Hannaford, who described the performance of the HP slate as fast, said the HP slate is a bit lighter than the iPad.
The HP Windows-based slate has a rear 3-megapixel camera, and a Webcam in front, and on the sides it features a microphone, speaker/headphone jack, a USB port, SD card slot and a button to launch an on-screen keyboard. The review did not reveal battery life, which many have predicted in the past will not come close to the iPad's 10-hour capacity.
The comments on Gizmodo's site accompanying the review suggested a preference for other platforms, which is not surprising considering the audience is gadget enthusiasts and consumers. HP has indicated its Windows 7-based slate will be targeted at business and enterprise customers.
"When are people going to stop trying to transfer over existing UIs?," said one poster, identified as SKiTz. "Create a touch interface that is optimized for the device please." In defense of a Windows 7-based tablet, Dave wrote: "Running Windows on a tablet is important for a lot of people because they want to run specific applications that are not on the iPhone or Android."
To be sure, the review never suggested HP's Windows-based slate will be an iPad killer. Apple has sold 3 million iPads since its release in April.
HP is also developing a slate based on webOS, the platform it inherited when it acquired Palm Inc. earlier this year. The company has said it will likely debut in the first quarter of next year.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on September 27, 2010