The HP Slate
By Nilay Patel 
posted January 6th 2010 10:23PM
posted January 6th 2010 10:23PM
posted January 6th 2010 10:23PM
Microsoft Windows 7
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oh god, HP is making it. Another piece of crap coming out onto the market......yay
I can't even count the number of people that I know who have a HP and don't have problems with hardware....and I don't know too many people. I have tried to fixed 3 HP lappys in the past 40 days. Fans failing, HDD failing, cpu's overheating. Serious MS, you are letting HP (who makes effing printers) make your tablet....I smell the fail whale.
@Steve Ballmer you don't even know what you are talking about.
I like this idea better than the courier...If they price it in netbook territory, than Apple won't be able to compete. If I want to run Itunes, Chrome, pop in my Verizon EVDO card, edit word document, open up Outlook, sync my bberry, or anything else it's all available to me in addition to a reasonable interface for watching movies and playing music.
It would seem like if they put some decent hardware in the system and keep the price low it is more useful to a larger audience than the kindle or any Courier would be. Heck, I wasn't thinking about getting something unless it could allow me to seemlessly move from one platform to the next...This allows me to do just that.
Btw, let me know when a niche device allows me to jump into Hulu or Netflix on the road.
@DBX00
You could have done this with all the other tablets released before and yet people still shunned them, what makes this any different?
@Goona because you had to use a stylus and it cost more than a standard laptop ($2,000 plus). At less than $500, it makes this a viable second computer like netbooks are today. It isn't about recreating the wheel but to do it in a form factor that doesn't force me into a ecosystem that isn't transferable.
This Slate may not be something that completely different (aka get geeks excited) but neither was the netbook. At the end of the day, I don't want to have to purchase applications again when I already have it for my home computer. This system is a good way to give me e-reader functionality, computer usage, and compatibility in a inexpensive platform.
Good luck getting a 3G connection on your preferred provider with an Apple Tablet or a one off OS. I can just pop my verizon card into this system knowing that I'll get access with a service provider I already have and pay for.
Why did they not just put the zune UI on it with a rapid start mode...
Where is that illiterate idiot fatslug who says Dell says more computers in a month than Apple does in a year, I guess Dell sells 10 million computers a month, dumbass.
Bill Gates for Microsoft CEO!!!
Actually I really like this HP Slate.
But in Ballmer's hands everything just look bad.
looks like what microsoft always does, slap windows in another form factor with almost no changes. So sick of this. Apple is gonna eat their lunch. Get rid of ballmer.
Just tell me that it has stylus support and I'm all in. Microsoft has the best handwriting recognition tech in the business.
@Steve Ballmer
Apple just headfaked the whole pathetic "Windows PC" Industry.
It was never going to be called an iSlate. It's an iBook.
And it's not going to be Mac OS X, or iPhone OS, its going to be a third OS, which devs will have a few months to get their 130,000 Apps, Games, Widgets, etc ready for.
Now. How does the name HP Book sound?
you know why this appeared, right? just to one up apple, so at apple's event, apple can't get the,"industry first". of course, this lets them, in steve jobs style,"We took the tablet, and made it better..."
If courier wasnt a possibility Id probaby buy this I like HP's tablet devices. Although Lenovo does have a better build quality the feeling is all the same.....
And all the apple people will buy the apple tablet..... Id given thought to it and Id rather just buy a pen and paper and wait for the gen2 since this islate will be more like ibugs.... Or iletdown......
I was kinda hoping they had condensed the "courier" idea down to one screen... but it looks like just another tablet PC trying be a mini computer instead of something groundbreaking like the "digital Notebook+" that the courier concept showed.
A lot of people seem to bash Microsoft for the Slate when it is indeed a HP product and a branded HP product.
You have to remember, Microsoft is a software company and their software is designed to run on third party hardware.
On the other hand, official branded Microsoft hardwares lately has been shown to be excellent products such as the Zune HD. Microsoft doesn't actually built the hardware, but ensure it for quality so it can be Microsoft branded.
@aimran
Exactly. In this case, Microsoft just provided the operating system- it should have been HP's responsibility to build the user experience (like they did with their Touchsmart-branded devices) that would appeal to users out there and differentiate it from it's competitors. This is similar to what HTC did with the WiMo 6.5 interface on their HD2 handsets. Microsoft's job is to build an O/S that will run on ubiquitous hardware and will appeal to the larger public (which they have done very well with Windows 7). Ultimately, it's the hardware vendors who need to tailor and fine-tune their product's to provide the best user experience otherwise it is them who'll loose out- Microsoft already made a profit by having it's O/S running on those devices.
Microsoft has shown that they can come out with interesting and appealing UI when dealing with Microsoft-branded devices. However, these devices' sales figures pale in comparison to Microsoft's (purely) software sales.
Apple, on the other hand, does not have the same luxury as Microsoft- it HAS to make the device appealing to users because they sell and make money off of their branded-hardware sales (the software is basically free). This means that they can't take very huge risks- they have to release new devices when the market conditions are just right.
Think of it this way- the underlying O/S running on Apple's devices is based on BSD Unix. So is the Android and Chrome OS (well, some Unix/Linux derivative). To a large extent, VMS (which is what Microsoft's 'NT' technology was based on) was also based off of earlier work done on Unix. What differentiates them is the user experience that these 'adopters' build around the core O/S.
WANT
Looks like a pretty paperweight.
So I really like the idea of the Slate. I saw Maria B. On CNBC interview HP(s) Todd Bradley , it was a little unfortunate that a defintive price point has not been set, however, I can see myself owning a Slate and iTablet (iSlate?) , I will eBay my old netbooks , these devices I hope will be good for University, I want to see good innovation in the tech that goes into the device(s) , I will be watching.
Yeah that tablet looks quite alright.
Would like to see it in action, though.
I've been waiting for such a device for a long time! FINALLY!
LOL.. just watched the Apple iPad release and it does NOT live up to the hype. This HP Slate is looking better and better.
For those who made fun of the looks of this device, catch yourself up on the iPad... it's horrendous.
Well, now that I've seen the iPad . . . C'mon HP Slate!!!
HP Slate just went up a few notches in my book.
...just came from the iPad live blog.
So I just want to throw in my two-pence.
I am a pc girl, but iPad has impressed me. I am holding off on spending unGodly amounts of money until I have gotten a chance to play with both the iPad and the HP Slate. Heck who knows, by the time I invest in one of the two a better one will be out.
We have technology like StarTrek, but we still use money. Bummer.
The Slate just got way more attractive, after the letdown of the iPad.
For me, i was hoping theyd shoot for the artisitc crowd rather than the "I can has iPhone" crowd. With no full OS....
PWNED!
Slate: 1, iPad: Full of menstrual bloo... i mean 0.
The iPad looks like a joke, its just an oversized iPod touch, and it has almost the same Os (iPhone Os 3.2), the Apple product is not a portable computer, it does not have usb ports, or card reader, or support for multitasking, or camera, not even flash support on its web browser, and above all you need the itunes to load stuff into it, its just an entertainment gadget, not a computer, so i dont think the HP Slate should be compared to the iPad.
PS sorry for my english but its not my language
Given the huge disappointment that the iPad turned out to be this HP Slate suddenly looks a ton more attractive to a lot of people. Even with what little we know it has so much more value and use than an iPad. It's got a real desktop class OS that can multitask and allows you to install any software you want which includes any web browser with Flash support. It also has better hardware capabilities because the front facing camera will allow for video chatting. I also see the dock connector is oriented for widescreen which means once you connect a hardware keyboard and mouse you have something that could legitimately replace a netbook, unlike the iPad.
I would love to know more about specs and potential release date. HP definitely has a big opportunity to capitalize on Apple's missteps here.
This is so much better than the iMAXIpad it's not even funny.
Amazing!
It's like an ipad... only functional!
I can see an HP slate in my future.
It remains to be seen if the iPad will catch on in the business world where people use computers for actual work, and not just dicking around.
i might buy this, i bet it will do everything the iTampon doesn't.
when apple announces the ipad, people shit their pants
when hp introduces the slate, which is a MILLION times better than the flash-allergic ipad, people boo it
i don't understand our generation.
lol you should really look through some of the comments, they're hilarious!
Funny stuff. No one's seen either one except on video and already the HP is a "million" times better than the iPad? HP out "later this year", iPad out in March.
Can you say "vaporware"? You Windoze Fanboys will just take any abuse that Ballmer and Co dish out won't you? Viruses, Service Packs, expensive upgrades, five different versions, some over $300! Browser hacks, drivers that don't work, BSODs, DRM on everything, crappy PC boxes and just a tad behind the curve on technology generally.
My Mac (which is Unix under the hood BTW and the same Intel processors ya'll use, so don't give me your uneducated "it's a toy" crap) runs 24/7. Downloads its own updates and installs them. I can download ANYTHING and it won't affect my OS. I have NEVER run a firewall or an AntiVirus and I download TONS of music and video.
All the apps most people need for editing photos, movies, music and web design are all built-in and work seamlessly with each other. And if I need to run Windows because my dive computer only runs its interface in Windoze? I have Parallels or VMWare or Boot Camp for the occasional foray into the nightmare world of Windows ( my person choice is Parallels).
My last OS update cost $29 and my iPhone works just as reliably and solidly as my Mac. I can't remember the last time either was actually turned off. 24/7 babybee! The days of Windows and my old Treo are thankfully mostly long gone . . . but of course, not completely because I fix Windows computers. That's where the money is, fixing crap that doesn't work! But when I want to get real work done, I jiggle the mouse on my Mac, my six-button Logitech mouse.
The iPad will be a huge hit, BTW and a year from now HP will quietly roll out their slate and no one will care . . . except for you 20 post-pubescent wieners online here.
joeldm
@joeldm and you take it up the butt from Steve Jobs himself because he has made such a magical machine that never has no problems with viruses. Yet you negate the fact that you spend a premium amount of money for sub-par specs. Gee golly gosh, here's an idea for the windows crowd, don't download illegal things, don't click on links you're not sure what they are and voala! no viruses, no malware, no problems and you get to use the full potential of your pc which costs way less than a mac as has three times better specs than the mac at half the price. You say you only paid 29 bucks for your last OS upgrade? how bout 3 years from now when the newest Mac OS won't be able to be installed on your macbook because its too old. Time to go buy another super expensive mac and give steve jobs a bj, so he can give you a discount and maybe a descent spec machine; but don't worry for 200 bucks more you can get a dvd-rw drive and more ram. YAY!..
Flash Support and Windows 7 environment on the Slate? It may look interesting even if the iPad has already a lot of fans. Here is how the Slate concept came up: http://www.thehdstandard.com/general-discussion/hp-slate-to-compete-the-ipad/
Catalin
Professional Streaming Consultant
It's a nice little computer, but fundamentally it is still a Windows machine and thus it has all the viruses, all the security flaws, all the bugs... essentially it still has all the crap you have to suffer through because of Microsoft.
So, while it is a nice piece of hardware, I am going to say that the only thing that could possibly make this worthwhile is making it into a hackintosh.
@flakesobran
I cant wait to try this out and see how W7 works on it.
Ive been a windows user for so long, and the number 1 reason people get viruses is because they dont take care of their software registration..
So if you have good protection, and stick with subscriptions, you should be completely fine.
I'm more interested in the Google Chrome OS tablet