Reputable Spanish publication
Clipset has the first concrete report on pricing and internal specs for
HP's Slate. Seemingly obtained from HP itself, the €400 ($546) price tag positions the Slate a notch above netbooks and bodes well for
the expectation that it'll undercut
the iPad's entry level pricing. Straight currency conversations are inadvisable in such situations, so we'll just have to wait until official stickers for the iPad in Europe are known or HP announces US prices for the Slate. Further info includes an Atom CPU,
Flash support, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, and a back-mounted webcam (see it after the break). The launch of this Windows 7 device is slated for June, while retail availability in Europe is said to be expected at some point "before September." It's not clear what all that means for the US, but we doubt HP will be making its home turf wait longer than the rest of the world. Rest assured, we'll be reaching out to HP HQ before they've had their first cup of green tea to find out.
Update: HP's response to our queries has been typically tight-lipped. The company refused to discuss
Clipset's specs and pricing, which would suggest that -- even though they may be spot on -- they are not yet official.
posted March 19th 2010 6:27AM
@Ruthless you know windows 7 lets you change the size of the toolbars, maximize minimize buttons and even scroll bars. Windows 7 works well for touch input, it's just that by default it's setup for keyboard and mouse.
I think I'll take the ExoPC over this.
Any news on the graphics? Will it support 1080p? And what's that port on the bottom? Some sort of docking port perhaps? Would be cool if it could be connected to a dock that could then be connected to a TV.
@hvakrg 1080p????? Are you kidding? Keep dreaming.....
@kyphem
Why shouldn't it be possible to playback 1080p on such a device? All they need is a DXVA capable chip? Hanvons tablet can do it.
I sure hope the slate comes with good power management. It takes forever for an atom netbook to boot into windows 7(compared to instand on for the ipad and android tablets), so most people would want to keep their slate on and just sleep/hibernate their slate. Since the battery is much smaller than a standard netbook's, there better be good power management or else you'll be lucky to get 2-3 hours of real battery life. I think that's te only challenge HP has.
@graey
The input panel is also active with touch input only. It doubles as the ink input and the keyboard.
I disagree with all those in favor of some phone type OS. That will be Apple's market with the iPad. Very unlikely any other company will be able to wrestle much of that market away from Apple.
However, I am definitely with those who want and need more from a tablet. I want to be able to run productivity software (ocassionally) in addition to the obvious entertainment aspects of a tablet. Which brings me to another point that has been raised by some, with an Atom processor and a hard drive how long will it take this thing to boot. A tablet should be pretty much instant on so I hope HP is using some method to keep the OS in memory even when the device is off.
Even so, at first blush it seems like the HP Slate will be much more useful than the iPad.
I do hope it has a resolution of at least 720p.
@ajb keep dreaming hater.
@ajb If you need to run productivity software you probably are better off with a laptop or convertible laptop. I think you will love the physical keyboard, better performance and longer batterylife (wth 6 or 9 cells).
@MaTdg Why do people think that a slate is meant to replace a laptop? This is a device that someone with a laptop would buy for casual web browsing, reading, and video. A ~$500 slate device with an Atom processor is not intended to replace your laptop. Replace an iPod Touch, Kindle, and Netbook maybe, but not your laptop.
I'd like to get my hands on the Slate.
I am ready to wait untill june to see whats up with this slate.
But why they didn't give it to anyone for hands-on? What are they afraid of?
WHy would anyone want a netbook without a keyboard? Netbook with a keyboard is hard enough to use as it is...
@kyphem
A netbook without a keyboard is better for reading, it can be used in vertical orientation. It's also lighter and more portable which is nice for watching video. Not to mention it's also touch screen which is better for web browsing, and Flash games than a crappy netbook touchpad.
There are certain things that your smartphone is better for than your netbook.
This is a tablet running a desktop OS therefore it's obvious that it will suck just like all other tablet PCs before it. All the iHaters keep screaming about flash and multitasking but guess what the average user DOESN'T GIVE A CRAP and that's why the iPad will outsell 10 years worth of tablet PCs within a few months after it's release. Windows 7 is designed to run a desktop/laptop with a mouse and keyboard, yes it does support multitouch but it's implemented as an afterthought therefore it's far from intuitive. PC manufacturers have been trying to shoehorn windows and linux on tablets for YEARS with predictable results(utter failure) and HP slate won't fare any better.
@Kunta Kinte
It will have the same success as linux on desktops. LOL
people seriously like this thing? looks bland.. imo. cant wait to get my hands on it and put it to a real test for my final verdict.
Has anyone mentioned the bezel or are we going to look over that because the hype is the same as it was for the iPad.
@TPAYNE87
Unlike the iPad, the bezel looks significantly better on a device with a *widescreen* form factor such as the Slate.
Specs or it's a cake.
This is great! I will definitely be getting the HP Slate for my mom's birthday. She loves the iPod Touch I gave her, but she complains about certain websites not working and not being able to do certain productivity tasks. The HP Slate + a dock accessory will give her the best of both worlds. And the bigger screen means less squinting and scrolling which is all I ever see her do now with her iPod Touch. This is exactly what I was looking for. This is awesome because she will be able to do Skype with video finally. Good luck doing that on your iPod Touch/iPad's Apple fanboys!
@cool8man
Please tell me how the HP slate is better than a laptop at productivity or skype / video calling because that's what I would prefer to use for both.
@GmanC
It's not better than a laptop, it's better than a netbook. It has an Atom processor, a 7-inch screen, and it costs around $500, so why would you even think of comparing it to a laptop?
For Skype why is it potentially better than a netbook form factor? Let's say you want to video chat with someone while you're sitting on your living room couch or basically sitting any place that you don't have a table in front of you to lay the device down on. It is much nice to be holding a Slate. Let's say you want to show someone something in a room of your house it is a lot easier to hold a slate form factor and carry it from room to room and aim it at what you're talking about.
As far as productivity. Again it comes down to versatility. The device is simply lighter and smaller than a netbook or laptop so you are more likely to travel with it and have the device on hand when you need it. I can't argue that a device with a built-in keyboard isn't better for productivity, but I can say that you are less likely to travel with a device that is heavier than an HP Slate. There are foldable tiny USB keyboards for Windows already that you could easily use with this device too.
The tiny slate form factor w/USB and Windows 7 offers a ton of versatility to use the device however you see best.
@cool8man
I don't buy the whole skype argument as you could counter that with the awkwardness of holding the device vs having the netbook stability.
Personally I don't do video calls at all so it's not a requirement for me, though I have the ability on my laptop already. Many people also have the ability on their phones if they so choose.
Regarding productivity - If I needed to travel and be productive, I'd take my laptop with me. It's really not THAT heavy. It's mainly battery life that's the problem. I'm lucky if I get an hour out of mine. Fact is though, if I needed to be productive it'd likely be somewhere I have a power source so I'd take the full size keyboard and 17" screen over any netbook or slate device with a piddly fold out keyboard any day of the week.
Most people simply wouldn't buy one of these to be productive on. It'd be mainly for entertainment with some productivity as an after thought.
@GmanC You can definitely be very productive with an HP Slate once you connect the keyboard and mouse to the dock port on the bottom.
Certainly plenty of productivity software available on Windows. I'm really looking forward to what docking accessories HP will introduce with this device. Glad it uses the horizontal orientation for docking and not vertical like the iPad. Also USB port means there's nothing stopping you from using mouse, scanner, printer, etc.
This will be really nice with the free Slingbox PC software too. Won't have to pay $30 for the low resolution iPhone version of the Slingbox software like you would on iPad.
Also you will be able to print on a network printer from any application or webpage without having to buy any software. The bottom line is that Windows 7 is a million times better than iPhone OS 3.2. Given a similar form factor, performance, and price point you would have to be nuts to choose the cellphone OS over Windows 7. If HP can deliver this around June for around the price of the iPad I think this will be a big hit.
@cool8man
Bottom line is windows 7 is an OS designed for desktops and laptops, not touch screen devices.
For that very reason you will ALWAYS have a better experience using windows 7 on a dektop or a laptop so why bother getting a tablet device with windows 7?
@GmanC
Windows 7 was designed with native touch screen support. It was a major difference between Windows 7 and Vista. The question is usage scenario, when you are sitting on a couch chair, in the kitchen, on a bus/plane, at a coffee shop, in the bathroom, etc. the touch screen is superior or ideal compared to mouse/keyboard. When you're at a desk there is no question that mouse/keyboard is superior and that's why it's great that the HP Slate has USB and a dock connector. You can use it both ways. It is more versatile than the standard netbook computer. It has a similar processor and price as a netbook computer, but is lighter, more portable and better for casually browsing the web, reading books/magazines, or watching TV shows than a netbook.
Regarding iPad vs. HP Slate:
I would prefer to have the functionality of Windows 7 (the software, peripherals, etc.) rather than the enhanced touch usability of an extremely limited cellphone OS.
How about the fact that all of the 150K existing iPhone apps that were designed for a 3" 320x480 screen look terrible on a 4:3 laptop size screen? Are you seriously telling me that you think the better solution is having tiny little cellphone apps blown up and zoomed in 4X or sit natively in microscopic size surrounded by a giant sea of black space? Windows 7 software scales better to a 7" screen than iPhone software scales to a 10" screen.
@cool8man
I agree the HP slate will be better for entertainment than a netbook due to the form factor, in a similar sense to how it will be better for browsing the web too.
Regarding the iPad:
I believe the iPad will hands down be better at entertainment than either a netbook, a laptop or the HP slate combined. Given the popularity of this thing, there will be a plethora of apps that are custom designed to make maximum use of the form factor and design. The apps will be key to the iPad's success.
Browsing the internet will also be a pleasure due to the extremely responsive screen and multitouch interface. Sure it doesn't have flash, but that wont be a dealbreaker for many people.
Then of course there's sharing photo's, email and calendar - All of which will be far superior to a laptop, never mind a netbook or slate device, not forgetting video playback.
Finally you have the reading aspect of the iPad. With access to every kind of ebook through the iBooks store, kindle / barnes & noble app, along with publishers creating digital content such as magazines, you also have a top class e-reader to boot.
@GmanC I think a major problem for iPad is that whatever it sells will always represent a small fraction of what iPhone/iTouch have sold. This means that 99% of the software in the app store will be designed for a 3.5" screen at 320x480 resolution. The vast majority of apps in the App Store will always look terrible on the iPad and rarely take advantage of the iPad hardware. iPad sales will never be significant enough to justify most developers making software with it in mind instead of the iPhone.
iPad should be a complete flop because it is a terrible idea (a giant iPod Touch), but it will sell enough to the hardcore Apple fanbase to get a small smattering of simplistic software here and there.
"Then of course there's sharing photo's, email and calendar - All of which will be far superior to a laptop, never mind a netbook or slate device, not forgetting video playback."
You've gotta be kidding. Right? An iPhone is better for email, calendar, photos and video playback than a Windows PC? Put down the crack pipe. Do you even use Windows? I'm really wondering at this point. You're really off the mark on this one.
"Finally you have the reading aspect of the iPad. With access to every kind of ebook through the iBooks store, kindle / barnes & noble app, along with publishers creating digital content such as magazines, you also have a top class e-reader to boot."
All of that stuff and much much more is already available on Windows. The slate just brings that reading material into a form factor that is more ideal. Windows already has more book/magazine/newspaper content than any startup smartphone OS has. And there's no debating that the web experience is simply going to be better on a machine that runs Firefox/Chrome/Opera/IE/Safari. I would much rather read the NYTimes website or USA Today website on a Windows Slate than on an iPhone web browser.
I will never use any device for books and magazines because I don't have any interest in that. If I did I would get a Kindle since it has free 3G, a battery that lasts for weeks, and a screen that is better suited for extended reading. A lot of people don't have any interest in e-readers which is why the potential audience for an iPad is so small compared to a cellphone (iPhone) or a portable media player (iTouch). Apple will sell to it's hardcore fanbase and that will be it. After the initial launch hype and big splash the device will fall off the map because it's not really useful for anything. It's a large cumbersome iPod Touch. Apple already made 2 devices better and more impressive than the iPad, they're called the iPod Touch and iPhone. A giant iPod Touch is not an advancement it's a step backwards.
@cool8man except adding a new GUI option to an iPhone app is as simple as opening XCode and building the GUI. To make the same app usable on Windows 7 and a mobile version of Windows 7, Windows Phone Series 7 or some other mobile version of Windows it first has to be designed for .NET and WPF. While Microsoft has been pushing this way of developing apps they haven't done so as aggressively as Apple with Cocoa and Cocoa Touch.
People who talk of ease of use don't seem to get that some people out there might actually like to have the Windows ecosystem in the palm of their hands rather than any other OS (mobile, desktop, or otherwise). Putting aside the software "app" supremacy of Windows for a second just think of the millions of printers, mice, keyboards, cameras, SD cards, scanners, thumb drives, etc. you can use with the HP Slate that you will never be able to use with the iPhone/iPad/iTouch. Then go back to software and think of the millions of free applications available for Windows that are either not available for or expensive on iPhone/iPad/iTouch. Good luck getting your favorite Firefox plugins running on iPad. Hope you like looking at ads on every website! Well at least you'll be shielded from the Flash ads. :D
There is so much more you can do with an HP Slate than an iPad it seems ludicrous to even compare the two. It's like comparing a graphing calculator to an iPod Touch.
Will the HP Slate outsell the iPad? Probably not. There are a million Apple fanboys who will buy anything that Apple makes sight unseen on day one. HP doesn't have that luxury. Does that mean the HP Slate won't be a much better product that is worth owning? What's the worst thing that happens to someone that buys an HP Slate? Oh no they bought into the Windows 7 ecosystem, what a disaster that will be! I'm sure there won't be any software or hardware support for the Windows OS down the line. I don't think HP is looking to outsell Apple. I think they're looking to make money and if they do make money then you can bet the farm that Asus, Dell, Acer, and every netbook company under the sun will be putting out Slate devices running Windows 7. If I was the only person in the world who was smart enough to buy an HP Slate, it would not make me want it any less.
Whether HP Slate outsells iPad or not is irrelevant. Don't fall into that trap! All that matters is whether the HP Slate sells enough to create a new category like Asus Eee did with the netbook. Don't forget how much Apple hates the netbook category because they miscalculated with the Macbook Air and missed out on that netbook goldmine.
@cool8man
Sure there will be people that want windows 7 on a slate device such as this, but don't make the mistake of thinking this thing will create a new category of devices as tablet pc's are nothing new. Why do you think this one will be successful where the others have failed?
Fact is, this thing will not replace your laptop so why bother getting it? What's the compelling reason to get one? The touchscreen? not good enough as other than an extra bit of portability and the touchscreen the rest are just negatives in comparison to a laptop. Every single bit of software you run on this thing, you can also run on a laptop at least as good, but more than likely better than this can.
@GmanC It's not meant to replace your laptop, it's meant to replace your netbook. I'm looking for a netbook for my mom right now, but she prefers the iPod Touch form factor over laptops or desktops. She can't do a lot of things on the iPod Touch that she would be able to do with a real computer like the HP Slate so this device is absolutely perfect for her.
Calling the HP Slate a Tablet PC and saying it won't succeed simply because it is a Tablet PC is like saying that a netbook is a laptop and it won't succeed because low powered Celeron laptops were not successful.
THE SLATE IS NOT A TABLET! It is 7 inches, it is very light, you do not write on it, it costs $500 or less. I've owned tablet PCs from HP before, they were absolutely nothing like this HP Slate. The reason I never got my mom one of the HP TX tablet PCs is because they were too heavy, the screen was too big for reading like a book, they ran very hot, they were over $1,000 and she doesn't really need to do note taking.
Confusing a slate device with a tablet device I think is a huge mistake. If the HP Slate sells for under $500 it will be a mass market hit in a way that no big clunky $1,000+ Tablet PC could ever dream of.
@cool8man
Actually, I understand the market for netbooks. They allow cheap access to the things people like to do most, which doesn't require the extra horsepower a laptop provides.
A tablet / slate pc is an entirely different beast.
Netbooks have the same form factor as laptops, albeit just a downscaled version. Slates are just netbooks without the keyboard.
I actually feel the netbook market will continue as it has. I don't believe slate devices running windows 7 will replace them, nor will the iPad as I believe people will either have a netbook OR a laptop, not both.
Will people who already own a netbook / laptop also buy a slate? I don't think they will.
Will people who already own a netbook / laptop also buy an iPad? Yes, I think so.
@GmanC
People who own laptops also own netbooks. Someone who owns an expensive high end 15" or 17" laptop is definitely going to see value in also owning a cheap netbook or slate.
Yes people who own a laptop will also buy a slate. I own a 13" Macbook which rarely ever leaves my desk. I would only ever use it when I'm sitting at a desk. When I'm not at my desk I'm using a smartphone and usually missing some of the functionality and software on Windows. A slate device would bridge the gap. I also prefer using the web with a touch screen interface and I prefer reading websites in the vertical orientation. You cannot do either touch or vertical orientation with a laptop/netbook.
You can sync your tunes/videos to your iPad with this thing! Imagine the possibilities!
ALL THESE TABLETS! *sigh* 2010 going to be a long year...
Actually I'm looking forward to what everyone has to offer, but I hope that with all these 'slate' devices we can actually have set specific categories.
Someone please tell me that this is going to be in the tradition of HP's excellent TC1100.
That's still the best slate/tablet I've used. It is just a bit underpowered for my needs today.
So I'm using a Motion Computing LE1600 with Tablet XP for the time being. It's also showing its age. I would really want something running Windows 7 for the better hand writing recognition.
So this thing better have a Wacom pen for me to be interested. Otherwise, pass - just like the giant iphone that Apple is releasing.
HP & Microsoft have no shame. Once again, in another feeble attempt to piggyback on Apple's innovation, they illustrate just how disconnected they are from the leading edge consumers that have given both of these pretenders the boot. They and fellow tech clowns Dell, HTC and Sony try over and over to first mimic Apple, then add more features, then price it cheaper to improve the value proposition, and still can't slow Apple down.
Why? Because Apple is the dominator.
Apple fanboys? That's just loser-speak from people who resent that there are people who know what they want and can afford to buy it.
Later, bitches.
@Ariel Bender Not sure why HTC or Sony are in that list, unless you think Sony's subnotebooks were a direct response to an Apple product. As for HTC, they have had the same form factor for years before Apple even had a phone. I might include the Dell Axim in there (not a phone though) but I'm not sure who the ODM was. And as for me, I chose an HTC Touch Pro now Touch Pro 2 for the QWERTY keyboard, though I certainly saw value in the iPhone just didn't feel it was the right device for my purposes.
@Kunta Kinte
I think slates could be because it's much cheaper $500 vs. $1,000-$2,000, it's smaller 7" vs. 10"+, it's lighter, it's sexier. It's not about notetaking which is only ideal for vertical markets. I think a lot of people would choose a slate over a netbook.
Even for a 100 bucks extra it gives 64gb memory I would take it in a jiffy. Hate that back design and camera though.
I am actually interested in it-
Don't see slates replacing netbooks for a while.
Top 4 things I do with my netbook: Take notes, chat, email, browse the web. (and of course browsing also includes alot of writing on forums etc)
That's alot of writing, so a touch keyboard just doesn't cut it.
*Splooge*
Wow. HP has a chance to make some waves with that price. More power to 'em.
I can't wait to get this, I could use it to take notes in my classes with onenote
Won't HP Slate burn itself down. I wonder if they already handled the overheating of the device with other HP products.
http://www.coffeedrunk.com/2010/04/07/the-contenders-vs-apple-ipad/