We just had a feeling that HP wasn't going to be able to keep quiet about the Slate while the
iPad hogged the limelight this weekend, and like clockwork it's released another rendered teaser video of its Windows 7-based tablet. Unfortunately, the clip reveals nothing about pricing or availability (though we have heard
rumors of June), but there are some exciting quick demos of the Slate's cam and video conferencing skills. Take that, iPad! We actually happen to be most interested in the brief glimpse you get at the touch UI -- the icon-based interface looks similar to past TouchSmart software and seems to hide Windows 7 quite well, but it's so obviously mocked up we can't get a real sense of how it'll work. It looks like you will be able to hook it up to a HDTV with some sort of dock and expand the storage space through an SD card slot, all of which makes sense given that it's running Windows. Unfortunately, that's really all you get, but see it all for yourself in the 30 second video after the break.
P.S.- Interestingly, the USB cable shown looks like it's from Apple, and it's being plugged into a Slate running iTunes, presumably to demonstrate that it can sync with iPod and iPhones. But now we're obviously just wondering what would happen if you synced an iPad with the Slate -- explosion? Confusion? Confusion explosion? We'll find out soon enough.
posted April 5th 2010 12:50PM
Now THAT'S a tablet.
@Dr Blight Right! Man a crazy weekend though...iPad, MS Event, Apple OS 4 Peak event, and NOW SLATE ACTION?!
Seriously, I think unicorns really do exists guys...wow.
@Dr Blight You honestly think it's going to work like their rendering video? HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Guarantee the UI is going to be terrible and unresponsive as ever… have you played with one of their touchsmarts lately? Yeah– just like that.
@Dr Blight
Eeeeew! HP Logo on the back looks UGLY! I wouldn't buy it for that reason alone.
@Dr Blight
Who cares if the UI isn't overly slick? It supports Flash, which is all I need.
@ellenich Are.... are you serious? I have a TouchSmart. And even though I don't use the TouchSmart UI exclusively, it is very intuitive and controllable.
@DoctarPeppar
Replacing the F with a Ph doesn't make your comment any less homophobic
@futurerheza
Camera?! Is this the future or something? Next your going to say it can multitask and run flash!
@futurerheza
Courier? There was a Courier announcement?
@Dr Blight
Wow, somebody learned how to use Adobe After Effects!!!!!! And no pricing or availability? This is currently vaporware, by definition.
I wish them the best of luck, though. Lord knows I'm not getting an iPad in its current carnation, and I think the JooJoo will leave more than a little to be desired (though I do have my fingers crossed).
I'd be willing to bet that this thing is released after iPad reveives OS 4.0, and that it has a $599+ starting price. We'll have to wait and see, though! I do love competition in the tech space! Really keeps ya on the edge of your seat! :-)
@FrmrPSPCoderTOPAppStoreDev
Actually, the back is pretty damned cool.
If you look at the adobe air demo video with this device it actually shows the entire back of it -- number one it's completely flat, so it will rest on a flat surface, unlike the ipad which is curved (why??). It's also got a really cool texture \ design.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p-RZAwQq0E
@Dr Blight Is it? Or is it an computer generated animation? Look closely...
@crawdad689 Yup it's totally vaporware.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/26/hp-slate-teases-us-with-another-video-appearance/
Don't be surprised if it looks like it ISN'T vaporware, folks. Optical illusion. /s
@Dr Blight Just a few questions come to my mind.
1. How is the weight? It looks pretty thick to me. When I went to check out iPad in Bestbuy, first thing I noticed it's pretty heavy. If hold it for a long time will be a little too much even for iPad, so if it's heavier then 1.5 lbs, do we have to lay it on the table to use it? If we have to lay it on the table, then why not just use Laptop?
2. How hot will it get? Some people complaint iPad is overheated up to 95 F or 35 C, if HP is more powerful, will it start burning after a few hours?
3. How big is it? If people said iPad is too big to be carried around, they would rather use smartphone or netbook, why would I want another even bigger tablet on me?
I am still not buying all there hype until there is something truly great.
@Chizzed
Ok, this is definitely a geek-o-rama, no matter which side you fall on.
Paging Android. Get in the hot tub before it disappears!
@Joanna Stern
to answer your question, joanna... i'm pretty sure conecting an ipad will summon barney rubble, oprah winfrey, and a stale nutrigrain bar to appear out nowhere and wrestle each other in a match of death using overdue library books, 2 rhinos, and michael jackson's corpse
@Dr Blight
They're so mean ;)
Showing exactly the things wich are not possible on the iPad:
Memorysticks, USB (syncing an iPod with iTunes :D), videochat...
@Dr Blight
Is that really an iPhone connector or just a generic white USB connector?
@Dr Blight Too bad this is just a render and I can tell you now it wont stand out in the market.
@MoonWalkerCTE So you completely missed that link in the article I put up there?
@Ellenich:
¿Why shouldn't? iPad's UI pretty snappy even running on a SMARTPHONE processor with -rumored- 512mb of RAM. Considering HP Slate will feature an actual computer processor -let's say Atom Pinetrail- and at least twice as much RAM. So even if there's Windows 7 under the hood (wich isn't nearly as bad as you may want to believe), there's also A LOT more horsepower to work with.
Like, you know, enough power to have two apps running at the same time.
But, behold everyone, ellenich GUARANTEES it's not going to be any good. No wonder why an iPad cant'be charged via USB: it takes 1.21 GWatts to charge iPad's Flux Capacitors, to go 6 months back in time and leave a comment on Engadget about a device that has not even a release date.
Let's just hope there's enough juice left on your iPad to make it back to the future. Apple's iFusion power adapters haven't been invented yet.
@FrmrPSPCoderTOPAppStoreDev
Trust me, HP doesn't look forward to selling its products to consumers for him the Logo is a deal breaker. Let me redirect to you something that caters to your needs - Apple! Now there you can have your eye candy. Let the others have the powerhouse.
@Dr Blight No, it's a Slate.
@DoctarPeppar iPad has raised edges to make it easier to get the fingers underneath and pick it up when it's resting flat on a surface.
@Dr Blight
I'm still trying to understand why we need a tablet at all. My laptop and netbook seem to offer all that I need and more. The netbook purchase itself was a struggle because other than size it really didn't give me anything that I didn't already have on my laptop.
What I can envision is a removable tablet PC that is integrated into a laptop where it acts as a display and houses all of the vital pieces. The other half of the laptop would contain the keyboard, touchpad, optical drive, more storage, additional ports, and act more like a docking station.
I believe that this type of setup is the way the tablet should have been brought to market in order to fill a void and guarantee acceptance. I'm starting to feel like maybe I should be the one out on the west coast developing these things.
@ellenich No thanks. The iPad and Slate, as far as I'm concerned, still get outperformed by a simple netbook. One finger typing ain't my thing. Sorry.
@Dr Blight
Has webcam?....Are you serious?!?..... but can it not multitask?
-iPaduser
@Dr Blight
I forgot to mention another area where we've missed the boat. What we are seriously lacking is an APP STORE FOR THE PC. We think these little apps that we run on our smartphones, iPhones, and iPads are cool but where are they for the PC itself?
@Hamaki 256MB from all accounts.
@Nitesh haha u made my day...
the strongest points of slate are going to be apple's (-).
i`m still waiting for a strong android tablet...maybe HTC? i`m dreaming.
@Dr Blight
This HP Slate looks good, but I have to see the final product, I am not sure about this running a complete Windows 7 OS, I have my doubts about the speed (what kind of processor?, NVIDIA TEGRA2?, ATOM?)
But If the make this a DOUBLE BOOT tablet with Android, I will preorder it right now. This is what I really need, because you know, iPass(ed).
@Dr Blight
The best specs in a tablet at this moment: Notion Ink ADAM
http://www.notionink.in/adamtechspecs.php
VERY INTERESTING VIDEO HERE: http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/video-reveals-impressive-notion-ink-adam-tablet-features-20100214/
@Dr Blight
Wait... HP includes a SD Card Reader and a USB ports in their iPad? But... But... But.....
@Hamaki
Do you think you can charge the HP Slate through a single USB?
@Dr Blight same here. But I wish I had the apps :(
@Dr Blight
Hopefully it price ranges around $499. A slap in the face to Apple.
@Dr Blight
OMG This is da shit!!! man!!!.... Flash, windows apps, usb, sd card... This is just so fucking awesome... Indeed is is da real tablet...
@Dr Blight
Actually, that was a video.
@Niklasnick
ya, so mean... idiot, why dont u go and buy it?
BECAUSE is marketing crap and because they r just starting to copy the ipad and MONTH behind.
pathetic.
@DaveBach
There are dozens of app stores for the PC.
@Ordeith2
I get what you're saying about multiple PC app stores but what we need is one good PC app store that brings 99.9% of available apps to one place. A place where you can review, compare, and rank them. Perhaps some would just be represented in the store as links to where they are available so those offering up free Flash apps like Yahoo, Facebook, Pogo, etc. could still run their ad based websites. I just feel that people would be more apt to try and buy such apps if they were made more easily available like iPhone apps.
@FrmrPSPCoderTOPAppStoreDev
The Apple logo would be ugly if Apple was HP. It's all about your brainwashed perspective... What is more designpretty: A cross or a crescent moon? It depends on the viewer.
And Applelogo FTW. A chewed apple?
@DaveBach
What you want is called the Lenovo U1 Hybrid. It's been covered here on Engadget. It's a Windows notebook with detachable sceen that turn into an Android tablet.
@DaveBach
things like Cnet are available to index, link, and review PC apps, but I totally agree with you. At least for different forms of the PC, like this Slate. It needs to be integrated at the OS level. There needs to be a big fat icon on the home screen that says PC App Store or something. As much as everyone (inclufing myself!) likes to hate on Apple for ridiculous things like no multitasking and no Flash, they will undoubtedly have a far larger selection of apps available for the iPad than the HP Slate ever will, unfortunately, and it's because the PC doesn't have an App Store. And yes, I know the power user doesn't need an App Store, but even for the power users, it's not a bad thing to have one main source of reviewed apps to choose from as an option to searching the net.
I have to raise the question now, from a neutral standpoint: Would we rather have thousands of apps built for the device without the ability to muktitask, or a small collection of apps (that were actually built for the device's interface) with the ability to multitask them? I'm probably not buying an iPad or a Slate, but as much as I love to rip on Apple for deliberately leaving features out, I'd have a hard time choosing so far. With what iPad lacks, it still might offer a comparable, even better service. Slate will need an abundance of custom tuned apps and a central database to retrieve them from to succeed. Without a PC App Store, iPad might end up being the better device (aside from browsing the net of course, since we all know Slate will have Flash!)
@DaveBach
Excellent points, Dave. +1
@R3DB71ND
I think stick Android or even a main stream linux like Ubuntu Netbook Remix which I have been running for the length of my Asus EEE experience and I think a win is on the cards.
@crawdad689
Do you think all those iPhone ads are shot on real phones ?
People may call vapourware but really HP is the world biggest computer maker why would they make it up ? HP Touchsmart is already available so running it on a netbook without a keyboard isn't exactly a stretch.
And yes it's a Windows PC so obviously it can sync with iPods and iPads, but then HP were kind enough to include USB ports how forward thinking !
@Dr Blight
Well as such, we can only assume the slate will get just as much news time as the iPad did, right?
...Right?
@teco221 Most tiny little netbooks are around 2.5lbs. If that really seems heavy to you, I'd recommend getting OFF the computer for an hour and spending that time at the gym.
I'd expect a device that doesn't use cellphone components to weigh a little less than the lightest netbooks (by virtue of no keyboard/hinge).
@Dr Blight
Oh really? Well I already have an HP Tablet running windows 7 and flash, you can have it NOW for a measley 300 bux. Tx2000z. Want it? I didn't think so. The UI is extremely important and is exactly why a plain windows 7 slate WITHOUT the UI enhancements would still fail.