Well, well -- what's this? We just got our hands on what looks like an internal
HP Slate presentation given to cool down some of the iPad hype amongst HP employees, and it just happens to have specs and pricing details on the elusive Windows 7 tablet. As we'd heard, the Slate will run $549 in its base configuration, which has a 8.9-inch 1024 x 600 capacitive multitouch display, a 1.6GHz Atom Z530 processor with UMA graphics and an accelerator for 1080p video playback (we're assuming it's a
Broadcom Crystal HD chip), 32GB of flash storage and 1GB of non-upgradeable RAM. There's also a $599 version with 64GB of storage, and both models will have a five-hour battery, an SDHC slot, two camera, a USB port, a SIM card slot for the optional 3G modem, and a dock connector for power, audio, and HDMI out. Of course, what this spec list doesn't cover is software, and we still haven't seen much of how HP plans to make Windows 7 on a full slate device with netbook-class internals perform as smoothly or as intuitively as its
demo videos. That's not a small challenge, especially since the iPad is out now and setting some pretty high expectations for how this new breed of tablets should work. We've got our fingers crossed -- show us something good, HP.
posted April 5th 2010 5:59PM
as expected. but room to improve...
@masta vaan
Still totally owns the ipad though
@elitist
What kind of user experience will a single core 1.6MHZ processor have using windows 7? not even comparing to the iPad but just in general
@elitist No it doesn't
@masta vaan
Man the gloves sure came off today! This is seriously an epic day of tech news.
@elitist -- "Still totally owns the ipad though"
There will be 1,000,000 iPad owners next week :)
/total flame bait, sorry
@masta vaan
There was a typo, they forgot to mark Windows 7 as an HP advantage.
@Mentat also W7 on a single gig of ram...
@elitist
Eh, not really. For the atom to be peppy enough to compare to the ipad performance the HP slate would need to run some optimized version of Linux. Windows 7 is versatile, but working with it on a atom processor is anything but snappy or smooth. HP HAS to optimize this device as much as they can or this will look (and I do stress 'look') less productive than the ipad to the consumer.
@Mentat
I tried Win7 on my old tablet from 2005 or so.
It has 700mb of ram, and truth be told, it ran more or less better than XP.
The only reason I put XP back on it was because it was the pre-release that was about to expire.
I can see a device made in 2010 running much better.
@New Reformation
soooo wrong. My netbooks with 1GB of ram run beautifully on Windows 7. Crazy apple fanboys claiming stuff about Windows need to just sit down.
@masta vaan
I think there's an error in this post. "32GB of flash storage...there's also a $599 version with 32GB of storage" so what's the difference? Just $50 more for nothing?
@masta vaan 549 dollar for a 5 hour 1GB 7 inch mobile device? Who would be crazy enough to pay that amount? For this price i can get a descent laptop with win 7... No thanks. Passing on this one...
@ebloomca you mean disadvantage?
@masta vaan
The only let down (and there had to be one) is the battery life....
Then again: 1080p video! Smooth Flash! 2 cameras! WINDOWS! Widescreen! USB! SD card! ....etc. It still pwns the iPaid-too-much.
@Ipadsucks
"how do you improve 1080p? the ipad isnt even hd"
it COULD do 1080p... you know, if it had a display capable of doing that. its wasted gpu. the display is only capable of running at 1024x600 (in other words... NOT hd. not even 720p hd)
and running a full blown windows 7 installation on something like this is going to be painful. EXTREMELY painful.
@ninja98 - it's 8.9".
@Mentat
I run windows 7 pro on my netbook (from 2008) and it performs better than XP. I can even run Aero with no problems.
@The Advanced Kind
The only thing I own that is apple is an ipod (classic). My personal experience is that 1GB ram and an atom processor is fairly sluggish running 7 starter. Let's be honest, RAM is cheap these days. Why not bump up the RAM to make it a perfectly smooth experience? We will have to wait and see if the specs are enough....
@Ipadsucks 1080p doesn't matter when the native resolution isn't even big enough to properly display 1080 pixels in ANY dimension. Not a relevant point for either device
@Microdot
Read: HDMI out. Suck on that iPad owners.
@elitist Because your all Apple haters you just choose any random product and start to hype about it like crazy because you just try to make it look like its going to be better but you don't even know since it has not been released.
@MoonWalkerCTE
You disgrace the MJ name.
@ninja98 learn how to read, it has a 9" screen
@Microdot
Ignoring the fact that Windows 7 runs beautifully on netbooks with similar specs? Dumbass.
@MoonWalkerCTE -- "Because you're all Apple haters you just choose any random product and start to hype about it like crazy because you just try to make it look like its going to be better but you don't even know since it has not been released."
Yeah... kinda like the people who think the Courier is the greatest thing ever?
Today is a good day... we have actual information we can use to compare these two devices. I can't wait to get my hands on the HP Slate. I know it's real.
@MoonWalkerCTE Oh great, now we're all "Apple Haters" again.
@MoonWalkerCTE
This is going to be complete junk.
Windows 7 on an Atom with poor graphics, and only 1GB RAM? And an HP-designed piece of bloatware on top so that you can actually use your fingers? This thing is gonna crawwwlllllll, and the experience will be terrible. I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong, but any anti-iPad person who buys this thing instead will have a whole boatload of other issues.
Show me 1080p Flash YouTube on a big screen, and show me the device scrolling through photos. This thing will be unusable, I bet.
@masta vaan
I was thinking the same thing.
Id rather pay a little extra and get the n compatibility with some speakers. How does this thing not going to have speakers ?
how the hell are you going to skype and utilize the front facing camera without mic/speakers ?
@masta vaan
Looks OK - Windows 7 runs fine on 1GB as anyone who has used that actual configuration - including me - will tell you.
5 hours is OK if it actually gets that. I'm guessing closer to 4 which is OK because I doubt devices of this nature are going to be any further from a charging outlet than that. Still a bit weak compared to the iPad though but I guess that's the trade off for the increased horsepower.
The UI intrigues me - it's clear from the literature that HP will be using a touch optimised UI which I'm going to guess will be pretty good if it's Touch Smart based.
However, I'm still not convinced about this class of device. I think they're niche and a laptop is always going to beat it hands down for productivity. That said, the HP slate has the huge - and I mean huge - advantage of being able to run full scale productivity apps natively without any tinkering around.
@Mentat uhm. I run Windows 7 Home premium on my 1.33Ghz atom processor netbook. It's pretty good IMO. I just have Aero disabled.
@masta vaan
it will run fine if the GRAPHICS chip is good enough. nothing intensive is done in CPU anymore these days
@Ipadrules This HP doesn't display 1080p, it will play a 1080p video FILE, but the screen resolution isn't even as high as the iPads - so for starters, it can stop PRETENDING to play 1080p, and actually get a higher screen resolution that why when it does play a 1080p FILE, it will at least look as good as the iPad playing a 720p FILE on a 1024x768 (ipad) vs 1024x600 (hp) screen.
@ECVOICE
Did you miss the point about having HDMI out? From what I've read it will be able to output 1080p. The iPad ... well it can't output anything from what I can tell.
@crawdad689
"I'll eat my hat if I'm wrong"
You might want to think about buying some mustard.
Just sayin'.
@crawdad689
Have you run Windows 7 on an Atom processor? I have. It is not junk. You can absolutely get around the OS just fine with 1GB of RAM and an Atom processor. You have a dedicated chip to handle the graphics. This thing is totally doable. I just wish people who posted actually knew what they were posting about.
@Mentat Yeah. I find it interesting that they consider their processor an advantage over the iPad, too. Guess they're hoping to sell customers on Bigger Numbers vs. Faster Experience. (Even if someone hates the iPad, it's pretty obvious it will smoke the Slate in this regard.)
@elitist Puh-Lease. You lost all credibility making that statement without even seeing the Slate's performance, UI, speeds, software! Typical dumbass, close-minded MS lover / Apple hater.
@masta vaan
I think a lot of people that are replying here are a little biased, and they are biased because of their brand loyalty and not for actual justifyable reasons.
I'm going to go ahead and state that I own an iPhone, a few Macs, and several PCs, I really can't live without both, and I would love it if I could use two phones on the same phone number cause I would also carry an Android phone when they hit AT&T (I really like the Eris a lot). But anyways, that debunks any thoughts of calling me a fanboy.
Now on to the topic. The iPad is the better device, plain and simple. It's not the Apps that make it better either, it's plain and simple the hardware and OS. Windows 7 isn't a ultra mobile OS, it's not touch friendly on smaller devices and it's clunky for mobile everyday fast usage. People say they want a full OS on these devices, and I was one of them. I wanted OS X on the iPad pretty badly, till I realized, there is a ton of stuff built into the OS I don't need, and it's not designed for that type of device. Why try to make an OS that is good at one task (Windows 7 on the Desktop/Laptops) and force it to do something unnatural (Touch Devices).
Sure you don't have Root access to your iPad, and it's "locked down" but really, does it need to be any more open? People have a hard enough time browsing the internet and downloading files with viruses. Give them more control over the device so they can castrate themselves?
Moral of this story, Full OS isn't great for these devices, you may argue that it is, but it's not. Simplified, purpose driven OS's is where you start at with these devices, not a full blown OS that already has a purpose and try to add functionality on to it.
Hardware, Battery life is one thing, 5 hours vs 10 hours. And from what I'm seeing 10 hours was a pretty conservative number. And if the Slate echos the same quality that previous HP products have on battery specifications, 5 hours means 3 at best doing normal user activities. That is purely unacceptable for a device that you may be carrying around all day. You might not stray far from a receptacle for charging, but what if. I would rather have the more rialiable device on the battery front.
Processor, seems like people think the Atom is the savoir of mobile computing, but it really isn't. It's very much under powered, it's very slow, and it's really not optimized for a full OS, and neither is the full OS for it. The Apple A4 however and iPhone OS 3.2 are designed around each other, it's a perfect mating, so speed and power are going to seem a little bit more robust on the iPad, even if raw bench marks show otherwise. The experience on the iPad is going to be smoother.
I would definately buy the iPad over the Slate, and anyone with half a brain would see the advantages of it over the Slate. I think the Slate is awesome, and I am glad HP is going to try and go toe to toe with Apple, like Android did with the iPhone OS. Competition drives innovation and everyone wins.
Good luck to HP for their efforts, but the iPad is better despite windows fanboy ramblings. And again, I use both, couldn't live without both and never plan on living without both.
@ECVOICE
I've never understood these respones. Why would I want to reencode all my videos to play on a device just because it's screen isn't the same resolution as the video? I guess I better not watch BDs on my 720p plasma because they're 1080p.
@bjsguess I think a culv would be better Perfermance but What about battery runtime compared to the atom?
@masta vaan Come to think about it, this will probably come with Starter Edition. Booo if it does
@N900
"Oh great, now we're all "Apple Haters" again"
It's kinda like calling people "racist". After you are called it for the 1000th time, the person doing the calling just sounds moronic.
@MarkAnderson I think you're dead on, but with one big caveat -- The reason laptops always beat these kind of devices out is that the tablets are running applications (talking productivity applications, not photo scrollers) that have been designed specifically for a keyboard and mouse/trackpad. By design, a laptop/desktop will always be more efficient.
The advantage can only come when running applications specifically designed to take advantage of a Touch UI, and conceived that way from the ground up.
This is where Apple will have a big advantage -- a well designed strictly-touch word processor (or pick your category of application) will always likely be more efficient for the user than trying to run a mouse-based application on a touch screen.
@7egend
I think you're missing the point about the HP Touch Smart UI. It absolutely is optimised for touch.
But yeah, if I was buying a slate as an ebook reader and quick content viewer I would probably go for the iPad. If I actually wanted to do stuff I would go for the HP.
Well actually I would go for a laptop never mind.
@ISEPIC all of you guys talking about how the tablet cant dislpay 1080p are IDIOTS...EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. They aren't claiming it can play it natively. IT HAS A DOCK WITH HDMI!!!!! the HDMI can display 1080p!!!!! TARDS
@burnblue I'm sorry, I fail, it comes with Home Premium
@7egend
I've read you whole dissertation, and I've not read where you've actually used a Windows tablet, or any for that matter.
Hint: Try using one first, then get back to us.
@Mentat W7 is designed to scale very well on netbooks.
I have four Dell Mini 9s (one for each family member), and three are running W7 Ultimate and one Windows XP Pro, and I notice no difference in performance.
That is with aero transparency enabled but some animation effects disabled. I can only imagine that regular home premium, being a somewhat lighter version, would run even better with the better with a better Z530 and graphics accelerator that this device has. =)
@elitist Owns the iPad because it has some ports and specs that are better? And what if the user experience still sucks? I mean its basically Windows slapped on a screen with no keyboard. Have you tried using a Tablet PC before? Thats essentially what this is, and it sucks, because windows was designed for a keyboard/mouse. Touch is a different way of interfacing. Running a desktop OS on a touch screen tablet device is like driving a car using the controls from a Cesna. Yeah sure you might get it to work, but its going to suck.
The iPad isn't the be all/end all of tablet devices, there is a lot of room for innovation and competition there, but having a solid user experience is a big piece of making a succesful product, unless you are content to let it stay in the hobbyist/power user niche market. HP and others have plenty of opportunities here, but they can't win with a list of specs alone.