HpSlate500
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HP replaces the Slate 500 with the Slate 2, adds Swype and cuts the starting price to $699
Until Microsoft gives Win8 the final seal of approval, the Windows tablet show must go on, right? Right. HP just refreshed its enterprise-friendly, Windows 7-flavored Slate 500 with the Slate 2, and took the opportunity to knock the starting price down a hundred bucks to $699. In terms of design, there's nothing much to see here -- it has the same 8.9-inch tablet and N-Trig DuoSense digitizer that allows for pen input. Only this time, HP added Swype, refreshed the CPU with Intel's Atom Z670 and proffered a smaller 32GB SSD option to appease the IT guys who are going to heavily lock these down anyway. Speaking of security, it also packs TPM circuitry and Computrace Pro for tracking lost or stolen laptops and then deleting the data remotely. It'll be available worldwide this month -- just in time for corporate to buy you a lil' somethin' for the holidays. %Gallery-137812%
HTC Flyer stylus on sale at Best Buy for $80, because matching gadgets should cost more (updated)
If you ordered the HTC Flyer because you're keen on scribbling notes and doodling over screenshots, well, today's your lucky day -- the stylus is now on sale by itself for a cool $80. That's fairly outrageous, given that you can buy the HP Slate 500's for well under that tally, and the Fujitsu LifeBook T580's for roughly $22... that is, if you lose the one included in the box. Plus, although these battery-powered pens won't complement your Flyer's aluminum chassis, they should still work with it, as all of these tablets use N-Trig's DuoSense pen / capacitive touch technology. And particularly with a dearth in apps that can take advantage of pen input, you'd better be the next J.K. Rowling if you're looking to get your money's worth. Update: We've gotten some incredulous comments and emails from folks who can't believe the Flyer doesn't come with a stylus. Well, just to settle that debate once and for all, we reached out to HTC's PR team who confirmed that the stylus is, indeed, sold separately. Sorry to be the bearer repeater of bad news! Update 2: HTC adds that the Flyer will only come without a pen if you get it at Best Buy.
HP Slate orders still delayed, still blaming 'high volume of orders'
Oh sure, it looks like some glorious Palm / HP Web OS tablets are headed our way (even if we are hearing it won't be until late summer / early fall), but you know what has been supposedly headed our way for over two months now? The HP Slate 500. Yep, HP's seemingly-abandoned Windows 7 tablet is still suffering from major delays, and according to our sources and an HP customer support rep, a "material shortage" combined with a "high volume of orders" are causing these tablets to be held up. We don't have any real details on the numbers -- although, last month we had heard they received about 9,000 orders thus far -- but we do know that our very own HP Slate, which we ordered back on November 9th, still hasn't shipped and is now slated to ship out on January 22nd. And we're definitely not the only ones still patiently waiting -- a look through the TabletPC Review forums reveals that a number of irate customers are still longing for their 8.9-inch, Atom-powered tablets -- although, many of them were offered a $100 discount in exchange for not having their tablets in time for the holidays. We've reached out to HP for further comment on this, but in the meantime, we'll be refreshing our account page and hoping our Slate finally ships out before the end of the month or, you know, at least before HP starts announcing new ones in early February.
Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Tablets
Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season. You didn't think we'd let the holiday season go by without an official Engadget Tablet Gift Guide did you? Hey, give us more credit -- we know it's not 2009 anymore! The past year has seen an explosion in the tablet category, and while the iPad may still be the market leader, there's no shortage of Android and Windows 7 alternatives out there that let you surf the web, read books, and watch videos with just a flick of a finger. Sure, more are on the way, and all signs point to Apple updating the iPad in early 2011, but if you've got to have a touchscreen slab before the end of the year, we're here to lend a helping hand. Hit the break for a rundown of the best choices by price category.
HP Slate 500 sees 'extraordinary demand,' experiences six-week shipping delay (update)
Yes, the HP Slate 500 is officially backordered, less than a month after its enterprising debut, and Hewlett-Packard claims it's because of "extraordinary demand," a phrase that's presently not quantifiable. The long and short of it, though, is that you're not getting one by Yuletide if you purchase the pricey portable today, as you'll have to wait six weeks until they're ready to ship out. Still, if your budding business bought in on day one, there's still a chance it might arrive in time -- ours is due to our door in early December, if that gives you any idea. We've pinged HP for comment, and hope to hear back soon. We'll be sure to let you know just how "extraordinary" those sales numbers might be. Update: We've yet to hear back from HP proper, but a trusted tipster with a contact inside HP spun us a very interesting tale -- HP reportedly only ever planned a limited production run of 5,000 units, and received orders for 9,000 instead. When demand outstripped supply, HP apparently had to re-hire production workers just to get the presses printing out tablets again, and are presently placating angry customers by offering them over $100 off their $800 purchase as apology. [Thanks, Dan]
HP Slate 500 finally (finally!) official, rings up at $799
Nope, you're not dreaming, but feel free to pinch yourself, rub your eyes or take a cold shower! You've read right -- the HP Slate is finally official, and after all the teasing, back and forth, and (very recent) leaks, the Atom-powered, Windows 7 Slate will finally see the light of day -- though in a different way than originally intended. While the first videos released by HP may have made it seem like it would be for consumers, HP's tactfully changed its tune (don't forget it's got Palm / WebOS tablets on the way) and is now aiming the Slate at the enterprise and business market. Still, it will be available on HP's site for $799 to anyone who wishes to purchase one. So, what does $800 of your hard earned cash buy you? Well, in addition to the dock and case, which are included in the box, the tablet packs pretty much everything we'd heard over the last year -- it's powered by a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor, 2GB of RAM, 64GB SSD and packs Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator for handling 1080p video. (The included dock has an HDMI-out port if you want to hook it up to the big screen.) Obviously, the 8.9-inch capacitive touch Slate runs Windows 7 Professional, but it's got a Wacom N-Trig active digitizer for taking notes, which certainly sets it apart from the other Win 7 tablets we've seen over the last couple of weeks. Oh, and don't forget its front facing VGA cam and 3 megapixel camera on its back. We got a chance to finally grope the tablet earlier this week, so hit the break for our early impressions and a short video. %Gallery-105701% %Gallery-105726%
HP Slate 500 unicorns its way into e-tailers with product code, leaked documents
We'd heard the HP Slate finally had a date with destiny (and corporate pocketbooks) sometime this fall, and it's looking like the device is nigh -- a number of boutique online retailers are taking orders for an HP Slate 500, which purportedly comes with an Intel Atom Z540 CPU, 8.9-inch WSVGA LED-backlit screen, 2GB of DDR2 memory, a 64GB solid state drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a webcam, a two-cell battery and Windows 7 Professional installed, all for somewhere around the vicinity of $800 to $900. What's more, CNET's just stumbled upon a document that apparently details the same, plus an HP Slate Digital Pen (no doubt for those who abhor sausages) and a rear-facing 3 megapixel camera. We'd chalk up the CNET leaks to old prototype documentation and the e-tailer product listings to wishful thinking if either appeared on their own, but together we have to imagine there's some sort of wind a' blowing.
HP Slate no longer a consumer product, will arrive for enterprise this fall
We've sensed that something's been up with the HP Slate for a while now, and it looks like we've finally gotten the first solid confirmation that the Windows 7 tablet as unveiled by Steve Ballmer at CES in January won't hit the consumer market as planned -- speaking at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, HP Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley just said that the Slate will be "more customer-specific than broadly deployed," and that it would launch the Microsoft-based tablet "for the enterprise" in the fall. That fits right in with HP telling us the other day that it was in "customer evaluations" as it prepared for the "next steps," and based on followup comments from Bradley and Palm head Jon Rubinstein, it certainly sounded like the company will focus Windows tablets at the enterprise and develop a variety of webOS devices for the consumer market. Of course, there's no official announcement yet, so we'll see what happens -- the only thing that we can confidently say is that the HP Slate has definitely succeeded the iPad as the tech industry's favorite vaporware tablet.
HP confirms that Slate is still kicking, 'next steps' being determined
We were quite surprised (to say the least!) to see the original Windows 7 HP Slate 500 appear yesterday on the company's site, and HP officially confirmed this morning that the product is still very much in the works. The outfit's not sharing much, but a spokesperson from its Personal Systems group did tell us that they're "in customer evaluations now and will make a determination soon on the next steps." It all seems very vague and mysterious at this point, but the evidence is surely mounting that we'll be seeing HP join Microsoft's "hardcore" tablet push.
HP Slate 500 with Windows 7 surfaces on HP's site
We can't say we know exactly what's going on here, but it does appear that the HP Slate still lives in all its Windows 7 (and Intel Atom) glory. Yep, the guys at IDG News spotted the good ol' 8.9-inch HP Slate -- now apparently the Slate 500 -- hanging out on a rather hidden HP.com page. The details are few and far between, but they do seem to coincide with all that we originally had heard about the tablet -- it runs Windows 7 Home Premium, has "exclusive" HP software and two cameras. And that's not all, the chaps at IDG also noticed that the Slate 500 was Energy Star certified, and a listing for the same product on Energy Star's site confirms that it will have a 1.6GHz processor. That too seems to line up with what we had heard about the Slate having a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU. We know, it's all a bit surreal considering we just got word yesterday that HP had filed a trademark on the term PalmPad, and we figured the Slate may have seen its day. There's no telling what will happen next, but it sure is looking like a HP Win 7 and WebOS tablet may just live in harmony.
