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Is the HP Slate 500 competition? [Updated: Slate is confirmed by HP]

By: , 7/20/2010 9:42 pm | 13 comments

HP might have backed away from doing an Android tablet but it seems that they are still going forward with a Windows 7 slate. It is rumored that in a very hidden HP.com page quite a few product product numbers for the HP Slate 500 have been discovered. As a matter of fact there are 8 to be exact.

So lets talk specs for a second here. Well, first off it is running Windows 7 Premium which most of us who own a PC are highly familiar with. It has an 8.9″ screen, two cameras (one video and one still), and makes use of a stylus (or pen) to write with. It has also been rumored for sometime that this specific slate will have a pretty speedy 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU.

Update: HP has confirmed that the Slate is still being worked on, but they aren’t giving any details yet. (Engadget)

So why 8 product model numbers? It could be for slightly different variants of the same machine similar to the iPad. Meaning, that you have different options like more storage space or being 3g enabled. It could mean that they are for different vendors. Nobody really knows until this thing hits the street.

Should we be worried? Probably not. Despite the fact that this is a slate which makes it seem like it’s in direct competition with the PalmPad, these are still two very different beasts. This new slate is running Windows 7 with HP’s own touch interface however full blown Windows has never translated well to a small screen and we don’t think that this will be any better of an experience. That is just one of the reasons why Windows Mobile has failed. webOS as you all know is designed from the ground up with a touch screen in mind. There will be markets for both devices though as the purposes for each are different as day and night.

So we here at webOSroundup will take this possible news with a grain of salt. If anything it does give us a little peak at what the future hardware for the PalmPad could be like.

[source: Crunch Gear]

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About Ryan St. Andrie

Ryan is a WOR News Hound and super geek who is always working to melt his phone with the latest experimental kernels. He is husband to lovely wife Keira and father to adorable baby girl Kyla, ASE certified mechanic and self proclaimed gearhead turned to railroad mechanic. Last but not least lover of all things tech.
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  • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

    I think, if this is true, that the goal of the WinSlate is for enterprise…lots of business users out there would love a tablet. Being windows makes IT much happier.

    David

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

    I think, if this is true, that the goal of the WinSlate is for enterprise…lots of business users out there would love a tablet. Being windows makes IT much happier.

    David

  • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

    I think, if this is true, that the goal of the WinSlate is for enterprise…lots of business users out there would love a tablet. Being windows makes IT much happier.

    David

  • http://twitter.com/wusaint @wusaint

    I agree 100% Dave. I see this as more for business/corporate use whereas I see the PalmPad as more of an entertainment slate more in competition with the iPad.

  • http://twitter.com/wusaint @wusaint

    I agree 100% Dave. I see this as more for business/corporate use whereas I see the PalmPad as more of an entertainment slate more in competition with the iPad.

  • http://twitter.com/wusaint @wusaint

    I agree 100% Dave. I see this as more for business/corporate use whereas I see the PalmPad as more of an entertainment slate more in competition with the iPad.

  • http://twitter.com/aboutpalmpre @aboutpalmpre

    Really, I'm not sure why some folks see this (if true) as a bad thing. HP is plenty big enough to make both webOS and Win 7 products, not to mention that they've already sunk a good deal of money into designing and prototyping the Slate. With HP's supply chain, the incremental cost of producing a few units might be very marginal.

    I'd also ask this question: why _wouldn't_ HP put out a Win 7 tablet, if there's a market for it? Certainly, HP likely has many business and vertical customers with huge investments in Microsoft (e.g., SharePoint and Dynamics) and Windows products who could benefit greatly from a slate-type device. Heck, if the thing runs decently and HP can overcome the poor touch interface that Windows represents, I might be interested in one for work myself.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

      Exactly. Very well said.

      webOS isn't really meant for business people. Sure it can do exchange and all sorts of things that make it work, but for the things that a tablet would be responsible for, Windows is a better choice.

      I am interested to see the specs. Not really because I want one (my pennies are being saved for the webOS version), but rather, to see if all the talk about W7 not working on a tablet is valid or not.

      David

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

      Exactly. Very well said.

      webOS isn't really meant for business people. Sure it can do exchange and all sorts of things that make it work, but for the things that a tablet would be responsible for, Windows is a better choice.

      I am interested to see the specs. Not really because I want one (my pennies are being saved for the webOS version), but rather, to see if all the talk about W7 not working on a tablet is valid or not.

      David

  • http://twitter.com/aboutpalmpre @aboutpalmpre

    Really, I'm not sure why some folks see this (if true) as a bad thing. HP is plenty big enough to make both webOS and Win 7 products, not to mention that they've already sunk a good deal of money into designing and prototyping the Slate. With HP's supply chain, the incremental cost of producing a few units might be very marginal.

    I'd also ask this question: why _wouldn't_ HP put out a Win 7 tablet, if there's a market for it? Certainly, HP likely has many business and vertical customers with huge investments in Microsoft (e.g., SharePoint and Dynamics) and Windows products who could benefit greatly from a slate-type device. Heck, if the thing runs decently and HP can overcome the poor touch interface that Windows represents, I might be interested in one for work myself.

    • http://intensedebate.com/people/webOSroundup David Baxter

      Exactly. Very well said.

      webOS isn't really meant for business people. Sure it can do exchange and all sorts of things that make it work, but for the things that a tablet would be responsible for, Windows is a better choice.

      I am interested to see the specs. Not really because I want one (my pennies are being saved for the webOS version), but rather, to see if all the talk about W7 not working on a tablet is valid or not.

      David

  • calmpewter

    It’s all good the MORE choices better it is 4 consumer.

  • calmpewter

    It’s all good the MORE choices better it is 4 consumer.