The HP Slate PC
A strong competitor to the Apple iPad, the HP Tablet in Slate form has a more compact screen than the typical 10-inch tablet screen. The sleek, HP-designed tablet looks really nice and runs full Windows 7 just like a laptop, can double as an e-reader, and has all the power you need for your computing need while on the go.
The HP Slate was demonstrated at the Consumer Electronic Show 2010 by Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer to show how their operating system Windows 7 looks on a tablet computer like HP's. Fans of Windows may prefer HP's model over Apple's operating system but since the Slate does not have a keyboard, it will require a touchscreen friendly version of Microsoft's OS, which is in development.
The HP Slate PC has a build in camera unlike the iPad. The display differs with HP’s being 0.3 inches larger than the iPad screen,. The Slate is finger-friendly with an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, and an accelerometer that can detect whether the device is in portrait or landscape mode. The units built-in Wi-Fi will be optimized to download music, video, photo, games and web usage.
Windows 7 has positives and negatives and will likely show up in HP's portable version so the touchscreen features that Apple has may be easier to work with unless HP and Microsoft update and modify their OS for the HP Slate.
The prototype we've seen so far is running a full version of Windows 7 and is theoretically much more powerful from a software standpoint. It can multitask, run Flash video, and handle desktop-level apps.
Pricing is still an unknown, but HP will price it at a comparable level with Apples' iPad. Specifications and features have not been finalized or released and may change before launch date.
