HP Slate PC
- Screen Size
- 8.9 Inches
- Operating System
- Windows 7
Hewlet Packard has been in the tablet computer game longer than most. It began its journey into the touch screen genre of computers with the Jornada line of Windows powered Pocket PCs. When HP acquired Compaq, the Jornada line was discontinued and all effort switched to the iPaq line of Pocket PCs. Later, HP bumped things up with the HP Touchsmart series of tablet PCs, which are still available and now run the Windows 7 OS. Now, HP is back again with another “full sized” tablet PC set to compete with an emerging field of quality tablets.
The HP Slate is being hailed as a multi touch capable, Windows 7 tablet PC. Though the device is not yet available, it has been over 5 years in the making. HP has consistently been a leader in new technology, especially in the tablet/portable PC field. Research was initiated due to HP’s understanding that consumers would want a thin, light weight PC capable of doing many of the things that conventional, bulky laptops were given the job of doing. HP understood that the majority of computer users used only a small portion of the larger laptop’s capabilities and everything else was simply a waste of space and weight and a drain on limited battery power. With the announcement of the Slate, HP declared that in 2010, all the necessary factors needed to produce such a device such as low power processors, low component cost and a powerful, yet sleek operating system found in Windows 7 were finally in place.
Computing power for the Slate will come from a 1.6Ghz Intel Atom Z530 processor with 1GB of onboard RAM. Internal storage will be achieved with either a 32 or 64GB hard drive and the Slate will also include an SD card reader that will bump up its storage capabilities. Connectivity will be through Wi-Fi, 3G or Bluetooth.
The heart of any tablet PC is its screen. The Slate will have a dual touch 8.9” screen that will make use of a stylus of normal fingertip touch input, similar to the not yet released Microsoft Courier. Resolution will be at 1024 x 680 pixels. A powerful SGX 535 graphics chip will allow the screen to display video at a1080p HD resolution. Battery life on the HP Slate is a little disappointing at only 5 hours. Most of its competitors are reporting 9 hours or more of battery life when viewing videos.
An indicator that the Slate is designed as a fully integrated media device comes from its dual camera design. The Slate sports a 3MP camera on the Slate’s back panel as well as a VGA webcam on the front. Considering that the portability and connectivity of these modern tablet devices will lead to more use of video clients such as Skype, it would seem almost mandatory that a webcam be standard fare. Other models are offering cameras (though for some strange reason Apple chose not to), the Slate is so far the only on offering this dual approach. This feature alone could be a major selling point, at least until other manufacturers catch up.
The HP Slate is due to be released in June 2010 and unlike several other tablet computer makers, HP has reported few delays. This is likely a result of years of preparation for the release of this type of product. HP is certainly no newcomer to the game and much of the technology was already there in their Touchsmart line. Current reports suggest that the price at release will be around $550.
