Hewlett - Packard on Wednesday quashed rumors of HP Slate ’s demise , saying the tablet with the Windows 7 O may still be sell to customers .
“ We are in customer evaluations now and will make a conclusion presently on the next steps , ” say HP spokeswoman Marlene Somsak in an e - mail service .
HP in January announce plans to offer HP Slate with Microsoft ’s Windows 7 OS , and a epitome was displayed during Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer ’s keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show that month . HP then herald in April that it was buying Palm for $ 1.2 billion and order it would put Palm ’s WebOS mobile OS on a range of devicesincluding tablet . That fueled speculation about HP skitter its Slate plans , as great power - hungry Windows 7 is not ideal for handheld tablet devices .
“ We had n’t foreknow the Palm skill when we first divvy up our plans for that production , ” Somsak pronounce .
HP has openly said it wants to put WebOS in tablets , but Somsak declined input on the ship’s company ’s plans .
Events from earlier this week point to HP mayhap set in motion Windows and WebOS lozenge .
The company listed the HP Slate 500 on itsWebsite , a touch that the product is still alive .
accord to ware details , the Slate includes an 8.9 - column inch touchscreen and runs on Windows 7 Premium . It has two television camera — video recording and still — and accepts penitentiary and rival input . It is listed asEnergy Star - qualified , and the Energy Star Websitesaysthe Slate has a 1.6GHz processor and 1 GB of remembering .
HP ’s plans to launch a WebOS tab also may have demand a footstep forward with the company’sapplicationto trademark the full term Palmpad with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office . The hallmark is related to goods and services for a range of hardware including “ hand-held and mobile computers , PDA , electronic notepads , mobile digital electronic devices , ” harmonize to the USPTO text file . The Palmpad trademark filing wasfirst reportedby Engadget .
HP ’s Somsak declined to gloss on the Palmpad earmark filing .
HP has a farseeing history of partnering with Microsoft and offers the Windows Mobile operating system on its iPaq smartphones for consumers and businesses . The society also offers Windows 7 on scurvy - cost netbooks .
If release , it ’s a toss - up whether the HP Slate would be targeted at consumer or enterprises , say John Spooner , an analyst at Technology Business Research .
“ Based on hardware specifications , it could go either mode , ” Spooner read , adding that he could n’t predict if a Slate tablet will be released .
Having Windows and playpen - input capabilities lends the Slate well to collective client , but that does n’t intend consumers would n’t purchase the gimmick , Spooner tell .
The target audience will also largely depend on pricing , Spooner say . No one will corrupt a gimmick that ’s over $ 1,000 , and if it does come to market , it has to be price nearer to Apple ’s iPad tablet models .
HP ’s Slate 500 is close in hardware specifications to Cisco ’s Cius business tablet , which was launch late last month . Cius has a 7 - inch touchscreen , use an Intel Atom processor and is design to lead multiparty videoconferencing with a front - facing tv camera and a hindquarters - facing camera . The Slate 500 may be base on an Atom x86 processor with its capableness to run Windows 7 . The Slate ’s multiple cameras are designed for “ web conferencing , ” according to HP ’s website .
Tablets could find a use in the enterprise , Spooner said . Beyond videoconferencing , they could be used on the road instead of laptops to take notes or write e - mails . They could also be used by field of view actor for task like recording inventory .
