slate

HP's WebOS slate confirmed for early 2011

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Hewlett-Packard's rumored slate that will run off of Palm's WebOS is in fact coming in "early 2011" according to remarks from Phil McKinney, HP's vice president and chief technology officer for the company's personal systems group.

During an interview with VentureBeat's founder Matt Marshall as part of this year's Demo Fall conference, McKinney said that the WebOS-based version of the company's slate is well on track for its release early next year, but that HP is currently working hard to get its Windows 7-based slate out the door … Read more

Best Buy getting into tablet market?

Robert Stephens, CTO of Best Buy and founder of Geek Squad, has tweeted photos of a tablet that the company could be working on to sell under its Rocketfish brand.

There's not much to know about the device yet, such as what OS it will run. In a follow-up tweet to another user who asked if it will run Android, Stephens said Friday, "The question is: Is 2.2 ready for the tablet interface?" I think it is, though not without some work on the UI.

The tablet device looks very similar to the maybe-defunct HP Slate, … Read more

HP's slate may yet live

The rumors of the death of Hewlett-Packard's slate computer may be greatly exaggerated, at least if a few HP Web pages are any judge.

One page on HP's Web site provides a few details on the once-thought-to-be-demised tablet device.

Touting the HP Slate 500, the page describes the device as powered by Windows 7 Premium and sporting an 8.9-inch screen with Internet access and two cameras (still and video). Like the iPad, you can adjust the screen either horizontally or vertically. But unlike the iPad, you can also use a pen to write or draw on the display. The page says that headphones are included in the box but is mum on any other details.

That page's parent actually lists six different model numbers for the Slate 500, while a PDF on Energy Star devices dated July 12 on HP's Web site notes the HP Slate 500 as Energy Star compliant.

HP's Slate device was demoed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at January's CES, along with tablets from other vendors. But any buzz about those devices was soon overshadowed by the debut of the iPad in early April.

A scant few days after the iPad hit the stores, details on HP's Slate were leaked. The specs at the time match some of those on the HP's Slate 500 page--an 8.9-inch display, Webcam, and still camera. Other details revealed a 1,024x600 capacitive multitouch display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, and a five-hour battery. The Slate was designed to come in two flavors at that point--a $549 model with 32GB of flash storage and 1GB of non-upgradeable RAM, and a $599 edition with 64GB of storage.

Not long after that, HP announced its acquisition of Palm, leading to speculation that its Window 7-based slate was dead and being replaced by a Palm-OS-based tablet.… Read more

Tweeting from the womb

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Google and China comment on their agreement regarding search filtering Intel and the FTC have apparently reached an agreement regarding antitrust accusations against Intel A new online privacy bill is to be introduced this week The HP Slate may be renamed the HP PalmPad Motorola and Sprint introduce the i1, the first Nextel push-to-talk phone that runs Google's Android operating system The Kickbee will let baby tweet from the womb with every kick

HP PalmPad trademark foretells WebOS slate

The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted Hewlett-Packard a trademark for the term "PalmPad" late last week.

HP hasn't released specific details on what it plans to do with the trademark; however, the application form confirms that HP will limit its use to "Computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices."

After killing off development for their Windows 7 Slate earlier this year, and subsequently canceling development of a planned Android-based tablet, it seems reasonable to conclude that the PalmPad will be … Read more

Windows slates should come with Zune software

Microsoft's Windows business faces a real threat from Apple's iPad and the impending crop of similar touch-screen devices running Android, Web OS, and other lightweight mobile operating systems. Windows will remain relevant for years to come, but if even 10 percent of potential laptop or Netbook buyers choose an iPad or other competitor instead, that cuts more than a billion dollars out of Microsoft's largest and most profitable business.

That's right: Microsoft now earns more than $10 billion in profit--not revenue, profit--from the Windows desktop operating system every year.

What's Microsoft's answer? At a … Read more

Ballmer talks up Windows 7 slates, phones

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer insisted on Monday that Microsoft is still serious about tablets.

Ballmer reiterated that there will be Windows 7-based slates on the market this year, while Windows Vice President Tami Reller showed off a couple of models, including the dual-screen Libretto that Toshiba has in the works as well as a slate from Chinese computer maker Hanvon.

"Over the course of the next several months, you will see a range of Windows 7-based slates that I think you'll find quite impressive," Ballmer said, speaking at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, D.… Read more

HP mum on Windows, flexible on displays

SAN FRANCISCO--Hewlett-Packard mobile evangelist Phil McKinney didn't have much new to say Monday about HP's mobile operating strategy, but did highlight the company's work on new display technology.

McKinney, vice president and chief technology officer for HP's personal systems group, kicked off the MobileBeat 2010 conference with a brief presentation followed by a question-and-answer session in which he reaffirmed the current goal of the personal computing industry: to figure out what the hell people want in a device bigger than a smartphone but smaller than a notebook PC. Now armed with Palm's WebOS operating system … Read more

Where are all the iPad competitors?

It looks like Apple's iPad will be the slate-market winner by default. Or rather, by forfeit. Remember back in January, when CES 2010 was all slate tablets, all the time? Now, it's June, and for the most part, the iPad stands unopposed in the tablet space. What happened?

Several launches are planned for fall and winter 2010, but the iPad, on track to sell 16 million units, according to some, will be the iPod of tablets by then. If anything, iPad 2G will have been announced and everyone will be queuing up for the version with the camera … Read more