slate

When Hewlett-Packard announced its intentions to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion a few weeks ago, the company had big things in mind for Palm's WebOS. On Tuesday during the conference call for HP's second-quarter 2010 earnings, CEO Mark Hurd revealed some additional detail on the company's plans for the mobile OS.

HP will acquire Palm "in order to enhance our intellectual property...in the connected-mobility space. We expect to leverage WebOS into a variety of form factors, including slates and Web-connected printers," Hurd said Tuesday.

"With a whole series of Web-connected printers, as … Read more

Phrases are coined left and right on today's show, from our plans to unbumble the Internet to the chat-room created phrase "gestApple," to describe the behavior of everybody's favorite door-busting-down, Ellen-berating iPhone-maker. Plus, "three-day-old tuna." It's a fun one. Also, six things you need to know about Facebook Connections (it violates your privacy six ways to Sunday) and the ensuing storm of tablet competition.

Six Things You Need to Know About Facebook Connections http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/things-you-need-know-about-facebook … Read more

Despite glaring headlines last week that the Hewlett-Packard Windows 7-based Slate was canceled, it may not be that cut and dried, according to analysts.

In this HP Slate promotional video made back in January, HP VP Phil McKinney says the Slate running Windows 7 is a "real product. It's not a prototype or concept. We're committed to delivering it in 2010." And this relatively long testimonial from Adobe in March says the Windows 7 HP Slate "will be available in the market later this year."

Of course, HP can change its mind. And the … Read more

This week we start by discussing the big car bomb scare in Times Square, and how our purportedly high-tech surveillance-heavy society isn't as high-tech as TV shows like 24 would have us believe.

There's still no confirmation, but after the HP/Palm deal was announced, the first thing we heard was the Win7 version of HP's upcoming tablet is on thin ice -- we examine the clues.

The iPad 3G is the other big story of the week. Dan and Scott checked out a couple of launch events last Friday, and we'll also show you how … Read more

It is high time I started blogging about Loaded content because goodness knows I have more to say about the day's tech news than I can fit into a 4-minute show. So here goes. I'm going to try to do these daily so that you can click the links that are pertinent to the stories that I discuss and ring in with your own comments, if you see fit. 

The most recent news in today's show is the Google acquisition of Bump Technologies. A 3D desktop? Will we really be able to change our behaviors to … Read more

Update: TechCrunch now reports that the Windows version of HP's slate tablet is indeed dead. Michael Arrington writes: "Hewlett-Packard has killed off its much ballyhooed Windows 7 tablet computer, says a source who's been briefed on the matter."

Second update: An HP PR rep has contacted us via e-mail, saying, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation."

With the news that HP is acquiring Palm, one hot upcoming device that may get suddenly shifted onto the back burner is the company's iPad-style tablet. The device is referred to in marketing materials as … Read more

What is smaller than a mainstream laptop, uses an Intel Atom processor, and runs Windows? Both a Netbook and the upcoming HP Slate fit that definition, which will pose problems for the Slate when reviewers inevitably try to compare it with the iPad.

The notion of the Slate as a Netbook sans keyboard gained some ground Monday amid reports that the Slate does not compare favorably to an Apple iPad.

Though the final verdict on the HP Slate will have to wait until it is released to major review sites, its specifications already hint at Netbook-like performance, as this report last week shows. … Read more

On our 1200th episode, we give you special, unprecedented access inside the inner workings of the show. Or, put more accurately, we screw it up a lot. In the news, what little there is post-iPad hangover, a federal appeals court ruled that the FCC lacks the authority to regulate ISPs, Microsoft's Pink project is a collection of cute words coming out April 12, and it's raining tablets.

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FCC Loses Appeal to Comcast http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/a_blow_to_net_neutrality_fcc_loses_appeal_to_comca.php … Read more

The appeal of the iPad, HP's upcoming Slate, and other tablets will take a bite out of Netbook sales this year, according to a report released Monday by DisplaySearch.

Driven by the iPad, the tablet market will see dramatic gains this year, taking market share away from clamshell-style Netbooks, says DisplaySearch's "Quarterly Notebook PC Shipment and Forecast Report."

Most of the growth, especially for the iPad, will come from North America and Western Europe, where Apple has set up key distribution lines and created agreements with content providers. Overall, consumers are expected to pick up around 5 million tablets this year, forecasts DisplaySearch.

But don't count out the Netbook just yet. Traditional clamshell type Netbooks, or mininotes, are expected to continue to entice customers as their average selling prices have dropped from $400 to slightly less than $300. The Apple iPad, which will account for most tablet shipments this year, starts at a price of $499 and moves up to more than $800. The low prices of Netbooks will remain appealing to people looking for a second or third PC and help lure in first-time PC buyers in emerging markets.

Ironically, though, the low prices of Netbooks will continue to result in thinner margins and lower sales numbers for their manufacturers, component suppliers, and retailers, says DisplaySearch.… Read more