First it was to be one of HP's biggest product launches of 2010. Then the project was killed. Then it wasn't. So might the HP Slate actually live?
A new video that appeared on YouTube today purports to be a review of a close-to-final prototype of the touch-screen tablet. It shows a device that looks similar to an iPad, but a bit thicker, and running Windows 7. Also included: a 3-megapixel camera, an SD card slot, a microphone, physical button to launch the on-screen keyboard, home key, lock button, and "control-alt-delete" button. It's also described as "lighter than an iPad." Take a look:
The person who uploaded it, someone who's new to YouTube and using the name "x313xkillax," makes sure to point out that it's a prototype, but doesn't let on how he got it.
If the unit shown is real, the demo itself is not exactly setting the Internet on fire. The slow, lagging scrolling on-screen, the existence of a control-alt-delete button, and the lack of true integrated touch features in the Windows 7 software have bloggers, YouTube commenters, and others wondering whether this might be a joke.
But it could very well be real. There are HP stickers all over it, and the textured pattern that appears on the back of the device is familiar: in July, a product page for an "HP Slate 500" appeared on HP's Web site and shows a tablet with a desktop background using the same pattern.
HP did not respond to a request for comment about the video.