HP aims for business users with ElitePad 900 Windows 8 tablet
If it's not making smartphones again (yet), HP can at least use Intel's new Atom chips to help expand its mobile device portfolio.
Expect HP's ElitePad 900 tablet to join several other business-focused mobile devices over the next few months. Intel's mobile push, along with that of Microsoft and Windows 8, will ensure no shortage of similar products. Whether HP can differentiate its tablet is another question, but from what we've seen of the ElitePad 900, we can at least say that it's taking the challenge seriously.
In terms of hard specs, the ElitePad 900 offers a 10.1-inch, 1,280x800-pixel Gorilla Glass-coated display. HP says the tablet as a whole will weigh around 1.5 pounds, and comes in at just 9.2 millimeters thick.
HP isn't offering specific details regarding the CPU (beyond that it uses "next-generation Intel Atom mobile processors). It's safe to assume the new Atom CPUs in question come from Intel's Clover Trail family. For other specs, the ElitePad 900 will have 2GB of onboard memory, up to a 64GB solid-state hard drive, and Intel integrated graphics.
HP has also mapped out an ecosystem of accessories for the ElitePad 900, including two keyboard "jackets" that also add a few extra connectivity options, as well as a ruggedized case, a full-fledged docking station, and an "HP Executive Tablet Pen." HP says it will reveal pricing for those add-ons and for the tablet itself closer to its January 2013 launch date.