After a successful launch of the Apple iPad, it seems like Microsoft [MSFT] and other companies involved in the tablet race need to get moving in the right direction. A few months back the HP Slate was first revealed which showed potential, but news about the Slate has been quite thin on the ground.
We have just spotted a video launched by HP to show of their new HP Slate that gives a quick glimpse as to what we can expect from the device.
From what we see in the video it has a camera on the back and front as video and pictures are captured as well as a Skype Video call being made with the Slate. Cameras are something that the iPad lack. A USB port can be seen in the video allowing you to connect it up to a computer (the iPad does offer this through it’s 30 pin dock connector to USB as standard) but the Slate might get some additional functionality here.
Other features on the HP Slate include an SD card slot for expanding the memory (a 16GB memory card is seen on the video).
At the end of the video a caption has been added that mentions the device hasn’t been approved by the FCC yet which is what we also saw just over a month ago on the Apple iPad sales pages. Could this mean the HP Slate is launching very soon as with in the next 8 or so weeks? Who knows?
What we do know from some leaked HP documents is that the HP Slate will cost $549 in the base configuration which will include 32GB of flash storage along with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU. A graphics accelerator is also mentioned allowing 1080p video to be played. For an extra $50 the unit will ship with 64GB of storage.
The specs certainly sound good, but the main concerns are that it runs Windows 7 on an Atom based chipset more commonly found in netbook devices. Apple [AAPL] raised the bar when the iPad was launched due to it’s super sleek interface. Hopefully Windows 7 will function well enough on the device to make the HP Slate a worthy contender.
Via: HardwareSphere and Engadget
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