HP Kills off its Windows 7 Version of HP Slate

News
By
published

First the Courier, now the HP Slate.

This week, Microsoft disappointed gadget enthusiasts by scrapping plans for its dual-screen Courier tablet. Today, word on the street is that the Hewlett Packard's Windows 7 tablet, the HP Slate, has also been scrapped.

It was announced by Steve Ballmer on day zero of CES and it was one of the bigger announcements of the show. When the whole world was buzzing about Apple's upcoming tablet event, HP rolled in and stole the show with its own Windows 7 tablet. There was little information available about the Slate at CES but over time, teaser clips and videos explaining how the device came to be hit the Web.

Back in March, the HP Slate got spec'ed and priced at €400. Rumored to boast Intel's Atom processor, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, a rear-mounted integrated webcam, Windows 7 and a Flash support, the device was said to be hitting shelves in June. Now, it looks like HP is killing the project completely.

TechCrunch cites a source who has been briefed on the matter who says the company is scrapping the tablet because it's not happy with Windows 7 as an operating system. It's impossible to ignore that kind of rumor a couple of days after HP acquired a mobile OS of its own (Palm's WebOS). There are also rumors that HP will ditch the Atom CPU in favor of something a little less power-hungry.

The Windows 7 version of the HP Slate was not the only tablet HP had in the works. The company planned to release the same tablet but with Google's Android OS on it instead. So far, it looks like that device is still safe.

Jane McEntegart
35 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Euphoria_MK
    As expected
    Reply
  • Glorian
    Weak, I wanted a windows tablet. Oh well, I'm sure it will still be a solid device.
    Reply
  • sliem
    Too bad.
    Reply
  • notty22
    Its safe to say that beta testers felt it inferior to the Ipad. That and having to pay for a Windows license is a extra cost for HP. Where as Apple can eat the cost of its o/s, for its own slate.
    Reply
  • nforce4max
    Damn :-(

    What next ffs?
    Reply
  • vic20
    I'm sure it just wasn't performance and battry life. Who would want to try to remove rootkits, rogue security programs, perform format/reinstalls, product recoveries on a tablet?

    From a support standpoint and reputation, a mobile OS just makes more sense for the average user and I'm sure Apple already knew this or they would have made a full blown OSX tablet.

    That being said I wanted one anyway. I'm a geek, not a novice that infects and trashes my stuff. I was planning on using a slate or courier as a small portable car PC I could customize.
    Reply
  • eula
    HP just lost my money. Windows was the selling point for me. HP just wants to get there % of app sales that WEB OS would force people to purchase. With windows people own most there software already.
    Reply
  • reklatsa
    Better this than it getting a slating. Eh, chaps?
    Reply
  • guantan
    What's next?

    HP bought Palm...WebOS maybe and some different hardware. What I read today was that the Slate was to power hungry with it's hardware needed for W7. Hopefully they still come out sometime. I would love to have a tablet but will never use any Apple products again.
    Reply
  • jokemeister
    I think eula has hit the nail on the head. Think about the economics of inkjet printers. The money isn't in the printer, it's in the consumables, ie. apps for the tablet in this case. Win 7 would mean HP has to make money on the hardware which would price it out of competition against the iPad based on the headline price, but people forget that the cost of ownership is not just the initial purchase price + every app is different from your desktop/laptop experience.
    Reply