The HP Slate is finally official, but it’s not the tablet many people were expecting, and it’s also not competition for the Apple iPad. In fact, Hewlett-Packard is pitching it at enterprise customers rather than the man in the street.
The iPad has been an absolute phenomenon this year, having come from nowhere and creating a sector which many feel will obliterate the netbook market and possible become the standard in a few years time.
There are other tablets besides Apple’s being launched, obviously, but none that can yet be called a rival in any real sense. And the HP Slate 500 is no exception.
It looks like a great device, powered by an Atom processor and Windows 7, and featuring 2GB of RAM and 64GB of SSD memory. But this isn’t an entertainment or lifestyle device, instead being aimed at business people. Hence the $799 asking price.
Nice, but no cigar.
