SAN FRANCISCO--Hewlett-Packard started selling its long-awaited new Slate 500 tablet portable computer on its Website early on Oct. 22. Some earlier reports had the devices becoming available on Oct. 25.
HP, which priced the new 6-inch-by-9-inch device at $799, is
positioning it in a different category than Apple's iPad, which it
considers a "media-oriented tablet" for consumers: The Slate runs
Windows 7 and is aimed squarely at the business market.
"You
won't be able to buy this at retail," HP Personal Systems Group PR
Manager Mike Hockey told eWEEK. "We're making it available
strictly on our Website, because we're looking at it as a
business-type device."
HP contends that the Slate 500 is a tablet computer that can do
anything a regular PC can do, since it comes installed with the
professional version of Windows 7 and has the look and feel of a
regular PC. See a video of the Slate in action.
It has a four-finger, multitouch screen, weighs 1.5 pounds, has one
USB 2.0 port, an SD card slot and a docking station that continually
recharges the unit.
The Slate has a 3-megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera on
the front to set it up for video conferencing. It also has a VGA webcam
port.
Lots of power, storage under the hood
The docking station adds two more USB 2.0 ports when in use, plus an
HDMI output and a second headphone/microphone jack. The company claims
the tablet's battery gets up to five hours of service.
Under the hood, the Slate boasts a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor,
2GB of RAM, 64GB of NAND flash storage, and a Broadcom Crystal HD chip
for HD video playback on the 8.9-inch, 1024x600 display.
"The Slate is really a fully functional PC, only in a tablet form
factor," HP director of Business Notebook Marketing Carol Hess-Nickels
told eWEEK.
It comes preloaded with Microsoft Office 2010 and Evernote productivity and organizational software.
"It will run all your office applications. We see it really for
business users because most people, for example, just don't make a
habit of using spread sheets at home," Hess-Nickels said.
The Slate comes with direct WiFi access but has no built-in capability
to connect to other high-speed 3G or 4G networks, as do the iPad, Dell
Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Click here to read an eWEEK review of the HP Slate 500.
The HP Slate 500 package includes a docking station (at right)
and a soft-cover protective carrying case. The unit itself is narrower
and slightly lighter than an iPAD. (eWEEK photo by Chris
Preimesberger)
Desktops and Notebooks News & Reviews 
