HP was planning a Moses-style fistful of different tablets back in January at CES. Then we heard rumours that the Windows 7 HP Slate was for the chop. Now it seems the proposed Android incarnation has been put on the back burner. What’s blown them out of the way? The HP webOS tablet codenamed Hurricane.
With the HP Palm deal finalised and encouraging noises coming from HP execs, we’ve been anticipating an HP webOS slate for a while. Likewise the demise of the Windows 7-flavoured tablet flourished by Steve Ballmer at CES seems pretty much assured. But now All Things D reports that a slate running Android has also been pushed aside.
The Android HP Slate was apparently set for a release date in the fourth quarter of 2010 but the new rumours suggest that it’s been delayed and may not even be released at all. HP has committed itself to making a webOS slate codenamed Hurricane and appears to be focusing all its tablet-shaped resources on that project.
Previously leaked HP Slate specs teased a 8.9in tablet with a 1.6Ghz Atom Menlow processor, 3G, GPS and two cameras. But that model was running Windows 7 and HP may well have ripped the whole thing up and started again to fit its webOS plans.
Google’s next mobile OS, Android 3.0 Gingerbread, is set to be geared up for tablets but it looks like HP won’t be tempted to take a bite just yet. Is it right to go for webOS instead of Android? Or do you even wish it had stuck with Windows 7?
Out TBC | £TBC | HP (via All Things D)
