HP Slate Update (Cancelled)

Google and HP Creating Android Tablets

Ok, I had to do a little catching up. It looks like HP canceled the Slate project (which was rumored to run Windows 7) after the acquisition of Palm and is now working on Android Tablets with Google. This should be a pretty cool device but I think WebOS would be pretty cool also. I wonder if ChromeOS will only be for netbooks?

Several weeks ago I posted some links in regards to news article about the iPad launch. It seems to have been a big hit with sales skyrocketing through the roof. As other companies ready to launch competing devices, I see competition coming from both the PC market and the Phone market.

One such challenger, I find to be quite interesting will be brought on by HP. As many of your know tablet computers have been out for a while but have only found marginal success. I had the opportunity to repair an IBM tablet of a friend of mine and while I had it, I too the opportunity to take it for a spin and I found it to be quit cool but there was nothing that was compelling that made me want to get one. The form factor is so much like a lappy, I was not taken by the fact that I could use it like a clip board and I found the pen interface technology needing a little bit of work.

Granted this was yester-year's technology and what will make the iSlate and other iPad competitors is the new finger gesture technology and there will be numerous devices that will come from the mobile market.

Recently HP also purchased Palm and at one time I was a Palm fan. I have a couple of older devices (i.e. Palm V,VX, III, LifeDrive) and a couple of Treos. I really did like the V/Vx and the Life Drive was cool but my discust came with Palm's lack of support and ever shrinking keyboard. When Palm came out with the Web OS, I just could not take the every shrinking form factor. I hope that now with the R&D of HP, WebOS and the iSlate, we can get a set of products that will give us scalability to compete with Google.

Now that I put in about 1.5 cents, I would like to hear from you your thoughts in regards to the converging markets and devices? I see Google and Android pushing the angle of multiple devices, Open Source driving from the phone platform up to the PC market, possibly HP driving from the PC, iSlate market down to the mobile phone with WebOS both with Apple in their sights who is radiating outward from the iPad with iPhone / Mac OS 4.

Let me hear from you.

Thanks,