Defining the tablet
The world's biggest PC maker was very reluctant to join the netbook party a couple of years ago and HP looks no more willing to embrace this year's form-factor du jour - the keyboard-less tablet.
This is going to get confusing. Until recently, we've thought of tablets as notebooks with a swivel touchscreen that could convert into a tablet - i.e. portable computer that uses the touchscreen as the primary user interface, as opposed to the keyboard, etc.
However, companies like NVIDIA and Marvell have been focusing on the truly keyboard-less tablet - which we will call a ‘slate' from now on to save time, effort and confusion - in order to showcase their latest SoCs. And, of course, we had the launch of the iPad, which ensured the slate form factor will be one of the most talked-about of the year.
It's always been our view that if a device is too big to be put in your pocket - and hence has to be carried in a bag - you might as well get something that makes as few ergonomic compromises as possible. Call us anachronistic dinosaurs if you will, but we still like our keyboard and have yet to be presented with a strong argument for abandoning it.
HP seems to agree - especially for devices that are meant primarily as productivity tools, rather than shiny multimedia gadgets. This is the dividing line between the tablet and the slate - the iPad is not meant to be a productivity device; it's an iPod touch on steroids and anyone thinking of buying one needs to manage their expectations accordingly.
So, having got that off our chest, let's have a look at what HP has come up with...
