HP didn't have much confidence in the Slate.

[KLin]

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/11/15/hps-ipad-killer-both-a-flop-and-a-sellout/

Now it's probably going to cost them new customers now.

"6 weeks to get a slate? Forget it, I'll just get an iPad or a Galaxy Tab."

 

[nickbits]

i thought it got cancelled

 

[Stang289]

The slate was not designed as competition for the iPad or Galaxy Tab. It was designed as a business tablet.

 

[KLin]

Moot point. iPads and Galaxy Tabs can still be used for business functions.

 

[pm]

The slate was not designed as competition for the iPad or Galaxy Tab. It was designed as a business tablet.

I don't see what is different in it's design that separates it from the Tab or the iPad.

The article you links mentions this too down at the bottom:

n both form and function, it seems difficult to draw a clear definition separating a business tablet from a consumer tablet. It does seem that the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and the Dell Streak are aimed at consumers, while the HP Slate 500, the BlackBerry PlayBook, and the Cisco Cius all have a more business angle in terms of marketing--but in terms of the features and capabilities of the actual devices there is no clear difference.

This makes sense to me as well - it's marketed as a business tablet, but it's really not that different a device in terms of features and functionality.

There's a program here at my company (Intel) to allow business features (email, calendaring, phone calls, contacts) on the iPad. While a lot of people here cringe at the thought (including me... they can take my Linux workstation away when they take away my badge), there are users who are excited by using iPads here at work.

 

[MrX8503]

The slate was not designed as competition for the iPad or Galaxy Tab. It was designed as a business tablet.

As so they say...

The HP slate was originally unveiled as consumer vaporware back when the iPad was first announced/released to steal some of its thunder.

When the iPad smashed sales records HP crawled back into their cave and said.."Oh its meant for business and we'll only make 5,000."

The only tablet competitor in the near future is the Galaxy Tab and even that is questionable. Later we'll get the RIM playbook, which looks interesting.

I've said it before and I'll say again, a Windows 7 tablet isn't going to be successful because Windows 7 is a fat OS and its not optimized for Touch. Windows 7 is not a viable option until SOCs become considerably more powerful and our battery tech increases to support that power draw.

SOC and battery tech is too much work, so Tablet makers turn to streamlined Mobile OSs. Conveniently Mobile OSs are also touch friendly.

 

[senseamp]

Looks sluggish and hard to use. The part where the doctor was zooming in on image looked horribly unsmooth. Battery life is meh, I wonder how many takes it took for the "users" to actually tpuch all the tiny buttons the first time. Trying to squeeze a Win7 Atom netbook into a tablet is basically DOA. Peddling it for "business use" to get around it having a sucky user experience that no consumer would spend his own money on is lame. Tablets need clean slate software and hardware to make sense.

 

[shortylickens]

Did you post the exact same thing here and at TFNN?