Almost a week ago now, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington made some noise when he reported that HP would probably be canceling the Slate, its Windows 7 tablet computer. With Microsoft's own cool, dual-screen Courier tablet in the dumpster, it was really starting to look like the iPad could run away with the title of King of All Tablets and rule the lands as it would.
Whether you're interested in an Android or Windows-based tablet or not, having that competition in the market space will only benefit the consumer. (How about helping drive down the price of apps, for one?)
HP's recent acquisition of Palm is fueling hopes that the Slate could still come to market, though maybe not in the grand fashion Apple sent off the iPad.
"I don't think the Slate has been canceled. This is a delay, if anything," Creative Strategies' analyst Ben Bajarin told CNET. "The question is, will they bring out different products at different price points."
In other words, HP could leverage Palm's experience to bring out a spate of tablets rather than one big flagship product to go toe-to-toe with the iPad. The tablet world would probably resemble something closer to the cellphone market, then, rather than cut-and-dry choices between one Apple product, one HP tablet and so on.
Via CNET and TechCrunch
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