A prototype of the upcoming HP Slate powered by Windows 7 has been reviewed on video, which was subsequently posted on YouTube. I have to admit that the device does not look that bad. However, the OS appears to be a bit sluggish despite the reviewer claiming it’s fast and responsive.
Hewlett Packard has yet to make an official announcement of the device, but we know that the thing is coming – we just do not know when. The smart money would be in the next couple of months, as this is when the likes of Samsung with their Galaxy Tab and other Android based tablet devices are expected to hit the market.
The four-minute clip, which you can view below, appears to showcase a prototype model of the Slate tablet running a touch-screen interface over Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system. “I’m here to give you a review, I guess, of the HP Slate,” opens anonymous YouTube user ‘x313xkillax’ as we view the device. “It’s not actually out yet. As you can see it’s a prototype, not for sale, but I have my hands on one early.”
The HP Slate (Windows 7 version) takes around 10 seconds to switch on. I’m not 100% sure if that’s from a cold boot or if switch on time will always be measured in seconds rather than being instant like the iPad. Back to the physical aspects of the HP Slate, it does weigh less than the iPad although it looks a looks a little thicker in comparison. This will depend on what materials the Slate is built from. The main news here is that it seems the HP Slate is still alive in a Windows 7 version. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for more details.
Getting back to the HP Slate in the video below, we did notice some interesting specs: front-facing and back cameras, USB port, SD card slot, keyboard button, and a couple of dedicated buttons, CTRL-ALT-DEL also included. The Slate appears to be about the same size of the iPad and it’s running Windows 7, just as we wanted. Inside there’s probably an Intel Atom processor running the whole show although we don’t have a specs sheet available for you at this time. We imagine there’s Wi-Fi and 3G support, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
On the other hand this might be one of those early HP Slate prototypes that still lack plenty of features, but we’ll never know that will we since the company isn’t giving us any details about the progress of this Slate project. What’s sure about it is that the Slate doesn’t seem ready to hit stores, at least not in this condition and it will be interesting to see when this HP tablet will be made official.
Check out the HP Slate Review Video,
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