At last a bit of ultra mobile PC news to talk about. The last three days were swamped with consumer ‘pad’ news and UMPCPortal feels like it’s been abandoned. (Note: Having a son 7 days ago doesn’t help with my availability right now either so bear with us if news takes a little longer than usual)
HP Slate Full specs, comparison and information now in the database
The HP Slate news has been around for a while but apart from a few viral videos and a presentation by Microsoft which heavily linked it to a Windows OS (!) there hasn’t been any concrete info. Today though, Engadget have published what could be the full spec list for the device. You’re looking at a grown-up Archos 9 with, potentially, all the errors corrected.
- 1.6Ghz Menlow platform (HD video decoding included) Check!
- SSD drive Check!
- 2GB RAM OOPS!
OK, you can’t have everything and the lack of the mouse pointer found on the Archos 9 really knocks it back in the two-handed usage department. Just like the iPad, it’s form over function again.
So it looks like we’ve got something similar to Archos 9 in form factor and a Viliv S10 in specs although the battery life could be significantly less than the S10. Expect 4hrs of usage time. A capacative multitouch display (I’m personally still looking for a good use for Multitouch on Windows 7) and an accelerometer are also included.
Entry-level pricing of $549 matches the Archos 9 so Archos will have to re-think their pricing on the 9 and also think about the fast SSD requirement that we highlighted in our full review.
See our Viliv S10 review for a device with almost exactly the same internals.
As for comparisons with the iPad, forget it. The HP Slate will be more of a ultra mobile PC than a consumer mediaslate and when partnered with keyboard (of any sort) will turn itself into a netbook style device offering all the flexibility you’d expect from a PC but, like the iPad, if you think you need a keyboard, take a look at the Viliv S10 or ASUS T101MT
All-in-all the device isn’t that thrilling but it looks like it will improve on the sub-10" slates we’ve seen before and offer a good quality, well-priced option. This sort of true TabletPC value would have been unthinkable just 2 years ago.
We’ve already confirmed that Win 7 on the 1.6 Menlow platform is not the smoothest and if we’re honest, multitouch doesn’t add much to the experience but with Aero off, it does run acceptably in 1GB and gives you a full, productive desktop operating system to play with. 700gm is a good weight too. We’re looking forward to testing this one out when it launches. (Date unknown)
Update: HP Slate information, comparison, specs and links now in the database
New article: HP Slate: Archos 9-a-like http://bit.ly/d0Kqyb
RT @umpcportal: New article: HP Slate: Archos 9-a-like http://bit.ly/d0Kqyb
I think moorestown is the mising link in tablet business.
I have never been attracted to a device running Menlow. I’m very sad that the HP slate isn’t running Tegra 2, yes its probably running Broadcom’s solution, but I still would have preferred Tegra.
I do realize that the iPads A4 processor is running at 1GHz and the Slate’s Z520 is 1.6Ghz, but is the Z530 really a more impressive processor then the A4? I might have to have a new respect for Menlow if the answer is yes. Every Menlow device I use I feel like it doesn’t run most applications properly.
Is it the phone O/S or the mystery graphics card that makes the iPad run in a zippy manner? Is it all about the graphics card and not about the processor when it come to tablets?? Set me straight Chippy!!
It’s all about the OS.
An OS as complex as Windows 7 would bring Tegra 2 to its knees. Think about the 50+processes that continually run to do things like file sharing, printing, scheduling along with amazing peripheral support. Handwriting recognition engine, a complex graphics architecture, multiple peripheral busses etc etc etc.
Where you really see the difference as an end user is in multitasking and for me, it’s obvious when you start running over 5 tabs on your web browser along with two or three other user-level programs.
The question is, who wants a complex OS now? Most of us work in the browser and with small, focused apps. If you don’t need a full desktop suite, why use a full desktop OS?
Tegra2 is powerful in terms of number crunching (Clock for clock much the same as Atom now) so with a simplified OS, it has lots of potential.
What’s needed for Menlow/Moorestown) is an OS that slims everything down to what the consumer wants and that’s exactly what MeeGo is all about. I personally feel that Windows 7 doesn’t really have much of a future in UMPCs or even netbooks now. The most interesting software is coming from the world of smartphones and eventually, people will want to upgrade from their smartphones rather than downgrade from their desktops.
Whether MeeGo catches up with Android/iPhone OS is another matter. The momentum from the huge smartphone market has given those two operating systems and lot of resource.
Whats needed for Tegra 2, however, is a complete OS. So far, we havent seen anything except a barebones open-source Android build. That’s not good enough.
I think you are confusing two different types of processors. The Z520 is an x86 CPU. Tegra and A4 (or Snapdragon) are ARM processors. Think of phones as embedded systems. Windows 7 won’t run on ARM, only x86 or x86-64. If you want to run on an ARM CPU, you need to use Windows CE or a version of UNIX/Linux compiled for ARM, like Android, mobile OS X or Linux. Reportely the Slate has a Broadcom GPU in it. The nVidia competitor would be ION, not Tegra.
On the HD video:
I think people made quick assumptions about the HD capability and came up with ‘Broadcom.’ As the chipset (Poulsbo) already has HD video support in it, I doubt it will have any extra HD decoding capabilities.
One can dream. The GMA500 is pretty good with the Flash 10.1 beta so it wouldn’t be so bad. Much better than the GMA950 with the Diamondville CPUs. The only thing is that the GMA500 has horrible support from Intel.
Loads webpages nearly 2x faster and it usually isn’t CPU bound: http://anandtech.com/show/3640/apples-ipad-the-anandtech-review/17
More CPU reliant benchmark shows near 3x advantage of Atom N450(1.66GHz) over a A4 1GHz.
All that and it still uses the slow 4200RPM drive while iPad uses NAND flash which is usually faster.
Yea, I think performance-wise there’s no comparison.
Forgot to mention Engadget has a spec sheet that shows it has an Active Digitizer for pen input
was hoping for a culv cpu.
Admin wrote: “…who wants a complex OS now? Most of us work in the browser and with small, focused apps. If you don’t need a full desktop suite, why use a full desktop OS?”
Please! Speak for yourself! I, for one, want a full featured OS that has a driver for the USB cellular service that I already subscribe to, and I don’t need another monthly 3G bill that can’t be moved from device to device (so sorry to those vendors in the “subscription religion”.
Maybe I’ve been using computers for too long but still remember when the greatness was in the USER configure-ability and customization. I don’t want others (admin) deciding that I should give something up because THEY don’t use it! MOST OF US?? Can I see the survey please?! Sheesh.
NO USB PORTS IN A COMPUTING DEVICE IN THE YEAR 2010 is JUST PLAIN LUDICROUS. (Even a min is really limiting for anything but a phone).
And Wi-fi isn’t everywhere. Let me decide how to get connected. Really. I can do that. Dumbing platforms down dumbs society down. Don’t let them get away with it. There I’m done. H-A-N-D.
Oh – and ditto to phil – A CULV (64 bit) would be excellent. . . .
Aww damn, so its not Moorestown? I’m disappointed. Menlow devices barely cross the line for acceptability. Bring on Moorestown!
Congrats on the baby. That’ll be the end of your blogging career :-)
What do you think of it? What do you use it for? Do i have to use those nutrient tablets or will it be okay with just water?
It’s obvious that HP selected components to keep the cost down. Rumor was HP had a big meeting about driving down the cost. HP wants to stick with Windows for their iPad fighter. People that compare the Slate and iPad side by side will notice how much faster the iPad runs apps. If you want a real computer there are plenty of tablets, slates, netbooks and laptops already on the market.
i’m buying this! estimated release date?