HP Slate Prototype Bombs

[Kingsmuse]

Not looking good for the PC competition to the iPad.

HP Windows 7 Tablet Is A Trainwreck In The Making | eWEEK Europe UK

http://www.marco.org/1173086443

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/hp-slate-prototype-caught-in-the-wild-booted-to-windows-7/

If that’s really a prototype of the upcoming HP Slate running Windows 7, and if it’s anything close to the finished product, then they might as well stamp “R.M.S. Titanic” on the side.

HP Windows 7 Tablet Is A Trainwreck In The Making | eWEEK Europe UK

Edit:

The videos of the tablet in action are gone now.
Apparently Microsoft has it`s minions running around having them removed.

Edit:
This site still has the video halfway down.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/hp-slate-prototype-caught-in-the-wild-booted-to-windows-7/

Edit:
Found another video by the same guy.
Lot more info, he shows the packaging which lists the components in the Slate.
This video is a bit more in depth.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/24/hp-slate-prototype-gets-yet-another-guided-tour-this-time-with/

 

[Kingsmuse]

Ok so now that I`ve watched that video 3 times...

It`s obvious to me the guy filming has never touched an iPad.

The boot up on that Slate was at least twice as long as the iPad.
(He kept remarking how fast it was)
The browser he was using seemed to have a delay from the time he touched it to the time it scrolled
(he kept saying how responsive it was.)

However there were flash ads running all over the site he was on, that undoubtedly slowed it.

Finally, that keyboard button is a serious pain when compared to the intuitive keyboard on the iPad.

If that`s the real Slate AND it`s close to the final product(which I`d assume it was considering timing) then Apple doesn`t have a thing to worry about.

 

[Prasius]

That things so thick it must have about the same density as the moon... I think you could use them as house bricks....

Seriously though.. I like the rubberised back. Umm.. And I think that video is a good example of why a desktop OS isn't really suitable for a tablet device. It just seems so... Bodged.

Hardware cntl-alt-del button... While I accept that enterprise usually requires that prior to login, sheesh.. Is THAT the most elegant solution they could come up with?

Apple have just shelved all plans to update the ipad for the next two years after seeing that video, and going on extended holiday instead

 

[mikephn]

I think a tablet running windows could be useful, for many things. But not just normal win7, some interface shell is a must. Otherwise the X co close the windows are waaay to small.

 

[pallentx]

Interesting. Its a prototype, so hopefully, there will be improvements. A few observations...

The boot up was from a completely off state. Try completely powering off your iPad and see how quick it comes back up. Win7 has a hibernate or standby capability that should be much faster than a full boot up. I dont think its impossible for them to have instant on even.

The thickness is very comparable to the iPad - maybe even thinner. Did you know the iPad is almost 1in thick? It is in the middle - the tapered edges give the illusion of it being thinner.

Scrolling in the browser looked terrible. It was misinterpreting scrolling vs highlighting sometimes. I cant imagine they would ship it like that. Its completely unusable. HP already has touch screen all-in-one desktops that have very nice, smooth touch scrolling. Not sure what was going on there because HP clearly knows how to do it already in Windows.

As for the keyboard, it also works like the ipad, when you tap a text field, a floating keyboard pops up automatically. This is already in Tablet PCs on the market. I assume the button is there when you want to manually control it. I have had occaisions on the iPad where the keyboard doesnt pop up when it should (webforms, etc) A hardware button would be handy for that.

At the very minimum, it needs some kind of launcher overlay. Microsoft has already worked on similar projects with great results. They had a project called Origami that looked very promising a while back that was a mobile overlay to windows. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/umpc/demo.mspx I am very surprised to not see something like that on this HP.

I guess we will have to wait and see what actually ships when its done. I still believe a full desktop OS is doable and valuable in a slate tablet. Being able to install any Windows software would be a big deal without depending on developers to make special versions for your device.