Will There Be A HP Tablet At Last?

Lots of people have been waiting for about a year to get a tablet from HP. And at the very beginning, in January to be more specific, everything seemed to be really shining and fascinating. The tablet, called Slate, was presented by Steve Ballmer, which contributed to the overall serious approach to the problem as well as promising future prospects connected with the Windows OS which was to be installed on the gadget.

The first to be announced, the tablet however has had a very long history of development.  On acquiring Palm HP enterprise decided that there was no need to share profits with Microsoft allowing for their OS to be installed at the upcoming tablet. HP’s management was determined to play the whole game themselves and shifted to webOS-based tablet.  The announcement was a real shock both for general consumers who were sure that they will be able to put their hands on a new device  in the near future  as well as for Microsoft team, who were informed that HP’s management is not satisfied with the overall performance of the Windows OS on the developed gadget.

Some time ago another piece of news has leaked from HP’s headquarters.  The company is now going to submit 2 tablets to the market – one of them running Windows OS, while the other  works with webOS. No doubt, 2 tablets are better than one, however it is yet unclear what will be their main difference. The company’s representatives state that they will target different consumer audience, the Windows tablet being for the enterprise market while the webOS satisfies needs of general consumers. The approach seems reasonable however it is yet unclear what the market reaction to it will be.

The Windows tablet will be to the liking of office –dwellers who got used to this operating environment. Moreover,  most software products which have already been developed or are being developed focus this  OS, due to its massive spreading. Despite major drawbacks Microsoft has really managed to create its own unique  advantage, namely its large scale embracing of the enterprise market.  The webOS device will target creative people who really want something different – not a standard Windows environment  but at the same time not a strongly advertised iPad either.

As for the names of the upcoming tablets which are said to hit the market in December- January, some analysts  are recalling that HP filed a new trademark “Zeen” last year which should have been a portable computing device. Maybe we should wait for just several months more to have a chance to witness the happy ever after of the story.