HP Slate Could Be Released With webOS, Windows 7 Might Not Be Used
Hewlett-Packard (HP), having recently bought sinking smartphone maker Palm Inc., is planning to use Palm’s webOS in the upcoming HP Slate tablet in place of Microsoft’s Windows 7 OS, say media reports.
According to Tech Herald quoting an insider HP is thinking that Windows 7 operating system will draw too much power from the Slate’s modest Atom processor. So HP is likely to drop Atom processor soon.
Using webOS platform will allow HP to price its Slate tablet more competitively. If they choose Windows 7, HP would have to spend money on licensing Microsoft’s software, increasing the cost of the tablet.
Earlier, HP had decided to sell the Slate at a starting price of $549, which is $50 more than the Apple iPad, liked by lot of consumers as being affordable tablet PC. Many experts are also not impressed with HP Slate calling it as being similar to a repackaged Netbook due to its 1.6GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 8.9-inch touchscreen, and battery back up of only five hours.
HP bought Palm April 28 for $1.2 billion and the acquisition is being viewed as a step by HP to penetrate the market dominated by Apple’s iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry devices.
