Microsoft and HP teams up to launch Slate PC

Microsoft and HP have partnered together to unveil their new product - HP Slate PC. The new device, which is powered by Windows 7, was introduced by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2010 in Las Vegas. Although three new slate devices where showcased during the event from Microsoft, Ballmer divulged very little details about it. And also Microsoft was tight lipped about the release date of the product. The aim of the device is to bridge the gap between laptops and smartphones according to Ballmer. “We're talking about something that's almost as portable as a phone and as powerful as a PC running Windows 7,” Ballmer said. Hinting that Slate PC is just a model on which something is yet to come, Ballmer, during his keynote address at CES, said, “This device from HP is sort of a prototype of the coming HP Slate PC later this year.” New HP Slate device closely resembles Amazon Kindle DX in size. According to Ballmer, running Kindle PC software along with games-playing features would excite the customers. He said, “I think many customers are going to be excited about this PC. This particular demonstration runs the Kindle software.” Ballmer also explained that the device has multitouch capabilities along with virtual keyboard in it. Rumours from different sources suggested that the device is expected to have a 10-inch display as well. “You can flip through it and experience the book full colour and can download more content from Amazon right from within the application,” he said. However, HP Slate PC is likely to face intense competition from the iSlate, a tablet PC expected to be launched later this month by Apple Inc. In fact, most analysts believe that the iSlate will take away significant market share from the current range of e-book readers, netbooks and from other web tablets though the iSlate may not replace the iPhone.