HP Reenters Tablet Market With $169 Android-Based 'Slate 7' as LG Acquires WebOS for TVs

[3N16MA]

HP reenters the tablet market and this is what they choose to do it with? At least release a product that is comparable to the iPad Mini and Nexus 7. For $30 more one can pick up a Nexus 7 if they want a 7" Android based tablet.

[PracticalMac]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

It took a lot of digging but I found these two stats of interest:

1024 x 600 is the resolution
8 GB is how much memory is built in for $169.

It's running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) so it's at least one version old already (4.2 - Key Lime Pie has already been released.)

128:75 ratio??

That's nuts!

meanwhile, an implosion of tablet prices?
That is, <$50 for cheap tablet.

[Xero910]

That's one weird aspect ratio. Looks messed.

[Macist]

If I buy a £400 iPad I can access brilliant apps that do really specialised things - I can get an App to tweak MIDI gear for example (Android's MIDI is a basket case) or run a mobile version of my business database, or have pretty realistic guitar amp sims I could even gig with through a power amp, I have solid official apps for my bank where there is none on Android, I have a good range of useful iPad accessories. It works nice alongside my iPhone and Mac.

If I spend £100 on an Android, I'll likely do a spot of surfing then chuck it in a drawer.

£400 for something I'd use the hell out of or a £100 bit of tat? Which is the biggest waste of money?

[mr_bam]

How is this Mac news? It's only tentatively iOS Blog news.

[rmwebs]

Hmm not sure I like the idea of WebOS being slapped on a TV. In any case what the hell happened to open sourcing it under HP's spinoff company 'Gram'.

[3N16MA]

Originally Posted by mr_bam

How is this Mac news? It's only tentatively iOS Blog news.

Remember those HP branded iPod's? All HP news is now Mac related.

[CalWizrd]

I'd like a little more detail regarding "... soft black paint in gray or red on the back".

[mw360]

Originally Posted by mr_bam

How is this Mac news? It's only tentatively iOS Blog news.

Top four news stories out of the most recent 20 on MacRumors, rated by number of comments:

Google Pixel
Google Glass
Brazil lawsuit
PS4

So if you don't think its Mac enough, don't grace it with a comment.

[Rocketman]

Originally Posted by article

"HP is the number one PC manufacturer in the world, and we want to be the number one computer vendor in the world. That means we need to be in the tablet space."

That's Alberto Torres, the man tasked with making it happen. [...]

"On the tablet side, it's entirely our intent to have a broad set of products on the market... to cover more segments of the market we'll need more products, and you'll see us aggressively pursue that over the year."

So their strategic plan is to release a bunch of tablet styles. No ecosystem, no proprietary OS, no developer base or prospect for one. Just an "accessory" for existing users of PC's and mainframes. An end user window.

BTW there is zero chance of them ever being the number one computer vendor in the world. The handtop supercomputer phone handset makers now have that title. Samsung and Apple.

Rocketman

[azentropy]

Just another "me too" tablet. I still think they really could have had something if they would have stuck with WebOS for longer than 6 weeks.

[Mad Mac Maniac]

Originally Posted by extricated

"mac" rumors?

Clever. Except you didn't pick up that this wasn't a "rumor" either. I suppose you neglected to display the same wit with every single iPhone/iPad article? Those aren't Macs either.

In fact I would wager that only 5-10% of articles on here are actually "rumors" about "Macs".

This site has simply become something for enthusiasts of all things Apple. An important aspect of that is keeping an eye on the competition. If you don't like it you can either not waste time commenting on the articles, or you can try to find a Mac (or Apple) website that doesn't comment on any of the relavent competition in the market. Good luck with that though, because all the ones I follow mention comparisons at least occasionally.

[Meandmunch]

Fail 2.0

But at that crazy price it might actually stick around this time. Might.

[nick_elt]

Originally Posted by ArtOfWarfare

It took a lot of digging but I found these two stats of interest:

1024 x 600 is the resolution
8 GB is how much memory is built in for $169.

It's running Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) so it's at least one version old already (4.2 - Key Lime Pie has already been released.)

Key lime pie is not 4.2

edit. I see others have pointed that out, but anyway it is outdated already, sort of. Not too much of an upgrade.

[Edsel]

Out of curiosity I purchased a new Android 4.0 powered ZeePad 7.0 from Amazon for $75.00 two months ago. I'm impressed, especially at this price point. It came very well accessorized and the optional keyboard/case for an additional $10.00 works very well too.

The pressure is on to make cheap tablets as ubiquitous as cheap footwear.

[batchtaster]

Sounds highly generic, completely unimaginative and utterly devoid of any kind of innovation.

But then that is what made HP big, so if anyone knows how to make a buck out of generic, unimaginative and innovation-free, it's HP. It might just work. Even though it shouldn't.

[AZREOSpecialist]

Apple is in big trouble. Maybe not right now, but it's around the corner. Here's why: consumers are beginning to equate smartphones and tablets not just with Apple. For instance, my family sees all tablets as essentially the same. They don't distinguish between Android, Windows 8 and iOS. They just see a tablet or a smartphone. The market is changing. The flooding of the market with cheap Android handsets and competitive 7" tablets is causing Apple to lose the PR battle about whose tablet is best.

In the meantime, the bottom appears to have fallen out of Apple's stock and very little - in fact nothing - new is coming out of Cupertino to give stockholders and consumers hope for the future. iOS has remained stale for the last five years since its introduction, with no desire shown by Apple to improve the user experience - something that is Apple's trademark.

I fear for Apple. Again, not right now, but a year from now. Apple no longer has a flagship "market changing" product and has shown little desire to compete. Microsoft is converging their desktop and mobile operating systems, which is a smart thing to do. Ultimately and in a perfect world, the user experience between desktop and mobile devices should be transparent. We will get there eventually, but who will be leading the pack?

I have sent emails to Tim Cook begging Apple to do something, anything, to counter this rising tide of dissatisfaction among consumers and especially the media and stock analysts.

[tylernol]

Originally Posted by garybUK

What is with HP and HTC's obsession with Beats Audio... you've just turned off any potential buyers who want a half decent sounding tablet....

most people haven't a clue about good audio. But Beats is flashy looking and appeals to certain demographics.

[bocomo]

LOL at Beats Audio being a selling point

[rmwebs]

Originally Posted by tylernol

most people haven't a clue about good audio. But Beats is flashy looking and appeals to certain demographics.

The funny thing is - its just a name. There's no such thing as 'Beats technology'.

[papyrus100]

Are they serious? Would you buy a car from a company that acted like this? A company that killed their own tablet effort a year ago, with a good product, (WebOS was not so bad, by the way), and then enter it again with something completely different, is beyond comprehension.

HP has a lot of strength but they are not serious for the tablet market.

[CosmoCopus]

I was really ticked when I didn't get one of those $99 TouchPads.

[Edsel]

Originally Posted by AZREOSpecialist

Apple is in big trouble. Maybe not right now, but it's around the corner. Here's why: consumers are beginning to equate smartphones and tablets not just with Apple.

You have identified the largest battle now taking place in the technology industry; who owns, manages and distributes content to consumers and corporate desktops. Hardware will become unimportant as tech giants struggle to attract & keep consumers attached their "Cloud" ecosystems.

[mw360]

Originally Posted by AZREOSpecialist

Apple is in big trouble. Maybe not right now, but it's around the corner. Here's why: consumers are beginning to equate smartphones and tablets not just with Apple. For instance, my family sees all tablets as essentially the same. They don't distinguish between Android, Windows 8 and iOS. They just see a tablet or a smartphone. The market is changing. The flooding of the market with cheap Android handsets and competitive 7" tablets is causing Apple to lose the PR battle about whose tablet is best.

In the meantime, the bottom appears to have fallen out of Apple's stock and very little - in fact nothing - new is coming out of Cupertino to give stockholders and consumers hope for the future. iOS has remained stale for the last five years since its introduction, with no desire shown by Apple to improve the user experience - something that is Apple's trademark.

I fear for Apple. Again, not right now, but a year from now. Apple no longer has a flagship "market changing" product and has shown little desire to compete. Microsoft is converging their desktop and mobile operating systems, which is a smart thing to do. Ultimately and in a perfect world, the user experience between desktop and mobile devices should be transparent. We will get there eventually, but who will be leading the pack?

I have sent emails to Tim Cook begging Apple to do something, anything, to counter this rising tide of dissatisfaction among consumers and especially the media and stock analysts.

How many flagship market changing products has Apple ever had? How many years elapsed between the release of each?

[Plutonius]

Originally Posted by AZREOSpecialist

Apple is in big trouble. Maybe not right now, but it's around the corner. Here's why: consumers are beginning to equate smartphones and tablets not just with Apple. For instance, my family sees all tablets as essentially the same. They don't distinguish between Android, Windows 8 and iOS. They just see a tablet or a smartphone. The market is changing. The flooding of the market with cheap Android handsets and competitive 7" tablets is causing Apple to lose the PR battle about whose tablet is best.

In the meantime, the bottom appears to have fallen out of Apple's stock and very little - in fact nothing - new is coming out of Cupertino to give stockholders and consumers hope for the future. iOS has remained stale for the last five years since its introduction, with no desire shown by Apple to improve the user experience - something that is Apple's trademark.

I fear for Apple. Again, not right now, but a year from now. Apple no longer has a flagship "market changing" product and has shown little desire to compete. Microsoft is converging their desktop and mobile operating systems, which is a smart thing to do. Ultimately and in a perfect world, the user experience between desktop and mobile devices should be transparent. We will get there eventually, but who will be leading the pack?

I have sent emails to Tim Cook begging Apple to do something, anything, to counter this rising tide of dissatisfaction among consumers and especially the media and stock analysts.

Why should I care about what other people decide to use or what the media / stock analysts are saying ? Apple is just another company. How can people fear for them unless they are being paid by Apple or invested a lot in Apple (do you also fear for GM or Ford) ?