HP announces Windows 7-powered Slate 2

By Tom Warren, on 3rd Nov 11 7:23 am with 41 Comments

HP Slate 2

HP announced an updated version of its Windows Slate Tablet PC on Thursday.

The HP Slate 2 builds on HP’s original Slate by refreshing the processor, HDD and adding in the popular Swype keyboard software. HP has also added a TPM chip to allow Windows users to turn on bitlocker drive encryption. HP is shipping the Slate 2 with a Bluetooth keyboard dock and sleeve to protect the device on the go. The Slate 2 is designed for business use and weighs in at 1.5 pounds, slightly heavier than Apple’s iPad 2 rival. The HP Slate 2 Tablet PC also features an 8.9-inch diagonal capacitive multitouch display for touch and pen input.

HP has opted to include an Intel Atom Z670 1.5GHz processor with mSATA SSM tech to deliver fast boot up times. HP is promising up to six hours of battery life. The Slate 2 will feature a 64GB SSD drive. “HP is dedicated to the tablet PC category and continues to listen to customers and improve the product in ways that best address their business needs,” said Dan Forlenza, vice president and general manager, Commercial Managed IT Segment, HP. “The HP Slate includes the right mix of rich features, support for custom-built applications, and the security and connectivity needed for today’s highly mobile and rigorous day-to-day professional environment.”

The HP Slate 2 is priced at $699 and will be available worldwide later this month.

  • Kazi

    If this runs Win8, I’d buy one.

    • Apple troll

      Same here

    • http://twitter.com/ThomasMaurer Thomas Maurer

      I am pretty sure you can install the Windows 8 Developer Preview on it ;-)

    • GP007

      No reason it shouldn’t, and I bet HP will sell it with the thought that people will then upgrade to Win8 next year and be good to go.

    • http://www.Stum.de Michael Stum

      Does it support EFI Secure-Boot? Win8 Dev Preview doesn’t require it, but the final release will, unless Microsoft can be convinced otherwise.

    • Anonymous

      Last i Checked EFI Secure-Boot was optional period.

    • Sorry

      Wrong.

    • http://www.timacheson.com/ Tim Acheson

      It should do.

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      It will run Windows 8, but not Metro. It has too low a resolution. There will almost certain be a bypass available but it’s not officially supported.

  • http://twitter.com/vlastimilcerny Vlastimil Cerny

    Hmmm… I would like to try it with Windows 8. But for that reason it’s too expensive. So I will have to wait til Windows 8 RTM and new OEM devices will be available. I don’t want to end up like with HD2, where I bought it with idea, that there will be official update to Windows Phone 7…
    I think, that we can expect with W8 some minimum HW requirements similar to WP7 like three buttons, which will cripple or make installation to this device impossible…

    • Anonymous

      Inexpensive?
      Aside from its 64GB SSD, this tablet is likely to be as bad as the previous one which was crippled by an absolutely awfull GPU. It made it barely usable. Also, getting 6 hours of run time with a 3W TDP processor is nothing impressive. The Acer Iconia Tab W500 pulls about the same time with 3x this TDP.
      Not impressed.

    • Anonymous

      Speaking of which, will the Acer w500 get a refresh here soon?

    • http://twitter.com/vlastimilcerny Vlastimil Cerny

      Where did you see “inexpensive” in my post? ;)

    • TheCyberKnight

      Hmm…you’re right. I think I misread this morning. Sorry ;)

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      I doubt Microsoft would expect hardware buttons. None of the tablets they showed at build requred hardware buttons. A volume rocker and possible a Windows button (home button) would be nice as well as an orientation lock – but I don’t see any scenario where they would be *needed*, rather an extra option to using the software UI. You can go “home” and search from the RHS charms afterall.

      I think the only reason those buttons are required on the phone is the lack of screen real estate to be able to put them on the screen. (As Android has shown though, it’s quite doable if you just extend the screen.)

  • http://twitter.com/ThomasMaurer Thomas Maurer

    Now the question is Dell Latitude ST tablet or the HP Slate 2? :S

    • Anonymous

      i would go for samsung series 7. Samsung slate comes with i5 4gb and 64-128SSD. Rumors they plan to give optional upgrade to win8 to all series 7 in the future (im not buying this rumor tho).

  • http://www.timacheson.com/ Tim Acheson

    Yes please! This makes my existing Win7 tablet look dated.

    • Anonymous

      How so?  Sorry, but the second I see Atom processor I am already turned off.

    • http://www.timacheson.com/ Tim Acheson

      What’s wrong with Atom? Would you prefer an Core i5 like the Asus Eee Slate?

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      Personally I would yeah. The atom processors are just plain sluggish in my experience. Of course, your mileage might vary. Though there is the trade-off with battery life so it’s a tough call.

    • Tom

      An Atom is not merely a CPU that’s been tweaked for low-power.  Rather, it’s a redesign.  Whole pipeline stages are missing.  The performance characteristics are therefore highly unpredictable.  You can run one program at parity to a Core of equivalent clock speed, and then open up another program and find that it runs 10x slower.

      To some extent, this has been true of all CPUs, since there are always architecture differences.  This was particularly true of AMD vs. Intel.  But with those chips, we used to think it a big deal when particular instructions ran 20% slower.  The orders of magnitude you get with Atom are something else entirely.

    • Anonymous

      Yes I would.  If I am going to go with an Intel tablet, then I want power, even at the expense of battery life.  I would rather have 4 hours of core i5 than 6 hours of Atom.  If battery life is my most important feature, then I will go with an ARM tablet.  So for me, Atoms are out of the question.

      My hope is that when Win 8 comes out, Intel will have some very nice ULV Ivybridge chips.  That way my hardware can have great battery life and performance.  No compromise, just like Windows 8 itself :)

  • Anonymous

    folks considering this for Win8 trial, be careful; the 8.9″ display might not support the required resolution for Win8 snap feature and so

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      The snap feature is based off the resolution, not the size as far as I’m aware. Admittedly an 8.9″ display will be less likely not have the 1366 x 768 required. However 176ppi is by no means ridiculous.

    • Tom

      The original Slate 500 was 1024 x 600.  There was no mention of a screen upgrade in the new model.

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      Anything less than 1024 by 768 I believe and metro won’t even work at all. If HP maintained the same resolution, then this tablet would be nearly useless given the current marketplace.

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      Just looked it up. It’s indeed 1024 x 600. Not only will it not support Metro snap, it won’t even support metro. The difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8 on this is almost non existent.

    • Anonymous

      The Galaxy Nexus, wich has a 4.65″ screen has a 1280×720 resolution (if im not wrong)

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      That’s correct. It has a 316ppi, which is tremendously high. Phones tend to be higher (200+) but most computer monitors have a 100ppi (give or take about 20) and tablets tend to be not much higher. The iPad has 132ppi and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 has 149ppi. Smaller tablets like the Tab 7.0 Plus gets 216ppi.

      As I said before, to support the metro snap features it will require 176ppi which for an 8.9″ tablet is relatively high, but not to be ruled out at all.

  • Frylockns86

    If this can run Windows 8, I might buy one. However the question is, will HP release a Slate 3 for that?

  • http://www.mainstreetchatham.com/ JimmyFal

    How about a real battery test. My Toshiba boasted 9 hrs on paper, and gets about 3.5 in real life. 4.5 with a dimmed screen.

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      What test did they run for the reported 6 hours? I missed that part in the article…

  • TheCyberKnight

    To anyone who wants to try Windows 8 on this device, be carefull. I have access to the original one and the performance is so bad under Windows 7 that I highly doubt it could do something worthy with Windows 8. The CPU upgrade in this model won’t help much in the GPU department (which is very important with Windows 8).

    Instead, get the cheaper Acer Iconia Tab W500 which does run Windows 8 very nicely.

  • http://twitter.com/JustEriksTwits Erik Oegema

    In Steve Jobs vocabulary: HP doesn’t get it.

  • BigChiefSmokem

    Not there yet, I need the consumer-fun Xboxy/iPadish version of this.

    Do I need to paint a sign to explain to these companies, in detail, how to take my money? They don’t seem to get it.

  • http://twitter.com/sparkedfire sparkedfire

    They need to start branding devices as Windows 8 ready.

    • http://meercat9.com/ Billy Moffat

      But this device is not. Anything less than 1024×768 (this is 1024×600) will not support Metro.

  • elfunk

    Dell XT3… im on win8 and wont go back.

  • Anonymous

    I really hope Nokia makes a Win8 tablet. They actually know how to make good looking gadgets.

    • http://projects-kiyamudeen.blogspot.com Click Me!

      The thing with Nokia is that they’re Symbian fans…. I’d be surprised if Nokia rings up a Windows 7/8 Tablet!