HP seems so be going aggressive against the Apple iPad and despite the aggressive iPad pricing by Apple, HP seems to be aiming to do better on the $ front. The HP slate that was unveiled at CES came just days before the iPad and both are naturally seen as competitors. The Slate packs in multitouch and gaming ability already and on the price front HP seems to be gearing up for a real battle.
Both iPad and HP Slate are similar in structure with the wide compatibility of Windows OS coming in the picture to compete with the iPhone OS that iPad offers. Both devices have similar sized screens (9.7″ vs 10″) however the Slate scored with Flash support, Camera, minimum 32GB storage and a faster Intel processor (but GPU may be the differentiator).
The 3G enabled HP slate would have to be priced below $629 to compete with the iPad 3G 16Gb. Thinking if the price is the only factor to bear iPad? well certainly now! was iPhone the cheapest smartphone around? Not really, but it still did what is now history. However given that there isn’t any magic in iPad like the iPhone, it might be harder for Apple to sell the iPad on pure hype and UI (yes the OS 4.0 is badly needed). Content tie ups and apps can be an area that HP Slate would face challenge from the iPad; but what sells and what now – only time will tell.