The tablet market is expected to heat up big time this year with dozens of new products on the horizon, but only a handful are expected to launch in the immediate future -- namely the Apple iPad and HP Slate. While the fruit-flavored part has been fully detailed and is already available for pre-order, HP has shrouded its offering in mystery.
Many critics of the iPad (and boy are there a lot of them) hope the Slate will offer a more complete computing package at a competitive price, and it seems that may be the case. Spanish publication Clipset reports that the Slate will debut with a starting price of €400, or about $541. Straight currency conversions are generally inaccurate in determining cross-region sticker prices, so the Slate could potentially hit US shelves for less than the cheapest iPad.
HP's device is confirmed to feature an Intel Atom processor, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, a back-mounted webcam, Flash support, and runs Windows 7. The Slate is set for June debut in the US, and should land in Europe sometime "before September."
