The Most Anticipated Piece of Tech For 2010

By now, most of you know what the iPad is and what it'll do once it is released to consumers in the next month or so. What you may not realize is that other companies are planning on releasing their own similar tablet devices as well, like the one I am waiting for - The HP Slate.

With the HP Slate, unlike the iPad, it'll be running Windows 7 - A full desktop OS, which means any program or "app" that you can run on your desktop PC, such as Microsoft/ Open Office, iTunes, etc, can run on here as well. HP still has its lips sealed on the hardware specs, but I can safely say, that the processing power of this baby won't be too impressive compared with a full featured laptop or desktop, but it seems it'll make a nice companion to lay in bed with or take notes in class.

Below is a newly released video showing off some of the flash capabilities users can look forward to with the Slate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeTQ-L9iI5I


Unfortunately, HP has also sealed its lips as to a specific release date, only saying Q4 2010, which means by the Fall (UGH!), but hopefully, they'll be comparative in price to the iPad, since most feel as if this is the iPad's only real contender for the time being.

In other news, it seems Apple has already 'sold' at least 150,000 iPads in the first 72 hours of going on pre-sale (Source). I'm honestly stunned to see that. 150,000? For an iPad? Something that doesn't even offer any new functionality over the iPod Touch!? Well, I guess I should have expected that, but personally if I owned an ipod Touch or an iPhone, there just is no way that I could justify spending another $600 on a device that offers nothing new over its older brothers. That is why I feel the HP Slate could take off... It might not add any 'new' functionality over a standard PC, but at least I'm still getting a full computing and web experience. Apple, on the other hand, has at least proven there is a market for such a device.