HP Slate 500 Tablet - Black

The HP Slate 500 is a new tablet PC that runs Windows. It will undoubtedly be compared to Apple’s iPad, the most successful tablet to date, but there are very big differences in both design and application that differentiate the two.While the iPad is generally aimed at consumers for home and travel use, HP is targeting mainly business users with the Slate 500. This could certainly be a good thing, as Apple has recently admitted that the iPad is becoming more and more popular with business users.The Slate is also more of a traditional computer, with an SD card slot and USB port on its body, and two additional USB ports and an HDMI port in the dock once connected. This extra connectivity allows it to interact with more accessories and other devices than the iPad, which is more of a self-contained unit. It runs on a 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor and contains 2 GB of RAM. Its 64 GB SSD hard drive provides adequate space for most uses.The Slate 500 runs Windows rather than a specialized operating system. This is likely to be both a major benefit and a major downside. On the one hand, using Windows allows a greater level of compatibility and access to a wide world of software, but without a specifically-designed interface for touch-screen interaction. Although Windows has some limited support for touch interfaces, buyers expecting the kind of integrated interface of the iPad will likely be disappointed. We may see versions of the Slate 500 in the future with an improved interface, but for now, the Windows version is the only choice.Despite its comparisons to the iPad, the HP Slate 500 could become very popular with business users, and more competition in the tablet market will encourage all manufacturers to improve their products. It remains to be seen whether business users will embrace the Slate.