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HP says its forthcoming slate computer has a few advantages over the iPad, as well as a few disadvantages, according to a company presentation leaked to Engadget.
The slide, which compares HP's forthcoming tablet to iPad, coincidentally provides the specifications for the Slate, which HP hopes will kill the iPad.
The document lists the specifications of the Slate and the currently shipping iPad side-by-side, with the HP Slate's advantages appearing in green, and Apple's threats to HP colored red.
Fans of the iPad will like the red-colored parts: Apple has a larger display, built-in Wi-Fi, up to 10 hours of battery life (twice that of the Slate's), and a price that's $150 less.
HP lists as Slate's advantages its support for a pen or digitizer, its 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Menlow Z530 processor, graphic support for playback of 1080p video, a memory card reader, USB 2.0 port, a dock connector that does power, audio, HDMI and USB, a SIM card tray, and two cameras: one VGA webcam that faces the user, and a 3-megapixel camera that faces away.
HP doesn't think the iPhone OS 3.2, which powers the iPad, is an advantage or disadvantage relative to the Slate's operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium with an HP touch-optimized user interface.
We have to wonder: how does the iPad's combination of the A4 chip and the iPhone OS compare to a the Slate's faster Intel Atom Chip running a touch UI atop Windows 7? Is it too early for HP to have listed the processor as an HP advantage?
Perhaps we'll find out when it ships.
