Hewlett Packard debuts US$479 HP Slatebook x2 in August 2013 - HP has stopped living in The Spectacular Now and accepts Tablets have killed Printers

HP (Hewlett Packard) has finally launched an update to their first stab at making an Android Tablet, the HP Slate 7 as stated in my blog article entitled “HP's Slate 7 Tablet debuts at MWC 2013, set to launch April 2013 - LiMo Open Source is RedBull as it Gives HP Wings Beyond the Hills”.

Introducing the HP Slatebook x2 as announce in the article “HP launches Android-based SlateBook 'PC'”, published July 31, 2013 12:14 AM PDT by Brooke Crothers, CNET News and “ HP’s Slatebook X2, its second Android tablet, actually looks decent”, published July 31, 2013 by Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM. Check the HP’s Slatebook x2’s Official Webpage for more details.

HP’s Slatebook X2 – Falling into Google Embrace

This product update, dubbed the HP Slatebook x2, is truly an indication that HP “gets it”; either go Android with a Tablet or continue to watch their Printing business get eroded by Tablets.

After all, they are getting cheaper every day and are far less hassling to use than HP’s own Printers. 

And that’s just Google Android products; Google Chrome is their next worry, for which HP’s already made a product.

That product is their Chromebook, the 14” HP Pavilion Chromebook 14-c010us, which like other Chromebooks from other PC makers since January 2013 is a hot seller on Amazon driven by demand by High School and College Students as noted in my blog article entitled “Lenovo and HP now making Chromebooks - Google Chrome OS is being Built from the Cloud Up as Microsoft experiences the Side Effects”.

So HP can’t get out of the PC game anytime soon as it’s saving them from totally collapse of their core business, which was printing. And with this new Android Tablet-Ultrabook Hybrid, it cements a Computing trend; PC makers are abandoning the sinking Microsoft Windows 8 ship and going with Google Android OS or Google Chrome OS.

The analyst Gartner puts out some interesting stats in the article “PC sales see 'longest decline' in history”, published 11 July 2013 Last updated at 03:18 GMT, BBC News that chronicle their decline as Tablets rise. The graphs below do a better job to explain this, I’d imagine.

Hence making a hybrid Tablet-Ultrabook akin to the Asus Transformer as described in my blog article entitled “Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime to debut on November 9 2011AD - Nvidia Kal-El invites Apple iPad to Game On” is the best strategy to use to make up for losses in the Printing world due to the proliferation of Google Android Tablets and smartphones. And at US$479, it’s the expected price for a Tablet with Ultrabook stylings.

The specs Sheet for the US$479 HP Slatebook x2, which goes on sale in August 2013, is very impressive, albeit a tad sparse on details. Here what I summarized from what I read:

Software

1.      Operating System: Google Android 4.2

2.      Kingsoft Office Software

Hardware

1.      Processor: 1.8Ghz Nvidia’s Tegra 4 Quad-Core

2.      Memory: 2 GB of memory

3.      Storage: 16GB Sata Harddrive

4.      Screen: 10.1-inch, 1920 x 1200, basically HD 1080p (High Definition) Resolution

Accessories and Features

1.      Front and Rear Facing Cameras

2.      Wi-Fi

3.      Bluetooth

4.      Extra Battery in the Keyboard, doubling usage time

This US$479 HP Slatebook x2 is coming this August 2013 in Snow White and Smoke Colours. So there you have it. Hopefully too, HP will also develop an Android based smartphone and a Cloud-based Printer also based on Google Android……assuming people still want to print in 2014. Regardless of price, this is a good second effort by HP in the very crowded by very hot Tablet Arena.

HP has stopped living in The Spectacular Now (2013) and accepts Tablets have killed Printers

Here’s the Links:

HP’s Slatebook x2’s Official Webpage

Specs Sheet for the US$479 HP Slatebook x2

Kingsoft Office Software