HP Slate Tablet Still Exists & Wants to Say Hi

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We have just seen the iPad conquer the computer world. Well, alright, it didn’t conquer it yet but it’s on the right track. With 300K iPad units sold in the first day alone, 1 million downloaded apps and 250,000 eBooks already bought/downloaded from the iBookstore, the launch was a success. HP seems to think similarly since it has decided to show to the world that the main iPad competitor, the HP Slate, is still coming later this year.

In a new video posted on YouTube, available below and entitled “HP’s Slate Device: A Full Mobile Experience”, the tablet is being shown to the world once again. This time around the beautifully choreographed video reveals some clear details as this time around the HP Slate is actually turned on and ready to fulfill our dreams.

So what does HP tells us in the 30-second video? You’d have to pay attention to every second but there are plenty of details for the keen eye. The company insists on some key points that make the Slate a lot different than the iPad. First of all it’s a tablet, I guess that’s pretty clear, isn’t it? Secondly the Slate comes with a camera that is ready to snap pictures, and probably record video too whenever you feel like doing it, even on the train.

Naturally you can store those pictures on the device and share them later on Flickr, Snapfish or Facebook since the tablet is going to be used for a lot of web surfing anyhow. An USB port and support for upgradeable storage space via memory cards are clearly hinted and these are another two features the iPad doesn’t have.

Furthermore we spotted some apps on that desktop but what really caught our attention is the Skype icon which suggests you will be able to use the HP Slate to talk to your friends via Skype and other instant messaging applications. And there’s a front-facing camera ready for your next video conference on the go.

The HP Slate will come with some sort of a stand which could also be used to connect it to your big screen TV, and, naturally, the tablet will be able to play all your favorite music and video files. Multitouch support is also included but that’s probably something you were already assuming.

What the video doesn’t show is any hint of apps and eBooks support. Hopefully HP is also working on some kind of app store for the Slate although there are no indications to confirm it.

Unfortunately the product is not ready to be sold in stores yet and it will be a while until it becomes available. Until then Apple will sell plenty of iPads and it will further increase its dominance in the mobile applications business.

Do you think the HP Slate will truly be the iPad main competitor or is it just a foreplay move in preparation of the arrival of Microsoft’s Courier?