Mar

23

Why I Bought the HP Slate Before the April 3rd iPad Launch – Watch out AAPL

Filed Under Education and Love for Learning, Technology

First, I want to explain why I’ve switched platforms from Apple back to Microsoft. Second, I’ll outline what’s so compelling about the Slate and finally, I’ll make a hopeful prediction.



Switching from Apple back to MicrosoftI switched to Apple back in 2001-2002ish after using a rock-solid PowerBook that Family Literacy Centers purchased for me at work. That machine ran for a year straight without ever crashing after I had used a PC laptop that was crashing on me 4-5 times per day. We bought an iMac in 2002 and didn’t look back.

I know of at least 7 mac purchases that were influenced directly by my opinion of Apple over the past decade. I’ve noticed over the years that my experience of rock-solid computing has not proven true for all those I’ve influenced, especially on the newer Intel based macs. I have friends and family who are complaining about their machines crashing, as well as the usual software compatibility complaints.

During hard times in 2009 after the financial debacle, when my iMac’s screen stopped working, I couldn’t afford to shell out the money for a new Mac and my cousin gave me an XP machine which served me well for months. The hardware had a few issues and I bought an HP desktop about a month ago. I was so impressed with Windows 7 (with federated search, incredible speech/writing recognition, and free security software) that it’s made me wonder if Apple has been sitting on its own marketing coat tails. Regardless of which is better, my 21.5 inch monitor, dual core processor, 6 GB RAM, 3/4 terabyte hard-drive system was $698 at Wal-Mart (I needed the machine immediately). And given the experience I’ve had with the machine since buying it (I absolutely love Microsoft OneNote), I’m a Microsoft/HP fan once again.

The HP Slate

Now, based on some hopeful (or wishful) predictions, I’ll explain why I think I’m buying an HP Slate this Spring instead of an iPad. I make these predictions mostly because I can’t sleep this morning and also because I’ve been watching the eReader, reflective screen space for years and read every Google alert associated with the technologies (Pixel Qi, Liquavista, and Mirasol). I might as well get some web traffic from the time I’ve invested/wasted into learning about this stuff while teaching a few others what I’ve learned :)

I predict he HP Slate will meet my requirements better than the iPad, especially the primary requirement of a reflective screen technology that can sustain long-term reading.

I predict that HP is the major manufacturer that Mary Lou described as a Pixel Qi customer for the following reasons:

  1. Phil McKinney’s first prototypes for the product (which was started as a dedicated eReader) were with eInk and he stated that the reading experience was an important factor, but that customers wanted more rich media as well. Pixel Qi is both worlds combined.
  2. Steve Ballmer’s presentation revealed that the HP Slate had a screen slightly subdued (colors not quite as bright) against other LCD screens next to it. The Pixel Qi is known to be a compromise between bright color and readability.
  3. The HP Slate clearly has the same form factor as the Pixel Qi screen, which is a 10.1 inch netbook sized screen. McKinney’s earlier prototype matched the 9.7 eInk screen (and more like the iPad screen ratio), but I hope they’ve changed it to the 10.1 netbook size in order to get the reading experience and rich media, like the Pixel Qi screen.

Launch Date Prediction – April

I further predict that HP will launch the Slate at the same time or before Apple launches the iPad on April 3rd (this is an admittedly hopeful prediction, come on Phil McKinney, let it be true):

  1. HP’s strategy with this product seems to be to piggy back off Apple’s marketing machine with a superior, less-expensive product. They preempted the Apple iPad announcement at CES. They preempted the presale buzz by posting new videos. They’ve started leaking the product/launch dates to Spanish websites (the actual Spanish says June). Why won’t they preempt the actual launch of the iPad (or at least launch along side it)? A lot of money stands to be made on Apple’s coat tails if they can launch it that quickly.
  2. Again, demo product has already been shipped to the Spanish tech blog! (kind of early for that if it’s a June launch, and September Europe launch, don’t you think :)
  3. The technology is ready. Windows 7 has multi-touch built into it. The hardware is all available and Pixel Qi is already shipping to manufacturers. There is no reason that HP wouldn’t be able to ship at the same time as the iPad.

Actually, most predictions are saying the Slate will be launched in June, but surely McKinney will read my blog post and know that I’ll be his first customer if he’s chosen the Pixel Qi screen (and I can shut off the backlight). HP would like to take my $541 sooner rather than later, wouldn’ t they? I’m just hoping that HP stands to make enough off their piggy back strategy that they won’t wait too long, surely by June. I need to buy that computer, let me give you my money in April HP :)

Here’s hoping for an April launch with a Pixel Qi screen. Go Microsoft/HP!


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4 Comments so far

  1. Why I Bought the HP Slate Before the April 3rd iPad Launch – Watch … : HP Slate on March 23, 2010 3:08 pm

    [...] from: Why I Bought the HP Slate Before the April 3rd iPad Launch – Watch … [...]

  2. Benton on March 26, 2010 12:30 pm

    I went to a technology expo yesterday in DC. I saw and played with the Entourage Edge. It has an E-reader screen and a normal color screen. I wonder if it might serve your needs?

    http://www.entourageedge.com/devices/entourage-edge.html

  3. neal on March 28, 2010 4:40 am

    Ben, thanks for stopping by and making a suggestion. I’ve been watching that device since last year and I almost bought it in January/February.

    The problem with it is that I can’t view anything but epub and pdf books on the ereader, when what I really need is to be able to read long emails and web pages on the ereader. I asked the company whether I could move a document from the lcd screen to the ereader screen and they responded that I only could do that after converting the web page or email to pdf. And there’s no pdf conversion utility on the device at this point.

    So, the device is a no go. Besides, as people have received it, the reviews are not very positive about the 3 lbs beauty…so, I’m still looking.

    One device that I’m really interested in if I can’t get a Windows 7 device is the Notion Ink Adam, which is the only announced device with the Pixel Qi screen. It’s designed by a group of Indian entrepreneurs and I am impressed with what they’ve done.

    http://www.notionink.in

  4. No Pixel Qi Slate Computer from HP : Neal Harmon on April 6, 2010 2:12 pm

    [...] I was correct in assuming that HP would continue to piggyback off Apple’s marketing (they released a video before and blog post just after Apple’s iPad launch), it appears that [...]