It seems that all the speculation about HP bringing a webOS tablet to market is starting to come to a head, as HP has reportedly told employees that the company will be aiming to launch Palm-pedigree device – codenamed the “Hurricane,” and possibly to be called the PalmPad – in early 2011. Following on HP’s recent Palm acquisition, HP Personal Systems Group vice president Todd Bradley is said to have told employees yesterday that the webOS-powered tablet is being prepped for a Q1 2011 launch, which falls roughly in line with previous speculation that the tablet could debut late this year.
The word on the street has it that “trusted sources” have tipped Engadget on HP’s plans for its rumored tablet. Previous rumors had HP reviving Palm’s mothballed project under the codename “Hurricane,” and this latest rumor suggests that the codename is most definitely legitimate and will eventually birth what may come to be known as the “PalmPad.” HP recently filed for the PalmPad trademark, which sparked massive speculation that a webOS tablet was in the works inside the computer-maker’s R&D labs. Now that the existence of the tablet is all but official, it’s quite possible that the device will be known as the PalmPad.
And, even more exciting is the possibility that, given the launch window that HP has set for itself, the PalmPad could hit market with webOS 2.0 in tow. We’re not yet clear on what new features webOS 2.0 will bring to the table(t), but there’s no doubt that we’ll see some parts of the multi-tasking mobile OS optimized for a larger touchscreen display.
So, with all these new-fangled tablets due to go live later this year and through the next, we have to wonder if the iPad can continue to hold on to its current market advantage. What say you, dear reader? Is a webOS-powered PalmPad on your radar? Or do Android tablets powered by NVIDIA’s dual-core Tegra2 processor – Notion Ink Adam – take top-billing?
[Via: Engadget]