Leaked Specs Compare HP Slate to Apple’s iPad

April 6, 2010 By Ryan Fleming

Double the battery life and 802.11n Wi-Fi could give Apple's iPad a leg up on it the upcoming HP Slate, according to a leaked spec sheet.

Yesterday we saw the release of a video by HP that touted the advantages of the HP Slate over the iPad, but the company has remained tight lipped on the actual specs behind their tablet. But in what appears to be an internal HP document obtained by Engadget, we have our first look at the specs of the HP Slate, warts and all.

There appear to be some significant differences between the Slate and the iPad, the most glaring of which appear to be the battery life and the Wi-Fi connectivity, both heavily favoring the iPad. The Slate lists a five hour battery life, which is not uncommon for most notebooks, while the iPad features an impressive 10 hours. The Slate features 802.11 b/g wifi support, compared to the iPad’s support of 802.11 a/b/g/n. Both features will likely be downplayed by HP, and focused on by Apple.

The Slate does have some noticeable advantages though, including inward and outward facing cameras, Adobe Flash support, and ports for SD and USB devices. The document further suggests that the graphics and display of the Slate are superior to the iPad, but seeing will be believing.

HP also lists the 1.6GHz Intel Atom Menlow processor as an advantage over the iPad’s 1Ghz Apple A4, but Apple has shown repeatedly that their proprietary chips integrate extremely well with their hardware, so until we can see them both in action, this could be a toss up, and might even favor the iPad.

The document listed pricing from $549 for the 32Gb model up to $599 for the 64Gb model. No word yet on when the HP Slate will be released, but early leaked reports suggest that it will be June before we can truly compare the two tablets.

(Image: Engadget)

Showing 6 comments

Quote at 3:27pm 26th April 2010 Looks like HPSlate.com is being sold http://flippa.com/auctions/92344
Jagen at 4:11pm 7th April 2010 I have a zune hd and i can confirm you that is dsnt have a built in (custom) equalizer... the iTouch/Iphone does have one trough itune tough... (you can attach an equalisation to the mp3 file....). And i dont saw any place where i could get a battery for replacement =/ Anyway on mp3 player when my battery die (after about 2 years), i simply change the player...
Lorne Hammond at 8:20am 7th April 2010 I like how every company is rushing now to put out an iPad killer, when it wasn't even on the radar a few months ago until there was concrete information Apple was releasing one. As we know from the iPhone-Killers which are pretty much non existent there is most likely no way to catch Apple now, the seed has been planted.

I agree with Ian, Specs do not an experience make.. Apple has this closed ecosystem and enormous amount of content + ease of use which will make it extremely difficult, nay impossible for a competitor to beat them.

The best thing a competitor could possibly do is stand in Apples shadow now, even if they have vastly superior hardware and all the things that seem to be missing from the iPad, some call them glaring omissions, most do not care.
Ian Bell at 12:38pm 6th April 2010 HP will likely get it wrong. Specs, do not a product make. Remember that the iPod still does not have a removable battery, a built in equalizer and other features that even the Zune has.

It will come down to usability, design, content and of course the cool factor, all of which Apple has.
Jeff Peart at 11:24am 6th April 2010 Always chasing the big dog...
dang at 10:24am 6th April 2010 If HP wants to compete, they better up some of these specs. In particular, battery life and screen resolution. They should undercut Apple's lowest price as well!