2010's Consumer Electronics Show was somewhat lacklustre in terms of groundbreaking new products, but one of the show's major new unveilings - the Slate PC - holds promise for the future.
The all-new form factor, designed to fit in somewhere between a smartphone and a netbook, was revealed by Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer during a low-key speech in which the charismatic talisman showed off an upcoming Slate device from Hewlett-Packard.
We've since seen a 5in Slate PC shown off at the hands of Dell, and whilst we're no closer to knowing when we'll see these ultra-portable tablet-like systems at retail, we're now being treated to a brief video demonstration of HP's upcoming device.
The clip, made available by HP, reveals the Slate as a single device that'll provide the "ultimate content consumption experience". There's still no clarification on the 2010 launch schedule, but HP's Phil McKinney reckons the product could have been launched two years ago at a retail cost of around $1,500. Hoping to hit a more "mainstream" price, the evolutionary device will now surface later this year.
Here's HP spokesperson Greta Schlender and CTO of HP's personal systems group Phil McKinney talking us through the product:
Considering that HP is the world's number one PC manufacturer, we reckon it's a somewhat lacklustre video that doesn't make us want to rush out and buy a Slate. It does, after all, appear to be little more than a 5in toushcreen UMPC sporting nothing other than Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system.
