HP Slate, Windows Courier both postponed/canceled

Remember when you heard about the iPad?  Then do you remember when HP announced its tablet PC, tentatively named the Slate?

One of those products hit the market, and the other is not going to.

On the day of Apple's release of the 3G iPad model, the rumors are circling the internet that HP won't be releasing its competing tablet PC.  I'm going to repeat what has been said, because I think it's true:  they couldn't do it right.

HP could probably release the Windows 7 driven Slate this year, but my guess is that they would have had to make cuts to its supposed tech specs in order to do so.  A month ago, when Apple released the iPad, a graphic started going around the internet comparing HP's slate to the Apple version.  Turns out they apparently couldn't really deliver all that.

So what will HP be doing now?

With the company's recent acquisition of the Palm brand, they got the rights to WebOS, a phone-based operating system that may be HP's new target for their slate.  What does this mean for HP?  They will get the increased battery life and simple interface that WebOS offers, but because of the current state of WebOS, will have very few tablet-useful apps ready for deployment any time soon.  If HP does release their tablet with WebOS, they will subsequently need to spend months or years catching up to Apple's comprehensive line of apps, and who is to say they will even be able to?  By the time HP enters the market with a product comparable to the iPad, Apple will be getting ready for the next gen of tablet PC's.

I really had some faith in HP when I heard about their tablet.  I almost decided to wait on it rather than jump on the iPad, but now it looks like I made the right choice.  I see this thing playing out in a similar way to the iPod or iPhone:  Apple releases a good product, competitors say, "we can make this better, we're just a couple months behind!", meanwhile Apple is developing the next gen of its first product, and releases a much better version of its original device just after some competitors show up, leaving everyone else saying, "whoah, how did they do that?"

It's sad to me that Microsoft is not even trying to compete with Apple directly any more.  Since Apple won the battle of the MP3 players and Smart Phones, Microsoft has been sitting back saying, "we'll just stick to our guns and stop trying to really innovate."  Personally, I love Windows 7, and think it was the best OS that Microsoft has released in a decade, but it was not designed for super-portable devices like tablets, and its touch-screen capabilities are still not up to par with Apple's iPhone OS.