Looks like it's official now. Rumored specs were a bit off, pricing way off. x86 should make this table very customizable.

it is official now...

http://h20435.www2.hp.com/t5/The-Nex...ses/ba-p/58341

You mean the upside is that it runs Windows 7.

The only downside is that its not running one of the new dual core Atoms.

Running the desktop versions of Windows has been a major drawback in tablets to date. The usage model and interface maps extremely poorly to tablet use, an issue known since before the iPad appeared.

For as much as the thing costs, you're probably better off spending the extra, finding some sort of discount, and getting a Macbook Air.

I'd have been more impressed if they'd have gone ARM for the CPU and a different OS (webOS?) as they'd have a much better interface and far better battery life, but that will probably be next year (for webOS at least.) As it stands this will probably end up in the same bin most previous tablets have landed in.

Oh and what are the main spec differences between this and the WeTab?

I don't see how the MacBook Air is a replacement product. It weighs twice as much, and has a larger screen and keyboard. I believe the MacBook Air is in a completely different category. The WeTab also has completely different hardware specs across the board.

Yepp it's official.... officially worse than the iPad.
It has way too much LAAAA(windows is resuming)AAAG. On top of this, it costs US$799. I think the Tega V2 may be better, and I know plenty of others are waiting to see how the Exo-PC shows up.

But after pondering awhile, I think Windows 7 on a tablet is something so so easy to stuff up and so difficult to get right. So I'm going to say Froyo/Gingerbread is the only viable option against the iPad (until MeeGo comes out, well see how that goes).

Personally, I would shell out US$350 less for the Advent Vega, which runs faster, has better battery life and all the same connectivities.
It can be hacked to do crazy stuff like to run MIUI and overclock for insane performance, and there are ways to hack the Android Market and Google Apps on to it.

If Advent Vega trully has a 1366x768 screen and can be hackable, that device will eat the iPad and the HP Slate for breakfast!

(I'm really looking forward to the tablet warfare)

Actually, I'm starting to see the HP Tablet 500 in a different manner.
With 2GB, SSD, Broadcomm chip and the slightly better Atom (Z540) it should perform better than all other netbooks (except the ones with dual-core Atoms or IONs those have less battery life).

As for the size, its slightly smaller than the iPad but they both weigh the same. And with the rubber back, it looks kind of ugly but it will allow for a better grip me thinks and also keep the device cooler to touch. And it also has some nice features eg HDMI. It should get ~4hours on a 4-cell battery, or ~6hours on 6cell easily. Obviously 6-7hrs is nothing compared to the iPad's 8-10hr battery life, but it is decent enough for an average day's use

With Windows 7, there are billions of programs (compared to Android/iOS) and they are usually more mature/featured (and free) compared to other platforms. As well as all the hardware that can connect to this (like USB host, printers, faxes, SIXAXIS etc).

And given it is Windows 7 I know there will be (if not already) a 3rd party programs that shells the Windows7 UX to address its shortcomings (intuitiveness, gestures, finger friendliness).

My last question is; how does it handle games?
These look promising so far:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1ozZ...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2x7F5ln498
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SmcphE3-R8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GHT_33NB6w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMyf-3zbdwk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpJr94kIVRo

So I'm beginning to be somewhat fond of this tablet, but it really is expensive. Regardless of its target audience (enterprise), this could be for me. So I will stick around for its review, and also the review for the Tega V2, Exo-PC and the Advent Vega.

>>Running the desktop versions of Windows has been a major drawback in tablets to date. The usage model and interface maps extremely poorly to tablet use, an issue known since before the iPad appeared.<<

Not so! HP/Compaq had a 10" tablet (since discontinued) TC1100 way before iPad arrived on the scene. Mine runs beautifully on Win 7 (1.2ghz cpu, 2gb ram, 80gb hdd). The handwriting recognition of W7 is truly outstanding. At 3 lbs, it was no doubt a ground breaking device in its time, but now it feels like a outdated clunker.

I am writing this comment on my 7" Win 7 tablet Samsung Q1UP (1.33ghz cpu, 2gb ram, 80gb hdd) that I use daily. It's an ideal tablet in many aspects, except the 2 lbs weight.

I just found out that, with a little bit of a struggle they could've put in a 4-cell battery. Hell, they could've easily placed a 3-cell battery ... but instead HP opted (cost reasons?) for a 2-cell battery that totals 30W.
That's appauling, I now a lot of cheap Tablet PCs do this, but come on this is HP (a large electronics company) and the price is quite expensive. They say it has ~5hs, engadget got some hands on with it and they made the product seems positive.

There is also a review for the Tega V2 which boasts similar specs yet with similar flaws.

Also, engadget finally got their hands on the EXO-PC. This was the hope of all tablets running Windows 7 (or a desktop Linux mind you) and ... The review was neutral. Great for a Tablet PC but not so great as a tablet. Apparently an update is due to fix the many bugs it currently has.

So I got pondering.

What if HP designed the HP tablet 500 for

• one of the sides to come out like the HTC Legend so that the battery could slide out. That would be sweet.
• Also if the battery was a 4-cell, it just makes things sweeter (7hr/decent battery life).
• Also, they should have stuffed in a 720p screen instead of a 600p.

Then ... I'm sure there would be several developers (from the millions) that will extract the "Connect Four" UX (or skin/program) from the Exo-PC and made it run on the HP tablet 500.

With the best from both worlds, it would've been really interesting to see how it would've fared against the iPad. Infact, if it was like that I wouldn't have mind paying the high $800 price.

And it would've also been cool seeing how people could've gotten Ubuntu, UbuntuNetbookRemix, Fedora, Moblin, MeeGo or another distro optimized on it.

With Ubuntu loaded on, this is actually a very compelling device. I think I'd purchase this over a netbook if the battery life was good.

But HP tends to bung their devices up in one area or another. Something tells me that the battery life will be atrocious.