Everything iPad

Remember the HP Slate? It’s Microsoft’s latest take on what they think a tablet should be. It’ll be running a full version of Windows 7, and it’s touch-based. Like a tablet should be. While the keynote was lackluster, and most people think Steve Ballmer didn’t do much to actually sell the tablet to them, nonetheless the thing exists, and it’s coming. But, what did they think of Apple’s announcement of the iPad? Where does Microsoft stand, now that Apple unveiled their tablet for far lower prices than everyone was expecting? Well, apparently it was all part of the plan. More or less.

Reports are coming in from The Wall Street Journal that say even though Microsoft announced their tablet first, they were expecting something fishy out of Cupertino, and after the prices were announced for the different iPad models, Microsoft went into the motion of slashing their own Slate’s pricing. Apparently, this was the plan the whole time. So apparently Ballmer and company are pretty nefarious, or perhaps just geniuses. You can be the judge.

Of course there’s going to be competition. That’s pretty much the whole name of the game. And everyone knows at this point that Apple, whether you’re not a fan or not, sets the stage for today’s technology. They make the products other companies try to catch up. Apple, after all, isn’t the company trying to make a Palm Pre killer, after all. So, should we be surprised that company’s like Acer, ASUS, MSI, and Dell have collectively noted that they plan to make more iPad-like devices? Surely not. It’s going to happen, and very soon here the market is going to be inundated with tablets. And Slates. And whatever else people want to call these things. What do you think? Would a price drop matter for Microsoft’s Slate? Or is all hope lost?

[via Gizmodo]