Not content to see Microsoft kill the only interesting hardware/software collaboration they’ve created in a decade (Courier), HP has thrown their hat into the ring by cancelling the eagerly anticipated Slate.
The Windows 7-powered device had garnered a great deal of attention when it was announced in January, and it was heralded as a “tablet for real geeks” by those who found the walled-garden of the iPad to be distasteful. This last, great hope for the non-Apple tablet world was trumpeted over mainstays like Archos because of its svelte form factor and the way that it embraced Windows 7.
Internet Armchair Quarterbacking saw claims of everything from total dominance for the Slate to the imminence of the device’s cancellation. The fall of Palm (and subsequent acquisition by HP), the death knell for Courier, and the unceremonious departure of Slate should sound klaxons for many; while it’s good that the companies involved have seen the paradigm change that the iPhone and iPad bring with them, it’s shocking that they saw it so late.
A small minority of the consuming populace, tech geeks, have decried the closed format of the iPad. They say it restricts choice and represents an annihilation of the freedoms they enjoy with full operating system devices. It’s interesting to contemplate how they’re going to feel when Slate becomes a walled-in WebOS device, and Courier Jr. runs the Zune platform. The PC side has seen the light, a little too late, and they’ve lost any leverage they may have had to direct. In short (whether you like them or not): Apple wins again.
