“It could be one of Steve Ballmer’s riskiest trade show moves in years,” Ashlee Vance reports for The New York Times. “On Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, will unveil a novel take on a slate-type computer during his evening keynote at the Consumer Electronics trade show in Las Vegas, according to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans. The slate will be made by Hewlett-Packard and possibly available by mid-year, these people said.”
MacDailyNews Take: Oh, we so can’t wait for this to play out!
Vance reports, “This product better be good because Apple is expected to unveil its take on the slate/tablet form-factor later this month. If history holds, Apple will issue a product that surprises people in a few ways and that stands out from the crowd. So, the last thing Mr. Ballmer wants to hold up is a me-too type device.”
Vance reports, “Mr. Ballmer will present a video of the as yet unnamed H.P. device. The product will be touted as a multi-media whiz with e-reader and multi-touch functions.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: A video?! Sounds like a typical, albeit particularly weak, Microsoft vaporware dog and pony show meant to freeze a market in which Microsoft and their “partners” have repeatedly failed (or, more likely, a market that Microsoft et al. cannot even imagine) and that Apple will, with history as our guide, revolutionize (or create) and then utterly dominate as a slew of also-rans scramble to produce half-assed copies.
Expect Microsoft’s presentation to be purposely vague (“Features can and will change before release,” Ballmer will mention), so that they can watch Apple’s tablet presentation and begin their process of copying poorly yet again.
A video? More vaporware from Fat-Ass.
IIRC, Jobs unveiled the iPhone with a real, working model.
I can’t wait to see what they come up, no doubt the media will think its the dogs baws, then Apple will drop their hardware and Microsoft will prove how crap they are. Gotta say it may actually be HP that looks bad, not Micro$haft.
He needs to take a tablet, or two – for obesity.
Sucks for all the companies showing off new products at CES only to watch Apple reveal something and make them obsolete just two weeks later.
Especially if Apple finally reveals details regarding their custom ARM SoC’s for their mobile platforms. The level of integration between hardware and software will be so tight, it’ll make every other mobile device feel like clunky pieces of junk.
@Mac Daddy
Jobs did, but not before telling everyone about a revolutionary new device.
An iPod… a Phone… an Internet communications device…
An iPod! A Phone! Are you getting it?
Why Microsoft call their presentation “Keynote”? Oh I know. Keynote is way better than Power Point. Unless you study in elementary or high school, no body else really use Power Point for a presentation. ;P
This is why Apple zealously guards its secrets. I guarantee you that with out the rumor mill, Microsoft and HP wouldn’t be launching any “slate” product.
What an absolute putz!
You would think with the abysmal performance of M$ lately, ButtExudateForBrains (think about it) would be looking for a new line of work. But once a used car salesman, always a used car salesman…
You know Jobs & Co are just laughing their okolees (a Hawaiian term) off!
Cheers from Downunder
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@G4Dualle
It wasn’t a video – it was a few slides of a KEYNOTE produced presentation AND there was a physical product. And phuquen cool it was! (is – still – even after all these years!)
After all these years, and iterations of tablets, beginning with Gates’s pride and joy, I remember the day they rolled out that big-ass table!
The Microsoft store in the Scottsdale Fashion Mall has the Big-Ass Table out on the floor for customers to use to special order Microsoft products.
I will watch Ballmer’s keynote, if available, just to watch his tablet’s video presentation. Dollars to donuts, the VCR shits the bed.
@ Muz,
Who said anything about video?
I was agreeing with Mac D, that Jobs pulled a phone out of his pocket after telling the world about it.
How about a tablet that uses Surface technology?
Seriously, Ballmer is right about one thing. They need to do something. But a pitiful rehash of their old tablet up against a dazzling game changer that Apple will surely present, ain’t it.
That picture of Ballmer looks like he’s trying to coax a six year old little girl to sit on his lap. Dirty old f**ker.
What’s even more pitiful is that a lot of square idiots that actually buy the microshit propaganda will think they have the coolest gadget on earth to look forward to, viruses and all
@SGB
when I first saw that picture I thought Ballmer was pulling up his legs by the knees. Blech!
If MucuSoft announces their “idea” of a tablet before Apple shows theirs how could it be a “Me-too” device? Wouldn’t be a “Pre-too” tablet?
“How about a tablet that uses Surface technology?”
That does sound like a Microsoft solution:
“A revolutionary tablet device that fits in your hand.
Works great, as long as you are inside the range of
the $10K motion video cameras that you need to set
up in your work room.”
If M$ spent anywhere near the money for real product development as they spend on these vapor shows, they might be in danger of actually making something worth a $hit.
Seriously: when is the tech sector going to recognize this desperate, pathetic tactic for what it is?
” The slate will be made by Hewlett-Packard and possibly available by mid-year…”
Note that it is slate not slates. Word has it that two Microsoft retail stores are fighting with each other not to sell it.
Fortunately, Ballmer can’t remember where either one of them is located.
Supposedly this HP tablet will cost $1098.00. So its already dead in the water if Apple releases a sub $1000 tablet.
Supposedly Spec for the HP Tablet
Additional specifications and features of the upcoming tablet include the use of the 1.3GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300 processor, coupled with 4GB of DDR3 memory and a rather large 320GB hard drive. The unit will also sport the integrated graphics of Intel’s 4500MHD GPU, wireless 802.11 b/g/n support, fingerprint scanner, all within an aluminum chassis that will boast some “factory custom” laser etching.
There are also reports of a 6-cell battery pack and a 5-in-1 media card reader, with HP’s upcoming 12.1-inch tablet expected to boast Microsoft’s Windows 7 Premium 64-bit operating system. With that in mind, the product is listed with a price point of US$1,099, but that is yet to be confirmed by the company. Unfortunately, there are no available photos of the tablet, but there’s a good chance that more will be revealed in the upcoming days, considering that CES 2010 is just around the corner and that this is a time for new product launches
What’s the new name? Brick, EYEPHONEBIGGIE, PEESOSHITE.,
HUGEZUNE. Marketing, Marketing.
Yeah MS and OBallmer, you guys rock!!!!
And wait a fingerprint scanner, how can Apple compete.
THIS IS GONNA BE SO AWESOME!!!!! CUPERTINO, START YOUR COPIERS!!!!!
Your potential. Our passion.™
@Genius Onsite
LOL