HP To Enter Enterprise Tablet Market With Windows

Like us on Facebook

"HP believes the best way to serve customers is to offer them choice, and HP is very excited about the slate category. HP plans to use webOS from its recent Palm acquisition as well as Windows 7 from Microsoft for this category. WebOS products will span across smartphones, slates, netbooks and printers. Deployment of the Windows 7 slate will target the specific needs of select enterprise markets," an HP spokesperson said via email.

Thus far, the tablet market has been dominated by Apple's iPad. However as analysts like Pund-IT principal analyst Charles King point out, the iPad is made strictly for content consumption. Whether or not HP can find success with a device used for content creation within the business world remains to be seen. Enterprise uses are not a market the Apple has pursued via the iPad as aggressively, though there are indications that the iPad could make some inroads into business use.

King is one analyst that sees room for an HP-Microsoft based enterprise tablet. "If you had access to the touch features and to a good quality note taking program, I could see the tablet device being attractive in the business world. Add in the lighter size and longer battery life and I could see it attracting field sales people and doctors who need something to just take notes and fill out basic forms. People could find uses for them," King said.

Shane Walker, analyst at IMS Research, says there is no doubt that HP and Microsoft are well positioned to offer a tablet in the enterprise market. However, he says there is a question on whether tablet computers are even conducive to productivity tasks in the first place.

"iPad sales have proven that there is a demand for this type of product. However, the variety of potential uses, and whether or not this device will obsolete other product lines, remains to be seen," Walker said via email.

Microsoft declined to comment for this story.