Before Topaz, There Was Slate

Leaked specifications from Palm and Hewlett-Packard's upcoming Topaz tablet have surfaced online. The Topaz, however, isn't the first time HP has thrown its hat into the tablet fight.

Announced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show, the HP Slate 500 was launched last October. Initially meant as a competitor to Apple's iPad, HP eventually shifted the tablet's focus, targeting professionals who wanted the tablet experience within the familiar Windows environment. The Slate 500 reportedly sold well, though at $799 it is more expensive than the iPad which goes for $500.

Some things that jump out immediately are a more powerful processor in the Slate, as well as two cameras. The Slate also weighs less than either the Topaz or iPad. It has a bigger drive and more RAM -- beating the iPad by a sizeable margin. The monitor is slightly smaller, but the resolution is just as good.

	HP Topaz	HP Slate 500	Apple iPad
OS	webOS	Windows 7 Professional	iOS
Processor	Qualcomm MSM8660 processor with 1.2 GHz	1.8g gHz Intel Atom Processor	1 GHz Apple A4 processor
Graphics	Adreno 220 GPU	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 50	PowerVR SGX 535 GPU
Display	9.7-inch XGA 1024 x 768	8.9-inch WSVGA 1024 x 600	9.7-inch XGA 1024 x 768
Dimension	240 mm x190 mm x 13.7 mm	150 mm x 226 mm x 147 mm	243 mm x190 mm x13 mm
Weight	700g (1.5lb)	680 g (1.5 lb)	680-730g (1.5-1.6lb)
RAM	512MB DDR2 RAM	2 GB DDR2 RAM	256 MB DRAM
Storage	16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB eMMC	64 GB SSD	16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB
Camera	1.3 mega-pixel	VGA inside, 3 MP Camera outside	No
Connectivity	Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, WWAN for HSDPA with support for quad-band EDGE, LTE and most probably CDMA	802.11b/g/n 2+ Bluetooth	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, HSDPA and GSM / EDGE
Speakers	two integrated speakers and 3.5 mm audio jack	Integrated speakers, 3.5 mm audio jack	two integrated speakers and 3.5 mm audio jack
Battery	24 Wh for 8 hrs, using two 3150 mAh cells, 8 hours	2-cell, 30 Wh polymer, 5 hours	25 W·h (90 kJ) lithium-polymer 10 hours of video playback.