Recent reports confirm that HP will not be releasing their tablet PC known as the “Slate” this summer. It appears that they will be focused on similar device which will run the Palm WebOS and be called the “Hurricane”. Seeing as how the device will be running Palm instead of Windows 7, it is likely to be marketed as a companion device and not a full-fledged PC alternative.

No comment has been made as to whether or not the specifications of the Hurricane will differ from that of the Slate, nor is there any information at the time of this writing regarding a ship date.

Freeze, jaywalker!

I’m sure some people will call me crazy, but I have to say I am unsure about this. Granted, I haven’t seen Palm’s WebOS personally, but I have owned a Palm device or two in my day. Now, I have to tell you, back in the old days, once you got past the whole “Ooooh, Look at me I have a Palm device and you don’t, you peasant” attitude that the device instilled in you, the reality was that Palm devices were a bit of a pain in the ass.

Sure, it was all we had back then, and it was okay, I suppose. But how many of us gave up trying to write a note or a number down on or palm because it was quicker just to use a pen and paper because the handwriting recognition on this utilitarian device was absolutely abhorrent? I know I did. Don’t lie to me. I know some of you did too.

Now before people start calling for my head, I realize that technology is better now, and the Palm WebOS, even though I have not seen it, has to be better than the PalmOS was back in the monochromatic “Oregon Trail” days. But does the PC-centric crowd that HP markets to really want a “companion” tablet device, especially if it’s a full size companion tablet device that is designed to “compete with Apple” as the buzz is saying?

One of these things is not like the other

My “common sense meter” tells me no. When you try to compete with Apple, it’s not really about the product. It’s about the mindset of the consumer, and the PC mindset is a complete 180 from the Apple mindset.

Facts are facts, okay? Like it or not, the iPad is not a groundbreaking device. It’s a bigger iPhone. That’s all it is. Now, that being said, the iPhone was a groundbreaking device. Let’s face it. It’s a pretty sweet-ass smartphone. But, that was then, this is now. While it’s true that a million iPads have been sold, you have to ask yourself (if you’re intellectually honest, anyway) how many of those people actually *need* this thing that has no camera, no USB ports, relatively meager storage by today’s standards, and doesn’t support Flash? My guess is not many, and don’t start yapping at me about how Flash sucks. Maybe it does, but that doesn’t matter. It’s out there. It’s all over the place. Like God, it simply is. So suck it up, Buttercup. To disclose, I have played with an iPad. It’s okay. It really is. But it’s far from necessary. Apple consumers buy whatever Steve Jobs tells them to buy, and that just happens to be everything he makes. I know you think I’m insulting you right now, Apple consumers, but like Darth Vader said, “Search your feelings. You know it to be true.” So, you don’t really have to be cutting-edge when you’ve mastered Jedi Mind Tricks on people with fat wallets like Steve Jobs has done.

Incidentally, has anybody noticed that he wears black, like, all the time? I’m just saying.

On the flipside, people that buy products from PC-type manufacturers tend to look at their possible purchases from the standpoint of practicality. Again, assuming that we’re talking about a full size tablet device, I just can’t imagine many people in that sector lugging around a web device of that size, particularly when they have quality pocket sized solutions such as Android phones and Blackberrys available to them. It just doesn’t make sense. If you’re going to market something of that size to this particular crowd, you should give them a full OS option, because that’s what these people tend to like if they are going to drag a larger device around with them. Yes, I know that Windows tablets have failed in the past, but one has to remember that that was many years ago, and that they were awfully big and clunky back then. There is no reason why a sleeker, fully functional tablet couldn’t be designed, if you were even going to bother in the first place.

It goes without saying that I could be completely wrong, of course.  In fact I hope somebody can prove me wrong, because as everybody knows, I loves me some gadgets. But until then, I will remain skeptical.