Today seems to be a pretty busy day in tablet-related news, or, better said, bad news. So, after learning that Microsoft decided to cancel its Courier dual-screen project, it seems HP's going the same way with its famous “slate” tablet. However, unlike Microsoft, which firmly denied any plans of coming up with a Courier product in the future, HP has not given up entirely on the idea, but rather on its current implementation.

So, as TechCrunch reports, the company has decided to give up on the Windows 7-running design (which was also presented by Steve Ballmer back at CES 2010), the reasons being related mostly to the inability of the Microsoft OS to properly fit the requirements of an ultra-portable computing device.

But there's more. HP is apparently abandoning more than just the OS, throwing out the window the hardware designs as well. So, apparently, the company is dissatisfied with the Intel-based configuration, the reasons being related mostly to the low-battery life it provides.

At a first sight, it would seem HP's slate Internet multimedia tablet will never ever see the light of day, but we wouldn't rush to bet on it. No, in fact, the slate might ultimately arrive on the market, but running a whole different hardware, as well as... Palm's WebOS. Because, after all, HP has not paid 1.2 billion dollars for an ailing company just in order to enjoy yet another trophy in its collection.

No, they've also acquired Palm's IP and, more importantly, its “brains,” developers who will most likely remain with the company and adapt/port the WebOS in order to make it work on a tablet-like device. Of course, it’s too early to tell when that moment arrives, but we're pretty sure it will, sooner or later.


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