HP's 'iPad Killer' Features Video Camera

Hewlett-Packard on Monday released a brief video highlighting some of the features of its forthcoming slate-style PC, which the company hopes will help the Windows computing market steal some thunder from Apple's iPad.

The 30-second video packs in a good bit of detail.

It appears to show that HP's yet-to-be-named slate PC has a built-in video camera, USB ports, support for SD cards, music player software, and direct integration with social media and file-sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr.

Unlike the iPad, HP's yet-to-be-named tablet PC will also support Adobe's Flash multimedia format.

"Up to now, we've given you only tiny glimpses of the HP slate device coming later this year," said Phil McKinney, HP's VP and chief technical officer for its Personal Systems Group, in a blog post accompanying the video.

"So far, almost everything we’ve shared showcases how you’ll consume media with the device. And by media we mean all types of digital content, whether it’s a story from a major news outlet or videos and photos you’ve shot. But we also believe that media consumption is only half of the ideal mobile experience," said McKinney.

Indeed, the video posted Monday emphasizes the Windows 7-powered HP slate's functionality as a communications platform.

"Think about the last time you chatted with friends over Skype on your notebook. Or uploaded a picture from your mobile phone to Facebook or Flickr," McKinney wrote.

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"How about the last time you viewed images or video from an SD card or a USB device. We know that you expect to be able to capture and share digital content on your mobile devices. And the HP slate device excels there," he added.

Meanwhile, HP is keeping a tight-lipped silence over reports its slate computer will ship in the fall.

Numerous blogs, citing a report last month on the Spanish tech site Clipset.com, said HP's slate will debut in the U.S. in September at a price of about $540. But a company spokesperson was quick to dismiss the stories as "speculative."

With HP, Asus, Microsoft and others planning slate-style systems and software, Apple may not have the tablet computing market to itself for long.