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Tech news website Engadget has spilled the beans on HP’s upcoming launch of two WebOS-powered tablets to be launched at an event on the 9th of February.
Reportedly the line-up will consist of a 9-inch model called the Topaz and a smaller 7-inch model called the Opal. Both will be presented as part of a "Something big, something small, something beyond" marketing message at the February event.
The site also posted a leaked screenshot of what looks like an shot from HP’s intranet with details of marketing requests and launch dates worldwide for the 7-inch Opal. The first appearance of an LTE-equipped version HP’s new tablet appears to be scheduled for July on the US AT&T network.
Following two months of exclusivity on AT&T in the US, September sees 3G and Wi-Fi models appearing simultaneously worldwide on a variety of European networks, as well as retail models appearing throughout the Europe that same month.
Eight months looks like an uncomfortably long time away given the amount of tablets that will launch during the intervening time including the Apple iPad 2 and a broad range of Android 3.0 ‘Honeycomb’ tablets including the Motorola Xoom.
What’s clear from the renders it that HP are going for a minimalist iPad-like design, without any visible buttons or protruding features. It seems like we’ll know much more in three weeks time after HP’s official announcement.
