When you think about a Windows 7 Slate computer, you can't help but think about the HP Slate. Unfortunately HP may be having second thoughts about the slate, and so we should start looking at the alternatives. One of the more promising alternatives is The ExoPC from a company out of Quebec, Canada. In fact when you see the specifications of the ExoPC it may explain why HP might be going back to the drawing board.

Below is comparison of the ExoPC to the HP Slate and iPad, notice that the ExoPC is larger than the HP Slate, but it is thinner, heavier, has twice as much ram and a more powerful processor. 

The only problem I can see with this Slate is that it won't be available until September. ExoPC's founder announced that the Slate will be launching in the US, Canada and France on September 7th. The company's twitter account recently tweeted that they have the final prototypes in hand and we should be seeing some pictures and videos shortly.

	ExoPC Slate	HP Slate	Apple iPad
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium	Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium	Apple iPhone OS
UI Layer	ExoPC UI Layer	HP touch-optimized UI	iPhone OS
App Store	Yes	Unknown	Yes
Multi-touch	Capacitive multi-touch	Capacitive multi-touch	Capacitive multi-touch
Display	11,6 inches 1366 x 768 135 pixels per inch	8,9 inches 1024 x 600 133 pixels per inch	9,7 inches 1024 x 768 132 pixels per inch
RAM (installed / max)	2GB / 2GB DDR2	1GB / 1GB DDR2	Not disclosed
CPU	Intel Atom Pineview-M N450 1.66 GHz - 64 bits support	Intel Atom Z530 1.60 GHz	Apple A4 1.0 GHz
Graphics	Intel GMA500 HD & Flash ready	Intel GMA500 HD & Flash ready	Integrated
Storage	SSD 32/64GB	SSD 32/64GB	SSD 16/32/64GB
Wireless Display	Intel WiDi HD ready	No	No
Network	Wifi 802.11 b/g/n	Wifi 802.11 b/g	Wifi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR	2.1 + EDR
Ports	USB 2.0 x2, Audio jack, Mini-HDMI	USB 2.0 x1, Audio jack, Dock connector	Audio jack, Dock connector
Card reader	SDHC 32GB Max	SDXC	None
Accelerometer	Yes	Yes	Yes
Light sensor	Yes	Yes	Yes
Webcam	1.3 MP	1.3 MP + 3.0 MP	None
Microphone	Yes	Not disclosed	Yes
Speaker	Built-in 2 x 1.5W	Not disclosed	Build-in
Battery	5 hours	5 hours	10 hours
Dimensions	288 x 190 x 14.0 mm 850 g	234 x 150 x 14.7 mm 670 g	243 x 190 x 13.4 mm 680 g
Price	599$ (32 GB)	549$ (32 GB)	599$ (32 GB)

The ExoPC will also feature an App Store where you can download software free of viruses that are touch screen friendly. It will support Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight and play full HD video.

The Dev Kit will be available at the end of June and will be free to download!

Check their site for more info. http://www.exopc.com

 RW