HP Slate 500 found buried on HP website, PalmPad trademark also requested

HP looks set to be launching a tablet device running Windows 7 Premium under the moniker of the Slate 500 and in related news has also applied for a trademark of the name PalmPad.

The company announced the Slate earlier in the year and it was the focus of several public outings (including Steve Ballmer at CES 2010) and promotional videos but has since been quiet about its tablet plans.

However, PCWorld.com is reporting that a listing for the HP Slate 500 can be found buried on the official HP website. If the listing is bonafide, and the spec remains unchanged before launch, the device will land with an 8.9-inch screen, Windows 7 Premium, two cameras (listed as "video and still"), and an accelerometer.

The page also suggests that the Slate will arrive with an accompanying pen or stylus, allowing users to "write or draw as if on a piece of paper", though there is no indication to what form it will take.

Information on the EnergyStar website adds to the spec listing with the inclusion of a 1.6Mhz processor and 1GB of RAM.

Previous rumours had suggested that HP was planning to launch both Windows and Android based tablets but these plans are widely thought to have been dropped since the company acquired Palm, in a large part for its webOS operating system.

To that end, the company has also filed a trademark request for the name PalmPad, adding fuel to speculation that a webOS-centric tablet will be on its way in the future.