Tablet computers need to be lean and mean, not power hungry devices. So it seems that both HP and Microsoft are reconsidering their ventures into the tablet market. Microsoft it seems has decided not to introduce their own tablet, which was to be a split screen tablet called Courier. Both companies made these announcements within days of each other.

The HP Slate using Windows 7 would of been a power hungry device with limited battery life, since Windows 7 requires a heavy dose of power to function properly. Tablet computers need a lite weight OS that can utilize smaller processors and memory to extend battery life for the user.

But the HP tablet may not be totally DOA:

So what will HP use as an operating system? Look for Google-powered devices, which have already been announced. And HP really does seem determined to make a go of the Palm WebOS. They said how important it was to them yesterday, and they will likely experiment with porting it to a slate-type device.

As far as the Microsoft Courier goes, Microsoft has merely stated the following:

At any given time, across any of our business groups, there are new ideas being investigated, tested, and incubated. It’s in Microsoft’s DNA to continually develop and incubate new technologies to foster productivity and creativity. The “Courier” project is an example of this type of effort and its technologies will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time.

I believe most of us are waiting patiently to see what the new Google Chrome OS does, or doesn’t do, on a tablet computer. Using the cloud for storage may be the one obstacle that may hinder the Google project as well. Only time will tell how the consumer will react to the Google powered device.

Comments welcome

HP & Windows 7 source link

Microsoft kills Courier tablet source link