![\"HP](\"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/HP-Slate-7.jpg\" "\\"HP")
<\/a>HP Slate 7<\/p><\/div>\n
Read more on Hewlett Packard<\/h3>\n
Hewlett Packard plunges to nine-year low<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Hewlett Packard layoffs to total 29,000<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
Hewlett-Packard Co announced the launch of a $169 tablet powered by the Android operating system, a centerpiece of the company’s effort to expand in mobile devices and reduce its dependence on the shrinking personal computer market.<\/p>\n
The launch of the Slate 7 marks HP’s latest foray into the consumer tablet market. It follows the 2011 failure of its WebOS-based TouchPad, which the company stopped selling after just seven weeks, citing poor demand.<\/p>\n
Powered by Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Slate 7 offers Google Inc services including search functions, YouTube and Gmail, as well as Beats Audio for improved sound, HP said.<\/p>\n
The 13-ounce device also includes access to apps and digital content through Google Play, and cameras on both sides of the 7-inch screen.<\/p>\n
HP said it expects U.S. sales of the Slate 7 to begin in April, and said the product offer a “compelling entry point” for people looking to buy tablets.<\/p>\n
Google’s Nexus 7 tablet costs $199, as does Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle Fire HD.<\/p>\n
HP also makes the ElitePad tablet for businesses, which is powered by Microsoft Corp’s Windows 8. WebOS had been developed by Palm Inc, which HP bought in 2010.<\/p>\n
The Slate7 is part of a multi-year plan by HP Chief Executive Meg Whitman to turn around the Silicon Valley icon.<\/p>\n
HP in recent years has struggled with costly acquisitions, management turnover, governance issues, and falling sales and margins from PCs, where the Palo Alto, California-based company still has the largest U.S. market share.<\/p>\n
Shares of HP closed Friday 12.3 percent higher at $19.20 on the New York Stock Exchange, a day after HP reported quarterly results and an outlook that exceeded analysts’ forecasts.<\/p>\n
The company’s market value has nevertheless dropped by nearly two-thirds since April 2010.<\/p>\n
HP announced the Slate 7 on the eve of the Mobile World Congress, a wireless industry trade show taking place this week in Barcelona, Spain.<\/p>\n