Hewlett-Packard unveiled its latest convertible tablet PC on Monday in what some are predicting will be a banner year for that class of devices. Geared toward small to midsize business owners, the EliteBook 2740p, which sells for $1,599, has multi-touch capabilities, runs Windows 7, and features Intel Core i7 or i5 processors, making it far faster than its predecessors.
The i7 processor runs at 2.66 GHz, while the i5 runs at 2.53 GHz. An alternative i5-520M runs at 2.40 GHz. The installed memory is 2GB or 4GB, but can be upgraded to 8GB.
Hard-drive options range from 80GB to 250GB, and the optional mobile broadband service can be through AT&T, Sprint Nextel or Verizon Wireless.
Convertible tablets have a screen that can swivel to turn it from a laptop into a tablet, so the user can write or compute clipboard-style. The EliteBook also has mouse buttons in addition to a touchscreen that can react simultaneously to both stylus and pen. An optional two-megapixel webcam with business-card reader software is also available. The 2740p can also dock with an optional $299 expansion base that includes connections to an external monitor and storage drives.
Also expected this year is the much-talked-about Microsoft Courier, a dual-screen, folding tablet PC rumored scheduled for release at midyear.
But the devices shouldn’t be confused with the upcoming iPad that Apple announced in January and which will be released around the same time as the EliteBook in April. The iPad may be in a class of its own as a combination e-reader, computer and MP3 device.
“The HP tablet is more of a traditional client computer than the iPad,” said E. Scott Menter of Shire Ventures, a California-based technology and business consulting practice and former CIO of WaMu Investments. “Touchscreens are not an advantage in every situation, but where they…