Following HP’s entry into the Android world with the Slate 7 tablet in 2013, the company proceeded to launch several more tablets and phones running Google’s mobile operating system. Now a leak has revealed that HP’s cooking up another Android-powered device, but this one’s a bit different than the others.
A promotional video for a new device known as the HP Slatebook 14 has been discovered by Notebook Italia. The clip shows a black and yellow laptop with a 14-inch display, touchscreen and Android OS. Spec details for the Slatebook 14 are fairly light, but the video does mention that it’s packing a “Full HD” 1080p display and quad-core NVIDIA processor. It’s also shown that there’s a trio of USB ports, a full-size HDMI port and slots for microSD and SIM cards.
It’s not known exactly which version of Android that the Slatebook 14 is running, but Ars Technica suggests that it’s either Android 4.2 or 4.3. It’s also worth pointing out that HP appears to have made some Android-specific customizations to the laptop’s keyboard, giving it Recent Apps, Home and Back buttons.
Android has appeared on several different non-smartphone and tablet devices in the past, including TVs, wristwatches and even ovens. Still, this HP Slatebook 14 looks like a pretty interesting product both because we haven’t seen many traditional laptops that run Android and because HP has quite a bit of experience making notebooks. Here’s to hoping that the fact that it’s running Android can help to make the Slatebook 14 an affordable device, too.
