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HP CEO Meg Whitman recently told investors that the company will be shipping Windows 8 products by the end of the year, and now CNET is reporting some possible details about its tablet plans. According to the site, HP is working on at least three different Windows 8 tablets, powered by chips from Intel and Qualcomm. The two Intel models are said to utilize the chipmaker's 32nm Atom Clover Trail platform, and will come in two distinct form factors. The first is reportedly a laptop / tablet hybrid — a device type that some of HP's competitors believe in — while the second is a more traditional tablet aimed at business customers. The third product is said to be powered by a Qualcomm processor, though no additional details are given. CNET reports that some of the three models are already being readied for commercial production, which lines up with Whitman's statements last year that the company would ship Windows 8 tablets by the end of 2012.
Whitman previously outlined the dual-pronged strategy in an interview with CRN earlier this month, noting that the company would move forward with x86 tablets first, because "we don't know when the delivery is for the software on an ARM chip." Tablets certainly haven't been the friendliest game for HP, with the company's Slate 500 and Slate 2 failing to impress, to say nothing of the fire-sale special HP TouchPad. Still, it's clear Whitman feels HP must be competitive in the tablet market, and is counting on Windows 8 to help it get there.
