CES 2010: Steve Ballmer Unveils HP’s Windows 7 Slate Device

Posted by Tanya Hall

January 7, 2010

The rumours are questioned no more. As part of his opening keynote at CES 2010, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has revealed the HP slate, though “that’s not what it’s called.”

Ballmer clarified that that Microsoft has dubbed the device as a slate to differentiate it from the pen-and-screen tool that Bill Gates showed off back in 2001.

Whatever it’s called, HP’s tablet device runs Windows 7 and runs various modes such as PC mode, movie mode and eBook mode.

“They’re more powerful than a phone and almost as powerful as a PC. Perfect for reading, surfing the web and taking entertainment on the go,” said Ballmer.

“More than ever, we are delivering the experiences that people want, wherever they want them, wherever they are.”

Ballner gave his address after a power problem delayed the opening speech by more than 20 minutes, sending technicians scrambling to reboot software on a range of different computers.

This is the second year that Steve Ballmer has opened the world’s largest technology gathering, taking over the spot last year from former Microsoft chief Bill Gates.

For a visual representation of how Microsoft has developed in the space of 12 months, let’s take a look at Steve Ballmer and the “slate” at CES in 2009…

…and in 2010 (with actual HP “slate”) courtesy of Gizmodo.

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