TechCrunch is reporting that HP has supposedly killed off the HP Slate device originally intended for a mid-year product launch.

First announced at CES 2010, the Slate was supposed to usher in a new era of Windows 7-based tablet PCs. Unfortunately as the months went by, folks in the media began slamming the Slate as nothing more than a keyboard-less netbook. Yes, the Atom processor on the inside certainly didn’t help but let’s face it – no matter how touch-enhanced Windows 7 is, the use interface and the performance just wasn’t up to snuff – especially in light of the recent launch of the Apple iPad.

Thus if this rumor is indeed true, HP probably did itself a favor by halting the product before it hit full production thereby saving millions of dollars and of course additional bad press.

In addition, Wednesday’s purchase of Palm signaled a new direction for HP’s mobile product offerings. Everything from netbooks to smartphones gets affected by this purchase so it’s not hard to imagine the company going back to the drawing board with the Slate – especially in light of the availability of the webOS plaform. OR – HP could opt for Android similar to what Dell is doing with their upcoming Streak product line.

Whatever the case might be, it’s pretty clear that a Windows 7 powered tablet comparable to the iPad won’t be coming to a home near you anytime soon.

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