HP Kills off its Windows 7 Version of HP Slate

First the Courier, now the HP Slate.

This week, Microsoft disappointed gadget enthusiasts by scrapping plans for its dual-screen Courier tablet. Today, word on the street is that the Hewlett Packard's Windows 7 tablet, the HP Slate, has also been scrapped.

It was announced by Steve Ballmer on day zero of CES and it was one of the bigger announcements of the show. When the whole world was buzzing about Apple's upcoming tablet event, HP rolled in and stole the show with its own Windows 7 tablet. There was little information available about the Slate at CES but over time, teaser clips and videos explaining how the device came to be hit the Web.

Back in March, the HP Slate got spec'ed and priced at €400. Rumored to boast Intel's Atom processor, USB connectivity, a memory card reader, a rear-mounted integrated webcam, Windows 7 and a Flash support, the device was said to be hitting shelves in June. Now, it looks like HP is killing the project completely.

TechCrunch cites a source who has been briefed on the matter who says the company is scrapping the tablet because it's not happy with Windows 7 as an operating system. It's impossible to ignore that kind of rumor a couple of days after HP acquired a mobile OS of its own (Palm's WebOS). There are also rumors that HP will ditch the Atom CPU in favor of something a little less power-hungry.

The Windows 7 version of the HP Slate was not the only tablet HP had in the works. The company planned to release the same tablet but with Google's Android OS on it instead. So far, it looks like that device is still safe.

Rendering 3D Slows Down PS3 Game Performance

Might 3D be too much to handle for current generation game consoles?

3D is the big new thing this year, and the PlayStation 3 will support the new dimension later this year through a software update. While that's all well and good, what hasn't been talked about at length is what going 3D could do to performance.

Eurogamer is taking a look at Wipeout HD, which runs in its original form on the PlayStation 3 at 1080p at 60 fps, but in 3D it gets moved to 720p at 30 fps. While the sacrifice in resolution and frame rate may be worth the 3D-ness for Wipeout HD, most games for the PS3 run at 720p. This would lead one to wonder if a current PS3 game running at 720p at 30 fps would become unplayable if it had to take on the task of making things 3D.