HP may be getting ready to launch its WebOS-based HP TouchPad device on Friday but that doesn't mean the PC maker is dumping its support for Windows-based products. Indeed, a new article on Fast Company hints strongly that HP might have tablets that will have Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system inside.
One thing is pretty much set in stone. HP will not be using Google's Android operating system for any upcoming products. The article quotes Phil McKinney, the president and CTO of HP's personal systems group, as saying flatly, "We don't do Android." But when asked about a possible Windows 8 based tablet McKinney dodges the question, saying, "I'm limited to what I can talk about with Windows 8. We're working very closely with [Microsoft], and I'm going to leave it at that or I'm going to start getting myself into trouble." He then adds that there is a Windows 7 based tablet from HP, the Slate 500, that is selling well. But when pressed again if that means there will be a Windows 8 tablet the article states that McKinney "literally offers no answer but wears a big grin and after a few moments lets out a loud laugh."
The article also quotes another HP VP, Richard Kerris, who states, "Because of our relationship with Microsoft, anything is possible. If we have a huge customer base that says we need a Windows 8 tablet, by all means, we'd listen." Any way you look at it it seems like there is something brewing at HP that might form some kind of Windows 8 based tablet product in the future.
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