Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve been trying to find out when HP would launch a webOS tablet since the company first bought Palm, and we’re now hearing from several trusted sources that it’ll be calendar Q1 2011. We’re told Personal Systems Group VP Todd Bradley mentioned the date during an all-hands employee meeting yesterday, and that the project is indeed known internally as “Hurricane.” (We’re assuming this is what that PalmPad trademark filing was for, but we can’t confirm that.) Shipping a killer tablet would be one way to change the subject from ex-CEO Mark Hurd’s recent troubles, we suppose — but we’re definitely wondering if HP is actually going to support three different tablet operating systems after it launches the Windows 7-based Slate for the enterprise and the Android-based Zeen e-reader tablet for consumers as well. We’ll see — Q1 could be mighty interesting.

HP tells employees webOS tablet coming Q1 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Worried that former HP CEO Mark Hurd might not know what to do with himself after getting caught falsifying expense reports to hide girl #2 and being forced to resign? Don’t be: ol’ Mark’s getting a $12,224,693 severance payment in exchange for agreeing not to sue HP. Yep, Mark Hurd just got $12 million in cash for fraudulently filing expense reports to conceal his mistress — not a bad trick if you can pull it off, we suppose. (We don’t know how much he’ll have to pay back, but we’re guessing he’ll have a little cash left over.) Oh, and he’s also having his option to buy 775,000 shares of HP stock extended to September, which is pretty groovy considering HP actually upped its quarterly forecast today, some other assorted stock-related compensation, and 18 months of health and dental benefits. Whoever said a little white collar crime doesn’t pay?

Update: CNBC has sources claiming the total value of Hurd’s severance including stocks is closer to $40-50 million, give or take. That’s… well, that’s a lot of ink cartridges.

Continue reading Former HP CEO Mark Hurd rewarded with a $40m severance after being forced to resign over fraudulent expense reports

Former HP CEO Mark Hurd rewarded with a $40m severance after being forced to resign over fraudulent expense reports originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP CEO Mark Hurd resigned over a sexual harassment allegation leveled by a former HP contractor. The company says an investigation by outside counsel found no sexual harassment violation, though there were violations of HP’s Standards of Business Conduct. Updated More »

We’ve been flooded with a deluge of tips about the HP Zeen ever since we posted those first FCC images of the tablet device this morning, and it’s actually a little surprising at how perfectly everything aligns. We’ve now had multiple tipsters confirm that the Zeen is an e-reading-focused Android tablet with the unique ability to connect directly to an HP printer and function as its interface without the need for a computer. But that’s not all — here’s everything else we know:

• The Zeen is a capacitive tablet running a HP skin on top of Android 2.1 — it won’t get shifted to webOS, and it’s not clear if it’ll get upped to Froyo before launch given the development time required. It has capacitive touch buttons, a SD card slot, video support, and at least some prototypes have cameras with a special webcam app installed.
• The goal is for the HP home screen and skin to be the only home screen available, but that hasn’t been fully implemented yet.
• E-reading is a major focus, and the Zeen has “significant” integration with the Barnes & Noble Nook bookstore and ecosystem. Makes sense, as the Nook itself is based on Android, and being able to print e-books from the Zeen would be a huge differentiator — and a great way for HP to sell more ink.
• The Zeen will come in two configurations: a $399 bundle with a new printer called Zeus and as a standalone unit for an unknown price. The Zeus has its own “basic” control setup, but when the Zeen is docked it provides a rich interface to the printing functions — presumably a web-connected interface like the one HP’s been moving towards with other printers.
• Despite the CQ model number, the Zeen is a straight HP product, with a laser-etched logo on the back.

So that’s what we know about this enigmatic product. It certainly adds up — HP has long said one of the reasons it bought Palm was to use webOS as a consistent interface to other connected devices like printers, and it only makes sense that the company was working on executing that strategy with an OS like Android long before Jon Rubinstein and company joined the team. Besides, how better to sell more ink than by making it easy for consumers to hit Facebook and print pictures without having to use a computer at all? It’s certainly interesting — we’re waiting patiently to see when and where the Zeen next appears.

The HP eStation Zeen, the Zeus printer, and everything we know about them originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reach deep into the grey matter and try to recall a little post we did back on December 30th of 2009. That’s the day we learned about HP’s filing for the “Zeen” trademark on a “portable handheld device.” Now here we are today, eight months and one major aquisition later, with an FCC filing for a very tablety device with 802.11b/g/n WiFi. The name? HP eStation Zeen. Unfortunately, that’s all we know due to the short-term confidentiality request put in place until December 31st. Still, product CQ720A looks very much like the mythical HP Slate don’t you think? It’s definitely a tablet of some kind. Now if only we knew the chosen OS, price, ship date, consumer or business focus, and about a dozen or so other details. Baby steps, people, baby steps.

Update: This is crazy, but we’ve now gotten multiple tips claiming that the Zeen is actually an Android-based tablet with e-reader functionality that can also dock with an HP printer and become its interface. E-reading, Zeen, magazine — get it? Based on HP’s repeated previous statements about webOS hitting printers and tablets, we’d assume the Zeen has since been shifted over to Palm’s OS, but we can’t be sure, as that would undoubtedly add development time and we’re told this thing has been kicking around for months.

Whatever this is, it appears HP still has some work to do: one of our sources described the Android-based prototype as feeling like a “brick” and being “extremely unpolished” with poor battery life. It’s also been pointed out in comments that the CQ in the product number typically indicates a Compaq device, so that could eventually be the branding. We’ll see what’s real soon enough, we suppose.

Continue reading eStation Zeen is HP Slate? Update: Or a Compaq Android tablet for printing?

eStation Zeen is HP Slate? Update: Or a Compaq Android tablet for printing? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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