HP Envy x2

HP's Envy x2 won't launch until later this year, but at an Hewlett-Packard event in San Francisco last week, I got a chance to get some hands-on time with the device. HP has not announced a price yet, but since Microsoft has yet to officially price its Surface tablet, that's not surprising.

It's interesting to watch HP attempt to bounce back from the TouchPad failure. From what I've seen of this tablet (HP calls it a "Hybrid PC"; I'll continue to call it a tablet), the company is on the right track.

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Samsung Series 7 Slate PC

(Credit: Scott Stein)

Windows tablets aren't new. In fact, we reviewed a Samsung Series 7 Slate last fall which, despite strong performance and a solid design, didn't seem to be a perfect product. They're coming back in a major way thanks to Windows 8's imminent fall debut, and Samsung's taken the opportunity to revamp its Slate in two different 11.6-inch forms: a Series 5 Slate with a next-gen Atom processor for $749, and a Series 7 Slate with a Core i5 processor for $1,199. Both have detachable keyboard docks and run Windows 8. The biggest new addition to these Slates might be their stylii: both come with the S-Pen, the pressure-sensitive Samsung stylus introduced in Galaxy Note phones and tablets over the past year.

The S-Pen slots into the side of the Slate and offers 1,024 levels of sensitivity. Depending on the software designed to work with the S-Pen, it could be a killer differentiating feature compared to other Windows tablets. Samsung's also installing MediaHub software to help out with entertainment and app access to Samsung's content.

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