HP Plans to Unwrap webOS Tablets Next Month

Without identifying the tipster, Engadget wrote this week that Hewlett-Packard is planning to unveil webOS based tablets at the company event in February. Currently being developed in Sunnyvale, the webOS based tablets include 9-inch Topaz and a 7-inch model code named Opal.

Media reports indicate that both HP tablets will support 1024x768 TFT LCD display, and offer HP's high-end Beats audio processing as well as cloud-based storage.

Engadget also writes that the units will start to arrive at Palm HQ in June as production ramps up for launch later this year. A timeline backed up by an internal marketing slide received by Engadget lists WiFi-only, AT&T (News - Alert) 3G, and Verizon LTE versions of the Opal to arrive in September 2011, and AT&T LTE to come in July 2012. The slide also indicates the Opal will have a particular e-reading focus, which makes sense for a 7-inch device, writes Engadget’s Nilay Patel.

While there is no word on specs or pricing yet, Engadget’s Patel thinks it better be cheap if it intends to pose serious competition.

Similarly, Yahoo! News reports that those anticipated devices will feature cloud-based storage and high-end audio, among other innovations. In addition, they will also feature a front facing camera, a micro-USB port, and three speakers.

If HP does offer substantial cloud-based storage, some observers are speculating that there may also be a raft of cloud-based applications that could make it much easier for users to access and manage the apps as well as a library of documents or music, writes Yahoo! News.

According to Yahoo! News, on Jan.7, HP Executive Vice President Todd Bradley told CNBC's Maria Bartiromo that the Feb. 9 event will show "the future of webOS" and the "breadth of products" that the platform will enable.

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