14 DAY TRIAL // Today's market is already getting well supplied with tablets, and it looks like not just them, but also their accessories are passing through the FCC's tasting facilities before beginning to sell.
HP, like so many other notebook and smartphone makers, has developed its own set of tablets, wishing to engage Apple's iPad and all other competitors.
One of its slates goes by the name of the HP TouchPad and, unlike all others of its kind, does not use the Android OS.
Instead, the device is loaded with HP's own webOS platform, which it got when it bought Palm (and has since developed it into more than it was before).
That said, the company is also preparing a physical keyboard meant to act as a companion to the slate, making it, in a way, similar to the Eee Pad Transformer from ASUS.
HP's own auxiliary device utilizes the Bluetooth wireless protocol, so it had to pass through the hands of the Federal Communications Commission before being validated for shipment.
Fortunately, the tests were a success and this also enabled some information on the product to surface ahead of release, as it often happens with FCC filings.
It has the model designation KT-1087 and uses a chiclet keyboard design, while having some design similarities to the wireless keyboards that Apple sells.
Hopefully these minor resemblances won't be enough for any lawsuit to sprout, since one might say the arguments between Apple and Samsung are more than enough at this point.
That said, the product will be available as an option alongside the TouchPad, once the latter starts shipping in a 10.1-inch form factor in June, with a 7-inch version slated for September.
Either way, it is obvious that enough customers still like the idea and feel of a genuine, physical keyboard over that of a virtual, touchscreen-based imitation.