14 DAY TRIAL // It appears that the recently revealed HP TouchPad tablet will be just one of multiple slates that the company has planned for the future, at least according to how HP applied for trademark protection of six different brandings.
It seems like only yesterday HP came forth and formally announced the TouchPad Android tablet, also releasing no less than nine videos of it.
Of course, this impression may be due to the fact that it is almost true, since the announcement was made just two days ago.
Turns out, however, that the outfit has no intention of restricting itself to just one such 10-inch tablet, given its recent applications for trademark protection.
More specifically, HP has filed for trademark protection on the TouchPadFlex, TouchPadPro, TouchPadTwin, TouchPadGeo, TouchPad7 and TouchPadGo names.
The names aren't exactly self-explanatory, but the TouchPadTwin could suggest a dual-display design, while the TouchPadGo could refer to a smaller size (7 inches).
Either way, given what the slate market has seen so far, it is possible, even probable, that one will have a hinged design, one will have a keyboard or that there will even be a slate with a flexible, maybe even rollable display.
Other trademarks filed so far were TouchCanvas (possibly meant for drawing), DuoPad, TouchSlate and PalmPad.
What remains is to see what comes of these names, if anything. After all, while this does seem to suggest ambitious tablet plans for the world's leading PC supplier, it is just as likely that it is a sort of red herring meant to throw market watchers off the trail of what the outfit is really up to.
Meanwhile, consumers can keep an eye on the industry to see what old and new slates, based on ARM, Intel or AMD platforms, end up on top, at least as far as the non-iPad tablet market goes.