Engadget has certainly had a great run of exclusives lately, and this first leak of the HP/Palm tablet is no exception. According to Engadget, this leak comes from a trusted source and is of a 9" tablet named or codenamed "Topaz." Engadget says that a 7" tablet, named "Opal," is also in the works and may hit the market later. Other than having a 1.2 Ghz processor, a front-facing camera, and a Micro-USB port, not much else is known about the device, but we're sure to know something after Feb. 9. Of course, that doesn't mean speculation can't run rampant.
For instance, note that the branding on the back has both of the HP and Palm names. In their invite to the Feb.9 event, HP didn't put the Palm name anywhere. Secrecy couldn't have been the issue, since they said directly that it would be a WebOS event. The two images are both obviously renders, but the back displays FCC markings, so perhaps that's what it will actually look like.
And does it ever look good! The front display shows an attractive WebOS that looks pretty inviting to use. After we expressed our disappointment at the small display on the Palm Pre 2, it actually looks as if WebOS has some serious room to breath and roam free! The way the cards and dock look and fit seems very right. In fact, it almost looks too good. While I do think this will be what the tablet looks like, I'm not sold on the back. For one thing, there is no visible name of the device. HP could have kept the name from making it onto early renders, but it seems like it would fit well between the branding and the FCC markings. If that's the case, who knows what else could be different, including the fairly boring molded plastic and curved back. I expect the back to change and accomodate the name of the device. It's also very possible that the Palm name will be gone by the time the device hits.
One thing that shouldn't change is the placement of the quick action bar. They moved the search box below the dock, a welcome move that consolidates most of the navigation of the device at the bottom. It's difficult to tell if the icons on the right of the screen are notifications or part of the menu system. If they used the extra screen real estate to move the menu option to the bottom, sharing the same vertical space as search, that would be a smart move. They're probably just notifications, but moving the menu would have been another element they could have consolidated. As long as the device can differentiate between the dock, the search bar, notifications and the gesture area, it's a pretty clean interface for the device. Here's hoping that HP also has some phones to back up the powerful initiative reflected in this tablet.