Hewlett-Packard Co. released Friday a touchscreen tablet computer that runs Windows, becoming the latest computer maker to jump into the fray following Apple Inc.’s debut of the iPad earlier this year.

H-P’s Slate 500 tablet can be bought on the company’s website for $799�above the price of most iPads, which range in price from $499 to $829, depending on storage space and wireless connectivity.

The Slate 500, which has an 8.9-inch screen, will run Microsoft Corp.’s Windows 7 operating system, and is targeted at business customers. IPads have a 9.7-inch screen.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer showed off a prototype of an H-P tablet running Windows 7 at a technology conference in January, but the device is reaching consumers nine months later, and six months after the iPad went on sale.

On its website, H-P calls the Slate 500 “the ideal PC for professionals who don’t usually work at a traditional desk, yet need to stay productive in a secure, familiar Windows environment.”

The Slate features front and rear cameras�features that aren’t available on iPads�and will have up to 64 gigabytes of storage space. It has a touch-sensitive screen as well as a digital stylus pen.

It comes equipped with Wi-Fi access but no built-in capability to connect to high-speed cellular networks, as rivals including the iPad, Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy Tab and Dell Inc.’s smaller Streak have.

Shipments are expected to start taking place by mid-November. H-P is also expected to make similar devices that run WebOS, an operating system made by Palm Inc., which H-P acquired for $1.2 billion this year.

Many device makers, such as Samsung and BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. , have recently announced tablets to rival Apple’s wildly popular device. Apple said Monday it sold 4.2 million iPads during its latest quarter.

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(Source: WSJ)