Just before 2013 wrapped up, a rumour surfaced to suggest that Hewlett-Packard was about to possibly unveil two smartphones before the end of the year. While the launch window was proven wrong by the lack of any announcement, the devices themselves may still exist. One of them now appears to have surfaced on both the Bluetooth SIG website as well as the Gfxbench benchmarking database.
The Bluetooth SIG reveals that the device is called the HP Slate 6 Voice Tab. Bearing model number HSTHN-B19C, this could well be the 6-inch phablet alluded to by the earlier report. As for details, the filing reveals little else except to confirm that it will come with Bluetooth 3.0.
The Gfxbench data gives us a bit more to go on. It lists the HP Slate 6 Voice Tab as being powered by a quad-core Marvell PXA1088 processor (which uses Cortex-A7 cores) and Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It also appears to come with an HD (720×1280) display.
If nothing else, the information gives credence to the earlier claims that HP’s return to the smartphone arena would begin with devices geared at emerging markets such as China, India and the Philippines. Along with the 7-inch model, these phablets will be priced between US$200 and US$250.
Whether HP is also ready to return to more mature markets such as North America remains to be seen.
Sources : Bluetooth SIG // Gfxbench