HP to launch WebOS laptop to rival Chromebook

Tablets with keyboards? Whatever next...

Not content with taking on the Apple iPad 2 and Google Android devices with its TouchPad WebOS, HP looks to be planning a laptop or netbook based on the same WebOS platform

HP is pinning it hopes of cracking the tablet market on WebOS, which it purchased along with once-great handheld maker Palm last year. But as news website ITProPortal reports, a leaked memo from a French developer log reveals that the company may be looking to release a 'proper' notebook-style device, with a permanent keyboard.

According to the memo, the device - codenamed 'Nova Dartfish' - has a screen resolution of 1024x768 pixels, the same as that of the HP TouchPad, which a company official accidentally blurted to thinq_ was slated for a June launch. The new device is set to include both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and will have a non-swappable battery.

This type of device will sound rather familiar to those who've been following Google's Chromebook initiative. The scheme will see the launch of a raft of netbook-style thin-client devices that use the search giant's browser-based Chrome OS to interact with the company's cloud-based services. Samsung and Acer are due to release the first Chromebook devices on 15th June - although a little bird told thinq_ yesterday that an unnamed Australian company may just beat them to it.

HP looks set to counter Google's plans with its own cloud-based infrastructure, if a post by an HP executive on LinkedIn earlier this month is to be believed.