We all know HP has bought Palm this year to save them from their misery, but no actual plans were announced, besides the HP’s intention to put WebOS in future printers (yes, it’s right) and tablets. We also know HP has delayed its plans to launch the Slate tablet, powered by Windows 7. You might think that HP is losing it, but they recently filed a trademark for the PalmPad name, a device that would fall into one of the following categories: Computers, computer hardware, computer software, computer peripherals, portable computers, handheld and mobile computers, PDAs, electronic notepads, mobile digital electronic devices.

    Yeap, that’s a pretty big list, and HP wants to ensure they’re covered in case of a change of plans. As with some trademarks, a grant for PalmPad name doesn’t necessarily means HP is gonna launch a product, but in the vast majority of cases it does, and I bet HP is doing everything possible to secure a spot in the touch tablet arena, and the best way to do that is to use the Palm WebOS, which they paid for, into a consumer oriented tablet.

    Also, as we are all used to HP, they’re going to launch also Android and Windows 7 tablets, to cover all bases. The thing we don’t know is when HP will unveil those tablets.

    PalmPad, a name to look for in a few months

    PalmPad, a name to look for in a few months

    UPDATE: Interesting enough, HP PalmPad seems to have planned a digitizer, so it will recognize pen and finger input, something some professionals will surely appreciate.