It's unlikely HP will ever say for sure just what motivated its buyout of Palm – previous attempts countered within days – but it does appear that webOS was the focus, with the Pre and Pixi essentially acting as a bonus.

As such, HP has revealed the as-of-yet-unnamed webOS tablet it has in the works – inventively dubbed PalmPad by tech blogs across the globe – will launch in early 2011.

The firm's Windows 7 equipped Slate will likely make its before then, however, with HP hinting it could be on the shelves at some point before the end of the year.

In the strictest confidenceThe admission was made during a conference call, with HP personal systems group executive VP Todd Bradley stating a Microsoft product will be out "in the near future", with a "webOS-based product in early 2011".

HP has previously claimed it intends to leverage webOS across its entire range, with even its printer line-up set to benefit from the highly regarded OS.

Many within the industry believed the Slate had been canned, with HP choosing to plump for Android over Microsoft's OS. However, HP confirmed it still planned to launch the device – which will come in six separate flavours – back in July.

[source: PreCentral]