Update: HP Tells Users to Rethink Tablet Rumors

Yesterday I published an article about the possibilities of Hewlett Packard announcing a webOS-based tablet product at an event scheduled for February 9th.  This article discussed some of the rumors that were floating about the Internet in regards to the mysterious product, and exactly what features and specifications it would potentially have.  One of the things that I made sure to point out was the fact that the rumors regarding the product were, despite being backed by what seemed to be credible and trustworthy resources, nothing more than speculation.  I was also quick to point out that HP was being very tight-lipped about the entire event and what would come out of it, meaning that there was no verified information as to what the even would unveil.

Yesterday, however, it appeared that someone had spilled the beans, as Engadget posted an article with “exclusive” rendered images from a “trusted tipster” that showed what was presumed to be the design of the tablet.  With this post, many people immediately fell under the conclusion that the tablet had been revealed and the suspense of HP’s webOS event next month had been ruined.

As it stands now though, the suspense has only grown thicker with HP’s release of a miniature statement that called out Engadget as not having the “latest” information about what has become a very highly anticipated announcement and product.

The statement (shown below) reads “Think you saw the latest on Engadget?  Think again.”, and goes on to reiterate the fact that HP will be holding an even on February 9th in order to release “an exciting webOS announcement.”

While it’s unclear what this revelation means, I am almost certain that it is meant to hint at the fact that HP’s intended announcement is going to me more astounding than anything that we have already prepared ourselves for.  Having said this, I highly doubt that HP would send out this type of announcement if they were going to have a dull announcement that they didn’t think would meet the expectations of technology enthusiasts.  Rather, the playful wording in this statement seems to dance around the concept that HP’s announcement – and the product that will likely be unveiled at said announcement – is going to be more significant than originally anticipated.

From a marketing perspective, HP has managed to use this release to gain more attention to their already highly anticipated announcement, and has in turn earned themselves a great deal of free advertising in a sense.

So what does this mean for the announcement and the tablet that was predicted to be unveiled?  Was Engadget flat-out wrong, or do they simply not have all of the facts?  Personally, I am still confident that the event will revolve around HP’s introduction of a tablet, however the definite answer to this question will only become apparent in time, and at this point your guess is really as good as mine.  What we do know as of now however, is that HP doing an excellent job in keeping us as consumers and technology enthusiasts on our feet, and sure seems to be better than Apple when it comes to keeping secrets.