During his CES 2010 keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will show off an Hewlett-Packard tablet with multitouch, e-reader, and multimedia functionalities. At least that's what the The New York Times is reporting, citing unnamed sources. The "slate-type computer" is supposed to be "available by mid-year" and we may already have heard the name publicly.

"This is my Zeen. It is the key to my Airlife." These mysterious sentences were part of recent HP trademark filings uncovered by the NYT that cover "mobile computing devices and wireless lifestyles."

Along with a few netbooks, HP this week actually announced the HP TouchSmart tm2, a touch-enabled notebook PC that could be confused with the rumored tablet. However, the HP TouchSmart tm2 is expected to be available in the US on January 17 (much sooner than this supposed HP tablet) in all colors with a starting price of $949. Furthermore, while it has multitouch and multimedia capabilities, there's nothing e-reader-related mentioned, so these two are likely separate devices.

It's not clear how much control Microsoft had over the development of this rumored slate device, though if Ballmer is going to be showing it off, it's safe to say that it will be running some Microsoft software, at the very least Windows 7. The HP device should not be confused with the Microsoft Courier, images and details of which leaked out last fall. The dual-screen device has been in the works at Microsoft Research (not HP) for many months, and is supposed to be one of the many ways the software giant is experimenting with and prototyping the tablet form factor.

There is going to be a lot of tablet hype in the year 2010, and rumors have shown it's not just Microsoft that is interested in getting competitive. Apple is rumored to be announcing its own tablet later this month. Meanwhile, there are also rumors that Google has a tablet in the works, running Android of course, and developed by HTC. Ars will have liveblog coverage of the Microsoft keynote, so be sure to tune in.







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