It’s probably too early to tell; at this point (pre-production stage) you can only rely on fishy rumors and murky tipsters to share. But as you may know, good news spread around pretty fast these days and someone, close enough to HP manufacturing division, apparently knows that pretty well. So what is it all about, you may ask? A new HP tablet – nothing that you haven’t already heard about, except the acknowledged unit (which was recently emerged in Asia) appears to be a near final 7-inch Zeen C510 Android 2.1 tablet – yes, an ANDROID tablet which is rumored to be part of a $399 printer bundle. And while there’s not much info about the hardware, software wise you get an integrated Email client along with Facebook, 60 Minutes, MSNBC, and Dreamworks apps preloaded as well. Oh, and there’s a printing app too, in case you wondered. Regretfully, it won’t go live solo, just bundled with this new HP PhotoSmart eStation C510 printer, but the price is pretty convenient, isn’t it?

Update1: HP just gone official with its latest Photosmart eStation printer which bundles a 7-inch Android 2.1 tablet inside and features a special customized Yahoo layer on top of the OS. And no, there is no access to Android Market, in case you wondered, no Gmail support and no special dedicated games included. Instead, you are likely to have a slew of Yahoo apps and widgets already preloaded, while Android 2.2 version is said to be released somewhere towards the holiday season. Hardware wise, there is a wifi connection on both machines (printer and tablet) and battery is claimed to deliver four to six continuous hours. Checkout the hands-on video along with the full PR after the break.

Update2: This would be handy if you happen to be one of those Google Android aficionados who actually bought the printer and the slate. Come this weekend, HP’s likely to start rolling out even more improvements to the tablet that will hopefully improve speed, and give you more options with the Android 2.2 update which can be downloaded complete with Flash support through the company’s online channels. Check the video after the break.

[via Engadget]

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