HP’s 9.7-inch Topaz tablet to feature the 1.2 GHz Qualcomm MSM8660

Last year, in April, when HP bought Palm, there were many who said the tablet market would be getting some new slates featuring Palm’s WebOS operating system. Time was passing, and there wasn’t the slightest word on this. However, a few weeks ago, a pretty big leakage on the HP Topaz and HP Opal tablets created quite a buzz online. Now, we’ve got some more new information, albeit only for the HP Topaz.

The new details are courtesy of the folks from Pre Central, who made it sure to specify the info isn’t final. Anyway, it seems HP is looking to make the 9.7-inch Topaz a tough contender for the iPad. Cutting to the chase, here are the HP Topaz specs:

• Qualcomm MSM8660 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• Adreno 220 Integrated GPU
• 9.7-inch XGA (1024 x 768) screen with Gorilla Glass (fingerprint-proof and somewhat scratch-proof)
• Front-facing 1.3 MP camera
• 16 GB/32 GB/64 GB eMMC flash storage
• 512MB of on-board DDR2 RAM
• Wi-Fi Dual-band 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Optional WWAN for HSPA, LTE and CDMA (to come later)
• 2 integrated speakers with HP Beats Audio technology, 3.5mm audio jack
• Accelerometer, eCompass, Gyro, Light Sensor, Microphone
• 24WHr total power (it will probably last for 8 hrs) using two 3150mAh cells
• Sizing: 190mm x 240mm x 13.7mm
• Estimated weight: 700g

That just about wraps it up, as far as hardware is concerned, that is. The HP Topaz will also come with some different new technologies, such as Touchstone v2. Charging, website and picture sharing, audio streaming via Bluetooth to speaker dock, map and directions, music sharing from Palm smartphones (HP seems to have known for sure Palm would turn out a great deal) to the HP Topaz tablet, contact sharing, printing, video streaming, as well as video game playing (all wireless) will all be possible with the help of this new technology.

Pricing and availability are still unknown, but we’ll surely learn more on February 9, when the WebOS “Think big. Think small. Think beyond” event will take place.