Photosmart eStation: HP Releases an Android Tablet….Sorta

HP introduced the Photosmart eStation, an all-in-one printer that looks like a whole lot of other printers, but with one big exception. It has a giant display that is actually a 7″ Android tablet device. That’s right, HP’s finally gotten around to releasing a touchscreen slate device and it’s NOT the one we’ve been waiting for all year.

This isn’t the first touchscreen that HP’s thrown on a printer, but it is the first one that detaches. It’s also the first one that’s running Android 2.1. This is a cool little extra if you’re in the market for a new printer, but I don’t recommend buying this just to get a small Android tablet. There’s a built-in web browser, email client, music player and Barnes and Noble app. There’s no access to Google’s Android Market, which is a little disappointing, but expected give Google’s requirements for the feature. According to HP, it runs on a Freescale processor and will last up to six hours on a single charge.

Dana from Laptop Mag got a chance to play with th etablet piece of the HP eStation tablet.

The Photosmart eStation will retail for $399 and will hit store shelves sometime next month, just before the holiday rush.

Word was that HP would be using Palm’s WebOS in a range of devices, including printers, which makes this announcement a bit of a surprise.