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It looks as though the iPad may have the tablet market almost to itself for longer than expected, with reports that Microsoft has cancelled its Courier project and Hewlett-Packard plans to rework its much anticipated HP Slate to run webOS rather than Windows 7.

If HP really is abandoning Windows for the Palm operating system, which it will own once it concludes its acquisition of Palm, it will make some sense of its decision to make that purchase. The market for the hybrid device formats that live between notebooks and smartphones is still very new, and all the phone, PC and software players aim to stamp their mark at an early stage.

One way to steal a march will be to create a software platform optimized for a tablet format - as webOS, with its heavy orientation to open web technologies and cloud/browser systems, could be. This is what Nokia/Intel want to do with MeeGo and Google with Chrome OS, but webOS is already developed, if immature. But it could give HP a differentiation that would not be possible through using Windows, and help claim the tablet sub-sector for the PC players, rather than the smartphone giants.

An enhanced webOS could join MeeGo and Chrome OS as a new breed of operating systems specifically created for new mobile internet devices such as tablets, and specifically for cloud/browser patterns of usage. This is a risk in terms of winning developer support, but may well deliver a better consumer experience than cramming a fully fledged PC OS such as Windows 7 onto a low power device, or shoehorning a smartphone system into the new way of working (unlike some of its partners, Google has been somewhat cool about Android on netbooks and tablets, while Nokia clearly saw the need for a second OS to add to Symbian).

If the Slate does appear running webOS rather than Windows, it will be a blow to Microsoft, whose CEO Steve Ballmer himself unveiled the HP product early this year. According to unnamed insiders quoted by TechCrunch, HP has been dissatisfied with the performance and power consumption of Windows 7 on the Slate. And of course, using an open source OS will cut out licensing fees.

Microsoft's response may be to push Windows Phone 7, once that appears, up towards tablets, but it can clearly see that the tablet segment is a work in progress, especially since the launch of iPad. It confirmed it has cancelled further development of its Courier tablet. "At any given time, across any of our business groups, there are new ideas being investigated, tested, and incubated. It's in Microsoft's DNA to continually develop and incubate new technologies to foster productivity and creativity," said Frank Shaw, corporate VP of communications, in a statement. "The Courier project is an example of this type of effort and its technologies will be evaluated for use in future Microsoft offerings."

Microsoft showed off a prototype last September. It had a dual-screen, book-shaped format, allowing the separate 7-inch screens to be used side-by-side for different applications (like reading a document and making notes, or looking up references online, or discussing it with a colleague).

Other tablets in the offing include Dell's Android-based Streak and LookingGlass, and Lenovo's IdeaPad U1.

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