Hewlett Packard has announced a new Slate tablet called the Slate 2 with a new processor and some minor upgrades.

The first Slate tablet, the Slate 500 was released a year ago in October with a limited amount of success. Well HP is now giving the tablet another chance with a new spruced up Slate 2 tablet PC with better processor and longer battery life.

The Slate 2 tablet will have the same 8.9 inch diagonal multitouch display with a slightly better resolution 1024x768 pixel than the Slate 500 which only had 1024x600 pixels. HP has upgraded the Slate 2 with an Intel Atom Z670 processor with mSATA SSM technology for faster boot times. The Slate 2 will have an improved battery life of up to six hours and improved external storage support that includes microSD, miniSD and SD cards.

Other changes include an always-exciting TPM chip for security, a new Bluetooth keyboard dock, and a flat black cover, rather than the grey textured one on the original. The Slate 2 will also feature a new Swype keyboard that makes data entry easier.

"HP is dedicated to the tablet PC category and continues to listen to customers and improve the product in ways that best address their business needs," said Dan Forlenza, vice president and general manager, Commercial Managed IT Segment, HP. "The HP Slate includes the right mix of rich features, support for custom-built applications, and the security and connectivity needed for today's highly mobile and rigorous day-to-day professional environment."

HP's tablet business has been a surprising series of ups and downs lately. After it released the Slate 500, HP released the short-lived HP Touch Pad. The TouchPad has actually become a minor classic because of its discounted price of $99. Users have snapped up the TouchPad and HP has actually run out of TouchPad units. The release of the Slate 2 is actually another surprise considering that HP has announced that it would be producing tablets for Microsoft's Windows 8 due out next year. The Slate 2 may actually be HP's way of testing the waters before fully coming back next year with the Windows 8 tablet. If so, it's a very tentative dip because there's nothing about the Slate 2 that would actually excite the public. Unless HP decides to slash the prices of the Slate 2, this might be another misfire from HP.

The HP Slate 2 will be available for purchase on an unspecified date in November, starting at $699.