Hewlett-Packard has scored a big win for its upcoming
ElitePad 900 tablet for business.
The company said Monday that Emirates Airlines will use 1,000 the Windows 8 devices for its cabin crew.
It’s the first customer win for the 10.1-in. tablet, to be released in January.
It will run what the airline calls its Knowledge-driven Inflight Service (KIS) for keeping track of crew and customer needs.
“We selected the HP ElitePad 900 to power KIS because of its sleek design and light weight, which allows our staff to provide the highest levels of service to our customers, whilst maintaining the ruggedness and security measures needed from an enterprise class device,” said
Kevin Griffiths, senior vice-president for cabin crew service.
After its disastrous attempt to break into the consumer tablet market in 2011 with the webOS-based TouchPad, HP said it would stay away from mass-market tablets.
Last month it revealed the ElitePad, aimed at organizations because of built-in security software called HP Client Security.
The tablet also meets military standard 810G testing for drop, vibration, dust, temperature and altitude, HP says.
Canadian release date and pricing haven't been announced.