Hewlett-Packard’s foray into the field of tablets hasn’t been met with anywhere near the same success as the company’s desktop and notebook PC lines. There was the ill-fated TouchPad, which in a historical perspective was webOS’s last hurrah (before its recent rebirth into open source, that is), and the HP Slate series that no one ever talks about. Undeterred, HP is taking another stab at this market segment with its new ElitePad 900, supposedly a “true tablet for business,” but with a twist.

The big push this time around is for “Smart Jackets,” which are really docking stations, an area HP is plenty experienced in. Business users will be able to choose from various types of jackets, such as the Productivity Jacket, which includes an integrated keyboard, connectivity ports, SD card reader, and adjustable viewing angles, or the Expansion Jacket, which adds USB, HDMI, and other connectivity options. It can also extend battery life when bundled with the optional ElitePad Jacket battery.

As for the tablet itself, the ElitePad 900 is a 10.1-inch slate that measures a mere 9.2 mm thick and weighs 1.5 pounds. That’s slightly thinner than Apple’s third generation iPad tablet, which measures 9.4 mm, though not quite as light as the iPad at 1.44 pounds.

That’s where the comparisons stop. While similar in size and shape to the iPad, HP’s ElitePad 900 takes direct aim at business productivity with an Intel x86 foundation and Windows 8 running the show. The full cast of parts hasn’t yet been revealed, but HP did say it will include an 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, a Full HD 1080p front-facing camera for video chat, and touch-, pen-, and voice-based input options.

On the software side, HP is loading up its newest tablet with ePrint software so users can print remotely to any ePrint-capable printer or networked HP printer, CyberLink YouCam software to use in conjunction with the built-in optics, and CyberLink Media suite.

Pricing is still a mystery, though HP says the ElitePad 900 will available in January 2013. By that time, there will be a smorgasbord of new Windows 8-based notebooks, ultrabooks, and convertible tablets on the market all vying for the same market HP is chasing. It will be interesting to see if HP’s jacket strategy gives it an edge or ultimately wears thin on business users.