The HP Slate -- has there ever been a more iconic, more groundbreaking, more life-altering device? Oh, there has ? Well anyway, HP CTO Phil McKinney has been friendly enough to share some of the history behind the development of his company's newly announced tablet , which is set for a release at some point later this year. Starting with e-reader prototypes five years ago, he tells us, HP steadily built up an idea of the sort of "rich media experience" modern consumers are lusting after. It's only now, however, in a "perfect storm" of innovation, that HP finds itself capable of pairing the right hardware with the mainstream-friendly price point it was shooting for. Join us after the break for the full dose of education on this multitouch Windows 7 machine.