It is set to be the battle of the computer giants in the war over leadership in the tablet computer space. Apple’s

iPad will face-off with HP’s Slate. Apple is hoping to dominate with its April 3 release, while HP is simply targeting this year. In this case, timing may not be everything as consumer expectations will be running high.

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A recent San Francisco Chronicle piece by Ryan Kim noted that HP has been ramping up its marketing for its upcoming launch and many industry experts expect HP will be able to hold its own against Apple. It doesn’t hurt that HP’s CTO of personal system group, Phil McKinney, has been touting the Slate as a powerful new media device.

“We predict users are looking for that consolidated device, that one device they can use for the ultimate content consumption experience,” McKinney said in a recent video interview and featured in the Chronicle.

“The feedback that we got from our customer base is: I want to be able to browse, I want to able to watch movies, I want to be able to listen to my music, I want to read magazines and do books. So the Slate device can give you not only reading capabilities but also give you that rich media.”

Even as these products are set to go neck and neck, there are some stark differences in their respective makers’ approach to the industry. For one, Apple – and many other rivals – are using mobile operating system paired with smartphone processors. HP, by contrast, is taking a computer-based approach in that the device will run Windows 7 with an Intel processor. For some, the idea of Windows is an attraction – for others, a big turn off.

“In some ways, Windows and Intel is a safe bet,” said analyst Bob O'Donnell of IDC . “You have things that are important for people like Adobe Flash, and a lot of other things that people are used to. The question is how do people use them: like a big smart phone or a totally different way. That remains to be seen.”

The issue actually goes just a little bit deeper as Windows have not proven to be the best thing for the handheld device. An earlier overview of the HP Slate highlighted the issue:  “…as much as the majority loves Windows for a myriad of tasks completed on PCs, laptops and even Apples, Windows 7 – which is standard on the new HP tablet – just does not work well in smaller devices. The biggest hiccup is the touch screen capability that Windows 7 offers.”

HP is also facing an uphill battle in the handheld market, although a success could present considerable revenue and profit opportunities. Even though the company dominated the world in PC sales, it only recorded $25 million in handheld sales in the most recent quarter; Apple had $5.6 billion in iPhone (News - Alert) revenue in the most recent quarter.

This is a big difference in performance, but it does not mean that consumers aren’t ready to try something new. The problem is much of Apple’s success has been built on its ability to create loyalty among its customer base. HP will have to go up against this strategic marketing technique, as well as its proven inability to deliver streamlined products that can compete in a market demanding smaller devices.

Ultimately, the outcome is yet to be determined and everyone has their own opinion as to the final dominating player. In truth, Apple may hit the ground running and do very well, but HP should not be counted out of the game simply because of a few missteps in the past. Their strong performance in the PC realm is enough to warrant them a formidable adversary and a failure to do so will leave Apple vulnerable.