HP Launches Download Store, Features Popular Desktop Software for Now

HP’s Download Store, announced today, isn’t exactly an app store. After all, it’s a storefront not for any HP-specific platform, such as TouchSmart, but for popular Windows games and software, such as Quicken, Microsoft Office, and Norton Antivirus, among many others. In total, the store divides its software offerings into eight categories, including Finance & Tax, Security & Utilities, Digital & Photo Editing, Business & Office, Learning, Games, HP Recommends, and Services.

I’ll be interested in seeing two things: one, if HP can load up its consumer machines with less bloatware and instead promote its own storefront where customers can download these programs if they choose. More importantly, I’m wondering how and if the store’s offerings will change once the Slate is fully revealed. We already know that the Slate will run Windows 7 with some kind of proprietary skin on top. Will the store be ready with tablet-friendly apps at launch? We think that would be a smart move, anyway.