7 ms·

HP TouchPad: Shipping July 1

106 points by marklabedz 15y ago

marklabedz 15y ago
>>HP also said today that it will be partnering with AT&T to introduce a connected version of HP TouchPad later this summer. No details yet, but stay tuned.
junklight 15y ago
Well it looks like they have already done something better than all their non-Apple competitors - instead of rushing it out half finished they seem to have waited until it's done. Given the biggest complaint about webos on the phone was the power of the processor this stands a good chance of being a nice product. fingers crossed for them (I'm unlikely to give up my iPad given iCloud now but there really should be a decent competitor in the market place) ((and by decent I mean something a casual purchaser will be happy with and not a tablet that is good enough to make someone happy who pointedly doesn't want to buy Apple and will put up with all sorts))
- cmarshall 15y ago
  The 500MHz processor in the original Pre really does hold back WebOS. Running an overclocked custom kernel, I have mine set at 1GHz, makes a huge difference to the usability and surprisingly doesn't reduce battery life by much (which is partly due to the custom kernels clocking the CPU back to 500MHz when the screen is off). It looks like HP/Palm have learned from this and aren't going to make the same mistake twice, the more recent videos of the Touchpad show how much they've optimised the UI to remove the lag: http://www.precentral.net/webos-3-0-optimizations-make-smoother-touchpad-swiping-video http://www.precentral.net/webos-3-0-optimizations-make-smoot...
  - chops 15y ago
    As I was completely unaware of overclocking in WebOS and specifically for the original Pre (which I have), I'll save the user the bit of googling I did to find overclocking. I had no idea it was this easy in preware: http://www.precentral.net/why-i-overclock-my-palm-pre-its-easier-you-think-video http://www.precentral.net/why-i-overclock-my-palm-pre-its-ea... So now I have my distraction for the next half-hour while I play with the overclocking options and test the responsiveness. So thank you for mentioning that. +1 to you!
    - phamilton 15y ago
      I don't know how many times I said the words "I had no idea it was so easy" when I had my Palm Pre. It really is an impressive OS.
- dwforbes 15y ago
  You sure have managed to fit a lot of bias into such a short message. You're also quite certain that a product that no one has reviewed is "done", while giving no leave to competitors. Honeycomb tablets are fantastic devices for most users, and the tablet-targeted operating system is quite well done.
- zmmmmm 15y ago
  > they seem to have waited until it's done That's about the most positive spin I think you can put on being horribly late to market. But do you have evidence that they actually "waited until it was done" and didn't just rush to market also, just later because they started even further behind?
suprgeek 15y ago
I am a fan of the Android notifications but I have told that the webOS ones are even better! This should be an interesting device all in all.
- MatthewPhillips 15y ago
  WebOS notifications are nice because you can swipe away individual notifications. But they also take up more screen than on Android (which matters because Palm/HP loves tiny phones). I'd say it's a push overall.
  - WrkInProgress 15y ago
    It would be really nice if they have a notification tray (or rather a summary area). That would make it the best notification system on any current platform. Right now, once you swipe the notifications away, there's no single place to go and view those notifications. I can't recall if it still keeps a small reminder icon on the bottom. Ideally, swipe left to dismiss, swipe right to dismiss for now (still listed in the notification "tray").
    - jimmyk 15y ago
      > I can't recall if it still keeps a small reminder icon on the bottom. It does this if you don't swipe it away and you interact with some other app. So, if I'm writing an emial and a text message comes in, it will show up with the full notification, but if I touch the email again, it will show the tiny reminder icon.
- kpozin 15y ago
  One major problem with WebOS notifications is that you can't interact with some of them when they appear. You have to wait until after (1) they've minimized themselves, (2) you've tapped the minimized icon in the lower right corner, and then (3) tapped or swiped the expanded notification item. It's particularly infuriating with the WiFi "Captive portal detected" notification.
modernerd 15y ago
They are also offering free TouchPads to webOS developers who can demonstrate a working TouchPad app that they intend to submit to the App Catalog. Details on their blog: http://developer.palm.com/blog/2011/05/show-us-your-app-at-webos-connect-for-the-chance-to-get-an-hp-touchpad/ http://developer.palm.com/blog/2011/05/show-us-your-app-at-w...
- smackfu 15y ago
  Step 1 to get your free TouchPad: get to Paris or Berlin.
  - ansy 15y ago
    A company the size of HP can afford to give away piles of TouchPads and Pres to developers that might be mildly interested. HP should have somebody hunting down the twitter accounts of prolific app developers and mailing out starter packs of hardware. Google has been handing out hardware left and right and doesn't seem to be slowing down one bit.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - modernerd 15y ago
      Where can I find out more about the free hardware that Google are offering mildly interested developers? It sounds great.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
  - modernerd 15y ago
    You don't have to get to Paris or Berlin. You can email them (that's what I did).
    - d3fun 15y ago
      2. Must be registered for and present at the event to be eligible. 4. Must be able to show your app in progress to a designated HP webOS representative, in the form of an .ipk file we can load onto and test with an HP TouchPad.
saturdaysaint 15y ago
I like WebOS, so it's too bad that the form factor lags behind a generation. A 1.6 pound device will be palpably less comfortable to use than the new generation of 1.3 pound devices (iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1).
- lamnk 15y ago
  If that's the case, I think you should go out and do some exercises. Can you really tell the difference between 1.6 pound and 1.3 pound gadgets ?
  - daeken 15y ago
    If you're using them in bed, you absolutely can. Even an ounce makes a huge difference when you're holding it up for hours on end.
  - saturdaysaint 15y ago
    I sold my iPad 1 because I didn't enjoy holding it up for long periods of time. I wouldn't call it heavy so much as awkward to use in many of the standard tablet use-cases (in bed, holding it up like a book). I'm in good shape, thanks.
thedeuce 15y ago
After getting my wife a palm pre..and seeing how slow and frustrating it is (and how much the wife complains); I'd never get anything webOS again.
desigooner 15y ago
I still fail to understand on why companies prefer to price their products at the same level as iPad?! Spec for spec, there are not many things that put HP TouchPad to an advantage. No extendable memory, no extra ports, a weak app ecosystem, etc. Ever since the ASUS Transformer was released at 399$ for a 16GB model, that pretty much became the price to beat for a tablet which wanted to compete with the iPad2
- marklabedz 15y ago
  In principle I agree, however, much has been made of Apple's buying power when it comes to key components (displays, solid state storage, etc). Apple may well have the lowest actual component cost.
  - desigooner 15y ago
    I understand the fact about Apple's buying power. But when someone is trying to compete with an established product, you gotta offer something more at some price less to get people to even look at it! It's going to be interesting to see how the HP Touchpad & Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 do in the next few months. However, the real competition will start when Amazon jumps into the market with their rumored Kal-El tablets later this year.
    - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
      The dollars don't matter so much. eBay matters is that you are seen providing better value (which may indue cost). Unfortunately, with the WWDC announcements, it really doesn't look like HP has a better value. They need something more to compete if they don't want it to be a race to the bottom with Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean vendors.
      - stcredzero 15y ago
        Unfortunately, with the WWDC announcements, it really doesn't look like HP has a better value. For as long as the MS/Windows ecosystem is a going concern, a sufficiently well executed non-Apple tablet will have a market in those who are anti-Apple.
Killah911 15y ago
"Touch to Share capability for sharing web addresses between HP TouchPad and compatible webOS phones" I'm sure all 5 people who still have the palm pre can barely contain their excitement... Seriously, what's HP thinking? I think the Palm Pre came out with more fanfare, and that didn't turn out that great. If all that really differrentiates HP's tablet from the iPad is the OS, well, quite frankly, it's been done before with the Palm Pre vs. iPhone, with less than flattering results for Palm. I just don't see the sensible part yet... if someone else does, please point it out to me...
- glhaynes 15y ago
  Yeah... I want to see webOS do well, but making one of your main differentiators be tight integration with a product that essentially nobody owns isn't normally the route to success.
  - jimmyk 15y ago
    It's not compatible with the original Pre or Pixi. It's compatible with the veer, which just came out, and the pre3, which doesn't even have a release date yet. It might be compatible with updated versions of the Pre2 but I don't think they're banking on people buying those.
    - camiller 15y ago
      No, the touch to share functionality is based on some form of near field communications. I don't think the Pre2 has the hardware. The Veer (with a software update) and Pre3 are supposed to support it.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- megaman821 15y ago
  Palm made the mistake of not realizing fanfare isn't the same as distribution. Touchpads are going to be available at Amazon.com, HP.com, BestBuy, Walmart, Sam's Club, OfficeMax and several others within two weeks of launch, not to mention the international push. The Pre was stuck on the nation's 3rd largest network for like 6 months. It really had no chance of competing with current offerings on AT&T and Verizon being that old.
6ren 15y ago
It's a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2GHz But they don't mention RAM or cpu. It runs flash, but doesn't mention java (so it probably doesn't).
- gregstoll 15y ago
  I believe the spec is 1GB of RAM.
- piranha 15y ago
  > But they don't mention RAM or cpu. How's saying that it's 1.2 ghz cpu is not mentioning cpu? As for RAM, Wikipedia page says it'll have 1 gb.
  - 6ren 15y ago
    sorry, typo, I meant gpu (or is that integrated into the SoC?)
    - piranha 15y ago
      Ah, right, GPU. Here: http://www.fudzilla.com/mobiles/item/21816-qualcomm-officialy-announces-its-apq8060-processor http://www.fudzilla.com/mobiles/item/21816-qualcomm-official... > ... comes paired up with Adreno 220 GPU ...
      - 6ren 15y ago
        Thanks! 1080p 30fps seems not quite there yet (though impressive for a tablet). Preview for their lead game doesn't look "console quality" to me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7lUziafr4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7lUziafr4 Though the first games usually don't max out the hardware and of course tablets will probably go through a few generations before the next console generation (excluding nintendo's Wii U), so it's only a matter of time. Just not there yet. I saw elsewhere that it's not as powerful as the iPad 2 (though clocked 20% faster...)
    - unwiredben 15y ago
dstein 15y ago
I think HP's marketing is wrong, they shouldn't be touting the WebOS operating system so much because ordinary people don't care. The operating system is irrelevant in this type of device. In fact, I think something along the lines of Google's ChromeOS is the right operating system for a tablet -- an ultralight web-browsing only device with cloud-connected filesystem for downloads/photos/movies etc. It's the only type of device that I foresee being able to really compete against the iPad.
- viraptor 15y ago
  It might be relevant because it's going to run on desktops too. That means you get webos in both places - it's a word people will have to remember.
- r00fus 15y ago
  It's important if one of the goals of the TouchPad is to rejuvenate the WebOS brand so they can market it for notebooks and other non-tablet/phone devices in the future.
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
freshrap6 15y ago
As a webOS fan/user/developer I'm happy to hear this. It's a big step forward for the platform. Sadly though what I really need is a new phone. Where is the pre 3, when is that going to be release? A new phone would do much more for me right now than a tablet.
patrickod 15y ago
One of the cooler things about WebOS when I was using a 1st generation Pre was the large community of jailbreakers and the mods and apps that they produced. Given some of the cool things they made possible on the Pre I'm really interested to see what they'll do with the TouchPad. Here's hoping it's a success, I really liked WebOS.
sleight42 15y ago
Just once, I'd like to hear an electronics developer, in HP/Palm's situation, humbly concede, "We realize that we're entering a crowded market. We realize that we're entering late. However, our strategy is simple: ply the development community with incentives which, over time, should help us flesh out our platform into an engaging and useful product." I've read little but boasting from HP about the new round of WebOS devices. Let's be honest: they have a very tough road ahead if they want to get any market share. They need all of the help and good will that they can get.
- Apocryphon 15y ago
  They've been inching towards being flexible. Hopefully their statements about possibly licensing webOS with other manufacturers will bear fruit.
- Yhippa 15y ago
  I could care less about talk in any case. I've been following Windows Phone 7 as of late and it seems that they've made it easy to program for the platform by offering development tools, samples, and instruction. There is scant documentation or examples for Enyo. They changed app dev frameworks on all of their existing developers from Mojo to Enyo. That can't help either. I think they have a near Herculean task in trying to claw back market share. There seem to be a few evangelists who love the webOS platform and its devices but when it comes to consumers paying at the door that is in jeopardy.
  - megaman821 15y ago
    Enyo docs are scant because Enyo is still a beta and the docs are under NDA, but they do exist and aren't that bad. There is still plenty of room for HP to improve their docs and more code samples though.
shaggy 15y ago
Aside from the the hardware and the OS, the most exciting part of the announcement is how HP is using their sizable scale and distribution channels to get the touchpad into the 4 of the top brick and mortar retailers. It will make it far more accessible to the average consumer than the iPad. I wish the price was lower, but sadly if they didn't match the pricing of the iPad then too many people (or worse media outlets) would automatically assume that it was priced cheaper because it's an inferior product (which it isn't).
Apocryphon 15y ago
If webOS fails, I think its legacy will be being too ahead of its time twice- one for being a neat smartphone OS back in 2009 with several features that both the iPhone and Android lacked (card system for multitasking, development platform based on web programming languages), and second for getting into the multi-device platform game prior to OS X Lion and Windows 8 (the webOS will run on everything from desktops to printers initiative that HP is currently pushing).
- sleight42 15y ago
  Too ahead of it's time? I'm pretty sure it's just that they were too late to market. (1) they launched on Sprint. Sprint is a distant 3rd now. (2) they didn't reach Verizon in time. They had this lovely window of time before Verizon launched the first Droid phone. Verizon users were hungry for a smartphone. Droid got their first and filled the niche. It's easy to armchair quarterback but, after trying the Pre on Sprint, I kept wishing for them to get a faster Pre on Verizon before Android arrived. Too little, too late.
  - Apocryphon 15y ago
    What you're saying is true, but I still think that mine are true as well. webOS seems to be the first to have: 1. Certain features like cards, a good notification system, and requiring only HTML/CSS/JS knowledge to develop for, back in 2009 2. Currently being the only(?) mobile OS out that is designed to be also run on non-tablet/smartphone systems. So it boils down to webOS being ahead of its time on some technical features, while marketed poorly and thus causing it to miss the boat.
jdavid 15y ago
I have been waiting for this device for months. It's not the second coming or anything, but for those of us that don't want to buy Apple, and think that android is ugly. WebOS devices are a nice balance. It's also been true that Samsung has not been able to get clean devices out. They are buggy and expensive. The TouchPad may not be as fast as an iPad 2 or the new Samsung tablet, but it will be faster than the iPad 1, and most of the Android Tablets on the market. The OS is clean and is easy to use. If the device sells well the app market is not yet crowded and there will be plenty of room for app developers to create a niche for themselves. I also think that HP will have better distribution into the enterprise. Touch to Share will not just be about moving files between your phone and tablet, it will be about moving files between all of these devices including your laptop, your printer, and your mobile, ( maybe even your camera ). Imagine if Mom could buy a printer, a camera, and a phone and just print out photos by taping her phone to the printer. What if you could print out those TPS reports by tapping your tablet on any one of a hundred printers in an enterprise? And then there is the touch stones, which wirelessly charge your devices. Yes, I am excited someone is finally competing with iDevices by creating a better experience, not just a cheaper one. HP don't just make it cheaper, make it easier to use across all of my devices. And don't forget that there is that rumor of dropbox integration into webos 3.

106 points by marklabedz 15y ago

>>HP also said today that it will be partnering with AT&T to introduce a connected version of HP TouchPad later this summer. No details yet, but stay tuned.

junklight 15y ago

Well it looks like they have already done something better than all their non-Apple competitors - instead of rushing it out half finished they seem to have waited until it's done. Given the biggest complaint about webos on the phone was the power of the processor this stands a good chance of being a nice product. fingers crossed for them (I'm unlikely to give up my iPad given iCloud now but there really should be a decent competitor in the market place) ((and by decent I mean something a casual purchaser will be happy with and not a tablet that is good enough to make someone happy who pointedly doesn't want to buy Apple and will put up with all sorts))

cmarshall 15y ago
The 500MHz processor in the original Pre really does hold back WebOS. Running an overclocked custom kernel, I have mine set at 1GHz, makes a huge difference to the usability and surprisingly doesn't reduce battery life by much (which is partly due to the custom kernels clocking the CPU back to 500MHz when the screen is off). It looks like HP/Palm have learned from this and aren't going to make the same mistake twice, the more recent videos of the Touchpad show how much they've optimised the UI to remove the lag: http://www.precentral.net/webos-3-0-optimizations-make-smoother-touchpad-swiping-video http://www.precentral.net/webos-3-0-optimizations-make-smoot...
- chops 15y ago
  As I was completely unaware of overclocking in WebOS and specifically for the original Pre (which I have), I'll save the user the bit of googling I did to find overclocking. I had no idea it was this easy in preware: http://www.precentral.net/why-i-overclock-my-palm-pre-its-easier-you-think-video http://www.precentral.net/why-i-overclock-my-palm-pre-its-ea... So now I have my distraction for the next half-hour while I play with the overclocking options and test the responsiveness. So thank you for mentioning that. +1 to you!
  - phamilton 15y ago
    I don't know how many times I said the words "I had no idea it was so easy" when I had my Palm Pre. It really is an impressive OS.
dwforbes 15y ago
You sure have managed to fit a lot of bias into such a short message. You're also quite certain that a product that no one has reviewed is "done", while giving no leave to competitors. Honeycomb tablets are fantastic devices for most users, and the tablet-targeted operating system is quite well done.
zmmmmm 15y ago
> they seem to have waited until it's done That's about the most positive spin I think you can put on being horribly late to market. But do you have evidence that they actually "waited until it was done" and didn't just rush to market also, just later because they started even further behind?

suprgeek 15y ago

I am a fan of the Android notifications but I have told that the webOS ones are even better! This should be an interesting device all in all.

MatthewPhillips 15y ago
WebOS notifications are nice because you can swipe away individual notifications. But they also take up more screen than on Android (which matters because Palm/HP loves tiny phones). I'd say it's a push overall.
- WrkInProgress 15y ago
  It would be really nice if they have a notification tray (or rather a summary area). That would make it the best notification system on any current platform. Right now, once you swipe the notifications away, there's no single place to go and view those notifications. I can't recall if it still keeps a small reminder icon on the bottom. Ideally, swipe left to dismiss, swipe right to dismiss for now (still listed in the notification "tray").
  - jimmyk 15y ago
    > I can't recall if it still keeps a small reminder icon on the bottom. It does this if you don't swipe it away and you interact with some other app. So, if I'm writing an emial and a text message comes in, it will show up with the full notification, but if I touch the email again, it will show the tiny reminder icon.
kpozin 15y ago
One major problem with WebOS notifications is that you can't interact with some of them when they appear. You have to wait until after (1) they've minimized themselves, (2) you've tapped the minimized icon in the lower right corner, and then (3) tapped or swiped the expanded notification item. It's particularly infuriating with the WiFi "Captive portal detected" notification.

modernerd 15y ago

They are also offering free TouchPads to webOS developers who can demonstrate a working TouchPad app that they intend to submit to the App Catalog. Details on their blog: http://developer.palm.com/blog/2011/05/show-us-your-app-at-webos-connect-for-the-chance-to-get-an-hp-touchpad/ http://developer.palm.com/blog/2011/05/show-us-your-app-at-w...

smackfu 15y ago
Step 1 to get your free TouchPad: get to Paris or Berlin.
- ansy 15y ago
  A company the size of HP can afford to give away piles of TouchPads and Pres to developers that might be mildly interested. HP should have somebody hunting down the twitter accounts of prolific app developers and mailing out starter packs of hardware. Google has been handing out hardware left and right and doesn't seem to be slowing down one bit.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - modernerd 15y ago
    Where can I find out more about the free hardware that Google are offering mildly interested developers? It sounds great.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
- modernerd 15y ago
  You don't have to get to Paris or Berlin. You can email them (that's what I did).
  - d3fun 15y ago
    2. Must be registered for and present at the event to be eligible. 4. Must be able to show your app in progress to a designated HP webOS representative, in the form of an .ipk file we can load onto and test with an HP TouchPad.

saturdaysaint 15y ago

I like WebOS, so it's too bad that the form factor lags behind a generation. A 1.6 pound device will be palpably less comfortable to use than the new generation of 1.3 pound devices (iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1).

lamnk 15y ago
If that's the case, I think you should go out and do some exercises. Can you really tell the difference between 1.6 pound and 1.3 pound gadgets ?
- daeken 15y ago
  If you're using them in bed, you absolutely can. Even an ounce makes a huge difference when you're holding it up for hours on end.
- saturdaysaint 15y ago
  I sold my iPad 1 because I didn't enjoy holding it up for long periods of time. I wouldn't call it heavy so much as awkward to use in many of the standard tablet use-cases (in bed, holding it up like a book). I'm in good shape, thanks.

thedeuce 15y ago

After getting my wife a palm pre..and seeing how slow and frustrating it is (and how much the wife complains); I'd never get anything webOS again.

desigooner 15y ago

I still fail to understand on why companies prefer to price their products at the same level as iPad?! Spec for spec, there are not many things that put HP TouchPad to an advantage. No extendable memory, no extra ports, a weak app ecosystem, etc. Ever since the ASUS Transformer was released at 399$ for a 16GB model, that pretty much became the price to beat for a tablet which wanted to compete with the iPad2

marklabedz 15y ago
In principle I agree, however, much has been made of Apple's buying power when it comes to key components (displays, solid state storage, etc). Apple may well have the lowest actual component cost.
- desigooner 15y ago
  I understand the fact about Apple's buying power. But when someone is trying to compete with an established product, you gotta offer something more at some price less to get people to even look at it! It's going to be interesting to see how the HP Touchpad & Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 do in the next few months. However, the real competition will start when Amazon jumps into the market with their rumored Kal-El tablets later this year.
  - SoftwareMaven 15y ago
    The dollars don't matter so much. eBay matters is that you are seen providing better value (which may indue cost). Unfortunately, with the WWDC announcements, it really doesn't look like HP has a better value. They need something more to compete if they don't want it to be a race to the bottom with Chinese, Taiwanese, and South Korean vendors.
    - stcredzero 15y ago
      Unfortunately, with the WWDC announcements, it really doesn't look like HP has a better value. For as long as the MS/Windows ecosystem is a going concern, a sufficiently well executed non-Apple tablet will have a market in those who are anti-Apple.

Killah911 15y ago

"Touch to Share capability for sharing web addresses between HP TouchPad and compatible webOS phones" I'm sure all 5 people who still have the palm pre can barely contain their excitement... Seriously, what's HP thinking? I think the Palm Pre came out with more fanfare, and that didn't turn out that great. If all that really differrentiates HP's tablet from the iPad is the OS, well, quite frankly, it's been done before with the Palm Pre vs. iPhone, with less than flattering results for Palm. I just don't see the sensible part yet... if someone else does, please point it out to me...

glhaynes 15y ago
Yeah... I want to see webOS do well, but making one of your main differentiators be tight integration with a product that essentially nobody owns isn't normally the route to success.
- jimmyk 15y ago
  It's not compatible with the original Pre or Pixi. It's compatible with the veer, which just came out, and the pre3, which doesn't even have a release date yet. It might be compatible with updated versions of the Pre2 but I don't think they're banking on people buying those.
  - camiller 15y ago
    No, the touch to share functionality is based on some form of near field communications. I don't think the Pre2 has the hardware. The Veer (with a software update) and Pre3 are supposed to support it.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
megaman821 15y ago
Palm made the mistake of not realizing fanfare isn't the same as distribution. Touchpads are going to be available at Amazon.com, HP.com, BestBuy, Walmart, Sam's Club, OfficeMax and several others within two weeks of launch, not to mention the international push. The Pre was stuck on the nation's 3rd largest network for like 6 months. It really had no chance of competing with current offerings on AT&T and Verizon being that old.

6ren 15y ago

It's a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2GHz But they don't mention RAM or cpu. It runs flash, but doesn't mention java (so it probably doesn't).

gregstoll 15y ago
I believe the spec is 1GB of RAM.
piranha 15y ago
> But they don't mention RAM or cpu. How's saying that it's 1.2 ghz cpu is not mentioning cpu? As for RAM, Wikipedia page says it'll have 1 gb.
- 6ren 15y ago
  sorry, typo, I meant gpu (or is that integrated into the SoC?)
  - piranha 15y ago
    Ah, right, GPU. Here: http://www.fudzilla.com/mobiles/item/21816-qualcomm-officialy-announces-its-apq8060-processor http://www.fudzilla.com/mobiles/item/21816-qualcomm-official... > ... comes paired up with Adreno 220 GPU ...
    - 6ren 15y ago
      Thanks! 1080p 30fps seems not quite there yet (though impressive for a tablet). Preview for their lead game doesn't look "console quality" to me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7lUziafr4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY7lUziafr4 Though the first games usually don't max out the hardware and of course tablets will probably go through a few generations before the next console generation (excluding nintendo's Wii U), so it's only a matter of time. Just not there yet. I saw elsewhere that it's not as powerful as the iPad 2 (though clocked 20% faster...)
  - unwiredben 15y ago

dstein 15y ago

I think HP's marketing is wrong, they shouldn't be touting the WebOS operating system so much because ordinary people don't care. The operating system is irrelevant in this type of device. In fact, I think something along the lines of Google's ChromeOS is the right operating system for a tablet -- an ultralight web-browsing only device with cloud-connected filesystem for downloads/photos/movies etc. It's the only type of device that I foresee being able to really compete against the iPad.

viraptor 15y ago
It might be relevant because it's going to run on desktops too. That means you get webos in both places - it's a word people will have to remember.
r00fus 15y ago
It's important if one of the goals of the TouchPad is to rejuvenate the WebOS brand so they can market it for notebooks and other non-tablet/phone devices in the future.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]

freshrap6 15y ago

As a webOS fan/user/developer I'm happy to hear this. It's a big step forward for the platform. Sadly though what I really need is a new phone. Where is the pre 3, when is that going to be release? A new phone would do much more for me right now than a tablet.

patrickod 15y ago

One of the cooler things about WebOS when I was using a 1st generation Pre was the large community of jailbreakers and the mods and apps that they produced. Given some of the cool things they made possible on the Pre I'm really interested to see what they'll do with the TouchPad. Here's hoping it's a success, I really liked WebOS.

sleight42 15y ago

Just once, I'd like to hear an electronics developer, in HP/Palm's situation, humbly concede, "We realize that we're entering a crowded market. We realize that we're entering late. However, our strategy is simple: ply the development community with incentives which, over time, should help us flesh out our platform into an engaging and useful product." I've read little but boasting from HP about the new round of WebOS devices. Let's be honest: they have a very tough road ahead if they want to get any market share. They need all of the help and good will that they can get.

Apocryphon 15y ago
They've been inching towards being flexible. Hopefully their statements about possibly licensing webOS with other manufacturers will bear fruit.
Yhippa 15y ago
I could care less about talk in any case. I've been following Windows Phone 7 as of late and it seems that they've made it easy to program for the platform by offering development tools, samples, and instruction. There is scant documentation or examples for Enyo. They changed app dev frameworks on all of their existing developers from Mojo to Enyo. That can't help either. I think they have a near Herculean task in trying to claw back market share. There seem to be a few evangelists who love the webOS platform and its devices but when it comes to consumers paying at the door that is in jeopardy.
- megaman821 15y ago
  Enyo docs are scant because Enyo is still a beta and the docs are under NDA, but they do exist and aren't that bad. There is still plenty of room for HP to improve their docs and more code samples though.

shaggy 15y ago

Aside from the the hardware and the OS, the most exciting part of the announcement is how HP is using their sizable scale and distribution channels to get the touchpad into the 4 of the top brick and mortar retailers. It will make it far more accessible to the average consumer than the iPad. I wish the price was lower, but sadly if they didn't match the pricing of the iPad then too many people (or worse media outlets) would automatically assume that it was priced cheaper because it's an inferior product (which it isn't).

Apocryphon 15y ago

If webOS fails, I think its legacy will be being too ahead of its time twice- one for being a neat smartphone OS back in 2009 with several features that both the iPhone and Android lacked (card system for multitasking, development platform based on web programming languages), and second for getting into the multi-device platform game prior to OS X Lion and Windows 8 (the webOS will run on everything from desktops to printers initiative that HP is currently pushing).

sleight42 15y ago
Too ahead of it's time? I'm pretty sure it's just that they were too late to market. (1) they launched on Sprint. Sprint is a distant 3rd now. (2) they didn't reach Verizon in time. They had this lovely window of time before Verizon launched the first Droid phone. Verizon users were hungry for a smartphone. Droid got their first and filled the niche. It's easy to armchair quarterback but, after trying the Pre on Sprint, I kept wishing for them to get a faster Pre on Verizon before Android arrived. Too little, too late.
- Apocryphon 15y ago
  What you're saying is true, but I still think that mine are true as well. webOS seems to be the first to have: 1. Certain features like cards, a good notification system, and requiring only HTML/CSS/JS knowledge to develop for, back in 2009 2. Currently being the only(?) mobile OS out that is designed to be also run on non-tablet/smartphone systems. So it boils down to webOS being ahead of its time on some technical features, while marketed poorly and thus causing it to miss the boat.

jdavid 15y ago

I have been waiting for this device for months. It's not the second coming or anything, but for those of us that don't want to buy Apple, and think that android is ugly. WebOS devices are a nice balance. It's also been true that Samsung has not been able to get clean devices out. They are buggy and expensive. The TouchPad may not be as fast as an iPad 2 or the new Samsung tablet, but it will be faster than the iPad 1, and most of the Android Tablets on the market. The OS is clean and is easy to use. If the device sells well the app market is not yet crowded and there will be plenty of room for app developers to create a niche for themselves. I also think that HP will have better distribution into the enterprise. Touch to Share will not just be about moving files between your phone and tablet, it will be about moving files between all of these devices including your laptop, your printer, and your mobile, ( maybe even your camera ). Imagine if Mom could buy a printer, a camera, and a phone and just print out photos by taping her phone to the printer. What if you could print out those TPS reports by tapping your tablet on any one of a hundred printers in an enterprise? And then there is the touch stones, which wirelessly charge your devices. Yes, I am excited someone is finally competing with iDevices by creating a better experience, not just a cheaper one. HP don't just make it cheaper, make it easier to use across all of my devices. And don't forget that there is that rumor of dropbox integration into webos 3.