HP Tablet: TouchPad

H

haven

Expedition Leader
The WiFi version of the HP Touchpad starts shipping in USA on July 1. Canada, England, Ireland, Germany and France will receive the TouchPad later in July. You'll be able to see the Touchpad at several retail outlets, including Best Buy, Costco, WalMart, Staples, Radio Shack and Office Depot. Online, the TouchPad can be ordered through HP, as well as Amazon.com, Newegg, and J&R. Initial pricing is $500 for the model with 16 GB flash memory, and $600 for 32 GB.

Initial reviews of the TouchPad are mixed. Reviewers like the adaptation of WebOS to the tablet format. Several call it the best tablet OS available today. And a couple of reviewers say the TouchPad is the best competitor yet for the iPad, due to the sophisticated WebOS environment that supports full multi-tasking.

But compared to the iPad and Android tablets like the Asus Eee Pad Transformer, the user interface often feels slow to respond to touch input. Rotation from portrait to landscape is also slow. HP says it's working on a fix via a software update.

The TouchPad is about the same size and weight as the original iPad, so it's noticeably thicker and heavier than the iPad 2. Battery life is about 8 hours compared to the iPad 2's 10 hours.

And then there's third party app support. Compared to iPad and the Android 2 tablets, TouchPad apps are very limited. About 300 apps are available today, including the tools people use most often (email client, web browser that supports Flash, Kindle app, Facebook app, Twitter app, Angry Birds and a couple of other games). Absent at this point are movie apps like Netflix and Hulu. There is no Youtube app, but you can use the web browser to visit Youtube.com. And the QuickOffice suite included with the TouchPad allows you to view many Microsoft Office documents, but not edit them. An update is coming, says HP.

It's worth noting that there are about as many apps today for the TouchPad as there are written specifically for the new Android 3 tablets. HP says about 80% of the 8,000 apps written for the WebOS smartphones like the HP Veer and Pre 3 will also run on the TouchPad. Whether it's enough to start with depends on your particular needs.

Apps for the TouchPad through HP's App Catalog. HP will also publish an online magazine called Pivot to highlight apps, including reviews from other sources. (no link yet)

Conspicuously absent from the WiFi version of the TouchPad are location-based services. The WiFi TouchPad does not have a GPS chip to provide accurate location information. So there are no navigation apps for the TouchPad today. The 3G version of the TouchPad will be available later this year through AT&T, and it will include a true GPS.

A useful summary of TouchPad reviews appears here: http://liliputing.com/2011/06/hp-touchpad-review-roundup.html

HP has big plans for WebOS. In addition to smart phones and tablets, WebOS will appear in HP's computers (probably dual boot with Windows) and printers. I think the idea is to create a close integration of hardware and software, a la Apple's products. HP expects to sell several hundred thousand TouchPads in 2011. And, unlike some competitors, HP has the resources to continue developing the TouchPad as part of its WebOS strategy for years to come.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
My overall reaction to the TouchPad at this point is that it's a promising start. I hope HP quickly addresses issues like slow boot times and lagging response to touch input. I'd also like to see more apps like Dropbox that can sync files via the Internet "cloud."

A lot also depends on how successful HP is in attracting software developers to the WebOS environment. I imagine that at first HP may have to pay software developers to release titles for WebOS. Apple has sold 25 million iPads in the past 14 months, and the company expects to increase that number to about 40 million by the end of the year. HP will be lucky to sell 2 or 3 percent of that number in the next six months.

We should know by the start of 2012 if TouchPad is a viable tablet competitor. At this point, it's Apple's world, and we just live in it.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
q

Sales of the Touchpad have been slow, mirroring the public's response to any tablet that isn't an iPad. HP is offing a $50 instant rebate on models purchased through their website. But the deal is about to get sweeter.

This coming weekend, HP is planning a $100 price reduction for 16GB and 32GB TouchPad models. This sets $400 as the price of the least expensive model. The reduction is supposed to be only for the weekend. The offer was originally limited to Orders placed through HP's web site, but now Staples stores will match HP's price.

The TouchPad has been criticized for sluggish rersponse to touch input. This despite the fact that the TouchPad uses a fast 1.2GHz processor, while iPad and almost all Android tablets run at 1GHZ. A couple of days ago, HP released an upgrade to the TouchPad's WebOS software, and most reviewers say offers a big speed improvement.

if you're interested in even faster performance, software is available from the WebOS enthusiast community that overclocks the CPU to 1.5 or 1.7 GHz.

A month or so ago, HP announced that a Touchpad model with 4G data capability will be offered throught AT&T sometime this Fall. The new model will include a 1.5GHz processor. Qualcomm, the company that makes the processor used in the TouchPad, has announced that they plan to introduce a quad core 1.5 GHz chipset this Fall that includes some sort of 4G capability. Maybe this is the future for the TouchPad.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Yowsers! This says to me that HP is planning to announce a new model shortly.

Woot.com is often used by retailers who are looking to reduce an overstocked inventory. For example, Woot had a $260 price for one day on the Samsung 7 inch Galaxy Tab last May. And Samsung continues to offer the Galaxy Tab today for $350. So it may be months before HP announces a new model.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Well, that didn't take long! HP introduced the TouchPad on July 1, and today, six weeks later, announced that the company would exit from the business of selling the WebOS tablets and phones. Sales of the Touchpad have been poor, but this looks like one part of a larger strategy for HP.

There are strong rumors that HP will exit from the PC and printer businesses, too. The current CEO doesn't believe that HP needs a vertically integrated set of hardware and services. He wants to concentrate on the more profitable consulting and business services. IBM did the same thing in the 1990s, spinning off its PC business to Lenovo, and its printer business to Lexmark.

I'm sure that HP will find buyers for its well-regarded PC and Printer product lines. And now that Google has purchased Motorola, the phone companies that depend on Android must be feeling very nervous. WebOS could be a great acquisition for a company like HTC as an insurance policy, particularly if the price is low.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
ZDNet blogger James Kendrick was one of very few industry analysts who liked the TouchPad. Now he is demanding that HP refund his investment of $658 in Touchpad (Kendrick now calls it the "Deadpad") hardware, software and accessories. Such is the wrath of a blogger scorned.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-ne...chpad-investment/3813?tag=mantle_skin;content

If HP doesn't offer some sort of compensation to owners of a device that was on the market for 49 days before cancelation, then I expect there will be a class action lawsuit. Unfortunately such suits tend to make lawyers rich, while the consumer ends up wirh a voucher for $100 off their next purchase of HP equipment.

In yesterday's press release, HP said it was discontinuing development of the TouchPad hardware, and considering the future of the WebOS software, which includes licensing WebOS to other companies. So there is the smallest glimmer of hope that WebOS may live on in some form. Too bad that HP felt compelled to cancel the TouchPad before any deal for WebOS could be made.
 
RobRed

RobRed

Explorer
Very insightful Haven. I'm close to the situation and I can tell you that many many people were surprised by this.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
On Friday evening, HP's web site lowered the price for the 16GB Touchpad to $99, and $149 for the 32GB model. Several competitors (WalMart, MicroCenter, Target, and so on) quickly matched the price. By Saturday morning, the Touchpad was sold out online everywhere I looked.

Big retailers Staples, Best Buy and Costco have removed the TouchPad from their retail stores, and are sending them back to HP. So I expect that HP will have more tablets to sell at some time in the future.

For those people who bought a TouchPad for $400, Best Buy is allowing customers to return their Touchpads for a full refund up to 60 days after purchase. I hope other retailers adopt a similar policy.

Why buy a discontinued tablet for $99? That's cheaper than any Kindle or Nook e-reader. The TouchPad has a beautiful color screen (indoors use is best) and its web browser works well.

Unfortunaely, the WiFi Touchpad lacks a GPS chip, and experiments I read about to link an external GPS by Bluetooth didn't work. THe devices will sync, but the tablet cannot read data from the GPS. So the WiFi model doesn't look to be a tool for navigation.

Somehow, HP introduced a new TouchPad model on Friday. It's got 64GB storage and a white case. This model is in limited distribution in USA, but I found a few web sites selling it for $549. I expect these will be sent back to HP for clearance.

HP has a 4G Touchpad in the pipeline for AT&T, and a 7 inch model called the TouchPad Go just cleared the FCC. It's unlikely these will see the light of day.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
iFixIt is the online electronics repair company that makes those cool step by step instructions for dismantling hand-held gadgets like cell phones, tablets and laptops. Now iFixIt wants to turn your $99 TouchPad into an e-reader for all their instructions. Read about it here
http://www.ifixit.com/blog/blog/201...orlds-cheapest-repair-manual-the-hp-touchpad/

In addition to HTML, the TouchPad can display text in PDF and ePub formats. So the TouchPad can display repair manuals available in those formats, too.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Best Buy stores were conspicuously absent from the $99 clearance sale. That changed on Sunday 8/21. Best Buy is accepting orders online now. All Best Buy stores will sell the HP TouchPad models they have in stock for either $99 (16GB) or $149. The doors open at 10am.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Reviewers had a common complaint about the TouchPad: Compared to the iPad or an Android tablet, the TouchPad felt sluggish and slow to respond to input. Now we know why. HP set the TouchPad to run in a type of diagnostics mode, logging all sorts of information about the machine as you use it.

Turning this logging off makes a big difference in system performance. Here's how to do it.

1. Make sure you're using WebOS 3.0.2, the latest version released in early August

2. Turn off the system logging for diagnostic purposes. Instructions here
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
 
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