HP TouchPad Review: A Tablet For Productivity?

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Apple's iOS and Google's Android aren't the only operating systems choices in the tablet market. HP recently joined the fray with webOS. See how its TouchPad tablet stacks up to the competition and what really sets it apart from the rest of the pack.

The Developer's Dilemma

HP needs to be given credit where credit is due. Speaking as a developer who writes much of our custom-coded testing automation, webOS is the easiest mobile operating system to write for because it adheres to Web standards like HTML and CSS. Android comes in a close second because everything is Java-based. In comparison, Apple offers granular control over iOS programming, as the framework is object-oriented C, but this translates into a longer learning curve.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
Mobile OSAndroidiOSwebOS
Programming EaseMehLowHigh
DocumentationReasonableExcellentPoor
Tablet Market Share#2#1#3

Moving forward, HP faces two problems: documentation and market share. While webOS is easy to adopt, HP provides poor documentation relative to what's accessible via the Apple and Google developer sites. Second, market share continues to be a major reason to hold off on webOS for software developers. Programming ease means nothing when your goal is to make money. However, that requires a large base of users willing to pay for applications. That's one reason iOS continues attracting devs, despite the intricacies of object-oriented programming.

So what comes first? The chicken or the egg? Vendors need tablet users to draw developers, but they also need developers to create apps to attract users. Ultimately, it's HP's job to get developers amped up. And thus far, its success has been limited as a result of getting caught in the Android/iOS crossfire. That seems to be the impetus behind the recent $100-off TouchPad sale. However, HP needs to make that sale price permanent if it wants to really attract a following of any significant volume.

Andrew Ku
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • obarthelemy
    I have faith in the QuickOffice port coming through: datawiz have been woking in the mobile space since Palm days (actually, they started on Palm I think, so they know their stuff, and the platform. It works well on Android.
    Reply
  • obarthelemy
    I don't understand why you use the Xoom as the Android yardstick though, it's been upstaged long ago, by the Asus and Samsung tablets at least
    Reply
  • compton
    I'm certainly glad the TouchPad has a decent display -- a good trend to say the least. Apple deserves much of the credit for setting the quality bar in consumer devices like the iPhone/iPad. Happily, if you are looking around for a new phone or tablet, good displays are easy to find. If consumers as a whole get used to using good screens in tablets/phones, why don't more laptop manufacturers capitalize by upping their game? HP may have realized that the TouchPad needs a good display, but most laptop (theirs, Dell's, Asus, ect.) displays are shamefully terrible. Perhaps the laptop as we know it needs an injection of what makes modern tablets so appealing -- and at (or around) the top of that list is a bitchin' screen.
    Reply
  • I've probably read at least 20 reviews of the touchpad. This is the only one I would actually call a review. This was balanced and in-depth. Thank you for your efforts.

    The one thing lacking in this review, which is also lacking in everything being written about webos, is the mention of what I consider one of the standout features of webos: The openness of the platform. With preware installed (free), you have access to thousands of patches and homebrewed apps as well as linux applications. It is possible, for example, to run a full Debian Linux in a chrooted environment (without any cracking or jailbreaking), giving access to OpenOffice, and all other x-server Linux software out there. HP/Palm is the only tablet OS developer that actively encourages the homebrew/open source community in its efforts. As a developer, it is not only the ease of development that is compelling but the huge amount of expressive and creative freedom you get. With the Apple appstore, the walled garden may protect consumers well, but also creates a completely controlled and often repressive and capricious environment for a developer. This openness is the secret sauce behind much of the loyalty of webos users. The os is a joy to use, a joy to explore, and a joy to create new code in. And unfortunately, most reviewers can't or won't take the time to understand this extremely compelling aspect of the OS.

    Thank you again for the best review of the touchpad I've seen yet.
    Reply
  • DjEaZy
    ... nVidia work's with ARM... now AMD does it too... so where is intel at?
    Reply
  • Well done review!...most thorough and in-depth of any I've seen thus far. As a user of about 3 weeks, I learned several new things I'd not discovered before. I second klktrk's comment about the homebrew community at PreCentral. I've taken advantage of several patches to customize my TouchPad (overclocking to 1.5 GHz, increased volume setting, etc)
    Reply
  • HP really invested a lot of time and effort going into this tablet, and it is most definitely going to be an Apple killer and an Android killer one day. The potential it has is remarkable. Maybe not in this model, but in the next. As for right now, the card system in ingenious, the notification system is perfect, wireless charging is perfect, tap to share is perfect, and many many other things, including it's up to par with Apples A5 processor chip and Android Nvidia Tegra 2 Duo Core processor that evens out the fact that all these tablets are roughly the same speed, except for Apple, who lacks flash content support browser-wise. HP really leveled the playing field on this one, especially with the HD screen, and the Beats Audio, And also with their immense advertising. I don't know about you guys but I see the TouchPad on a lot of commercials and on ads everywhere! I'm thinking about buying one for school instead of the regular laptop.
    Reply
  • absoluthunter
    LED Pixels? Pretty sure this is an S-IPS LCD screen with LED back light. Sure wish people would understand the difference, specially when reviewing in technical forums.
    Reply
  • BlueFireAngel
    Thanks for a solid review! I'm not a Palm/HP owner yet but I hope to be someday soon. I've been impressed with Palm since I got a PDA 10 years ago. And since I've seen the Palm Pre I've been excited about the potential of webOS. I hope it catches on and that people begin to realize how powerful a tool webOS can become.
    Thanks again, Andrew!
    Reply
  • Honis
    Very nice review.

    HP just announced the $100 off sale from this last weekend is now permanent.

    "Effective immediately, the HP TouchPad 16GB Wi-Fi will now be available for $399.99 and the HP TouchPad 32GB Wi-Fi will now be available for $499.99"

    http://vdccnz2prof.houston.hp.com/view_email.asp?eid=10048010&mid=055f0aa5-75fa-414f-9913-9aa980bb0ef7
    Reply