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CES 2010: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

By Andrew Nusca | January 5, 2010, 11:51pm PST

Summary: CES 2010: HP on Wednesday announced its new finger- and stylus-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet PC, which claims 9 hours of battery life for $949.

HP on Wednesday announced its new finger- and stylus-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet PC, which claims 9 hours of battery life for $949.

The 12.1-inch system is powered by Intel’s new Core 2 Duo processors and sports discrete ATI Mobility Radeon graphics.

[Image Gallery: HP TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet PC]

On the design front, a single button touchpad and aluminum exterior sheathe the innards, which are now thinner and lighter. It’s aimed for the consumer market, and includes touch applications such as photo-editing software, media management and a touch-enabled Netflix app.

It will be available on January 17 and start at $949.

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Hewlett-Packard Co., Tablet PC, Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, CES 2010, Notebooks & Tablets, Andrew Nusca

Andrew J. Nusca is editor of ZDNet and SmartPlanet.

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tx2 has Wacom...

dstein42 12th Jan 2010

...don't know about tm2's specs...

Doug

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Please Select
Please Select

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obsolete?

texnet1 6th Jan 2010

So will slates make this obsolete too?

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No, since this is a real Tablet PC.

Qbt 6th Jan 2010

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

mKind 6th Jan 2010

I would buy one if it had only the top part shown in the picture (with the processor in it !!!) ... This looks like a 10 year old design.. just a laptop with a screen that you can fold in both ways. I don't know why this is even a news.

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yep...

Badgered 6th Jan 2010

The idea behind this design was due to fail to begin with. If I want something I can use finger gestures or a stylus on, I want it portable enough that I don't have to swivel the screen. And I could sure do without the extra bulk of the keyboard section. If Apple's iTablet or iWhatever simply eliminates that part of the design, it'll sell pretty well. Heck, all they have to do is make a slightly souped up iPod touch.

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BS

T1Oracle 6th Jan 2010

The convertible tablet is the only tablet design that makes sense. The iTablet will fail just like the Newton, Apple TV, and the Lisa. Apple can only succeed where others have already paved the way.

Regardless, the convertible tablet will be more successful as it becomes thinner, cheaper, and still powerful enough to fill user needs. Cost has kept their success back.

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Alright...

Badgered 6th Jan 2010

The convertible tablet is the only tablet design that makes sense. The iTablet will fail just like the Newton, Apple TV, and the Lisa.

Alright, I'll bookmark this discussion and we'll see what happens.

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Agreed - Apple knows how to properly access the preconditions for success!

raycote 6th Jan 2010

Your problem is that you do not understand that this is a valid and valuable business model synthesis skill. If it is so dam easy why are
others have problems taking Apple down?

If it is so dam easy why aren't you as rich as Steve. But no you are an
armchair sour grapes man!

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trolling

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

I'm trolling at this point...

But Wha...?

sheesh.

I actually believe that Apple is smart, and in
believing that, IF they release a tablet, it
WILL have a keyboard of some sort, or some
truly innovative design for input.

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ummm. keyboard.

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

Good luck typing 10 words a minute on a virtual
keyboard.

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Exactly

archangel999 6th Jan 2010

Exactly right

If you just want a big bulky iPod or a toy you can play touch games on or watch videos, then a slate is OK

But if you want to have the option to do serious work involving a lot of typing (or software development) you need the option to swing the screen around and use the keyboard

I've got HP's Touchsmart tx2 and love it (will upgrade to the tm2 and give the tx2 to my daughter)

I use it in slate mode quite a bit when just running apps, web, email, etc. - it's also great for Visio and other graphic apps - and I can manage some light development and other work using the virtual keyboard

But anything more intense (serious programming or just typing a letter without taking forever), you need the real keyboard and the convertible format makes the most sense right now to serve the dual needs if you do a lot of travelling or can't wait to get back to your desktop to do it

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HP Tablet V Apple Tablet -- Keyboard is Key

Parttime Geek 6th Jan 2010

I love my Itouch but when doing Word and Spread sheet work definintely need a keyboard. I can see it now, the ITablet buyer will be wanting a Bluetooth/Wireless keyboard for their ITablet.

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ummm nope

Badgered 6th Jan 2010

ummm. keyboard.

Nope. I think this thing will be different than the tablets you're used to seeing. We'll see.

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can lead a horse to water...

MurphysLaww 6th Jan 2010

uhh, because it has touch capability, and discrete
video @ $949.

If you haven't been following the market, it's
probably better to just post questions.

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Keyboard needed

stardreamer 6th Jan 2010

As someone who has a Gateway convertable laptop and frequently uses at tablet without the keyboard, I would take my convertable any day of the week over the tablet. Tablets in my book are a waste unless you are merely writing hand-written notes and not trying to actually get anything done.

My question would be, if it's touch sensitive, what happens when you rest your hand on the screen? Nice idea, but I think a touch sensitive convertable if an idea with FAIL writen all over it.

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Looks like I'll be replacing my netbook in a year or so.

T1Oracle 6th Jan 2010

I just need Ubuntu on it please happy

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you may be able to do it yourself

MurphysLaww 6th Jan 2010

I've heard of a distro with tablet drivers, but
I'm not sure if it's on Ubuntu yet.

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Whats so new about this?

DocNasty 6th Jan 2010

First, this looks like you just posted a press pack from HP, not actually reporting on it. LAME. Does this use both the stylus and the multitouch?

If it does, this is hardly news worthy.. There is nothing revolutionary about it.. Multitouch is nice, but no software companies are really taking advantage of multitouch.

In my experience, this tablet is really only worth while to the medical industry, as they're the #1 consumers.. kinda hard to multitouch with gloves on your hands.. which is why we use the stylus.

Stylus/Table is also used by artists, but what good is multitouch to them, unless they're doing 'smudge' painting.

I brand this FAIL for design and lack of good reporting. Hope HP paid ya for the posting.. If i was an editor, you wouldn't get squat for this.

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

falconjav 6th Jan 2010

Freescale's one will be around $200... it is a huge gap, and I don't see how "having windows" will be a enough reason for it.

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Freescale

MurphysLaww 6th Jan 2010

And hey, If you believe that, Have I got a bridge
in Brooklyn I picked up, that you may be
interested in...

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

dstein42 6th Jan 2010

I've been using the predecessor models for about 3 years now (currently have a non-multitouch version - but will get this new one for my next upgrade).
This is my primary machine. It's beefy enough to write large apps (I can run ASP.NET, SQL2008, and Visual Studio on it) and documents and intensive web apps (which often need a large screen).

In meetings I switch to Microsoft OneNote and write using the stylus. I do this since my notes often include quickly sketched diagrams; I've been able to abandon the casebound notebooks I had been using for the last 20 years. I can also quickly email parts of my notes to colleagues without having to laboriously copy from paper to computer.

I'm also a user of Mathematica and Windows 7 supports pen-based mathematical input (converts ink to MathML on the fly).

As for touch? It's frankly pretty cool even when using a non-touch-enabled web app like Rally to manage agile software development. Dragging stories into a release or repriortizing the backlog feels more immediate. I'm sure software for Kanban is similarly cool.

I won't say anything bad about "pure slates" - they're good for a different market segment. However, I caution you gentle readers to recognize that the market for pen and touch-enabled laptops is real and not a "FAIL". The industry needs to support both content consumers *and* content producers!

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Nice

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

Great to have at least one person that has
actually used a tablet reply here and realize
that this is a great offering for HP.

Good show.

I'm thinking that if it's touch capable that
the digitizer is probably not Wacom though.
Maybe N-trig?

I'm a real Wacom fanboy, so I can only hope.

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tx2 has Wacom...

dstein42 12th Jan 2010

...don't know about tm2's specs...

Doug

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

This is HP getting somewhere. After abandoning
the truly revolutionary TC line, coming in with
a touch capable convertible, with discrete
graphics, @ less than $1k is really a good
step.

With GSM based 3g packaged, and subsidized, I'd
think they could get it into the $700's which
would be extremely viable for even Universities
to consider as school issue to incoming
freshmen.

If it's not capable of having that added, then
perhaps in a later model, the tech and the
business model for it will come together. Or,
better yet, have an entity like CourseSmart
subsidize a stripped down version, with less
video capability(and less heat).

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Should cost $250

gmeader 6th Jan 2010

Tablets don't sell well because they are too expensive when compared with notebooks and netbooks.

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yeah

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

because, of course, they don't have any added
functionality, and there are all kinds of laptops
and netbooks with discrete graphics at the $250
price point.

I agree with you fully.

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

cebess 6th Jan 2010

I've had a tablet since the very first prototypes Acer did for Microsoft. A slate will just not cut it for the majority of the user community.

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TC1000/1100

MurphysLaww Updated - 6th Jan 2010

Thats what was so beautiful about the TC
series. If only they had continued developing
that concept.

When I was in class, I just pulled out the
slate, and took notes, then after class, if I
wanted to type, I just snapped on that elegant
little keyboard, and typed away.

It worked for me for a whole year, and I had
the one with the crappy transmeta processor
(which stuggled at times). Motion makes some
similar slates, but don't seem interested in
the education market. As long as a snap on
keyboard is done right, a slate can work.

I have a lenovo x61t now, which is nice, but
I'd love to have touch capability as well.

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

Johncalonso@... 6th Jan 2010

I used my Newton MP2100 exclusively for about two years never touching my desk top until the screen got too hard to read. (they faded after a while). For me the best input was handwriting recognition. It is true that I had to be more careful in my handwriting and that it even trained me to write more slowly and more clearly but if you are like me and type slowly handwriting is faster than typing.
I even used it in a class that I took and being able to take notes on a word processor in outline mode vastly improved the quality of my notes with keyboard sounds some professors objected to.
For me excellent handwriting recognition would be best.
I cried when Apple discontinued the Newton line.
Just my 2 cents.
Bluetooth wireless keyboard is a great idea to dock it at home and maybe nice 28 inch monitor (could we make that wireless too, i mean while we'er dreaming, or how about a built in projector), too and then the tablet could act a supplementary input device.
For on the road lets keep it as light and thin as possible and not less than a 12 inch screen.
I think a tablet should be fully functional with excellent handwriting recognition to work as fast as I can legibly write. on screen keyboards suck
John

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RE: HP announces finger-friendly TouchSmart tm2 convertible tablet; $949

RhinoGuy68 6th Jan 2010

Hope it lasts longer than my HP tx2525nr or countless others with the tx1000 and tx2000 class of systems that have FRIED motherboards 6 months out of the 1 year warranty... and the tx2 users are just starting to see their units out of warranty and fry too! Get a service contact for at least as long as you want to keep it. Google it tx1000 tx2000 tx2 failure and see the results...

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Successful Tablet = Kindle Form Factor..full PC

condelirios Updated - 6th Jan 2010

A Tablet the size of a Kindle with a Core 2 Duo, LED Color Display, and 250GB Hard Disk. Of course touch with finger AND stylus... and that nifty keypad at the bottom just like the Kindle. Oh and running Windows 7 of course.

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This is what a tablet IS.

ninetynine99 6th Jan 2010

Some of the responses to this article truly surprise me in how clueless the posters are.

The reason why it's expensive is because it has an N-trig Active Digitizer. That means when a specially designed pen gets near the screen, the screen will only accept input from the pen and is designed to work as if it were pen and paper. This is great for note taking in meetings or lectures where you need more than just words and want to draw diagrams, webs and math formulas.

The keyboard is for when you want to churn out long documents, like real emails or reports. If you want a cheap machine for web browsing, this obviously isn't it, but that doesn't make it a dumb design, it just means you're looking at the wrong product.

And I'm happy to see HP going in the right direction with their consumer tablet. Their business tablet has always been good but their overheating AMD consumer tablets were always heaps of junk with low battery life. Putting in a CULV (business tablet PCs have been using for years before anyone decided to put them in regular laptops) and dedicated ATI with long battery life are great improvements over the tx2.