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HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

Summary: HP is launching their TouchPad webOS-based tablet this Friday, 1 July, and the embargo has lifted on reviews. Most rate it just as an above average tablet that can't yet compete with the iPad.

Matthew Miller

By for The Mobile Gadgeteer |

The embargo for the HP TouchPad webOS 3.0 device lifted tonight and there are plenty of reviews now online (linked to below). Review ratings range from 2.5/5 to 7.5/10 and I didn't see a single review that said they would recommend you purchase it over the Apple iPad 2. My question on whether or not there was a compelling reason to buy a TouchPad looks to be answered with a No in the present state.

It seems it is currently a devices just for the serious Palm fan or those that have a major distaste for Apple products. Like the RIM PlayBook there are many things that need to be fixed with updates and developer support, but if HP moves forward as slowly as RIM with the PlayBook this may just be another niche tablet that leaves the tablet market firmly in Apple's hands.

Unfortunately, James, Joel, and I did not get evaluation units to try out so you won't see any hands-on from us, but Jason Perlow plans to buy one on Friday and post coverage this weekend. Our partners at TechRepublic have posted a nice review stating that the TouchPad excels in productivity. In the meantime, you can check out one of their videos below:

Video: Three areas where the HP TouchPad trumps the iPad

Full reviews of the HP TouchPad are up on these websites for your reading pleasure:

Any readers picking up a TouchPad? What do you see that is compelling over existing tablets?

See more coverage:

Topics: Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Hardware, iPad, Laptops, Mobility, Tablets

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35 comments
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  • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

    Wow, If this tablet is the first legitimate laptop replacement, then I better return my EP121 cause I thought I was already using the most powerful slate/tablet on the market.

    HP has got 1 year to make this work, then Windows 8 shows up and they will have to decide which tablet OS to push.
    rwalrond
    Reply Vote

    • Ill keep the Asus Transformer

      Still can't be beat by any of the rest.
      Uralbas
      Reply Vote

  • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

    The reviews make me sad. I guess i'll wait.
    aliensrreal
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @aliensrreal if the reviews make you sad, watch the video at
      http://www.techradar.com/reviews/pc-mac/tablets/hp-touchpad-972226/review?artc_pg=4
      and weep.
      StandardPerson
      Reply Vote

  • Wait just a minute here...

    HUGE Apple fan that I am still I have to say this. While I'm thrilled that the iPad is a hit... Still I have to think that the iPad is not the end all to be all of the tablet format. I love iOS but still I have to think that iOS is not the end all to be all of Mobile. Different strokes for different folks and I hope WebOS is a contender for years to come. I think as a rule while the iPad is selling well still it is a mistake to compare every tablet directly to the iPad cause different OEM's can target their devices to different markets and a direct comparison in that case is a miss.

    Pagan jim
    James Quinn
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @James Quinn Well, everyone keeps saying why buy this over the iPad. I am really not interested in an iPad and was hoping the Touchpad would get better reviews. They are all lukewarm and I'm worried that it won't sell as well as it could. I hope they come out with the updates to fix the bugs people have found.
      aliensrreal
      Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @James Quinn Holy cow I agree with you! Most of the other Tablets are aiming at more flexibility and have implemented things like the ability to connect your USB devices as well as 3rd party Bluetooth Game controllers.

      Another area is SD Card support which businesses frown on and those tablets with it can't be aimung at the same market without security.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

        @Peter Perry I am looking outside for the apocalypse because you guys are agreeing on something. I have an Acer Iconia. I love it so far (24 hours in). I have used an ipad first generation fairly often and got a chance the play with an ipad 2 while at Best Buy to get a case for the Acer. I had the sudden realization that Android tablets should never be compared to IOS devices. They are completely different animals.

        Ipad does a little stuff perfectly and nothing else.
        Honeycomb does more stuff but not as well.

        Two different approaches. I like the Android approach as I know from experience that it gets more stable with each update so I am willing to put up with a little bit of sloppiness and I am a nerd that likes to fiddle. The funny thing is that as Android gets more stable and IOS gets more features with IOS 5 (or whatever), they are growing closer together like Peter and Jim.
        redhaven
        Reply Vote

  • Geez... what do you guys do for your day jobs?

    I'm Jason Hiner: "I'm not a huge fan of Flash, and try to avoid it whenever possible..." (meanwhile, he shows his website running... Flash)<br><br>Jason, if you're so opposed to Flash, how about coding your website sans-Flash? (and I say <i>your</i> website because you made sure to include 'Editor in Chief' pop up where everyone can see it). <br><br>Yesterday, we had Dennis Howlett, a supposed Enterprise IT expert, telling us he couldn't figure out how to navigate Office 365.<br><br>Jason Perlow? Oh, yeah, honey... throw my iPad on the concrete and let's see what happens...<br><br>Add to that, on any given blog, spell check? grammar? LOL. (Case in point from this blog: <i>but Jason Perlow plans to buy on on Friday and post coverage this weekend</i>)<br><br>Yet you want to give away a laptop bag for our favorite ZDnet blogger? Based on what? Who can construct a coherent sentence?<br>Thanks.
    UrNotPayingAttention
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @chmod 777
      I usually don't like to spelling and grammar "police" these guys, but sometimes the mistakes are so frequent it actually makes the article difficult to read.
      Playdrv4me
      Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @chmod 777 Hahaha! I am with you, their articles and mainly their point of view is often very flakey as well as highly opinionated.
      slickjim
      Reply Vote

      • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

        @Peter Perry

        "<b>their point of view</b> is often very flakey as well as highly opinionated."

        That's why it's called blogging.
        dave95.
        Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @chmod 777

      Give this man a laptop bag :-)
      omdguy
      Reply Vote

  • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

    Sad day! No one can make one decent tablet to challenge the iPad! While I love my iPad2 and wonder how I have been living without it for so long, I do think competition is what will give us better features and make iPad2 even better. so for the next year or so, Apple would rule the world, it would start to drag its feet and Android would kick in its rear and we would get iPad 5 with all cool features
    browser.
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @browser.
      OMG all these features of IPad2! I am sure that even you don't know how to compete with it? Just buy one to your wife and make her life easier :D

      I am sorry for being such a troll! I just couldn't hold myself!

      Take it easy mate, I am sure that you are way better than IPad2. But IPad 5... well that is another story :D
      shoshonski
      Reply Vote

  • How hard can it be?

    Create a thin device with icons that run one app at a time. Done.
    A Gray
    Reply Vote

    • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

      @A Gray
      So far at least, Apple seems to be the only one that can build something like that which ordinary people are willing to fork out their hard-earned cash for by the millions.
      arminw
      Reply Vote

  • I give them a year.

    Any device like this depends heavily on the software ecosystem for its success. For tablets today that's Android, Win7 or iOS. RIM was a smart phone market leader and they're already being dinged. I don't have much hopes for WebOS on tablets or phones.
    kraterz
    Reply Vote

  • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

    Apple caught the entire tech industry flat footed, period. They are still not out of the running blocks either. Sure, you have hardware out there resembling iPads but so far the only scramble has been for a distant second place. WebOS may be a delightful and powerful tablet/phone OS, but it failed at Palm, so other than throwing more cash at it why would we expect it to succeed at HP? HP doesn't particularly have a stellar reputation at innovation other than, with Dell and Acer, diving headfirst toward to bottom in PC construction (How's that working out for them so far?). Shipping a shiny without a functional OS, yes a non-functioning OS doesn't line customers up at the door. There are simply too many features missing and bugs present to consider this first iteration more than a lame beta attempt to get to market before Apple owns the tablet market. Oh, wait. Too late already.<br>As for the Android experience isn't there some "Moore's Law" corollary that defines a product's success by somehow factoring the how long it takes a number of units gathering dust in a warehouse to how many weeks you have to back order an iPad? Thus far Google has yet to make a reliable tablet OS. Frankly, their smart phone OS, once Apple got off of the ATT dime, is proving fragile in the market against Apple.<br>As the dozens of tech manufacturers toss out tablet wannabes and the warehouses continue to pile them in corners I had a friend order an iPad last week. She'll get it sometime next week if she's lucky. Real sales numbers, not the 'we just shipped a million units from our warehouse to the service provider's warehouse, ala Xoom, tell the tale.
    dheady@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: HP TouchPad reviews go live, not the iPad contender some hoped for

    all hail the great god Apple. just another junk device you say.not one good review for any thing but apple .has the whole world been brain wash to think that only apple can do it wright
    sarai1313@...
    Reply Vote
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