ie8 fix

Mobile News

James Kendrick
Home / News & Blogs / Mobile News

HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.

By | July 11, 2011, 2:51pm PDT

Summary: In one ill-timed move HP you have moved me from the “stick it out” TouchPad customer to the “extremely nervous about the platform” customer.

I laid out $500 on TouchPad launch day, even after reading all the lukewarm, even bad, product reviews. I see enough promise in the webOS platform for tablets that I even made it clear I was in it for the long haul. I was feeling pretty good about that decision as I have gotten more impressed with the TouchPad the longer I have used it. And then today I was scanning my Twitter feed and saw colleague Larry Dignan’s tweet about his brief article announcing that HP had replaced Jon Rubinstein as head of the unit behind webOS. In one ill-timed move HP you have moved me from the “stick it out” customer column to the “extremely nervous about the platform” column.

Reasons aside, this move couldn’t have been more poorly timed in my view. The TouchPad’s launch wasn’t the best it should have been, that is not in question. There may have been reasons behind replacing Rubinstein that make good business sense, or reasons we don’t know about. None of that matters to the customers who shelled out hard-earned dollars on an untried platform for a new tablet, potential or not.

To new TouchPad customers, there is no good way to view the replacement of Rubinstein. It is viewed as dumping the guy behind the product we just bought. We are savvy enough customers to know this will have a big internal impact on the business unit that is now supporting our big purchase. We were already risking a fair bit on the TouchPad given media reviews. Now we have a lot more to worry about. Thanks, HP.

Related:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “Mobile News”

Topics

Hewlett-Packard Co., Product Review, WebOS, Mobile Operating Systems, James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

53
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Malcolm R 19th Aug
@JeffGr - Now James looks pretty smart to have been nervous and worried about the TouchPad's future, doesn't he?
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
JeffGr 11th Jul
I think you are reading way too much into this. If they had shut down the division or kicked Rubenstein out of the company, I might be with you. This is more of a straightforward executive shuffle of a type that isn't that uncommon after a product line shifts from development to production. Note that they moved in a key business guy while shifting Rubenstein to an R&D role.
0 Votes
+ -
I would not worry even if HP would fire Rubinstein altogether since what he
DeRSSS 11th Jul
@JeffGr: ... he did was taking with himself to Palm few other Apple's employees whose ideas Jobs declined from being used in iOS. However, even the declined ideas were so good, that some of them were no worse that ended up used in the final release of iOS in 2007. Just somewhat different approach.

It is funny that HP calls Rubinstein 'visionary' behind WebOS since he was hardware guy at Apple.
0 Votes
+ -
Agreed...
cosuna 12th Jul
Jon Rubinstein is, as the PR release stated, a Silicon Valley icon, but knows nothing about taking the TouchPad to a second level. Ironically, he might be the reason the TP didn't met expectations.

Now HP is doing the wise thing, and moving Rubinstein away from the day to day TP, Veer and Pre stuff and exposing him to other divisions, such as printers, laptops, calculators, etc. (hell even Agilent's oscilloscopes might benefit from the inbreeding with webOS).

If HP wants to outgun Apple on tablets, they need all their manufacturing savvy targeted on the alternative platform.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
BillDem 13th Jul
@JeffGr Totally agree. This isn't uncommon and is certainly not a big deal. The "sell and tweak" team should be stepping in at this point, anyway. The focus now is to improve it and get the word out.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Malcolm R 19th Aug
@JeffGr - Now James looks pretty smart to have been nervous and worried about the TouchPad's future, doesn't he?
0 Votes
+ -
There is one good reason to rejoice.
Bruizer 11th Jul
I always had one issue with Rubinstein. He is proud that he does not use competitors platforms.

I was impressed with Zuckerberg that he got a Google+ invite and is playing with Google+. This gives me hope that Facebook is willing to look at what is good and re-evaluate current product offerings.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
dwhipple 12th Jul
@Bruizer

"I was impressed with Zuckerberg that he got a Google+ invite and is playing with Google+. This gives me hope that Facebook is willing to look at what is good and re-evaluate current product offerings."

Translated means, "I steal the best and benchmark the rest."
0 Votes
+ -
Yep...
cosuna 12th Jul
@dwhipple ... compare that to the fact that Microsoft has a mere 4 apps on the App Store, and no app yet for the PlayBook nor the TouchPad, and you get a pattern that you need to play with others to succeed.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
babak76567 18th Jul
@cosuna ... Just FYI - The TouchPad had over 300 optimised apps on launch 2 weeks ago. That would be more than Honeycombe has as of now, I believe, though of course there are lots more apps for older Android OSes that have been optimized for larger screen.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
jjacobs3 11th Jul
No reason to think that this will not be for the better of the product line. They seem to recognize there was a problem and are looking to correct it.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Sweat Studio 11th Jul
I read some of this news today, and not sure to be concerned. It sounded as if they wanted Jon Rubinstein to lead the development for innovative apps for WebOS. Which I believe is a legitimate move. What concerns me is WebOs may get licensed and we'll see different hardware devices that may become messy like Android.
0 Votes
+ -
You're Right To Be Concerned, James...
orandy Updated - 11th Jul
The HP of today is humbled and is not the company it used to be. Since booting Carly Fiornina they have been sidestepping scandals and they now have a very short fuse for people who can't "just get the job done now", so to speak.

Face it, Rubenstein didn't drop the ball as much as he hyped a product that is truly not ready for the masses. He made the critical mistake a product pitchman can make...and that's over-promise and under-deliver. Today he's shifted to another division, next month he's delivering the company mail and after that he's parking cars for HP executives. Of course I'm being facetious. I hope you still have time on you 30-day return policy : )
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
lgpOnTheMove 11th Jul
"...shelled out hard-earned dollars on an untried platform..."

BINGO!!!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
JoeFoerster 12th Jul
@lgpOnTheMove Yep. That's my feeling too. Look if you have enough money in this economy to take a gamble like this, then you should realize that it could well be flushing the money down the toilet, even on a proven product like the iPad. If you aren't comfortable with that, put your $500 in a nice safe bank account and forget about technology. The product life cycles are so short on these things that it almost doesn't matter; you're only going to get about 6 months to a year of really effective use from them anyway.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
tonymcs@... 11th Jul
Don't worry, Win 8 is coming and installing it might actually make these tablets useful wink
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
sirhomealot 12th Jul
@tonymcs@... unless Win 8 works like iOS or Android, I wouldn't count on that. Have you tried a Win 7 tablet? [shudders] they're terrible!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
ta1 13th Jul
@tonymcs@... don't worry, that magical "usefulness" will be sucked up by virus scanners and pointless background services that suck up all your CPU and most of your memory. I have a lot of doubts that Win8 will solve that. But I am willing to at least look. On a fatter desktop, not on a hand-held. I do not want the latter to weigh a ton, just to run Windows.
0 Votes
+ -
Here's my guess about how it went down:
Userama 11th Jul
Leo A., HP CEO, got tired of hearing that HP was no longer able to do innovative stuff (like Apple). Jon is a talented ex-Apple hardware manager who worked closely with Steve Jobs, and is well acquainted with Jobs' M.O. So Leo said something like: Jon, why don't you be the "Steve Jobs of HP" and come up with some new, innovative stuff like Steve does. So Jon decided to give it a go. But here's the problem: Jon isn't CEO of HP. Unlike Steve, who is the ultimate "decider" at Apple, Jon won't be. His ideas, however innovative, can be (and probably will be) shot down by Leo. The second or third time this happens, Jon will have had it, will bail, and will ultimately end up as the head of some small startup, where he will have the freedom to implement his ideas.
Just a guess.

.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Andrew Sheppard 12th Jul
@Userama

Probably a good precis, except that it was not Leo Apotheker that was CEO of HP at the time of the Palm purchase, it was Mark Hurd, until he "stepped in some turd".

So whatever "come up with some new" deal that Hurd offered, it was Leo that sent Ruby downstairs .......
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
ta1 13th Jul
@Userama ...I guess we will see. Ultimately, if heads butt and the touchPad doesn't fly, it won't just look bad for Jon, it will look bad for Leo. Unlike some prior CEO's I suspect Leo might actually listen when someone says "no" to him, which apparently does not happen in Steve Jobs' case.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
mobrien200 12th Jul
is it a wonder that advertising under palm and hp for launch had the same guy? it's terrible. my sunday paper ads had nothing about the touchpad. all about other tablets introductions. i think it is a good move. put him at what he's good at. not device introduction.
0 Votes
+ -
So, let's see, by your own account the touchpad launch
fr_gough 12th Jul
was less than stellar, received lukewarm reviews, and has significant issues. Yet you're nervous when the guy behind all this mess was replaced?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
dhmccoy 12th Jul
...Why does paying full price for a device that was released an in such a state means you are "in it for the long haul"? Wouldn't openmindedness accomplish the same thing?

Why not simply wait until the thing works?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Aztec 12th Jul
@dhmccoy
Some of us want to be the tip of the sword and test out new technologies, its a gamble sure, but not without its rewards if it does take off.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
JoeFoerster 12th Jul
@Aztec I'm an early adopter myself... because, and only because, I can afford to be. I don't buy high-tech products on credit and I can afford to take the loss if they are a bust, as many of my adoptions have become in the past. Even if they are a boom, the next version will make what you paid for today obsolete, as we all know, so tech is a bad investment in so many ways. You have to know you are throwing your money away. If you can afford it, great. If you can't, get out of the kitchen.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
DeusXMachina 12th Jul
@JoeFoerster

Boon.

And in what way is the iPad 1 obsolete?
0 Votes
+ -
You actually bought the HP tablet?
Colorado_AL 12th Jul
I think anyone who bought the HP tablet has themselves to blame for it. 0 future in webOS. What was it that PT Barnum said? Can't quite remember...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
theKid_z 13th Jul
@Colorado_AL

Why, because iOS is the be all end all. Funny that everyone who bought one on Amazon and Best Buy see more potential in it than you do. You are entitled to your own opinion, but then again no one is saying that your opinion is right. Just like those who said Android was going nowhere...
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
kaneda70 12th Jul
Well, Al, the quote you are referring to is one that Phineas T Barnum never made in his life. He had far more respect for his customers than that. In fact, in regards to customer satisfaction, consumers of today would kill to get the level that he gave to his many, many (many) happy customers.

Ever seen the biopic of Barnum that the late, great Burt Lancaster did of him? It is fantastic. You should seek it out next time it is on the telly.
0 Votes
+ -
much ado
pgit 12th Jul
This can only be good for webOS. It's refreshing to see someone actually held accountable for their bad moves.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
DeusXMachina 12th Jul
@pgit

And you have evidence these moves were Rubinstein's from where, exactly?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
fshephe 12th Jul
As a HP Reseller we have been plugged in to the Touchpad introduction for some time,,,but have had no more information about the product than anyone else. This is viewed by HP as a business product and as such the rubber will not really hit the road until HP's partners get involved in the game.
The education and training of its partners is really just starting now (for me at least)
In terms of Windows 8, don't forget HP has its Slate product running under windows (It actually LOOKS a whole lot better than the Touchpad) so I think HP is well positioned to develop WebOS and to take advantage of whatever Microsoft decides to do..
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
mobrien200 12th Jul
I am comportable and confident about webOs future. Reviews are opinions of single persons view of a new device with teething problems. The future is out there for devices with great software potential. Hardware drools, software rules.
0 Votes
+ -
HP probably doesn't care about you or the other 5...
hawks5999 12th Jul
people who bought the TouchPad.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
cj100570@... 12th Jul
The average consumer doesn't even know who Jon Rubenstien is and probably wouldn't care if they did. It always makes me laugh when tech writers try and pass off what they think as being representative of what the general public thinks. WebOS is nice but it's tethered to crappy marketing and hardware that doesn't wow the masses. Until that changes it'll be nothing more than just another mobile OS picking up the scraps left over by Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and even QNX.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
DeusXMachina 12th Jul
@cj100570@...

What the average consumer does or doesn't know is irrelevant to what the reshuffling means to the internal politics at HP, and what that means for the future of the device.
0 Votes
+ -
that's not why you should be upset
sirhomealot 12th Jul
It's the fact that HP has just announced a 4G TouchPad, even though the first one hasn't even launched in all markets yet! Now that would make me angry.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
spin498 12th Jul
I would counter your arguement with: Who the f**k is Rubenstein and who the f**k cares? I don't know who designed my F150 or my LG big screen TV and had I known it wouldn't have made a lick of difference. You're not an HP customer you're a tech blogger don't compare the two. Stop publishing hysterical commentary unless you're reviewing a Steven King novel.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
DeusXMachina 12th Jul
@spin498

And your knowledge of Rubinstein is irrelevant to the point, which you missed in its entirety.
0 Votes
+ -
This is the silliest thing I have ever read
sackbut 12th Jul
99% or more buyers will have NO clue who the head of the unit behind webOS is, nor will they care. Refund your fee for writing this drivil.
0 Votes
+ -
True, but, 99% of buyers don't know about webOS either,
adornoe@... Updated - 12th Jul
and they probably won't be buying something that's untried and/or unproven, unlike iOS or Android or Windows. Heck Windows 8 is not even out, and I'll bet that when the name "Windows 8" is mentioned, that people will immediately have more trust in it than a product (webOS, HP TouchPad) that is currently out.

Acquiring the leftovers from Palm was a mistake, and HP will be writing down that purchase as a loss within a couple of years. Windows 8 will be the death-knell for webOS and the TouchPad. The mistake that HP made was not anticipating that webOS would be going against stiff competition from established players like Google and Apple and Microsoft. That's a mistake that should never have occurred.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
DeusXMachina 12th Jul
@sackbut
And once again, what 99% of buyers know is NOT the issue.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
geoff@... 12th Jul
What about HP announcing a new version already, why stick with your old outdated unit when a new one is coming? http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/hp-launches-touchpad-then-announces-faster-version-coming-whaaa/13652?tag=nl.e589 Funny huh?
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Thor e 12th Jul
ReallY? You Think so? BecuaseI don't. I really like Jon Rubenstein but his track record has been admittedly less than prfect. He's a genius in his own right considering what he HAS accomplished int he tech industry but HP is really getting behind WebOS and putting soeone else in that position at this juncture shows some real confidence in that person. Rightfully the person tagging out Jon has had a string of difficult but successful posiitons within HP. if nothing else is shows me that HP is really serious about WebOS and we can see this getting better. They know they dropped the ball and need to pick it up and take it over the finish line. I will happily buy a touchpad, and now even more so becuase I can see the experience now being accelerated all that much more with a fresh perspective.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
middleageman 12th Jul
I was hoping the TP was a good choice for sustained support and consistent downwardly compatible designs. I was hoping it was snappy and quick, too. whoops, not today. today's tablets remind me of the "workslate", an early tablet from the 80's that used tapes, not disks, since the concept is there but the performance/flexibility is not, ipad included. how soon do we see some speed and a multitasker that is faster than my fingers, these old, slow fingers.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
tomevans1412@... 12th Jul
Major security flaw? Nope. Gaping functionality hole? Nope. Massive hardware failure? Nope. Massive OS software failure? NOPE.
Slow news cycle. Need SOMETHING to write about today on my 2nd-rate blog. YUP.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
darphi@... 12th Jul
Simply another bad move by a bad business. After HP's evil tactics with their failed GPU, leaving 10,000's of customers with dead laptops that they refuse to replace, it leaves me wondering if they will leave all of the TouchPad customers in the same costly dead end.
0 Votes
+ -
Why WebOS?
Ubuntu Warrior 13th Jul
I personally don't see the need for yet another OS. Why not just collaborate with Canonical on Ubuntu and create an even stronger competitor to Microsoft? Stronger competition is vital in creating better choice for customers/users.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: HP: This TouchPad owner just got very nervous. Thanks.
Thatmanstu 13th Jul
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/hp-touchpad-leapfrogs-rivals-in-productivity/8586?promo=064&tag=nl.e064&cval=EditorsPick&ctype=default
0 Votes
+ -
Rubenstein just might have requested it
count_zero_interuptus 13th Jul
as part of the deal to come to HP. If he is an innovation guy, he does not want to run on-going operations--he wants to be in the think tank. Stop whining.

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix