Tag Archives: HP Touchpad

HP TouchPad Gets Low Pricing on Amazon and Best Buy

Posted by Radu Iorga on July 13, 2011 None comments


HP TouchPad was launched in early July and welcome with a bunch of not so favorable reviews. Moving on from that, now the webOS 3.0 slate gets some special prices on Amazon and Best Buy. We’re talking about a $489.99 price tag for the 16GB WiFi only model.

Meanwhile, we’ve found out that there’s a 4G version in the making, probably with many improvements from the original unit, following its critique. The 32GB TouchPad now costs $572.65, with a mere 5% reduction and similar offers were applied by Best Buy, that offers the 32GB unit with a $20 discount, thus selling it for $579.99.

The slate is below the iPad 2 in pricing, bu the product is not that appealing… Meanwhile, the TouchPad 4G will come in the “back to school” time frame and it will get HSPA+ and a boost in CPU (to 1.5GHz) as bonus. Will you get the first TouchPad with its reduced price or the 4G one?

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  2. HP TouchPad Price announced: $699; Product Coming in June!
  3. HP TouchPad Gets Official Accessory Pricing, Promo Clips (Video)


HP TouchPad Found Faulty by Its Maker, According to Internal Memo

Posted by S. Alexander on July 7, 2011 None comments


A week ago we saw the first reviews of the HP TouchPad webOS 3.0 slate, most of them criticizing the product. Then came HP’s Jon Rubinstein defending the slate and now it’s the turn of HP to pull a confusing movement… Apparently, they admit the flaws of the TouchPad, at least internally, in a memo sent to employees.

This first webOS tablet is the first fruit of the Palm – HP cooperation and of course there are some issues to work out. Former head of Palm and now part of HP, Jon Rubinstein sent the memo to his staff saying that he noted the things that need to be improved in the webOS experience. The document was leaked by Pre Central and also underlines the positive feat noticed by the New York Times – the fact that the product shows “signs of greatness”.

Among the most criticized aspects regarding this tablet is the clunky interface, plus lack of apps. Although the TouchPad was just launched, rumors about a future version have already appeared and we’ve heard about a connectivity upgrade, CPU bump and 64GB of storage on a unit launching next month. Sounds good!

Related posts:

  1. Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein Defends the TouchPad and webOS
  2. HP TouchPad Price announced: $699; Product Coming in June!
  3. HP TouchPad Debuts; Dual-Core WebOS 3.0 Tablet Coming This Summer


HP TouchPad Costs Only $307 to Make, Great Profit for Its Creator

Posted by R. Yorga on July 4, 2011 None comments


It seems that HP is making quite a profit on each unit of the TouchPad tablet, since this slate costs a mere $307 to make. iSuppli recently published some estimations regarding the costs of the components needed to make a TouchPad.

The cost is associated to a 16GB WiFi model and it’s $17 less than the cost for a 3G iPad 2. Meanwhile, the 32GB version costs $328, but keep in mind that these amounts don’t include marketing, R&D and other factors. Breaking the cost down, we find that the IPS LG Display with a 9.7 inch diagonal is the most expensive component, at $63.50, according to iSuppli.

There’s also a Cypress touch controller on board, priced at $11.75 and a 1.2GHz Qualcomm APQ8060 Snapdragon CPU, that’s quite a big change from the rivaling iPad 2, with its Apple A5 chipset. As far as memory goes, HP is using SanDisk’s iNAND flash memory, priced at $23 for 16GB and $45 for 32GB. Apparently, HP could trim down the design of its tablet, making it slimmer and still keeping these components…

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad to Start Selling in April
  2. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  3. Motorola Xoom Costs Only $278 to Build; Major Profit for Motorola?


HP TouchPad Disappoints, According to First Reviews

Posted by S. Alexander on July 1, 2011 None comments


Since it’s the 1st of July it’s time for HP to start kicking some iPad behind and taking names… or will it? Well, the slate has already arrived at the HQ of some of the most famous gadget sites and blogs and now it’s verdict time. It appears the webOS 3.0 failed to deliver and it might be another failed product, like the BlackBerry PlayBook that wasn’t well received in reviews.

The TouchPad comes with a 9.7 inch 1024 x 768 pixel display, a 1.3 megapixel camera upfront and a 1.2GHz dual core processor. This model also has some familiar elements for Pre/Pixi phone users, such as the Synergy social networking feature, integrated with the native address book. While webOS is certainly a great platform, with the best multitasking available on the market, thanks to those cards, the overall product is not all that spectacular.

The folks of This is my next claim that the user experience doesn’t live up to the expectations and can’t really rival the iPad’s offer at the time, or even the one of Galaxy Tab 10.1. Crunchgear mentions a frustrating photo browsing experience and UI slowdown, while Engadget wants more from the device than it can deliver.

Finally, Gizmodo claims that the TouchPad is close to being good, but it’s still far from it, while CNET sees the TouchPad as a great iPad 1 rival and that’s it… For $499.99, I’d watch what I’m buying these days…

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  2. HP TouchPad Price announced: $699; Product Coming in June!
  3. HP TouchPad Coming in June, WebOS Reaches the PC Before The Year End


HP TouchPad Disappoints, According to First Reviews

Posted by S. Alexander on July 1, 2011 None comments


Since it’s the 1st of July it’s time for HP to start kicking some iPad behind and taking names… or will it? Well, the slate has already arrived at the HQ of some of the most famous gadget sites and blogs and now it’s verdict time. It appears the webOS 3.0 failed to deliver and it might be another failed product, like the BlackBerry PlayBook that wasn’t well received in reviews.

The TouchPad comes with a 9.7 inch 1024 x 768 pixel display, a 1.3 megapixel camera upfront and a 1.2GHz dual core processor. This model also has some familiar elements for Pre/Pixi phone users, such as the Synergy social networking feature, integrated with the native address book. While webOS is certainly a great platform, with the best multitasking available on the market, thanks to those cards, the overall product is not all that spectacular.

The folks of This is my next claim that the user experience doesn’t live up to the expectations and can’t really rival the iPad’s offer at the time, or even the one of Galaxy Tab 10.1. Crunchgear mentions a frustrating photo browsing experience and UI slowdown, while Engadget wants more from the device than it can deliver.

Finally, Gizmodo claims that the TouchPad is close to being good, but it’s still far from it, while CNET sees the TouchPad as a great iPad 1 rival and that’s it… For $499.99, I’d watch what I’m buying these days…

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  2. HP TouchPad Price announced: $699; Product Coming in June!
  3. HP TouchPad Coming in June, WebOS Reaches the PC Before The Year End


HP TouchPad Demo Units Spotted at Retailers (Video)

Posted by R. Yorga on June 29, 2011 None comments


HP TouchPad, the first webOS 3.0 tablet will be available in stores on July 1st, but ahead of the launch you can get some hands-on time with the device at a number of retailers. These companies offer demo and display units for potential customers to play with.

PreCentral is claiming that Walmart and Best Buy locations also have some units on display. There’s a video below showing one of the demo units at Walmart, if you’re interested. Looking for a reason to get a TouchPad? Well, for one TechCrunch has some rumors about a special (and official) Facebook app developed for this slate, that will beat the iPad as far as availability of the app is concerned.

Also, a quick recap of the specs of this 9.7 inch XGA unit, shows us that this model comes with WiFi, Bluetooth, 16/32GB of internal storage, a 6300 mAh battery, a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual CPU @ 1.2GHz and USB 2.0 hi-speed. Pricing is $499.99 or $599.99, depending on the storage you get.

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  2. HP TouchPad Tablet Taken for a Hands On Demo (Video)
  3. HP TouchPad Gets Official Accessory Pricing, Promo Clips (Video)


HP TouchPad Gets Official Accessory Pricing, Promo Clips (Video)

Posted by S. Alexander on June 14, 2011 None comments


After announcing the July 1st launch date of the TouchPad tablet, HP now shows us a couple of promo clips for the upcoming product. Also, we get to know some of the prices for the webOS tablet accessories. There’s also a drawback to mention, the fact that the slate won’t support swipe gestures outside of the display area like the BlackBerry PlayBook.

We remind you that back in February this model was supposed to support this sort of gestures, but the function is now somehow gone. As far as the accessories are concerned, you’ll pay $29.99 for the wall charger, $49.99 for the carrying case and $69.99 for a Bluetooth wireless keyboard with low profile keys.

The Touchstone charging dock will cost $79.99, so it’s going to be quite pricey if you want to accessorize. Here’s a bunch of promo vids for the TouchPad:

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad Debuts; Dual-Core WebOS 3.0 Tablet Coming This Summer
  2. HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer
  3. HP TouchPad Tablet Taken for a Hands On Demo (Video)


HP TouchPad 32GB Priced at $599, on Wal-Mart Exclusive Offer

Posted by R. Yorga on May 20, 2011 None comments


HP has quite a distribution network set up for its needs, to it’s ready to fight a proper tablet battle in this product segment. We’re talking about the partnership between HP and Amazon, Best Buy, plus good relationships with Target and Wal-Mart. This will make the TouchPad slate a product that’s widely available, thanks to such powerful partners.

We’ve just found out that the HP TouchPad 32GB version will be coming at Wal-Mart with a $599.00 price tag, the same amount of cash you pay for the 32GB WiFi iPad 2. No info about the exact date of availability, but we’ve found out that the same retailer plans on offering the Touchstone Dock/Stand specific to the TouchPad, if you’re interested in accessories.

However, this little gizmo is pretty pricey, at $79.88 but hey, at least you’ve got wireless charging. Wal-Mart will also be offering the webOS Bluetooth keyboard for $69.88 and the first party TouchPad case for $49.88.

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad WebOS 3.0 Tablet Reaches the FCC
  2. HP TouchPad Debuts; Dual-Core WebOS 3.0 Tablet Coming This Summer
  3. HP TouchPad Price announced: $699; Product Coming in June!


webOS 3.0 Screenshots Show What the HP TouchPad UI/OS Will Be Like

Posted by S. Alexander on April 11, 2011 None comments


Although we’re supposed to wait a couple more months till the HP TouchPad webOS 3.0 tablet is available, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t take a peek at its operating system. The screenshots below show you a glimpse into the UI of the latest webOS version. These came from a webOS 3.0 emulator, in case you’re wondering.

The Maps app in the new webOS is based on Bing Maps and it’s a minimalist piece of software. There’s a search box and Search/Directions options at the top, plus buttons for extra details and favorites. Considering HP is a Microsoft partner, getting Bing as the map provider seems like a logical move.

The advantage of Bing Maps is that it offers a 45 degree birds-eye view and there’s also a scale at the bottom right corner, showing you how far you zoomed. Moving on to the rest of the UI, TouchPad’s device menu is placed in the right top corner, showing the time and battery icon. If you tap it you get other info, such as the current date, battery percentage, screen brightness and a couple more.

In the Music section, you get a basic browser on the left, using Song, Artist, Genre and Album to go through songs and individual playlists. There’s a list view on the right side and a control bar across the bottom of the screen. Extra info about the interface can be found on Precentral.

Related posts:

  1. HP TouchPad Coming in June, WebOS Reaches the PC Before The Year End
  2. HP TouchPad Debuts; Dual-Core WebOS 3.0 Tablet Coming This Summer
  3. HP WebOS Tablet Gets Teased Ahead of February 9 Debut (Video)


HP CEO Wants to Dominate Tablet and Smartphone Markets Like the PC and Printer Ones

Posted by R. Yorga on March 15, 2011 None comments


In a recent keynote to investors and the press, HP CEO Leo Apotheker expressed his wish to conquer the tablet and smartphone market. HP is already at the top of its game on the printer and PC market, selling two of each every second, an incredible volume of products for any company out there.

There is still room of improvement in the tablet and handset segment, that’s true, especially with the hot competition coming from Apple and those much loved Android devices. To sum up the speech of the HP main man, the cloud is the future for the US company, that intends to offer cloud-based tools, services and software.

These will greatly improve the enterprise segment and also reach the mass consumers. HP has the TouchPad webOS 3.0 tablet ready to debut in the following months and we’re really curious if it will be able to compete with the iPad 2, that has already sold 1 million units in less than a week.

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  1. Acer CEO Convinced Its Tablets Will Dominate the Market
  2. HP Zeen Slate Bundled With Printer, Possibly Lacking Google Apps
  3. Steve Ballmer Mocks Android Tablets