HP TouchPad Takes Aim at the Competition [VIDEO]

by Christina Warren

At HP’s webOS event Wednesday, the company officially unveiled the next generation of webOS devices, including the new tablet, the TouchPad.
The TouchPad is HP’s big move into the white-hot tablet space. Looking at the specs and the form factor, it’s clear the TouchPad has taken a lot of cues from Apple’s iPad, while still giving the device a flair of Palm panache.

Physically, the TouchPad aligns with the leaks Engadget obtained last month. Cross pollinate an iPad and a Palm Pre and you get the TouchPad.
Check out this video from HP’s site:





The TouchPad’s physical dimensions should be very familiar to iPad owners:

• 1.6 lbs
• 13.7 mm thin
• 9.7-inch 1024×768 display
• 1.3-megapixel webcam for video calling
• Stereo speakers

When we go under the hood, what we see looks similar to the Motorola Xoom and the rumored specs of the iPad 2.
The TouchPad includes:

• Dual-core 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon processor
• 16 or 32GB of storage
• 802.11 b/g/n for Wireless
• Bluetooth 2.1
• 1 GB of RAM

3G and 4G versions of the device will hit the market after the Wi-Fi model arrives and feature on-board GPS.
On the accessory front, HP will be releasing an innovative Touchstone dock that acts as both a cables-free charging station and a stand.
For the expected release date, HP says “summer” and is staying mum on the price for now. WebOS looks great on a larger device and we look forward to seeing what apps head its way.
What do you think of the TouchPad? Let us know!

Palm Planning to Launch TouchPad, Pre 3 and HP Veer

by Christina Warren

HP/Palm is holding a special webOS event in San Francisco Wednesday and thanks to a leak from the HP website, we know the company will be announcing the HP Veer, the Pre 3 and the pièce de résistance, the TouchPad.
We’ve been expecting some sort of webOS tablet to hit the market, practically from the moment HP announced it was acquiring Palm. According to PreCentral, the new TouchPad — formerly known as Topaz — will weigh 1.5 lbs and be 13 mm thick. If that sounds familiar that’s because those are the same dimensions as the iPad.
As for the other two devices, the Pre 3 is expected to be an update to the venerable Palm Pre. Meanwhile, Robert Scoble has already had a look at the HP Veer and he calls it “the smallest little phone I’ve ever seen.”