Official: TouchPad Reviews (post them here) =]

[barkerja]

This is my Next's is up: HP TouchPad review | This is my next...

The common complaints amongst all reviewers: sluggishness. Let me guess: we just need to give HP more time to optimize?

[bluenote]

Topolsky here:
HP TouchPad review | This is my next...

edit: his summary is below and is surprisingly favorable. I like this review the best so far.

"The TouchPad is far from perfect — really, not even close right now. Still, there is DNA here that is amazing, and deserves to be given a second look. What HP has done in just a year with webOS is commendable, and if the fixes for some of these big, ugly bugs come as fast as the company is promising, the TouchPad could be the contender everyone over there thinks it is.

Still, the bottom line here is that the stability and smoothness of the user experience is not up to par with the iPad or something like the Galaxy Tab 10.1, even if many of the underlying ideas are actually a lot better and more intuitive than what the competition offers. That, coupled with the minuscule number of quality apps available at launch make this a bit of a hard sell right now. If HP can convince developers to get behind this product, and the company can laser focus on the end-user experience, becoming the number two player in tablets isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Really.
Rating: 7.5
Pros

Intuitive and natural user interface

Crisp, clear display

Phone pairing can be very useful
Cons

Sluggish, unfinished software throughout the OS

Hardware quality feels cheap

Developer support is thin right now

[fxspec06]

Thanks a bunch. Disappointing to see a 7.

Don't see where they get the 'could be faster' and 'hardware isn't up to par' bit.

I haven't read that anywhere but Engadget.

[bobsentell]

On the plus side, the next meeting of the webOS division will have a slide show full of these reviews. Almost everyone of these complaints will be dealt with in the TouchPad2 (and some of the software issue will probably be fixed soon).

[clevin]

Toposky is webOS lover, and mostly positive, still:

In all, the feel of the device is a touch on the cheaper side of things; I certainly wouldn’t describe it as “premium.”

Still, the bottom line here is that the stability and smoothness of the user experience is not up to par with the iPad or something like the Galaxy Tab 10.1, even if many of the underlying ideas are actually a lot better and more intuitive than what the competition offers. That, coupled with the minuscule number of quality apps available at launch make this a bit of a hard sell right now.

[clevin]

Originally Posted by fxspec06

Thanks a bunch. Disappointing to see a 7.

Don't see where they get the 'could be faster' and 'hardware isn't up to par' bit.

I haven't read that anywhere but Engadget.

almost all reviews said its sluggish. See the thread link posted in #2.

[bluenote]

Topolsky is hanging on to hope that the OTA will fix the issues, I sure hope he is right (see below)

edit: In Q&A he is saying HP has led him to believe that OTA will be soon, about a month he thinks (not 2 months):

"But — and this is a big one — there is some real light at the end of this tunnel. I spoke with Jon Rubinstein and others at HP, and was assured that nearly all of the bugs and issues I’ve been experiencing will be fixed in an OTA update coming shortly after the device launches. In fact, I went piece by piece down my list of complaints, and on every point folks at the company said that they were aware of the issue and that if it wasn’t already fixed in the latest build of the OS, it would be before the update rolls out. Of course, the issue here is that the shipping product will contain much of what I’ve been dealing with, making for a flakey experience for early adopters. I can’t review the device that the TouchPad will be, only the one that it is right now — and that device has some real issues."

[nappy]

Originally Posted by bobsentell

On the plus side, the next meeting of the webOS division will have a slide show full of these reviews. Almost everyone of these complaints will be dealt with in the TouchPad2 (and some of the software issue will probably be fixed soon).

With the memo from Leo indicating he's unwilling to throw good money after bad and wanting to cut unprofitable ventures, can we even be sure there will be a TouchPad 2? I can see that being an interesting internal debate if these reviews keep consumers and developers away from webOS.

[bluenote]

Originally Posted by nappy

With the memo from Leo indicating he's unwilling to throw good money after bad and wanting to cut unprofitable ventures, can we even be sure there will be a TouchPad 2? I can see that being an interesting internal debate if these reviews keep consumers and developers away from webOS.

No he will not cut bait that soon, we could be 12 months away.

[clevin]

Originally Posted by bluenote

Topolsky is hanging on to hope that the OTA will fix the issues, I sure hope he is right , see below:

"But — and this is a big one — there is some real light at the end of this tunnel. I spoke with Jon Rubinstein and others at HP, and was assured that nearly all of the bugs and issues I’ve been experiencing will be fixed in an OTA update coming shortly after the device launches.

Jon sure knows how to assure reviewers. If HP doesn't want to release an imperfect product, and the fix will be out "very soon", why even push this release date?

My guess is that fix won't come in a month or two, and will not be a magic potion.

[bobsentell]

Originally Posted by nappy

With the memo from Leo indicating he's unwilling to throw good money after bad and wanting to cut unprofitable ventures, can we even be sure there will be a TouchPad 2? I can see that being an interesting internal debate if these reviews keep consumers and developers away from webOS.

Leo will look at only one number: sales. That's all he needs to be happy. The webOS division hand;es the other stuff. But even then, Topolsky says most of his issues are fixed and ready for an OTA update.

This was actually my biggest concern, that HP would send 95% production units for review. For all we know these unites were built in May despite the fact work on webOS is still ongoing.

Originally Posted by clevin

Jon sure knows how to assure reviewers. If HP doesn't want to release an imperfect product, and the fix will be out "very soon", why even push this release date?

My guess is that fix won't come in a month or two, and will not be a magic potion.

Or HP knew what they were doing picking the Friday before a mjor holiday as their release date. By the time most consumers even SEE a TouchPad, these issues could be fixed.

[bluenote]

Here's another amazing paragraph from Topolsky.
He likes the TouchPad and bluetooth, even though he doesn't normally use accessories (see below).
HP is getting a second life from this Topolsky review, I hope they capitalize on their lucky break and push out a strong OTA soon.


"Admission: I’m not really an accessories guy. Typically, I get the bare minimum for a product and leave all the extra baggage on the shelf — but I liked what HP has done with the Touchstone dock and wireless keyboard for the TouchPad a lot. For starters, the dock is fantastic because you can place the device on it in either landscape or portrait with no plug to line up or cable to fiddle with, and that makes throwing the device casually on the dock to charge or just use a much more seamless experience than other products on the market. Secondly, webOS’s Exhibition mode is actually handsome and useful (imagine that!), making for charging sessions that still give you something of value. That fact that this piece of the OS is extensible for developers also raises the bar.

I was also surprised by how much I like the pairing of the wireless keyboard and the dock — together the system feels like a surprisingly functional micro PC. The keyboard is outfitted with a variety of special function keys which can whip you out to card view or open the launcher, drop down your notification window, control the volume, brightness, or audio playback, and pop you into search. One point about the keyboard did bother me, however. When you use the card view key, you can only view your cards or open the launcher; you still have to navigate on the screen. I don’t know why the company didn’t opt for arrow key navigation with return tap to enter the card you’ve selected, as it makes perfect sense."

[ogloco21]

Office is still loading..

[barkerja]

Originally Posted by bobsentell

Leo will look at only one number: sales. That's all he needs to be happy. The webOS division hand;es the other stuff. But even then, Topolsky says most of his issues are fixed and ready for an OTA update.

This was actually my biggest concern, that HP would send 95% production units for review. For all we know these unites were built in May despite the fact work on webOS is still ongoing.



Or HP knew what they were doing picking the Friday before a mjor holiday as their release date. By the time most consumers even SEE a TouchPad, these issues could be fixed.

Fact is, the units consumers will have in their hands on Friday is the same unit and OS build that the reviewers have. These units don't appear in stores overnight, they've been in transit and waiting for to be put on shelf for weeks now.

[samab]

Originally Posted by kyleoXD

Honestly I don't care about the weight! I don't know why they keep HARPING ON THIS! LOLS

Because HP copied the ipad specs basically to the t.

[fxspec06]

What really digs under my skin is that most tech lovers would agree that a solid OS is #1 priority over anything, and a solid OS could CARRY a device on its shoulders.

Either way I'm tired of battling on Engadget. It's grown out of me.

[bluenote]

For all you Pre3 lovers, Topolsky wrote that he was given an early version of Pre3. That seems positive--if the phone was not good and not pairing well with the TouchPad, I wouldn't think he would still be seeing so much possibility in the platform. I admit I am reading between the lines but I think it is so as the phone working well is important. He does say also he likes taking the phonecalls on the TouchPad. (I am excited by this feature also).

[barkerja]

And Precentral's review is up:

Everything seemed good until we fired up the TouchPad’s music app and saw a grand total of 144 songs, when we’d transferred well over 700 tracks. All of the playlists were there, but several were empty. So we plugged the TouchPad back in and looked at the USB drive: the songs were all there. Curious, we opened HP Play again to see if we could get anything to happen. The app was fine until we attempted to see what was on our TouchPad through the app, at which point it froze for five minutes before we had to force quit it. The app did the same thing again, which is a problem since you have to view the music on the TouchPad to sync it via HP Play.

Bad. Just bad.

[nappy]

You can almost sense how hard Derek tried to find a balance between his obligation to Precentral and his inability to wholeheartedly recommend the TouchPad.

[kyleoXD]

HP TouchPad review | This is my next...

This is one of the better review

7.5/10