[bluenote]

Topolsky likes it better than Google product, see below for his answer in Q&A.

My sense is the reviewers who look at the product right now are saying not to buy it. That is the responsible thing to do for your readers. What Topolsky and the MacWorld guy are suggesting is that there are innovative features that could make this a serious contender if the OTA come out soon. I agree that HP only has a few weeks to do this unfortunately. The tech world moves so quickly that it is inhuman.



The TouchPad has a much more natural and enjoyable user experience, but the bugginess of the UI is problematic. I liked using the TouchPad more than a Honeycomb tablet, but I was probably far more aggravated by it too. It's not fully baked yet, so that's a concern.
by Joshua Topolsky at 7:51 PM

Q: Assuming they fix the bugs, can you see yourself using this over whatever tablet you're using currently on a daily basis?

If they can squash these bugs AND get better dev support, hell yes. But those are two big questions that remain unanswered right now.
by Joshua Topolsky at 7:58 PM

[shingi_70]

Topolsky likes it better than Google product, see below for his answer in Q&A.

My sense is the reviewers who look at the product right now are saying not to buy it. That is the responsible thing to do for your readers. What Topolsky and the MacWorld guy are suggesting is that there are innovative features that could make this a serious contender if the OTA come out soon. I agree that HP only has a few weeks to do this unfortunately. The tech world moves so quickly that it is inhuman.



The TouchPad has a much more natural and enjoyable user experience, but the bugginess of the UI is problematic. I liked using the TouchPad more than a Honeycomb tablet, but I was probably far more aggravated by it too. It's not fully baked yet, so that's a concern.
by Joshua Topolsky at 7:51 PM

Q: Assuming they fix the bugs, can you see yourself using this over whatever tablet you're using currently on a daily basis?

If they can squash these bugs AND get better dev support, hell yes. But those are two big questions that remain unanswered right now.
by Joshua Topolsky at 7:58 PM

Josh is a webos fan boy. I love thisismynext all the products get a fair shake.

[bobsentell]

Watch HP release the mother of all patches the day of the launch. Then by definition, they didn't launch an incomplete product.

I'll be waiting for the 3G model anyway. I expect these issues to be resolved by then.

[samab]

Second, I watched the engadget video a couple of times.

The problem is that the engadget video is xoom-esque (not quite as bad) --- it has apps that crashes (like the video game).

The xoom review videos were bad --- fired up the app store, it crashes. Fired up this app, it crashes. Fired up that app, it crashes. Rinse and repeat.

[clevin]

Topolsky likes it better than Google product, see below for his answer in Q&A.

i don't know, weOS has been in existence for years, the sluggishness and occasional failure to register touches have always been here, do I really believe HP can fix it in two weeks? no.

Something deeper is not right, and I don't even know if HP is working on that.

[cainhunpi]

* Hacks iPad 2 and puts WebOS on it * = * Takes my Money *

[nappy]

i don't know, weOS has been in existence for years, the sluggishness and occasional failure to register touches have always been here, do I really believe HP can fix it in two weeks? no.

Something deeper is not right, and I don't even know if HP is working on that.

You're probably right.

We've both been here long enough to remember webOS' sluggishness being blamed on the UI not being GPU accelerated. Now it is...and it's still sluggish?

[barkerja]

A good comparison of the TouchPad's thickness vs. the iPad 2


- webOS takes on tablets: Ars reviews the HP TouchPad

[bluenote]

if you could sum up your TouchPad experience in one word, what would it be?
by iamisaactorres at 8:18 PM

Close.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:18 PM

Search is far more deeply integrated with the TouchPad than on something like the iPad. That said, the app offerings are limited right now, and the virtual keyboard is on the buggy / sluggish side. I would wait till this first update hits, and then evaluate the app selection. If you like what you see and the fixes come in, it could be a solid choice. One other note, I prefer the dock / keyboard combo with this over the iPad options — so that might be something to think about as well.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:20 PM

[Merovingian]

HP TouchPad review -- Engadget

[clevin]

A good comparison of the TouchPad's thickness vs. the iPad 2
- webOS takes on tablets: Ars reviews the HP TouchPad

Ars is probably most thoughtful and smart reviews. Thanks for sharing.

??? no 1080p playback?

It's a shame that one tablet manufacturer after another falls into this pricing lockstep for fear of being perceived as the "cheap" alternative.

The HP TouchPad, if it were less expensive, could be an extremely strong, if slightly less polished, alternative to the iPad.

I agree with this 100%, as I expressed many times.

[ryancell]

Reviews suck for most part so far it seems :-/ Makes me feel like I am rooting for a sports team that has the best players, but they are all fat & need to get more teammates and exercise. lol. aka more apps and become thinner.

[bluenote]

if you could sum up your TouchPad experience in one word, what would it be?
by iamisaactorres at 8:18 PM

Close.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:18 PM

Search is far more deeply integrated with the TouchPad than on something like the iPad. That said, the app offerings are limited right now, and the virtual keyboard is on the buggy / sluggish side. I would wait till this first update hits, and then evaluate the app selection. If you like what you see and the fixes come in, it could be a solid choice. One other note, I prefer the dock / keyboard combo with this over the iPad options — so that might be something to think about as well.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:20 PM

I think it's strange having a tablet with two cameras. Have you ever seen a person taking a picture with a 10-inch tablet? It's absurd.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:22 PM

[barkerja]

if you could sum up your TouchPad experience in one word, what would it be?
by iamisaactorres at 8:18 PM

Close.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:18 PM

Search is far more deeply integrated with the TouchPad than on something like the iPad. That said, the app offerings are limited right now, and the virtual keyboard is on the buggy / sluggish side. I would wait till this first update hits, and then evaluate the app selection. If you like what you see and the fixes come in, it could be a solid choice. One other note, I prefer the dock / keyboard combo with this over the iPad options — so that might be something to think about as well.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:20 PM

I think it's strange having a tablet with two cameras. Have you ever seen a person taking a picture with a 10-inch tablet? It's absurd.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:22 PM

The YouTube app is not really working on the version I have. It just opens up the website. Not sure if that's intentional or not, but I wouldn't plan on HD Flash working super well — even on a laptop.
by Joshua Topolsky at 5:26 PM
How is YouTube on the TouchPad? Will I be able to enjoy music videos in HD?

[Downtime500]

The Wired Tablet comparison had the best quote of all.

"Remember one thing: you need to actually enjoy using the device. Sure, you might be up on the latest and greatest hardware, but if you can’t stand the operating system, what’s the point of having the tablet?"

[samab]

Ars is probably most thoughtful and smart reviews. Thanks for sharing.

??? no 1080p playback?

It also touches on a topic that has not been in all the other reviews.

UI inconsistencies in HP's own apps --- some have back button, some don't. Very Playbook like in the UI inconsistency department.

[bluenote]

Not having flash and multi-tasking on my ipad drives me nuts. I use web browser, twitter, and FB in that order right now and I find myself using less and less apps...(kids use most of them) how would I fair with the TP?


You get Flash here, but the experience is not what you get on a desktop. Still, it's there. Twitter is a bit of a question mark right now as there's only one app in the running — but the Facebook experience is solid. You might like this.
by Joshua Topolsky at 8:34 PM

[lakerguy]

Gotta face it: All the reviews are essentially agreeing (and they're all pretty much saying the same thing I thought after my time with it).

Its thickness and weight **are** big issues.

It hangs, stutters and crashes.

It can't play video very well.

Its camera is presently useful only for Skype, and it does that very badly.

There is a serious dearth of apps, especially those that take advantage of the full screen. As anyone who's ever tried to use an iPhone app on an iPad knows, they're substantially worse in the middle of a huge screen -- to the point of unusability on a great number of them, especially games.

This version of WebOS has potential pretty good to all-around great, but it's clearly not up to full-release quality.

So it has neither the attractive price of the heavier Android tablets, nor the high-end features of the iPad or Galaxy 10.1, which share the same premium price tag.

Not good news. HP has the resources to fix these things, and let's hope they take the amazingly consistent reviews to heart and try to get a competitive Touchpad 2 into stores before the end of the year. But judging by how incredibly long it's taken them to get this round of products out, I'm certain they won't pull anything off like Samsung just did in redesigning the Galaxy flagship in a heartbeat (and doing it extremely well, BTW).

But it's clear the original Touchpad is destined to be a real dog.

[shingi_70]

I just find it sad that everything that people harped on HC about is present here.

[bluenote]

Topolsky on why he has hope for webOS-

pulls out Wired issue from the past that shows Apple in some kind of post traumatic stress syndrome with one word at the bottom of the magazine:

PRAY