[fmarcanojr]

I'm staying with the TouchPad until servers are turned off, if that ends up happening. I can see why a tech journalist would move on, though. Like it's been said in this thread, he has to stay current and the TouchPad is drifting out to sea. I'm just glad all of us on this site are still here.

I can only speak for myself. And, as a webOS faithful shall remain loyal to the platform, the developers, and the community until the bitter end. Nothing can convince me of a better OS out there since I've tested each OS side-by-side and always achieved an efficient and joyful user experience with webOS. In the event HP does pull the plug on webOS, it will be missed and a great mobile platform did not get the chance it deserved.

[shneor]

Another zdnet blogger is reporting ubuntu is coming to tablets and mentions ARM as well.
Timeframe for full readiness is 2014 but blogger thinks we will get some version already in second half of next year. This could be my next platform of the TouchPad hardware.

Ubuntu Linux heads to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. | ZDNet

I've had Ubuntu on my TP for a month now. Works pretty well, except that there's no sound with Flash (a "known bug" according to the experts). Firefox runs really well.

[grappler]

My daughter's kids(stepchildren, not related to me by blood) boguht a 16GB iPad 2 off eBay a couple of months ago. It was a used unit sold by a merchant with 50,000+ feedbacks. The final price was $301 plus $17 shipping. The seller clearly stated and showed large photos of a couple of 1" scratches on the back of the iPad 2. Not really a problem, since the kids intended to put the iPad 2 in a case. The two kids shared the iPad 2 and each came up with half of the $301.

They recently experienced a problem with the home button because it only responds to presses 1 out of 3 times. They contacted the seller who offered to exchange it for another similar used iPad 2 at no cost.(pretty generous, considering 2 months have passed since purchase) When they told me about this, I offered to take it to the Apple Store to see if anything can be done before they let the eBay seller exchane it. They shipped the iPad 2 me because there's a Apple Store in the mall next to my office.

During lunch, I walked in with the iPad 2 and informed them of the problem. Apparently it was necessary to have an appointment with a "Genius"(tech guy) at the Apple Store. They looked in the system and asked me to come back at 4pm.

A little after 4pm, I went back. The "Genius" took a look at the iPad 2 and determined that the home button was faulty. He went to the back and came back 10 minutes later with a brown box. I figured he was going to have it shipped back to Apple for repairs or something. To my surprise, he opened the box and there was a new iPad 2 16GB inside. He said it would be an instant exchange, but the only catch was that the new one would be whilte. I called the kids and asked them if it was okay with them... They were more than happy about it! I took the iPad 2 home and played with it to make sure it was functioning properly. The next morning, I shipped it back to my daughter's. The kids called me two days later when they received it.

Why am I sharing this story? As much as I'm put off by Apple's closed eco-system and high prices, I am quite impressed by how well they treat their customers. Especially when the customer is experiencing difficulties with the hardware. There was no fuss when I told them that I didn't have a receipt, since the iPad 2 was from eBay.

Too bad I can't say the same about HP's tech support....

Judging by your story, Apple must be pretty generous with their *non*-customers as well. If I'm understanding you correctly, they gave you a new unit when you hadn't even bought the faulty one from Apple or one of their resellers. Correct?

[bluenote]

I've had Ubuntu on my TP for a month now. Works pretty well, except that there's no sound with Flash (a "known bug" according to the experts). Firefox runs really well.

Yes I've had it for 4 months but presumably since this ubuntu build will be officially for tablets, it will have all the bells and whistles.

[friedscones]

Judging by your story, Apple must be pretty generous with their *non*-customers as well. If I'm understanding you correctly, they gave you a new unit when you hadn't even bought the faulty one from Apple or one of their resellers. Correct?

According to the Apple store employee, they don't really care where you bought the iPad 2
from, as long as you can show a receipt showing purchasing within 1 year. If no receipt,
the iPad's serial number just have show that it was manufacturered within 1 year. (the
only exception is when you purchase a device that was flagged as "refurbished" in their
system) This is a worldwide Apple policy. If you meet one of the above conditions,
any Apple store or authorized service center will repair or replace your device. (I can
only confirm that the Apple Store in Switzerland repaired my US-purchased iPod Touch
a couple of years ago... no issues at all and the iPod Touch was repaired in one day)

[teamw23]

A big so what. If I wanted to have the "trendy" tablet everybody else was using, I'd have an iPad and be $500 poorer for it. If you cover tech for a living, maybe you need to stay on the bleeding edge, but for most normal people none of these concerns should make any difference. The reality is that one sympathetic journalist isn't going to save WebOS no matter what he thinks or how often he writes about it.

[friedscones]

A big so what. If I wanted to have the "trendy" tablet everybody else was using, I'd have an iPad and be $500 poorer for it. If you cover tech for a living, maybe you need to stay on the bleeding edge, but for most normal people none of these concerns should make any difference. The reality is that one sympathetic journalist isn't going to save WebOS no matter what he thinks or how often he writes about it.

A tech writer worth his/her salt shouldn't ever have to pay for devices that he/she writes about.

I used to work for the 2nd largest video projector maker in the word. We routinely sent out new video projectors to reviwers at trade and consumer magazines/websites at no charge. (usually on loan for 6 months at minimum)

[rsanchez1]

I unsubscribed from his blog. Now I have no reason to visit zdnet.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Just to clarify via twitter

@jkendrick James Kendrick
@IngloriousApps I didn't get rid of my TouchPad. Didn't say I did.

[doctj]

I unsubscribed from his blog. Now I have no reason to visit zdnet.

Did it a few weeks ago after most of his tweets were about iphone 4S

[bluenote]

Nice. Go Team Palm!


joshmarinacci Joshua Marinacci
by twtomcat
Really? "Requiem for the HP TouchPad: Time to move on ". We're still here and crankin' away, actually.

[scottlive5]

"... I already have a few Android tablets around here. The big draw for me with the TouchPad was the webOS system, I have no desire to put Android on it..."

yeah well, if I were sent free hardware to review week after week, I would move on too.

[geekpeter]

Yes I've had it for 4 months but presumably since this ubuntu build will be officially for tablets, it will have all the bells and whistles.

so no change for touchpad users then, just means moving from 1 ubuntu arm variant to the next.

[Cantaffordit]

People move on from things for two reasons....

1- Need something better

2- Want attention

Seems like Kendrick is doing a number 2........

i'd say #3

it's his job...

[k4ever]

That article is stupid. I have WinXP on a laptop and when have I ever called tech support? Never. If it breaks is HP going to repair it? Probably not. When have I ever sent something back to get repaired. Never. I could see not using it anymore because even with patches the keyboard has a hard time keeping up.

What he really means is he can't get anymore hype for his own agenda by using it anymore.

How many gimicky apps do you need? All I want/need now is a nice 3D chess program and blackjack and I will keep my $150 beauty tell she dies.

I don't agree with your point. I don't think James Kendrick is in this for the hype or he would have been writing about using the iPad all this time. I love my TouchPad and webOS but I understand his frustration. HP has not given any indication at the top that the platform has a solid future. They are so dysfunctional right now when it comes to webOS that I have lost all trust in them not just as the OS owner but as a company.

Now, after they complain that their PC business is a low profit margin business, they bring it back. Yet their webOS tablet/phone business (which they stand to gain all of the profits from) has a questionable future? To make matters worse they are betting their tablet future on Windows 8 so they can be just another windows hardware maker like they are now with PCs. Isn't that yet another low profit margin business model? HP wants to continue being under Microsoft's foot smelling their nasty bug and virus ridden funk while the rest of the world passing them on because it is the easy thing to do. They have an excellent chance to be great (like Apple) but of course they are going to squander it because they are afraid of themselves.

[OldSkoolVWLover]

Now, after they complain that their PC business is a low profit margin business, they bring it back. Yet their webOS tablet/phone business (which they stand to gain all of the profits from) has a questionable future? To make matters worse they are betting their tablet future on Windows 8 so they can be just another windows hardware maker like they are now with PCs. Isn't that yet another low profit margin business model? HP wants to continue being under Microsoft's foot smelling their nasty bug and virus ridden funk while the rest of the world passing them on because it is the easy thing to do. They have an excellent chance to be great (like Apple) but of course they are going to squander it because they are afraid of themselves.

The worst part is other than the fact it's the same board, you can't fully blame them for booting webOS. Leo killed any potential value in webOS/Palm. He has his mind made up long ago, but you don't make announcements like that and make the moves they made without severely doing long term damage to the brand that you are now "trying" to sell/license.

[falconrap]

HP really needs to come up with a solution on what to do with webOS really soon. They just continue to hurt the value of it.

If HP were smart, they would go back to pushing products, but, instead of making their own phones and tablets, outsource the build to HTC (as Palm did with the Treo Pro). Offer HTC the Palm umbrella to shield them in exchange for a steep discount on the hardware and let HTC do the selling to the carriers and retail. It's clear that HP didn't have the resources in place to generate and debug the phones and tablets quick enough to keep up with the market. Someone like HTC (or Samsung) does.

If they don't do something, we will see more of the faithful abandon ship, and more "requiems" written. Just think how different it would have been if the Pre 3 and the TouchPad had come out back in April, and the TouchPad Go in July, followed by a slate phone in September? I don't think we would be sitting here in this predicament. But...coulda, woulda, shoulda.

[CGI_Ram]

I like James Kendrick. I've followed him for a while now, JK on the Run days.

I hate to see him moving on as he's been sort of the steady presence / reinforcement for why I like the TP. But, he didn't say what he's moving to.

I still believe the TP is on par with anything out there right now.

[chris5949]

how long do u think your touchpad will last? If it last me 3 yrs that's enough for me 'til my next tablet

[DoobieDoo]

I don't see it as a negative endorsement - just a reaction to the market.
It's simply part of his job to evaluate the latest and most hyped new tech products.
How does he do that? He uses them daily. I give him some credit for that - instead of just re-hashing press releases or being a mindless fan boy.

I could imagine something like this happening, anyway, even if HP didn't publicly kill the Touchpad and just let it slowly wither on the vine - or if a flashy new ICS tab hit - or if some new killer technology suddenly breaks on mobile devices - or any one of a dozen unforeseen events.

But heck, HP if you keep trying to hedge your bets and put off a major decision, even I will eventually will be able to buy WebOS as a discounted add on item with my Starbucks Venti coffee soon..