HP/Palm iPad-competitor gets detailed
Dieter's been killing it today over on sibling-site PreCentral.net, digging up tons of details on HP/Palm's upcoming "Topaz" tablet, their big iPad competitor. Not surprisingly it lines up almost identically to the current iPad and rumored iPad 2 specs, including a 9-inch 1024x768 screen, gyroscope,. Given how successful Palm was at attracting developers to the Pre given its iPhone 3GS spec-matching, maintaining the strategy and getting iPad games via PDK is a no brainer.
The hardware is the least interesting part of the leak, however. Of course it will be running webOS, one of the most elegant mobile operating systems on the planet, but as always there some amazing Palm innovation along for the ride:
The Topaz will support Touchstone inductive charging - but obviously it won't work with the current Touchstone. Instead, HP is developing something they were calling "Touchstone v2" that supports additional functionality. That functionality looks to include both Bluetooth for wireless streaming of content and speakers for music.
That last is intriguing. The idea is that you can start watching a movie on the dock, but when you lift the Topaz out of the dock it switches into a wireless remote to control the video that it's wirelessly streaming to the controller for play on your television.
It'll also have Flash, which Apple won't, and it should include some nifty cloud integration into the rest of HP's webOS and Windows-powered ecosystem.
While Apple COO Tim Cook recently took Google's Android tablets to task for bizarre fragmentation, Palm uses the same integrated approach Apple does and that could make for some pretty compelling competition.
Check out the full leaks via the link below and then come back here and tell us what you think. iPad 2 need to worry?
There are 29 comments. Add yours.
the iPad 2 better have better specs than this
Only time will tell considering each product isnt even out yet.
As always- Competition = A Good Thing
We don't want that Steve Job-less company getting the least bit complacent. I hope the competition forces the specs through the roof.
Unfortunately anything HP touches turns to garbage. Google is possibly the only company right now with clear enough vision to challenge Apple.
No, and they needn't worry about RIM's PlayBook either. Touchstone? LOL. I suppose now we'll have to hear about every "iPad killer" that comes out, just like with the iPhone.
I've personally always thought that WebOS was the only real competition to iOS given that palm get their **it together, and bring some better hardware. Although I'm a huge Apple fan, I'm really intrigued by this and i'm seriously pondering buying one. I already have an iPad that I love but I also love having as many gadgets as I can have provided that they work great. I can't wait to see a demo of this device!
It's only asset compared to the iPad is double the memory? Is that it? iPad 2 is right around the corner. I'd think they'd be more aggressive with the specs. Unless they're going for a lower cost at the outset than Apple's stuff.
Sorry, folks. If you read all of the articles you'll see that if HP brings out all of this it is a real challenger to the iPad. As things stand, it's missing the platform elements that Apple has - iTunes, iBooks but if they integrate Melodeo then it's tracking to Apple.
Where HP seems to have an advantage is in the way they're integrating the user experience into the web and sharing it among webOS devices. While it seems that HP has an advantage here there's no telling what that massive Apple data center in North Carolina will bring.
I agree with Rene, there's something here and because it's vertically integrated like Apple it's going to be a challenger. The devices, UI and overall usability may not be to Apple's standards and therefore not be for Apple lovers it does open the door to capture the market for folks who want something different than Apple.
Actually one of the best things about WebOS is no iTunes. It's a feature, not a bug.
webOS is I suppose the only OS on par with iOS ... with this hardware they can atleast enter the market .. I am big fan of ios as well webos .... and palm has a similar ecosystem like apple .. if only they (with HP the picture I think they can) get the developers interested and get their app catlog moving forward .. we would have a good and healthy competition to apple ... which is super for the consumer like us :)
I would be willing to say most of us were web Os users before the iPhone days with all the palm devices out there. I agree if HP gets it together, web OS will be just about equal to iOS. If that being almost equal, it will be pricing, and features. The problem, did they wait too long to improve web OS to be real threat to iOS?
Meaning, do I really want to go HP, and not have the apps I am using now with IOS. I really have too many I really need, and they will convert to the iPad 2.
FYI - WebOS /= Palm OS. WebOS was released in 2009. It replaced Palm's prior mobile OS, which I believe you are thinking of.
WebOS didn't exist back then. I believe you're thinking of Palm OS, which is to WebOS what OS9 is to OSX.
If you read closely, you will see that these specs are somewhat dated. Who knows, HP may be leaking some of this info themselves, in another Apple-like move. Look for a Topaz in a bar near you.
HP/Palm's WebOS UI is beautiful and very intuitive. But, still needs some polishing. If they manage to make it as smooth as iOS then it's going to change the game. Well...at least on my end.
this tablet has some impressive specs, qualcomm 8660 1.2ghz is a dual core model with adreno 220gpu, upgradeable ram, only thing missing is sd card slot
My current phone is a Verizon palm pre plus, while I (im)patiently waited for an iPhone on Verizon. (Yes, I will be ordering my iPhone on 2/3). I really like webOS, and the decision to get the pre was due to it being much closer to the Apple/iOS experience than and Android phone could hope to achieve. Last spring there were rumors that Apple was interested in palm (before HP bought them) and I really hoped that would happen, as the webOS notification system is better than iOS. That being said, it is the only current area they trump iOS, but I do wish them continued success, as they could be the route that will push the innovations in Cupertino.
Unfortunately, HP produces the worst software in the entire world. I think the cultural differences between HP and Palm are insurmountable, and HP will only ruin WebOS.
Actually, HP is taking a rather 'hands off' approach. They're keeping Palm as a separate section in their organisation. The people and philosophies behind WebOS are the same now as they were before. There's just more money behind it now. HP has shown that they like WebOS, and don't want to mess with it on a software level.
I'm waiting for that Motorola Xoom to drop. IMO, now that's some serious competition (at least hardware wise)
No more s***. All posts of this quiatly from now on
"Palm uses the same integrated approach Apple does"
It's easier for them, as they don't have to worry about things like screen sizes/resolutions/aspect ratios. Most webOS apps are essentially local web-apps, so they scale elegantly and automatically. (This is also how webOS manages it's elegant notifications; the active app resizes when a notification pops up.)
This also makes the WebOS very slow. Navigating the OS is as slow as surfing the Web on a mobile connection .. Maybe 5 years from now the web will be that fast but not now
Interestingly enough, this is more due to WebOS (until now, at least) not using its graphics processor for the UI. The iPhone does, which is how a 500mhz iPhone is much smoother than a 500mhz Palm Pre.
The speed of code execution does have something to do with it. However, nowhere near as much as you may think.
HP software HAS traditionally been crap. But so has Dell's, Motorola's, Samsung's, etc etc (even RIM in my eyes) - for these manufacturers, hardware was all that mattered. That clearly has changed (thank you Apple), and HP recognized that. They could still screw it up badly, but they appear to at least care about interface now.
I think competition is healthy. Of course it's not an iPad killer. As long as someone is around to raise the bar on the next guy, offer more features, and offer a better experience, the consumer will continue to get a better product at a better price.
Bring it Palm/HP, bring down those prices!! I wouldn't mind owning both =)
Currently have an iPad and Palm PRE
As a former WebOS user .. I can say there are some pretty unique tricks to WebOS but the it got pretty boring after a while .. It's nothing compared to Android .. the Homebrew innovation was very uninspiring.. I know it has been better since I left WebOs but nothing compared to Android customization ...
The thing is iOS excels at the closed system because they have a large user base.. it's really hard to be the 4th new generation OS on the market and trying to get the same number of users that iOS got.
I think Apple would have been better served getting WebOS to improve upon iOS .. but I dont think it's going anywhere with HP .. HP is a manufacturing company taht does really well but then they will have to implement their system with the PC market that they have... Apple has their own PC Software.. Hp is all over the place