webOS ran twice as fast on iPad 2 as TouchPad? [Updated]

By Rene Ritchie
last updated

Matt Brian from The Next Web has a source that claims, before canceling all webOS devices, people inside HP tested webOS as a web app on iPad 2 using Safari and the results were twice as fast as their own TouchPad hardware.

The hardware reportedly stopped the team from innovating beyond certain points because it was slow and imposed constraints, which was highlighted when webOS was loaded on to Apple’s iPad device and found to run the platform significantly faster than the device for which it was originally developed.

Which begs the question -- why didn't HP make better hardware? Even if the TouchPad hardware was already in progress when cash-strapped Palm was acquired, why didn't HP scrap it and make something better, the way Samsung scrapped the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 after seeing iPad 2, and brought a thinner, lighter, and faster model to the table?

Or would that have conflicted with HP's intent to surrender the consumer hardware market? Here's hoping someone with some manufacturing balls picks up webOS and runs with it...

Update: PreCentral.net calls shenanigans: [[

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[The Next Web]

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.