HP to take on with Apple with webOS-based TouchPad, Pre 3

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
HP on Wednesday announced a trio of new webOS-based products, including the TouchPad, a touchscreen tablet with dimensions similar to the iPad, and the Pre 3, a new smartphone intended to compete with Apple's iPhone.



"Today we're embarking on a new era of webOS with the goal of linking a wide family of HP products through the best mobile experience available," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager for the Palm Global Business Unit at HP. "The flexibility of the webOS platform makes it ideal for creating a range of innovative devices that work together to keep you better connected to your world."



Rubinstein, a former Apple employee, is known as the "father of the iPod." He left Apple in 2005, and became CEO of Palm in 2009.



TouchPad



Rubsintein and HP on Wednesday unveiled the TouchPad, a 9.7-inch multi-touch tablet with a virtual keyboard, instant-on access and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in its browser. The device will run Palm's webOS and will have access to "thousands" of applications from the platform.



In April 2010, HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion, after the struggling smartphone maker failed to find significant traction for its Pre smartphone. HP made it clear they were interested in Palm because of webOS, its mobile operating system, and the prospect of bringing it to tablet-style devices.



HP said the TouchPad is designed to be used alone or as a digital companion to a webOS phone, alerting users of missed phone calls or text messages. The device will launch "later in the summer," and pricing and availability are yet to be announced.



The virtual full QWERTY keyboard includes a number row for quicker typing, and the hardware includes a 1.3-megapixel front-facing webcam for video calling capabilities. The TouchPad has built-in HP Touchstone technology, which allows for charging in either portrait or landscape mode.







Features and specs of the TouchPad, according to HP:



HP webOS

High-speed connectivity

Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2-GHz processor

9.7-inch diagonal XGA capacitive, multitouch screen with a vibrant, 18-bit color, 1,024 x 768 resolution display

The option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage

High-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta for access to rich, Flash-based web content

Wireless connectivity:

Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication

A-GPS (3G only)(10)

Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support

Multimedia options, including music, photos, video recording and playback, and a 3.5 mm headset/headphone/microphone jack

Internal stereo speakers and Beats Audio

Front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling

Email, including EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers) and personal email support (Google Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)

Robust messaging support

Light sensor, accelerometer, compass (magnetometer) and gyroscope

Rechargeable 6,300 mAh (typical) battery

Micro-USB (Charging and PC Connect) with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

Built-in HP Touchstone technology for easy charging (HP Touchstone for TouchPad sold separately) and HP touch-to-share to share web addresses between TouchPad and compatible webOS phones

Dimensions: 190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm (7.48 inches x 9.53 inches x .54 inches)

Weight: approximately 740 g (1.6 pounds)

Pre 3



The Pre 3 is a new smartphone from HP powered by webOS geared for professional users. It sports a 3.58-inch touchscreen and packs a 1.4GHz processor with full slide-out keyboard.



HP boasted that the new phone has a slim design and high-capacity battery that supports the "new look of business for the 24-hour life." Compared to its predecessor, the hardware maker said the new Pre has a bigger and better touchscreen, more processing power and an all-new keyboard.







The Pre 3 also has a forward-facing camera for video calling, access to HP Synergy for contacts through social networking services, and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta. The full list of features and specs according to HP:

HP webOS

High-speed connectivity

Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8x55 1.4-GHz processor

3.58-inch multitouch screen with a vibrant, 24-bit color, 480 x 800 resolution display

Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation

Redesigned vertical slide-out QWERTY keyboard with backlight

8 or 16 gigabytes (GB) of internal storage

High-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta for access to rich, Flash-based web content

Wireless connectivity:

Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication

Integrated GPS (and A-GPS)

Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support

Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot

Multimedia options, including music, photos, video recording and playback, a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with LED flash and a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack

Rear-facing autofocus camera with flash, HD camcorder (capable up to 720p video recording)

Front-facing VGA fixed-focus camera for live video calling

Email, including EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers) and personal email support (Google Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)

Robust messaging support (combining IM, SMS and MMS capabilities)

Proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer and compass

Removable, rechargeable 1,230 mAh battery

USB mass storage mode to transfer media and other files quickly between desktop and device

«13456710

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 196
    .



    Here are some bloggers at the TouchPAd announcement:









    From Jason Snell



    http://www.macworld.com/article/1577...bos_event.html



    .
  • Reply 2 of 196
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I just read WebOS is also going to be released for PCs. Not sure if it's true or not. Presumably a mouse and keyboard version. Anyone heard anything about this?
  • Reply 3 of 196
    I do think the "handoff" transfer of web pages by touching the Pre to the TouchPad is kind of cool. But summer is a long way off. Did they mention pricing? I was following Engadget for a little while but didn't hear prices for any of the phones or the TouchPad.
  • Reply 4 of 196
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I just read WebOS is also going to be released for PCs. Not sure if it's true or not. Presumably a mouse and keyboard version. Anyone heard anything about this?



    It was mentioned in the presentation, "later this year," was I believe the timeframe they are shooting for
  • Reply 5 of 196
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Summer 2011 launch. This TouchPad will go on sale when the first 5 million iPad 2's are are in customers hands. It is the best alternative to the iPad I've seen yet, however. Apple need to demo iOS 5 on an iPad 2 with some improved features and this thing has an uphill battle.



  • Reply 6 of 196
    jcozjcoz Posts: 251member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I just read WebOS is also going to be released for PCs. Not sure if it's true or not.



    That's what they said, and to me it was the biggest news of that show.



    The products looked impressive. HP's move here is impressive. I'm looking for battery life and pricing on anything and not seeing it.



    But HP could make some serious noise, They seem to be implementing an apple-like strategy and they have many of the same tools to work with....not all, but they even have a couple advantages, including a vastly larger PC base.



    I don't know, I'm not going to jump to conclusions, but if they get devs behind it and HP offesr some enticing deals to content providers......well they could do well for themselves in this new era of computing.



    We will see where it goes.



    What I am most interested in is how they cultivate an ecosystem compared to Apple's.....



    Microsoft is on shaky ground the next decade or so IYAM. Critical times for them.
  • Reply 7 of 196
    Look an iPad with webOS in it..



    Waiting until Summer is what'll kill the TouchPad. iPad 2 and Honeycomb tablets will be out sooner..
  • Reply 8 of 196
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    HP on Wednesday announced a trio of new webOS-based products, including the TouchPad, a touchscreen tablet with dimensions similar to the iPad, and the Pre 3, a new smartphone intended to compete with Apple's iPhone. ...



    The phones look like a complete fail to me but the tablet looks interesting and (finally!) some real competition for Apple.



    Why they would release only phones with little plastic keyboards and no touch-keyboard phones is just mystifying, as is the decision that we were all lacking a *smaller* phone than the Pre. Those things just make me go WTF?! but the tablet looks kind of nice.



    One things seriously missing from the iPad is any kind of phone/tablet integration (or a decent email app but that's another story), and I've often wished for it when I'm travelling with both. Why should I have to either use iPads crappy email program or pull my phone out of my pocket every time it gets mail? I'm usually typing on the iPad when it happens and they are both within bluetooth range of each other (heck they are even in RFID range of each other), and are often sitting on the same network.
  • Reply 9 of 196
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Looks interesting, if anything... they made it look like yet another iPad clone.



    However, I'm surprised Rubenstein is still running that unit considering how he totally borked the product when he was in charge of the helm.
  • Reply 10 of 196
    boogabooga Posts: 1,082member
    1.6 pounds. That's a tiny bit heavier than the first iPad, isn't it?
  • Reply 11 of 196
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    You know, the post I made well before this one came along.



    Yes, sarcasm.
  • Reply 12 of 196
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Booga View Post


    1.6 pounds. That's a tiny bit heavier than the first iPad, isn't it?



    Same weight.
  • Reply 13 of 196
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by digitalclips View Post


    I just read WebOS is also going to be released for PCs. Not sure if it's true or not. Presumably a mouse and keyboard version. Anyone heard anything about this?



    They announced it, but were very fuzzy about details.



    I suspect, that they will run WebOS apps in a Windows 7 window (or windows) -- maybe using a WebOS simulator.



    Apple could easily do this, as the code already exists. However, I suspect that Apple will more tightly integrate iOS and Mac OS X Lion at the system level.
  • Reply 14 of 196
    flaneurflaneur Posts: 4,526member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    Here are some bloggers at the TouchPAd announcement:



    Very nice. No picture credit? Wert thou there?



    On topic, I am a bit shocked at the Fisher-Price icons at the bottom of the screens. Will they never get it that this kind of detail matters? Fake-jaunty is not user-friendly, as they imagine. It is infantilizing (sp?). Google also has this problem. The opposite of classy. Derives from Microsoft, now I think about it.
  • Reply 15 of 196
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


    It was mentioned in the presentation, "later this year," was I believe the timeframe they are shooting for



    That must make Ballmer very happy!
  • Reply 16 of 196
    This HP announcement had less details than the RIM PlayBook announcement...



    No Price, No Availability, No Battery Specs!



    Apparently, they had live demos, though!
  • Reply 17 of 196
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by David Forbes View Post


    I do think the "handoff" transfer of web pages by touching the Pre to the TouchPad is kind of cool.



    It's a neat trick that's good for a demo, but it doesn't seem that useful in real life.
  • Reply 18 of 196
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dick Applebaum View Post


    They announced it, but were very fuzzy about details.



    I suspect, that they will run WebOS apps in a Windows 7 window (or windows) -- maybe using a WebOS simulator.



    Apple could easily do this, as the code already exists. However, I suspect that Apple will more tightly integrate iOS and Mac OS X Lion at the system level.



    Oh that's a shame, I thought it was a full alternative to Windows for a moment aimed at HP PCs. Now I stop to think I see that was stupid.
  • Reply 19 of 196
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sflocal View Post


    Looks interesting, if anything... they made it look like yet another iPad clone.



    However, I'm surprised Rubenstein is still running that unit considering how he totally borked the product when he was in charge of the helm.



    Palm was "borked" long before Rubenstein ever got there.
  • Reply 20 of 196
    tzeshantzeshan Posts: 2,351member
    It looks like this is a blatant copycat of iPad forms. May be some of the recent rumors of iPad2 is just this one? The real iPad2 may have a rear camera after all. News articles about the iPad and iPhone competitors always neglect the batter issue. But the battery is one important area that iPad and iPhone excels.
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