HP TouchPad review

The HP TouchPad is the the first tablet that’s been released sporting webOS. They were hoping that the Touchpad would  compete with the Apple iPad, so we’ve decided to put them head to head with the iPad 2 to see if its the case.  The Touch Pad is running the second Qualcomm Dual Core Snapdragon APQ8060, Adreno 220GPU, 1GB RAM, 16 or 32GB Flash memory, 9.7-inch IPS display (1024 × 768) and a 6300mAh battery. The tablet weighs 740-grams which is heavier then the iPad.

We’ve pulled together a short list of the pros and cons of the tablet, but if you want to know the whole story, we suggest that you watch the video.

Advantages:

-The best time multitasking touchscreen OS

-Just type saves a lot of time and typing

-Integrated Skype Video Chat

-The best stereo speakers on the tablet market (even with bass!)

-The best virtual keyboard of Tablets

-Can receive calls and SMS, if it is connected to a webOS Smartphone

-Native email app sets a new standard for Tablets

-Best native Facebook app on the market

Disadvantages:

-Slow performance and buggy!

-Below-average battery life (6.5 – 7 hours)

-Difficult and ultimate fingerprint magnet

-Few apps in the App HP Catalog

-No tab browsing

-No camera on the back

Conclusion

It breaks my heart a little to say that the HP TouchPad is not the top of the pile when it comes to tablets, but we have to say that it feels like HP have launched one of the largest public beta’s around. The TouchPad feels unfinished, think Motorola Xoom, we had high hopes for this tablet so we really wish that they had come to market with some slightly more polished hardware.

The performance is sometimes a little gritty, especially if an app runs off the background data or when your installing apps, this may freeze the entire system and usually results in a HP version of blue screen which is extremely annoying.

Keyword updates is another issue and how exactly the software works, which isn’t always in tune with the hardware. Another point of contention is the hardware itself, we’re personally a little disappointed with the quality and 740 grams seem just too high along side the thickness of the device (13.7mm), and the lack of camera on the back, it seem like an answer to the first generation of the iPad and not an iPad 2 competitor.

The TouchPad is then also been packaged in a glossy plastic case, which acts like a fingerprint magnet. For 499 Euros its a little on the expensive side, if you want to be competitive you’ve got to be in the same ball park as Apple which calls for a lower price and better materials.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 and Adreno 220GPU are competitive with Nvidia’s Tegra 2, no question. The only problem is that the APQ8060 is actually still on the ARM Cortex A8-based (although optimized properly) and which consumes alot more power. So we’re only seeing between 6 and 7 hours of battery life, despite having a similar capacity battery to the iPad 2 or even the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

A tablet, requires before all things, a powerful browser. In my opinion the BlackBerry Playbook is the best in class.  Tab browsing is now standard and the “stack-feature” used in webOS wont be everyone cup of tea. If we then make direct performance comparisons, it is quite bleak:

HTML5Test.com

• BlackBerry playbook 274 points
• ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 249 points
• HP TouchPad 229 points
• Apple iPad 2217 points

They are all terrible compared to the iPad but the Touch Pad comes out right at the bottom of the bunch.

SunSpider Benchmark:

• ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 2189ms
• Apple iPad 2 2192ms
• BlackBerry playbook 2548ms
• HP TouchPad 3961ms

The SunSpider JavaScript benchmark measures browsers performance and the TouchPad doesn’t stand up to well if you compare it to the iPad or Honeycomb Tablets which are almost twice as fast. However, it should also be noted that only the TouchPad and the playbook liquid 1080p can download Flash videos!

If you want to check out the full review please check out the video below.

Buy or not buy?

webOS has a lot of potential and you should never underestimate the power of HP being the number 1 PC manufacture on the market..  HP has the world’s strongest distribution channel and they could really push it through their channels.

However, the TouchPad is not mature, and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when I look at my bank statement. What? I really paid the same price as an iPad 2?

I believe in HP and webOS, but I know for sure that I can recommend the TouchPad in its present state but only for webOS fanboys. All other users should look into iPad 2 or a Honeycomb Tablet!

Oh, just in case for those who still would like to purchase the TouchPad click here, for an iPad2 click here!

Via Netbooknews.de