At their ‘Think Beyond’ event in San Francisco, HP have announced their competitor to Apple’s iPad. The spec sheet for the HP TouchPad runs very similar to the iPad, with a couple of key differences. It runs Adobe’s Flash (no mention of which version) and has a front facing camera for video calls.
Tech Specs [More info]
Operation System: Web OS 3.0
Display: 9.7-inch XGA capacitive, multitouch screen (1024×768 resolution)
Sesnsors: Light sensor, accelerometer, compass and gyroscope, GPS in 3G version only.
Storage: 16GB or 32GB internal
Battery: 6300 mAh battery (not sure what this translates to in real world usage hours)
Weight: 740 grams
Connectivity: Wifi-only, 3G and 4G models coming
So while there are a lot things the same, there’s also some important differences. Like the fact it has a microUSB connector (USB 2.0) and a Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon running at 1.2 Ghz. Then there’s HP’s touchstone, which allows you to place the TouchPad on the touchstone and commence charging, no cables required.
Availability is expected this summer in the US, now specific word on international availability at this stage. Also yet to be announced is price, which is probably the single determining factor as to wether the TouchPad is a success. The other is the question of what Apple has in store with the iPad 2.
Update – Check out the video.
HP also killed off the Palm brand, by announcing a two new smart phones, the HP Pre3 and HP Veer, both of which work well with the TouchPad.
