HP TouchPad……..And It’s Goodnight From Me
And so the long awaited Hp Touchpad came and went like Willow the Whisp – shining brightly for just a couple of months. Then HP top brass determined that it wanted out of the PC hardware market made the announcement that it would be pulling out to concentrate on software; net result, no more PCs, laptops and the premature, early demise of HP tablets and WebOS.
And this was all carried out without a buyer in place and whether one comes forward in the near future is unclear at the moment; with no suitor in the wings, HP will be all out, looking to offload to any suitable applicant – probably at a knockdown price. In fact, in my opinion if anyone does come forward it will probably be an Indian or Chinese company who end up buying the business.
It is the TouchPad tablet though, that does give one a feeling of incredulity, especially as it’s not that long ago that Lee Apotheker was espousing how HP would be the ‘new’ Apple. Their purchase of Palm last year gave them WebOS – an excellent OS ideally suited for tablet PCs and a perfect match for HPs foray into the tablet PC market. Now, even WebOS has been handed a death sentence and there’s probably very little chance of anything happening to take the software forward into the future, with no strategy and no buyer there’s little if any incentive for developers to support the software and so the whole application base will remain stagnant.
But, despite all this Bad News the TouchPad is incredibly popular; in fact it has just been announced today (31 August 2011) that HP are actually increasing production to keep up with demand.
The reason……………………..PRICE. Customers are clambering to buy these cut price tablets which are retailing for around $100 in the USA. Though, as always things are different her in the UK, where prices for the 32Gb TouchPad are currently around £280 on Amazon; in fact many retailers are even dropping them from their range altogether.
The HP Touchpad is a great purchase though at these discounted rates. Just because WebOS is set to follow the dinosaurs, it doesn’t mean users are going to be saddled with a white elephant. Instead, Touchpads are being hacked to run Android instead and have been cropping up all over the internet.
So, basically the TouchPad actually represents great value to the canny buyer who wants a quality tablet and is OK using WebOS as it stands with few or n o applications appearing. Alternatively, for those willing to take the plunge and switch to Android they will have a great piece of kit with a solid future proof, application rich OS.
RIP the HP TouchPad…….long live the TouchPad,
Tablet PCs and tablet accessories
Here’s the place to find a great range of tablet PCs and tablet accessories. If you’re on the go and want ultra portability or just want something different to surf the internet, watch videos or interact with friends and family online then a tablet is an ideal choice.
We stock tablet PCs from all the main manufacturers including:
- Acer – Iconia 10 inch tablet
- Apple iPad
- HP – Touchpad 9.7 inch
- Creative – 10 inch Z110 tablet PC
- Dell – Streak 7 inch tablet
- Archos – 9 inch 60Gb tablet
- Viewsonic – Viewpad 7 and Viewpad 10
- Samsung – Galaxy tab and Ultra 7 inch tabs
This is just a selection of the tablets we have in stock and you’ll be able to see more when you browse the site.
Now no tablet would be complete without a stunning range of tablet accessories. Indeed your tablet pc represents a significant investment so it makes sense to look after it, after all the very nature of them means that they are carried around in all types of bag or just au naturelle. Consequently, it means that they are also far more likely to suffer from knocks and bangs and there’s nothing worse than finding your brand new tablet scratched and bruised.
You can protect your tablet with a superb range of tablet cases and covers we have available on the site. These include the Belkin Transport Sleeve for generic 7 inch tablets; the Belkin Merge Sleeve for 7 inch tablets; the Belkin Verve Folio Stand for generic 10.1 inch tablets and the Belkin Verve Slim folio stand. Or, you could try one of the iPad 2 Smart Covers that come in a superb range of colours – blue, black, grey, green, pink, orange, tan and cream. Not only are iPad Smart covers sleek and slim but they have a magnetic alignment feature that makes sure they stay where they’re supposed to and don’t slip off. You can also find the Belkin iPad Hard folio case; silicon ergo sleeve; Grip Vue silicon sleeve; Exspect Toughskin case; a range of leather case for your iPad and other tablets and numerous other types, styles and colours.
On the topic of protection, the other tablet accessories we highly recommend are screen protectors. These transparent films are sized for your specific tablet requiring no trimming or any of that messy stuff. Instead you simply lay them onto the screen of your tablet and press the air bubbles out to create an undistinguishable protective layer for your screen. Believe me, there’s nothing worse than picking up your brand new tablet pc and seeing a horrendous scratch decorate the front of the screen and the knowledge that it’s there forever.
As one of the main uses for tablet is in watching video – indeed research has shown that many people are now using them instead of TVs. However, watching a film, even on a tablet can become cumbersome and uncomfortable. In this case a tablet stand is a welcome addition. Whether you’re sat at a desk or tucked up in bed a good quality stand for you tablet can make you whole viewing experience far more enjoyable. Tablet stands come in a range of styles and designs, including the Belkin Flipblade stand, which folds up and slips neatly into your bag and is great for taking with you wherever you venture. The Griffin Wavestand that fits both iPads and other tablets is a great way to watch your videos; as is the Belkin Verve which doubles as both a tablet case and stand.
If you’re on the move then making sure you have the ability to recharge your tablet becomes a necessity, especially if you’re travelling a lot. We have a range of in car tablet chargers from the likes ofGriffinand Belkin. These car chargers are available for iPads, Galaxy tabs and most other makes, especially where they will charge from a USB. With applications like GPS consuming lots of power, battery life can soon drop significantly and using a tablet car charger can ensure you don’t run out of power when you really need it.
With a great range of Tablet PCs and tablet accessories available at very competitive prices you can be sure there’s something that fits your budget and style.
Ladies and Gentlemen……The HP TouchPad
The eagerly awaited HP TouchPad was released in the UK in July, but what is it like? Here’s our take on the latest offering from HP.
An Operating System that Stands on its Own
The HP TouchPad stands alone in that it utilises its own operating system, hived from HP’s acquisition of Palm, the TouchPad runs webOS.
This is a great OS due to its simple and intuitive GUI and amazing multitasking functionality using a card type interface. Here each app has its own card which is displayed on the main home screen; switching between apps is as easy as swiping your finger from left to right, close the app by simply sliding the card off the top of the screen,
Unlike the iPad or Android tablets you can’t litter the background with applications, instead you can find them in a menu at the bottom of the page. This is split into Apps (pre-installed), Downloads, Favorites and Settings; you do have a dock towards bottom of the homescreen which allows five shortcuts to be added.
Design
What about TouchPad’s design? Well, it is a fairly substantial piece of kit at 240 x 190 x 13.7mm and weighs 740g. It’s comfortable to hold and pretty ergonomic with a glossy black plastic finish, that can be a problem to keep clean from relentless fingerprints.
The tablet is rather minimalist in finish with a single “central” button beneath the display which also blinks at you when you have a notification.
Plus, the front facing camera (which at 1.3mp is standard) is situated at the top (there is no rear camera). Around the sides you’ll find two speaker openings, a Micro-USB port, the volume rocker, standby button and 3.5mm headphone jack.
Hardware
Inside the TouchPad you’ll find a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1.2GHz dual core processor., which runs very nicely generally quickly – although opening some applications can be a little slow (though once opened they run fine) and the built in apps being integrated don’t have this issue, so it’s not overly an issue.
The brilliant 9.7-inch IPS display, offers a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels with plenty of brightness and great viewing angles.; though as with most tablets daylight substantially reduces the picture with reflections being something of a problem,.
Storage wise, there’s the option of 16 or 32GB with 1GB memory. You get all the normal connectivity you’d expect too, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, sensors, and so on. As yet there s no 3G mobile connectivity available, though if you have a 3G phone with functionality it is possible to connect this way. The most impressive piece of wireless connectivity is probably the Touchstone technology giving you the option of wireless charging (if you buy the optional dock charger), plus you can also get touch pairing with your HP Pre3.
Just place the Pre3 on the TouchPad and this will pair the devices and give you a Bluetooth connection. The tablet will lact as your speakerphone and give you SMS messages, as well as giving you the option to shift things, like webpages, from one device to the other for continued reading, which makes a nice partnership, albeit only one useful to those in the HP/Palm family.
Multimedia
You’ll not only find local versions of your photos and videos but also those available through your online services
Video playback is great on the TouchPad display, with a simple button to change the aspect to either fit the screen or stick to the original.
The music player is rather straightforward, but hits the key points of offering shortcut controls up with your notifications as well as from the lockscreen, which is less common on tablets. However, it’s the Dr Dre Beats audio that really makes the difference between the Touchpad and other tablet PCs. Even the small in-built stereo speakers pack a punch and through headphones it’s even better.
Interface
At the top of the home screen you’ll find a universal search option, Just Type. As the name suggests, typing in here will give you plenty of search options, returning local results, be it people or apps, with options to dive out to Google, Wikipedia, Maps, or even Twitter. You also get a range of “quick actions” taking you off to various forms of messaging. It’s quick, easy and effective.
The central button takes you back to the home screen, where you can easily flick through your apps and get on with what you were doing. One especially neat option is when you open a new “tab” in the browser, or reply to an email, this opens up a new card sitting on top of the stack, so using the same principal you can manage different pages in the browser. When it comes to emails, this means you don’t need to save a draft email or discard it, you just come back to that reply card. It also means that if you want to share a photo, you get an email card on the Photos & Video app stack, which helps keep things organised.
Applications
This is perhaps the weakest area for the TouchPad, webOSs limited spread has meant fewer developers a far fewer apps available.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some good apps in the store, there just aren’t that many especially compared to Android and Apple. However, HP are rigorously pushing webOS to the development community and these should be increasing rapidly over the next few months.
The Browser Experience
This is exceptionally good, if for no other reason than it fully supports Flash, meaning there’s no need for specific YouTube, SeeSaw or BBC iPlayer apps as they will run natively through the browser itself.
You can use Cards like tabs, a long press on a link offers the option of opening in a new card, sharing and so on. Sharing isn’t the integrated offering you’ll find in Android, as “Share link” opens up a new email and that’s your only option, so it’s not quite as friendly.
Keyboard Input
The keyboard on the TouchPad is superb with a full QWERTY and numeric layout. It is laid out nicely with three rows of alpha keys and one numeric row, plus an alt key to switch to symbol mode.
Not only is it logical and works nicely, but it is responsive and multi-touch capable.
Core Apps – Office, Email, Calendar, Contacts & Maps
Quickoffice comes pre-installed, together with a PDF viewer so you won’t have a problem viewing documents. Opening up attachments to emails and saving them locally is no problem, but the most exciting thing about document handling comes from Synergy. Plus you’ll be able to link this to your Google or Dropbox accounts and view docs through here. Editing is another story at the moment, although it is said that editing functionality will be available in a forthcoming update.
There are a number of core applications available with controls being easy to find and the with a clear layout. A number of webOS apps make use of sliding layers, where you easily drag a section of the app across to make it bigger and shift the emphasis of what you are looking at. In the case of email this means you can move from three columns to two and really get into the detail.
Calendars are bright and clear and you get the run of customisation options, from picking which calendars are shown, to what colour you want them to be. Switching from day to week to month view is a button press, although we miss Google’s agenda view. Cleverly you can click on a location or the directions button to get a route displayed for you or just a straight map of the destination.
Contacts presents plenty of information allowing you can to pick and choose which contact lists from which accounts are included, and Synergy does a good job of combining details so you don’t get too much duplication. Plus, you get contact options, linked maps and so on.
The Maps application comes from Bing, rather than Google. Though they contain pretty much the same information you don’t have access to Street View (which may or not be a concern).
And Finally
WebOS is both refreshing and easy to use, whilst (arguably) being more refined than the competition. It suffers from low app support and can stutter at times though this could be fixed by software updates down the line.
Battery seems pretty good, lasting about 8 hours solid use (depending on apps running). It scores massive points on the sound front with Beats kicking out some serious quality.
The HP TouchPad is a great machine with by a few niggles and some issues that need to be addressed in future updates of the tablet, specifically utilising 3G connections as this impedes the tablet’s mobility, the essential reason for tablets in the first place.
The Touchpad is really a machine that provides a good interface but is destined to be used more in the home and office than on the go.
Charging on the move
If you’re on the go and using your tablet alot then your battery is going to run down quickly, especially if you use functions like GPS.
So, what do you do?
Well if you’re walking you have the options of either a wind up charger or solar charger – although I have come across the nPower Peg for charging whilst you walk.
If you’re in the car then it’s much easier to find an in car charger for your tablet or smartphone, with numerous ones on the market from the likes of Belkin and Griffin.
And if you’re in the middle? Riding a bicycle will still enable you to charge your device on the go – although I have to say it’s going to be more difficult mounting a tablet than a smartphone.
Charging on Foot
Now you wouldn’t think that you would be able to charge your phone or tablet whilst your away from a power source but you’d be wrong.
There are several different types of changer available if you’re in the middle of nowhere and your battery runs out.
Solar Chargers
These consist of a solar panel that will charge your device through the power of the sun. They generally do not power your phone directly but charge up an internal battery that is then used to pass the charge onto your device. Although not dependant on bright sunlight to generate a charge the level of light does affect the charge rate. Also, solar chargers are not good for getting a quick boost to your battery and will take several hours to generate enough power for running your device on its own.
Amazon have a range of solar chargers available here.
Wind Up Chargers
Just like those wind up radios these create a charge by cranking the handle on the charging device.
They generally come in two varieties – those for iStuff and USB connections.
The good thing about the wind up chargers is that they’ll charge the device directly and quickly, for instance a three minute wind will provide about 8 minutes of talk time. Plus you’ll get some exercise from the effort of winding too, so it’s a double bonus.
http://www.thefonestuff.com/products/Pama-Wind-Up-Charger-For-Mobile-Phones-with-USB-Lead.html
http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-wind-up-eco-charger-225747
Kinetic Chargers
These are the new kids on the block. The nPower Peg generates charge from the energy you generate whilst walking, jogging or even cycling.
It’s basically a power storing dynamo that converts any kinetic (moving) source to generate energy and store it in a Li-ion battery.
Once enough charge has been generated you simply plug in your USB device and it will start to charge it up.
The nPower Peg will charge a myriad of devices from most manufacturers (though iPad owner are out of luck). It’s estimated that an hours walking will generate enough charge to bring a dead device up to 80% battery power. Find more information about the nPower Peg kinetic charger at their site.
In Car Chargers
If you do spend time in your car then buying an in car tablet charger makes plenty of sense. And there are numerous ones available for every conceivable tablet or phone.
All tablet and phone car chargers work via your car’s cigarette lighter / 12V power outlet. You simply plug it in, attach your device to the lead and wait.
Examples include the Griffin Powerjolt Micro car charger for Ipad and Belkin Micro USB car charger where you simply plug in and charge from your car’s 12V power outlet. They are low-profile design uses an illuminated light ring to indicate charge status. For instance, the PowerJolt’s detachable dock cable can be used separately to charge and sync your iPad, iPhone or iPod separately. Other devices can be powered through using their own charging cables and attaching them to the car charger.
USB Chargers on 2 Wheels
The choices for mounting a tablet on a bicycle are for obvious reasons fairly limited – you’re more likely to get something for a smaller tablet such as the Dell Streak. For mobile phones there’s far more choice and sites such as Amazon have a large number available for most phones. The reason for starting with bicyle mounting kits is that you’ll need one if you’re going to charge your device.
So, charging your mobile device from your phone. Well, the essence of this comes from that old and trusted bicycle dynamo. This is connected to a USB adaptor that changes the charge type (from ac to DC) and outputs at 5.5volts (standard for USB).
Bicycle USB chargers are not common with only Nokia having a specific cycle charger available from all the phone and tablet manufacturers.
The only other USB bicycle charger that I have found readily available is from Brocott for about £24. I’ll post a review on it fairly soon as I have ordered one of these myself – albeit for my HTC Desire HD.
In summary, if you are out and about you do have options for powering up your device. The proliferation of mobile and tablet car chargers means that no matter what you have there will be something for you. It is more difficult if you’re on two wheels or on foot as your choices are substantially more limited. Hopefully, devices like the nPower PEG kinetic charger and Brocott usb bicycle charger will become more readily available and not only provide remote charging but as they are more environmentally friendly also help the planet too.
Google Earth – Android’s latest incarnation
G
oogle Earth was launched back in 2005 whilst the thought of powerful mobile computing was still a blue sky ideal. How was it possible for 197 million square miles of the planet to be mapped and carried around?
However, in 2010 Google (don’t they always) released Earth for Android and pretty well it worked too. With the release of Android 3.0 though and the proliferation of tablet PCs, Google have stepped up the game even further. By utilising these tablets latest features and more powerful systems they have released an update for the Android app that is something else.
The new version of Google Earth for Android now supports fully textured 3D buildings, to make your 3D city tour more realistic than ever. The new action bar eases searching, you can ‘fly to your location’ too; plus layers option for places, panorama photos, wikipedia and 3D buildings.
All in all this is a neat update that makes great use of the increased functionality of devices to create an immersive experience.
2011 Tablet PCs
Every week there seems to be a new tablet being released onto the market and 2011 seems to be the year of the Tablet PC with no fewer than 35 in the pipeline for release.
TabletPCReview in the USA have compiled this comprehensive list, showing when they’ll be launched and which OS they’ll be using. And, here they are:
| Company | Name | OS | Release Date |
| Acer | Iconia W500 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| RIM | BlackBerry PlayBook | BlackBerry Tablet OS | Out Now |
| LG | G-Slate | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Acer | Iconia A500 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Acer | Iconia-6120 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| ASUS | Eee Pad Transformer | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Lenovo | ThinkPad X220 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| Gigabyte | S1080 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| Netbook Navigator | NAV7 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| HTC | Flyer | Android 2.3/3.0 | Out Now |
| Acer | Iconia A501 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| ASUS | Eee Pad Slider | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Motion | CL900 | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| ASUS | Eee Pad MeMO | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| MSI | Windpad | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| MSI | Windpad AMD Brazos Processor | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| MSI | Windpad Intel Processor | Windows 7 | Out Now |
| Samsung | Galaxy Tab 10.1 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Archos | Gen 9 Tablets (2) | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| Dell | 10-Inch Android Tablet | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Out Now |
| HP | TouchPad | webOS | Out Now |
| Lenovo | LePad | Android 2.2 (Froyo) | Out Now |
| Gigabyte | 7-Inch Android Tablet | Android 2.2 (Froyo) | July, 2011 |
| Gigabyte | 10-Inch Android Tablet | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | July, 2011 |
| HTC | EVO View 4G | Android 2.2/2.3 | Summer, 2011 |
| RIM | BlackBerry 4G PlayBook | BlackBerry Tablet OS | Summer, 2011 |
| Samsung | Galaxy Tab 8.9 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Summer, 2011 |
| Gigabyte | Dual-Boot Tablet | Windows 7 and Android ??? | October, 2011 |
| Dell | 10-Inch Windows 7 Tablet | Windows 7 | Autumn, 2011 |
| Sony | S1 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Autumn, 2011 |
| Sony | S2 | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | Autumn, 2011 |
| Samsung | 7 Series Slider PC | Windows 7 | Originally slated for March, 2011 |
| Fujitsu | Stylistic Q550 | Windows 7 | |
| Google/LG | Nexus Tablet | Android ??? | |
| HP | EliteBook 2760p | Windows 7 | |
| Lenovo | IdeaPad Slate | Windows 7 | |
| Motorola | Xoom WiMAX from Sprint | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) | |
| Panasonic | Viera Tablet | Android 2.2 (Froyo) | |
| Toshiba | 10.1-Inch Tablet | Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) |
Best Selling Tablet PCs of 2011
So, which tablets are actually selling the most so far this year. Here’s our list:
- ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101-A1 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer
- Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 16GB, Wi-Fi)
- Motorola Xoom Android Tablet (10.1-Inch, 32GB, Wi-Fi)
- Samsung Galaxy Tab (10.1-Inch, 32GB, Wi-fi
- ViewSonic gTablet with 10″ Multi-Touch LCD Screen, Android OS 2.2
- ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101-B1 10.1-Inch Tablet Computer (Tablet Only)
- Apple iPad 2 MC769LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi, Black)
- Superpad 10.2″ Tablet PC, Google Android 2.1, Webcam, GPS, HDMI, USB, WIFI
- Toshiba Thrive 10.1-Inch 16 GB Android Tablet AT105-T1016
- Apple iPad 2 MC979LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi, White)
