sdfreedive wrote:What's the deal with WebOS? Is this going to be abandonware soon?

HP is trying their darndest to make sure that doesn't happen. I love the OS, but at the same time the lack of apps finally got to me. (Especially when I was trying to use my Pre for work. No VNC, no web proxy support, etc). I was developing a couple apps as well. But as of a couple days ago, I finally gave in and bought an Android phone. Now I don't have to carry my laptop around in case I get a call from work.

All in all, if you can live with the small catalog of available apps, WebOS is a fantastic mobile OS. Really easily hackable/customizable, amazing homebrew community, and designed from the ground up for mobile multitasking. But after having a Pre (WebOS phone) for over 2 years, the apps still never came. :-/

scottyanimal wrote:Holy crap. Thanks!

I am going to be using it mostly for business so I can get rid of all the papers I carry etc... and have easy access to office functions on the go. I do outside sales. (not door to door so dont get mad at me.)

Apps, I am not really worried about that. I don't use much on my phone or otherwise.

No problem. Forgot to mention this because I don't use it for productivity stuff, but one caveat about the Touchpad is that the preinstalled Quickoffice app can only read documents, but not modify them. This is supposed to get fixed with a software update soon, but it is not available yet. Quickoffice is also preinstalled on the Transformer but the Android version is fully functional.

Also, for the guy who loves the HDMI port on the Transformer...it's a nice feature but note that it totally DOES NOT work with certain televisions, like mine (Panasonic Plasma)

Davidsturdy wrote:You are freaking OMGOMGOMGPONIESOMG PONIES! buddy. I work with all tablets, and the HP while it is a great tablet, definitely does not outperform any market tablet right now. Lets talk basics for a minute. If you are going to throw specs around, lets make sure you know what you are talking about... Asus Transformer yields a dual core 2.1 Ghz processor, whereas the HP Touchsuck only has a 1.2. Let's poll the audience on this one so you are well informed, and the public rules 2.1 is greater!!!!!! (What do we have for him Johnny?)
Next, who gives a crap about gorilla glass? That is why they make Invisishields and things like that... Also, I will have you know that gorilla glass is most definitely not scratch proof.
Thirdly, lets talk about the compatibility of the Touchpad.
1. Does it have an HDMI port? (NO)
2. Does it have a USB port other than the charging cable? (NO)
3. Does it have capability to support SD Cards? (NO)
What it does have is a mediocre webcam, and an audio jack! Such a commodity on tablets, that you can get it on any tablet on the market.

Lets look at the competition...
1.Ipad, it can adapt an HDMI cable!
2. Ipad, it adds a camera adapter!
3. Ipad has a much more stable market and app side
4. Wireless Keyboard for the Ipad!

Asus Transformer
1. Has 2 HDMI ports, 1 USB port (plus the usb cable port), Micro SD slot, and it doubles as a netbook with the keyboard plugged in.
2. 5 megapixel camera on the front, which is nothing special, but definitely destroys the cell phone quality camera in the HP
3. Oh, did I mention HDMI!?!?!?!

Get your facts straight before you boast it as the best tablet.

I agree with much of what you criticize. Bottom line for me, I want a tablet to have as much connectivity and functionality as possible and that's what I base my buying decisions on.

While I may not use an HDMI port all that often, I like knowing it is there. For example, I can take my tablet and a 32GB chip loaded with DVD-converted movies, and home movies I have made, and an HDMI cable and be the life of a party or family get together. Connect the cable to the TV and show a movie after dinner.

And if someone was shooting video all day, it's a hoot to have everyone sit down and see themselves in the shot (and place orders for a video copy beacue they like how they look).

As I said before, when the Augen was for sale on here, I have followed tablets for a long time.

I have an Acer Iconia 32GB and an ASUS Transformer 32GB. I bought those two machines after reading up quite a bit about all the tablets on the market up until July 2011.

IMO the HP while certainly a nice tablet (IMO all of them are cool looking, feel nice to the touch and are fun to own) that machine will not be able to compete with Honeycomb-based tablets.

People are buying two tablets right now, the iPad and Android machines. Anything else will be niche machines (the BlackBerry tablet, for example, as a business device) or not catch on.

IMO in this tanked economy there's only so many tablet buyers. Simply put, there's not enough users on the market to buy tablets with four or more different operating systems.

Lastly, as you and other mention, apps mean everything on these devices. Fact is, Android has a huge base of users because of smartphone sales. Since 2008 people have been using Android. They understand the OS, are familiar with it and like the features (such as Android Market).

Users' migration to Honeycomb-based tablets is easy because they have been trained or "brought up" on Android. People will always go with what's familiar to them.

Said another way, I doubt people will want a third operating system in their daily lives. (Microsoft Windows on their computers, Android on their phones, and now WebOS on a tablet. I don't think so.)

Bottom line, I'd pass on this tablet, at least at this price point.

2.1 ghz. Lol at the HP hating troll.

Referencing my earlier post and some others that replied to him

OWNED. All your base are belong to us.

kmartind wrote:That's a pressurized cabin and is therefore irrelevant. Still I have no idea why they'd say 5000' That would mean you can't even use it in Denver, which I know from experience is incorrect. It would almost certainly be just fine at 12000' as long as it's not much below freezing.

Yeah, here's the poop from an HP data sheet:

Temperature
Operating ........ 32° to 104° F (0° to 40° C)
Non-operating ... 14° to 149° F (-10° to 65° C)

Relative humidity
Operating ........ 10% to 90%, non-condensing
Non-operating ... 5% to 95%, non-condensing

Altitude (unpressurized)
Operating ........ 0 to 5,000 ft (0 to 1,524 m)
Non-operating ... 0 to 40,000 ft (0 to 12,192 m)

-- Ed

This is a nice tablet with a pretty smooth OS, but I just can't justify buying anything WebOS right now. The app selection just isn't there. This is nothing more than a luxury item, and it's hampered by that limited selection. The app store growth doesn't seem to be there at the moment. Having great hardware specs is nice, but it means nothing without a robust selection of apps to use on it. As much as I'm not a fan of iOS, and haven't been all that impressed with the Android tablets, I'm leaning towards either the iPad or the Galaxy Tab 10.1 because they're a more complete package that seems to provide more value for the price than the Touchpad (or RIM's Playbook).

The numbers don't give me much confidence that the Touchpad can be competitive or viable in the long run. WebOS is currently at about 1% of the mobile OS market. Their app store has roughly 10,000 apps. Their plans for growth, so far, are to release outdated hardware too late into the market. That doesn't give me confidence that things are going to change for the better.

uhoerhold wrote:What's HP's record in developing and maintaining an OS? Nil.

Depends on what you mean, I guess. Fairly similar to converting Palm OS to WebOS, HP has been selling and supporting its own version of unix for 27 years.

uhoerhold wrote:Apple will always produce the easiest to use and best thought-out OS's. They have been doing it for decades, and they have an enormous following.

Ah, well ... really? I sure didn't like it 20 years ago. If I remember right, that was System 6 on a Portable.

"Enormous" is relative, I guess. On the desktop, OS X is enormous compared to Plan 9, but not so enormous relative to Windows.

In the server closet, real-time processing, kiosks, supercomputers, embedded non-phone systems ... Apple just doesn't have a horse in those races.

And in the phone race, calling iOS enormous is just wacky. Apple has shipped around 100 million iPhones, probably, and is being outsold by Android. Nokia, between its Symbian and Series 40 operating systems, has shipped a total of 2 billion phones.

-- Ed

/edit/ - well, no - 100 million iPhones IS enormous. It's lots more than I've sold!!!

So in absolute terms, sure, OS X and iOS are enormous. Enormous enough to generate their own gravity and have people stay attached.

----------

You know what I think is funny? Android, iOS, Linux, Maemo-MeeGo-Moblin, OS X, and even webOS are all derivatives of unix, which was never ever intended to power stand-alone equipment. And yet, here we are.

It's a funny, funny world.

ivanivanovich wrote:Ah, well ... really? I sure didn't like it 20 years ago. If I remember right, that was System 6 on a Portable.

"Enormous" is relative, I guess. On the desktop, OS X is enormous compared to Plan 9, but not so enormous relative to Windows.

In the server closet, real-time processing, kiosks, supercomputers, embedded non-phone systems ... Apple just doesn't have a horse in those races.

And in the phone race, calling iOS enormous is just wacky. Apple has shipped around 100 million iPhones, probably, and is being outsold by Android. Nokia, between its Symbian and Series 40 operating systems, has shipped a total of 2 billion phones.

-- Ed

1: Apple had already shipped 100,000,000 iOS devices *years* ago. They are now up to about 222,000,000 iOS devices shipped. Play with numbers all you want, but that is in fact an enormous ecosystem.

2: OS X does in fact, have an enormous following; in the tech, bio, defense, and university sectors. Apple has put more unix devices into the public's hands than any other distributor so far.

3: Apple Mac Minis are used *all the time* in server rooms, kiosks, and other non-consumer type places. Where are you coming up with these false assertions? Mac Mini is probably the most common special purpose machine in offices, retail, and entertainment. They are used to run video conferencing, in store sound systems, plenty of kiosks, heck we have one in the office that acts as our continuous integration server.

4: Nokia? Really? That's your argument? That's two-billion phones with no app store, slow as molasses OS, and most of those two-billion phones are so dated now they have almost looped all the way back into 'retro chic'. Nokia is dying in this space, which is why they were desperate enough to team up with another dying giant, Microsoft.

5: Supercomputers? lol. You watch too much TV, man. I've worked in the valley for almost twenty years now, and not once have I ever seen a "super computer", except for an old CRAY in the Tech Museum in Mountain View. You realize a "super computer" these days just means "a couple of racks in a datacenter", right? OS X comes with very easy and powerful clustering options by default. I'm sure you could very easily build a "supercomputer" with a room full of Mac Pros and a couple of switches.

Hate on Apple all you want, but they have taken over both the world wide consumer *and* professional tech industries, by becoming the largest tech company in the world (soon the largest company in the country), and being the computer hardware and software vendor of choice for the likes of Facebook, Google, Twitter, DropBox, Juniper, and countless other huge to tiny tech companies in this valley.

Not an android tablet? No thanks. Between them and MSFT, they are going to be fighting for the scraps left after Android and iOS continue to dominate tablet marketshare

uhoerhold wrote:Yes, it will. What's HP's record in developing and maintaining an OS? Nil.

One word: HPUX

Been around since 84, and still used in almost all large customers I visit for repairs.

RRC2000 wrote:Not an android tablet? No thanks. Between them and MSFT, they are going to be fighting for the scraps left over between Android and iOS

This next year will be an important year for Microsoft. They've been quietly building up their app market for their current phones (about 30,000 apps at the moment), are about to push a major update to the WP7 OS,and have HTC, Samsung, and soon Nokia pushing out quality phones. The reviews on the current state of WP7 are generally pretty positive, and user satisfaction ratings are high. They're currently working on bringing more unity between their phones, desktop, and Xbox. If mobile gaming on a phone platform continues to grow as quickly as it is, the Xbox Live functionality gives them a huge advantage. The games on the WP7 platform already have achievements that tie into your existing Xbox live gamertag. There are developments into adding a Kinect functionality to the phones. They have something that can clearly distinguish themselves from the competition. If they can shed the stigma from the old Windows Mobile days, they're poised to make huge gains in the smartphone market.

worldofjohnboy wrote:I have used every tablet known to man (perks of my job). Here's my tak

-Motorola Xoom: Design is somewhat quirky... power button on the back is just strange and it doesn't charge via Micro USB cable like every other Android device. As for the OS, Honeycomb is ridiculously smooth. The Market is very strong and much cheaper than iTunes, many of the good apps are free or only a couple of bucks. Great cameras on both front and back, and better resolution than the HP or iPad, though the display is a bit dim. The fact that it currently doesn't support the Micro SD card and doesn't come "stock" with 4G LTE almost gives you the feeling that they rushed the release of this tablet, though

It does have micro SD support for about a month now. If your going to review something you should know what your saying

Better than Android, arguably as good as an iPad.

Honestly, if you can't afford an iPad, cheap Android tablets are not the way to go! I learned my lesson the hard way... three times! WebOS is much more user friendly and offers a good alternative to the higher priced Apple tablets.

ha ha ha..... ha ha ha.....

they basically are having to give these pieces of crap away. should i get one? I can have access to all 50 apps!

OK here is the deal. Did you see an Ipad on Woot less than a month after it was first released. NO!

Anybody hack it and put a REAL OS on it yet? i.e. Android 3?

Its sort of funny.

Apple wouldn't be around anymore if (for a period of bout 5 years give or take) there weren't people sticking up for it and clinging on to it like people here are trying to do with WebOS.

Yet the Apple 'fanatics' are among the worse critics against these WebOS defenders.

worldofjohnboy wrote:I have used every tablet known to man (perks of my job). Here's my take on the tablets:

-iPad 2: Nice design and weight but poor browser, no flash capabilities, and most expensive total cost of ownership (with the iTunes video/music/apps being so expensive). It's going to have the most accessories out there since it is Apple though.

.

RE the iPad2: I don't miss Flash and use some other browser from the app store. Many apps are 99 cents, and if you get one of the apps (such as "freebies,") that tracks ones that are temporarily free, you can get a lot of stuff for free that normally costs 99 cent to ten dollars.

Apps make the unit, not the other way around. if HP doesn't have a good system for developers to get their apps out, owners may not have a lot to play with. If you are spending 300 hours or more developing an app, which market would you choose to make money? Apple.

dshoener wrote:One word: HPUX

Been around since 84, and still used in almost all large customers I visit for repairs.

Sure and you need a college degree just to understand it! This is supposed to be for every joe schmoe..

I can see the Amazon execs now "Hrmmm we're stuck with this pile of crappy HP tablets... how can we quickly move them?" (guy in the back) "I know sir! We can put them on Woot today, those people buy anything we put on there!" "Son, you're a genius! You're promoted!"..... and that's the story of how Amazon got rid of all their crappy HP tablets.

JediLow wrote:Bad timing for woot - HP is giving it a $100 discount this weekend. (You only save $20 now)

Umm no.. This already includes the $100 discount + $20. Touchpad is $499 normally. This is a brilliant move by woot and amazon because they know they won't sell any if they leave it at $499 on their site. The price is better or as good as HP offers to non-students, giving woot the competitive edge and limelight, especially since the HP site doesn't appear to be giving the correct discount

I have been waiting for this forever... I couldn't justify pulling the trigger at launch time, but was seriously considering it when I read that they would be $100 off this weekend... Now it's even less? In for one. WebOS is the most amazing mobile OS ever, man... I can do things on my phone already that make iPhones look sluggish and hamfisted. I love Android too but it just doesn't have the same panache as webOS. It's too bad it isn't more widely accepted by the mobile world, but that's what they get for waiting so damn long to push their products to market. I'm a dedicated webOS user and I will be as long as there is dev support for it.

If you are going get a tablet for browsing and multimedia functionality, you may be able to find something cheaper or more pleasant on the eyes than this interface. However, if you are looking for a slate to use for business, the Touchpad is it. Aside from Lenovo's new release of the Thinkpad Slate, there is no hardware/software bundled in a business ready package like this. Samsung is also in talks to OEM the WEBOS platform because of it's business friendly ergonomics. So if you are graduating college soon or would like to open a small business the functionality in the Touchpad makes all others seem superficial.

phacopida wrote:How does this compare to the Amazon Tablet rumors?

How does a real tablet compare with rumors? The rumors are very light weight. In fact, they weigh nothing at all. You can carry them around in your head instead of in a case. That's really all you can do with them, though.

kmartind wrote:That's a pressurized cabin and is therefore irrelevant. Still I have no idea why they'd say 5000' That would mean you can't even use it in Denver, which I know from experience is incorrect. It would almost certainly be just fine at 12000' as long as it's not much below freezing.

Completely irrelevant to the discussion on tablets, but most aircraft pressurize at ~7,000' - 8000', so not irrelevant...but I agree with the rest of your points anyway.

IHeartTechnology wrote:If you are going get a tablet for browsing and multimedia functionality, you may be able to find something cheaper or more pleasant on the eyes than this interface. However, if you are looking for a slate to use for business, the Touchpad is it. Aside from Lenovo's new release of the Thinkpad Slate, there is no hardware/software bundled in a business ready package like this. Samsung is also in talks to OEM the WEBOS platform because of it's business friendly ergonomics. So if you are graduating college soon or would like to open a small business the functionality in the Touchpad makes all others seem superficial.

You can't run a business on a tablet alone. You can buy a desktop or laptop for less than the cost of this.

Interesting that so many are making it sound like the OS is not up to Android standards... I've used several Android tablets and actually consider the OS to be lesser than WebOS!

HP tablet does operate better than Android in most areas, but if quantity of apps is important, then Android is better way to go. But if spending the same money as for an IPad, I would definitely go with the iPad over both competing systems.
And...
Today is tax free day in many areas. Buy your iPad with no taxes today!

uhoerhold wrote:Yes, it will. What's HP's record in developing and maintaining an OS? Nil. HP will be reluctant to put any more money into webOS than is absolutely necessary.

Sorry but you are wrong. HP has HPUX, an enterprise unix platform that has been on the market for TWENTY SEVEN YEARS. Additionally, they have several flavors of linux running their fancier printers. Some of them even had downloadable apps.

HP isn't going to ditch webos because they will be using it to replace those other user-facing linux variants.

While android has more apps, there are actually more Touchpad-specific WebOS apps than tablet-optimized Android Gingerbread apps. Oh, and because iOS uses standard linux libraries for 3d, its easy to port games to WebOS. Pretty much all the EA and Gameloft games. For iPad are available for Touchpad.

Webos is ota upgradeable and, based on the pre and pixi, have received upgrades for years. No fighting between Google and the OEMs.

Unlike iOS and most androids, rooting any webos device is as easy as typing the konami code in the search bar.

As for widgets, webos has active icons, a notification system to die for, and the exhibition mode that kicks in on the wireless charger that provided various glancable bits of information, like Facebook feeds, twitter, etc.

Good luck using a netbook while lying in bed. (like I am now) Or standing on transit, or standing in a hallway conversation at work. I use an Acer Iconic (android) and am not crazy about the HP app ecosystem, but am sold on the unique advantages of a tablet.

Batman4oz wrote:I know that the appeal of tablets is that they are So Star Trek...just a plug because I am going to the Convention in Vegas next week...but...

Wouldn't a Netbook be more useful than a tablet? Can't they do pretty much everything tablets do, but more, since they have keyboards, storage, etc?

Just saying.

^^X^^

Overclocking the touchpad to be as fast as IPAD2.

RT @warthogkernel: experimental warthog 3.0.2-27 now available. Features new speed option of 1.782GHz.

If you guys are unfamiliar with WebOS, it is a must that you understand WebOS Internals.

Follow this guy here to learn more about the HP Touchpad and its capabilites with WebOS. @webosinternals

I have absolutely no need for a tablet whatsoever; if I bought one it would be for nothing more than the "cool" factor -that's why I'm so angry that I bought an Iconia AND a Transformer last week at Staples for $299 each with the Staples $100 off all tablets coupon...

Damn you Deals.Woot.com

WebOS? Oh, that's other-other operating system, behind Android and Apple...got ya.

The reason we are seeing it on woot today is because HP is dropping the price on both tablets by $100 for 3 days only, august 5-7. This price is $120 off.

http://h41112.www4.hp.com/promo/webos/us/en/rebate.html?jumpid=ex_r11694_go_offer/dm:_N5823.8705.MLB_67726699_244255479_43385494

Great OS, questionable hardware, and a really anemic application set......HP has not improved the WebOS situation at all. As a huge Palm fan, and an early adopter of a Pre, I don't believe they have a price point that would make me grab one of these.

kmartind wrote:That's a pressurized cabin and is therefore irrelevant. Still I have no idea why they'd say 5000' That would mean you can't even use it in Denver, which I know from experience is incorrect. It would almost certainly be just fine at 12000' as long as it's not much below freezing.

An you are assuming it's a pressure related issue and not some other kind of problems (like gps, which it doesn't even have).

It's not a "sealed" unit any more than an iPad is, so I suspect it is not pressure related.

ahlacey wrote:Looks tempting... and here is the inevitable question:

How does this compare to the iPad 1 or Xoom?

You mean, iPad2 or GalaxyTab? Those are the current two leaders.

They are all a little different. iPad2 will give you page after page of icons basically. That's there experience.

GalaxyTab has live widgets, icons, full customizable to users preference out of the box.

HPs entance OS provides basically "tasked panels" that scroll across the screen; kind of like Blackberry Playbook; which has been out a while.

If looking for Apps to run. iOS, Android, WebOS probably in that order. But who knows with with some of the offerings coming out.

They are definitely trying to get into the ring at this pricepoint though, that's for sure!

I love the Touchpad, and have a large number of iOS and Android devices.

This thing rocks. The recent system update has it running smooth. webOS is more efficient at getting tasks done and moving through information than any other mobile OS.

posted from my touchpad

edit: Wireless charging completely changes the way you use a device. Never EVER do you need to plug the Touchpad in. Not to a PC, and not to a power outlet.

It also comes with 50 gigs of online cloud storage you can access from anywhere, on the tablet or from a PC.

jeffiekins wrote:What the heck?!? How is this one 3 or 4 times as nice as the ones we see around $100? This one is WebOS (formerly Palm?) and those are Android.

As much as I like my old Palm, isn't it about time to stick a fork in WebOS and call it done?

I was looking at a phone a few years ago, when the original droid had been out for about 6 months. I looked at the palm pre as well. The hardware was the biggest pile I had ever seen. WebOS felt more polished then than either android or IOS do now.

If you positively need a fart app, I suppose you must buy an apple or android phone. I rooted a Nook a while back and Ill be honest with you, 99% of what I need is email and web. I do use the nook as a nook, and I do play sodoku and crossword puzzles.

WebOS beats IOS and Android mercilessly, and makes them call it daddy, and if HP DOES license it to HTC/Whomever, I can't wait to see it.

I just picked up a brand new first Gen 32GB iPad +3G for this price from Sam's club. Should I take it back and get this? Should I spring an extra $100 for the 64GB +3G version? Should I buy an Asus?

Thanks.

gilfOG wrote:I wanted to like this, but it's too bad it got SHAMEFUL reviews.

Ignore the professional reviews. If you read any of user reviews, like on Amazon and even here, from folks who own one, they will vouch for it. And the latest Over-the-Air update just one month after release is really awesome-- so much snappier performance. I have one and now I can't go back to my sister's iPad. Night and day difference in the OS.

Smart strategy from HP to push out to Woot-- so there'll be more Developers on board. And HP isn't abandoning this platform at all. They promise to put WebOS into ROM (alternate boot) of all their future laptops. So you could surf on WebOS while waiting for WinSlow 7 to boot.

Btw, WebOS has a homebrew community that is accepted by HP. There's a homebrew patch that will overclock to 1.5GHz and run TrueCrypt for your personal data. Check out WebOSRoundup.com and PreCentral.net.

Like someone said, WebOS is best kept secret.