One year to the day that Hewlett-Packard wrapped up its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm, HP is hoping to make another splash. It chose the July 1 anniversary to elbow in on the iPad by selling the rival HP TouchPad.
It's the first tablet computer based on the slick webOS operating system that Palm had developed from the ground up to save an iconic tech company whose fortunes had sagged.
Palm failed to survive as an independent entity of course, despite strong reviews if not strong sales for webOS-based smartphones such as the Palm Pre. And sales of webOS phones have remained weak under HP.
But HP and its CEO, Lo Apotheker, have high hopes for webOS and for the TouchPad tablet I've been testing for about a week. It hits Best Buy, Walmart and other major retailers just as demand for tablet computers is soaring and the appetite for consumer PCs in the U.S. is shrinking. HP recently cuts its sales forecast for the year by a billion dollars.
Even so, HP brings the kind of resources Palm lacked. By next year, HP plans to put webOS on every PC that the company ships, right on top of Windows. Over time, company executives also expect to put webOS on printers and possibly even in cars. HP is also open to partnerships, as a way to expand the webOS ecosystem. "This is just the beginning," says HP senior vice president Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple executive and Palm CEO. "We're taking a long-term view." Adds Todd Bradley, who is head of HP's $41 billion Personal Systems Group, "WebOS represents a huge opportunity."
But if recent history is any guide, HP will have a tough time cracking a tablet market dominated by Apple. None of the individual tablets built around Google's Android operating system has made much of a dent going against the iPad, the device with which all comers are inevitably compared. Rubinstein concedes: "We're not going to beat Apple anytime soon. The issue is who is going to take the No. 2 spot."
Based on my evaluation, HP has a fighting chance. I actually prefer webOS to early Android tablets and believe it compares favorably to iOS in many respects. It's actually a terrific operating system for tablets. And the TouchPad, which I generally like, has a world of potential.
Potential means things are missing (movie and music stores, true GPS). I also encountered frustrating snags. On the first of two test units from HP, the built-in microphone didn't work, which meant I could be seen but not heard on a Skype video call. And while I could receive Skype video calls using the TouchPad's 1.3-megapixel webcam, I was unable to make outgoing Skype calls. Troubleshooting failed to resolve the issue by the time this column went to press.
Music or sound repeatedly hiccuped when playing songs within a music app and videos within a TED conference app. A couple of times the system froze.
Here's a closer look at the TouchPad:
The hardware. HP is selling two TouchPad versions initially, a Wi-Fi-only 16-gigabyte model for $499.99 and a 32 GB version for $599.99. Models with cellular wireless are also in the works AT&T will be a partner but HP hasn't disclosed details on timing or pricing.
TouchPad's 9.7-inch multitouch display is the same size and has the same resolution as the iPad 2 and has a similar footprint. The attractive slate is black with curvy corners. Text on the screen was comparable to the iPad, but the screen wasn't as bright under max brightness settings. The TouchPad, at about a half-inch, is noticeably thicker than the iPad 2. And at 1.6 pounds, it's also a couple of ounces heavier. HP's tablet has only the one front-facing camera; the iPad 2 and other rivals have front- and rear-facing cameras.
