(Image source: Tech Republic)
BY DAN CORNFIELD
The battle between tablets wages on.
And HP joins the fight -- with the launch of the TouchPad.
The obvious foe-? Apple. Tech Republic’s Jason Hiner weighs in on the match-up.
“The TouchPad isn’t perfect. It’s still a little laggy once in a while. It’s missing some key applications, and it will need some better content deals to function as a media device. But it’s arguably the most productive tablet yet. And the first one that can serve as a legitimate laptop replacement for professionals on the road.”
Those professionals may even want to take this tablet home with them. CNET’s Donald Bell says the bells and whistles show the potential of Hewlett-Packard’s new toy.
“There are some hardware tricks that are pretty cool. There’s an optional dock that can charge the tablet regardless of how it’s placed. HP also sells a bluetooth keyboard if you prefer typing on something with real keys. And if you have one of HP’s phones, like the Pre 3, you can physically touch the devices together and transfer information. It’s pretty cool.”
Cool, but it’s still only the first generation version whereas Apple has already worked out the kinks and cranked out the iPad2. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg says there’s a big gap between the two.
“So there’s a lot of nice things about the user interface on the TouchPad. Unfortunately, I think on balance overall, I think it falls short of matching the iPad. And the reasons have a lot to do with hardware and apps.”
Bloomberg’s Rich Jaroslovsky agrees. He, like many others, had high hopes for the HP product.
“To be honest, I’m a little bit disappointed.”
“Yes, there’s Angry Birds, Facebook and Quick Office, but no Netflix, no Major League Baseball. Only about 300 apps at launch designed specifically for the TouchPad. Apple has about 90,000.”
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Transcript by Newsy
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