By Georgina Enzer
HP has launched three new products to enlarge its HP webOS line. The products are its first webOS tablet device - the HP TouchPad, the HP Pre3 smartphone and the smaller HP Veer smartphone.
The HP TouchPad has a 9.7-inch capacitive multi-touch display, virtual keyboard and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser as well as access to webOS applications. "Today we're embarking on a new era of webOS with the goal of linking a wide family of HP products through the best mobile experience available," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "The flexibility of the webOS platform makes it ideal for creating a range of innovative devices that work together to keep you better connected to your world."
The TouchPad is designed to be used either alone, or as a companion device to a webOS smartphone. Calls can be answered and viewed from the TouchPad and a user can touch an enabled webOS phone to the TouchPad to share web URLs. The device has the HP Synergy feature, designed to enable users to sign into Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and information from a users contacts, calendar and email automatically populate the TouchPad.
WebOS allows users to run multiple applications at the same time and shows your activities as cards on the screen. This is designed to allow the user to easily navigate between the functions they are using, such as Facebook, a music player and IM chat. TouchPad also features a webOS communication suite powered by HP Synergy, designed to keep a user connected, the solution includes email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, videos and a front-facing camera for video calling.
The TouchPad also features Wi-Fi, GPS on the 3G model, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1.2GHz processor, the option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling.
A Micro-USB with USB 2.0 is also included. The device measures in at 190mm x 242mm x 13.7mm and weighs 740g. Amazon.com has announced that it will be launching a free Kindle app for HP webOS tailored for TouchPad, designed to give users access to more than 810,000 titles from Amazon's Kindle Store.
HP is also working with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite. The TouchPad also comes with VPN support to connect to corporate networks and the device has built-in HP Touchstone technology for easy charging.
The HP TouchPad is scheduled to be available later in the year and both pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. HP has also released the HP Pre3 smartphone, which features a 3.58-inch touchscreen, a 1.4GHz processor and a full slide-out keyboard. "In the suite of webOS products we're introducing today, Pre3 is our premier phone, designed for the speed of business," said Rubinstein. "It enables professionals to accomplish more of their important workday tasks while easily keeping their fingers on the pulse of their personal lives."
The phone, which runs on HP webOS features eight or 16 gigabytes of internal storage, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot. The device also has a 5MP camera with autofocus and an LED flash and a front-facing camera for video calling. Weighing in at 156g, the device measures 111mm x 64mm x 16mm.
Pricing and availability is scheduled to be announced later in the year. The last device announced by HP is the HP Veer smartphone. This device is HPs smallest webOS smartphone to date, measuring in at 54.5mm x 84.0mm x 15.1mm and weighing in at 103g.
The Veer has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, similar to the Pre3, an 800MHz processor, a 2.57-inch glass display, eight gigabytes of internal storage and a five-megapixel camera with geotagging.
"While much of the industry is trending toward larger and larger devices, we believe there's also a whole lot of room for thinking small," said Rubinstein. "Veer bridges the gap for a new generation of smartphone users, proving they really can have it all without sacrificing the size they want."
The phone also has Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and Bluetooth 2.1 with Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot.
Specifications :
My personal note? I would have probably bought the HP Slate 500 if the price would have been around the 400 dollars mark, for which now high end netbooks are selling.
HP has launched three new products to enlarge its HP webOS line. The products are its first webOS tablet device - the HP TouchPad, the HP Pre3 smartphone and the smaller HP Veer smartphone.
The HP TouchPad has a 9.7-inch capacitive multi-touch display, virtual keyboard and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser as well as access to webOS applications. "Today we're embarking on a new era of webOS with the goal of linking a wide family of HP products through the best mobile experience available," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "The flexibility of the webOS platform makes it ideal for creating a range of innovative devices that work together to keep you better connected to your world."
The TouchPad is designed to be used either alone, or as a companion device to a webOS smartphone. Calls can be answered and viewed from the TouchPad and a user can touch an enabled webOS phone to the TouchPad to share web URLs. The device has the HP Synergy feature, designed to enable users to sign into Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and information from a users contacts, calendar and email automatically populate the TouchPad.
WebOS allows users to run multiple applications at the same time and shows your activities as cards on the screen. This is designed to allow the user to easily navigate between the functions they are using, such as Facebook, a music player and IM chat. TouchPad also features a webOS communication suite powered by HP Synergy, designed to keep a user connected, the solution includes email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, videos and a front-facing camera for video calling.
The TouchPad also features Wi-Fi, GPS on the 3G model, Bluetooth 2.1, a 1.2GHz processor, the option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling.
A Micro-USB with USB 2.0 is also included. The device measures in at 190mm x 242mm x 13.7mm and weighs 740g. Amazon.com has announced that it will be launching a free Kindle app for HP webOS tailored for TouchPad, designed to give users access to more than 810,000 titles from Amazon's Kindle Store.
HP is also working with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite. The TouchPad also comes with VPN support to connect to corporate networks and the device has built-in HP Touchstone technology for easy charging.
The HP TouchPad is scheduled to be available later in the year and both pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. HP has also released the HP Pre3 smartphone, which features a 3.58-inch touchscreen, a 1.4GHz processor and a full slide-out keyboard. "In the suite of webOS products we're introducing today, Pre3 is our premier phone, designed for the speed of business," said Rubinstein. "It enables professionals to accomplish more of their important workday tasks while easily keeping their fingers on the pulse of their personal lives."
The phone, which runs on HP webOS features eight or 16 gigabytes of internal storage, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Wi-Fi, integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot. The device also has a 5MP camera with autofocus and an LED flash and a front-facing camera for video calling. Weighing in at 156g, the device measures 111mm x 64mm x 16mm.
Pricing and availability is scheduled to be announced later in the year. The last device announced by HP is the HP Veer smartphone. This device is HPs smallest webOS smartphone to date, measuring in at 54.5mm x 84.0mm x 15.1mm and weighing in at 103g.
"While much of the industry is trending toward larger and larger devices, we believe there's also a whole lot of room for thinking small," said Rubinstein. "Veer bridges the gap for a new generation of smartphone users, proving they really can have it all without sacrificing the size they want."
The phone also has Wi-Fi, integrated GPS and Bluetooth 2.1 with Wi-Fi router functionality for up to five devices using HP mobile hotspot.
Specifications :
- 8.9 inch screen, 1024 x 600 pixels resolution, capacitive with multitouch and N-trig digitizer
- 1.86GHz Intel Atom Z540 processor
- 2GB of RAM
- 64GB SSD
- Intel GMA 500 with Broadcom Crystal HD for Full HD decoding
- Wifi and Bluetooth
- 1 x USB, 3.5mm headset jack and SD card slot
- Frontfacing webcam and 3MP camera on the back
- Accelerometer for automatic screen rotation
- 2-cell 30 Wh battery (5 hours estimated runtime). Battery is non user replaceable
- Desktop dock with 2 x USB, headset and HDMI port
- Carrying case with holder for digitizer pen (the pen doesn’t dock inside the slate itself)
- Windows 7 Professional OS
- size: 226 x 150 x 14.7 mm
- weight: 680g
Buttons layout :
Now, let’s do a walk around and see what the buttons and openings on the sides of the device do. Front: the front-facing web-cam for video conferencing is placed in the upper left corner. Back: it hosts only the 3 megapixel digital camera. Bottom: docking connector in the middle and two stereo speakers on both sides. Left: SD card slot opening, keyboard button that brings up the Windows 7 keyboard when pressed, microphone. Top: USB port and CTRL+ALT+DELETE button on the right side. Right: On/Off slide button and 3.5 mm headset jack.
Preloaded software
Thankfully, HP has understood that a business device doesn’t have to come with tons of apps pre-installed that eat up processing power and occupy space on the internal SSD, so we have few things to slow down the Windows 7 installation, and the most notable is Evernote, the note taking, synchronizing and sorting program, which features versions for most of current used OSes, desktop and mobile versions included.HP Slate 500 vs Apple iPad
I guess you’ve understood our point on this matter: the HP Slate is not meant as a competitor to the Apple iPad, but just a device that can meet the productivity demands of enterprise customers. That doesn’t mean Windows 7 fans (yeah, the OS that lives up on over 95% of computers has fans) won’t get the HP Slate 500, which at 800 dollars is just about the same price as the 64 GB iPad. Plus it comes with the docking station and carrying case by default. A minus is lack 3G connectivity, which should have been included by HP, but that’s a minor annoyance for many, as you can hook up a USB dongle at any time into the tablet. Also on the cons, we have to note the lack of a fingerprint reader, something business devices enjoy for a while.My personal note? I would have probably bought the HP Slate 500 if the price would have been around the 400 dollars mark, for which now high end netbooks are selling.