So we recently bought an HP Touchpad at a price of $350.  Can anyone say we overpaid?  After the news of its discontinuation, retailers from HP Direct, Best Buy, and Staples to many other places have dropped the price of the TouchPad to $150 for a 32GB version and $100 for the 16GB version.  Ow.  We are now flirting with an abandoned technology where things work now, but may be broke later.  In any case, the device as long as things work does have high intrinsic value.  From being able to check email and web surfing to enjoying multimedia entertainment such as Pandora and Netflix (using PlayOn), this tablet works great!  We’ll talk more about the great stuff you can do with this tablet at a later time – for now though, let’s get onto the unboxing!

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The happiness and excitement of getting a new device – the HP Touchpad 16GB will be coming to the JAMM labs soon.  I’m be trading in my non-business use iPad to test out the HP Touchpad.  Very few can say no to a $350 WebOS device that’s brand new in the box which I just bought from Datavis.com through eBay.  Being an HP Gold Champion, I have already had the opportunity to briefly play with one at the various training events which HP sponsors.  My first impressions were nothing short of being impressed.  I think that WebOS truly can be a contender against iOS and Android.  To see the device truly be successful though will be developer support.  If you have that, you’ll make it big.  However if you don’t, you’ll be toast.  Stay tuned for our unboxing which should be sometime later this week or early next week!

HP announced the TouchPad tablet yesterday.  After watching the product announcement, I am totally amazed at how well thought out the concept of this tablet is.  With the ability to communicate with WebOS phones where you can talk and text wireless to your phone as well as transfer files, HP truly has vision of the future.  Is it better than Apple?  In my opinion, yes, as it can do more on a standalone basis.  Ultimately, it will be the software developers that will decide who will win the war as apps extend the functionality of a device.  Sadly, no pricing was mentioned and it is unclear of an exact time frame of an actual launch.  It has been said that historically, HP cancelled the slate and Palm the Foleo – what makes this time any different?  Well, HP cancelled the slate due to price constraints.  HP was not able to get the cost down low enough.  Perhaps this time they will be able to as it owns the operating system.  This would be the company’s third attempt…which is usually the successful one.  Good luck HP….I’m looking forward to the TouchPad.

For a commercial for the TouchPad check out Palm’s website.

For the full product announcement, goto YouTube.

I have been anxiously watching the category of devices which have optimistically dubbed themselves “iPad killers.”  This is a new category of tablet devices, running operating systems which are typically associated with mobile devices, such as WebOS and Android.  This is a major shift from previous tablet devices, which relied heavily on mutations and adaptations of desktop-based operating systems like Windows7.  The first such device I have had the opportunity to check out is the Android-based Samsung Galaxy Tab, which the folks at Sprint were nice enough to loan me in order to test. 

As I mentioned, the Galaxy Tab relies on the Android operating system, which we have reviewed on numerous occasions here at JAMM.  As such, I am not going to spend too much time on the operating system itself.   I will say, however, that if you are a fan of Android, then this will feel extremely familiar and comfortable…in fact, it felt exactly the same as its mobile phone counterpart.  Even to the point in which the apps in the marketplace were the same…the exact same apps, without even offering any optimization for the larger screen.  The result was that many apps on this device failed to really make use of the larger real estate offered by the seven inch screen.  Otherwise, the device felt to me a lot like a larger version of the HTC EVO, without the HTC SenseUI.  I have to admit  that I have never really been a fan of Android without the extra features offered by HTC’s SenseUI.  It just feels a bit too plain to me, so I was disappointed that Samsung did not do more to dress up the interface on this device.

We have already hinted at it a bit, but let’s go ahead and take a look at the size of this device.  The Galaxy Tab sports a seven inch screen, which puts it nearly exactly in the middle of a large cell phone, like the EVO, and the iPad.   At first glance, I was a bit wary of this screen, which made the device feel too large to be portable, but too small to be effective.  In other words, the perfect compromise which no one was really seeking.  After using it for a bit, however, I found the size of the device worked well for many purposes.  I still felt it was too small to be effective for more than the most basic reading or writing tasks.  Any would be iPad competitor has to be able to accomplish similar tasks such as word processing, ebook reading, and even blog posting.  While some apps do exist for these tasks on Android, I simply did not find the size of this device was well suited for them.   On the other hand, I found myself reaching for the Galaxy Tab more and more often for basic tasks, such as checking email and even looking up websites (though it did tend to default to the mobile versions of most sites). 

The biggest advantage of this device over the iPad and other tablets, was that this one will fit in your pocket.  It is probably the largest device which could fit, and I would not recommend it in a tight pocket like jeans, though it slid right into my cargo pants.

Speaking of the hardware, let’s go ahead and take a quick look around this device.  As is common in many devices, the face is smooth and flat, with no lip between the screen and the surrounding bezel.  This is great in terms of usability, but combine it with the smooth back and you end up with one slippery device.  I never really understood why these devices cannot utilize a more textured or rubberized back in order to make it a bit grippier. 

Back to the face, there are four hardware buttons beneath the screen.  These are also simple touch sensors rather than raised buttons.  This means there is no tactile feedback when you push one of them.  Still, the buttons are well thought, with the menu button, home button, back button, and search button.

The right side of the device (as you are looking at it) has the power button, volume controls, and microSD card.  I was really excited to find the microSD card slot, allowing you to add external memory to the device.  This is one of the biggest failings of the iPad.  I was disappointed, however, not to find a hardware button for the camera.  Fumbling to find the camera icon on the onscreen menus can be a bit tricky at times, especially when you are trying to capture that priceless spontaneous moment.

There is nothing on the left except the microphone.  Likewise, the top contains only a standard 3.5 inch earphone jack.  On the bottom are the speakers, as well as the sync/charge plug.  I was a but disappointed to find a proprietary plug, rather than a standard mini or micro USB.  This means the Galaxy Tab will require yet another cable to be carried around when you travel.

Like the iPad, the back of the device will not open, meaning you cannot replace or change the battery.  That being said, I had no problems with this battery.  I subjected it to my regular daily use, and even a bit more than that, and it lasted more than long enough with a single overnight charge.  Also on the back of the device, you will find the 3.2 megapixel camera.

Speaking of the camera, I found it worked abut as well as any camera I have used in a mobile device.  It will never seriously contend with my Canon camera…or my DXG camcorder.  In a pinch, though, it can handle both still photos and video with relative ease (you can see the results, above).  As I mentioned, it can be a bit cumbersome to find the camera app within the onscreen menus, so you may want to consider adding the icon to your homescreen.  Once you are in the app, however, the controls are relatively easy.  Just point and shoot.  There are some nice large buttons on the screen, giving you full control over the app.  Still, I was surprised not to find a digital zoom here.  Additionally, I was shocked that this device did not have a front facing camera.  With all the emphasis which has been placed, lately, on mobile video conferencing, it was a real surprise to find a device like this without such capabilities.

I have to say though, despite the nice screen size and resolution, I was not terribly impressed by the video watching experience on this one.  First, loading video onto the device is a real chore.  It brings to mind something our own Chris Spera said once about the dominance of the iPad: it is all about the environment.  Apple features iTunes.  Love it or hate it, iTunes offers an easy way to transfer properly formatted videos to your device.  Google does not offer anything like that.  Likewise, I found streaming video online also did not work well.  First, many services, such as Hulu and Netflix are not available on this device.  I was able to test the screen with YouTube, but was fairly disappointed by the poor video playback quality I found there.  On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab does feature Samsung’s media hub (above), which allows you to purchase or rent TV shows and movies which you can download to your device for subsequent viewing.  The nice thing about this one is that the library of available videos is regularly updated, meaning there is a fantastic mix of both classic content and new releases.  I was impressed, for example, to find quite a bit of new content which was not even available on Netflix yet.

Finally, the Galaxy Tab is connected to the Sprint network.  I was a little surprised to find that it was not 4G enabled, but it did connect to Sprint’s 3G network with no problems.  I have to admit that I appreciated having a device which is connected to a dedicated network.  My iPad is the wifi only version, and while this works well enough with the Sprint Overdrive 4G modem, there are a few drawbacks.  First, the Overdrive requires you to carry extra accessories, which the dedicated Sprint device would not require.  More importantly is the ability to connect anywhere.  I do not have wifi at work, and I cannot use my Overdrive in my office.  This means my iPad cannot connect to the Internet during the day.  The Galaxy Tab can connect directly to Sprint’s network anytime…even from my office.

In the end, I have to say that I was a little confused by the market which the Galaxy Tab was targeting.  It is not quite a direct competitor of the iPad, though it does fill many of the same functions.  Ultimately, if you are an Android fan, then you are probably going to appreciate the familiar look and feel of the device and interface.  Still, there are too many missing features for it to seriously contend with many of the latest devices hitting the market today.  The HTC Evo, for example, offers nearly all of these missing features, and is still connected to the Sprint network.  The lack of a front facing camera and 4G connectivity, for example, are significant setbacks for the Galaxy Tab.   I was hoping for more, and was disappointed not to find it.  In the end, the Galaxy Tab is little more than a large-screen version of any other  Android phone, with few advanced features, and nothing which really took advantage of the larger screen size or resolution. 

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is available from Sprint for $299.99 with a two year contract.

Add another big name in the tablet war: RIM has announced its first tablet ever, the BlackBerry PlayBook!

Presented at this year BlackBerry DevCon event, this new tablet shows guts:

• 7″ LCD, 1024 x 600, WSVGA, capacitive touch screen with full multi-touch and gesture support
• BlackBerry Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
• 1 GHz dual-core processor
• 1 GB RAM
• Dual HD cameras (3 MP front facing, 5 MP rear facing), supports 1080p HD video recording
• Video playback: 1080p HD Video, H.264, MPEG, DivX, WMV
• Audio playback: MP3, AAC, WMA
• HDMI video output
• Wi-Fi – 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Connectors: microHDMI, microUSB, charging contacts
• Open, flexible application platform with support for WebKit/HTML-5, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, Adobe Mobile AIR, Adobe Reader, POSIX, OpenGL, Java
• Ultra thin and portable:
  • Measures 5.1″x7.6″x0.4″ (130mm x 193mm x 10mm)
  • Weighs less than a pound (approximately 0.9 lb or 400g)
• Additional features and specifications of the BlackBerry PlayBook will be shared on or before the date this product is launched in retail outlets.

The device has been presented by RIM’s Founder and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis as a BlackBerry companion aimed at the business user, with some eye blinking to consumers and BlackBerry wannabes (HDMI, 1080p playback and dual cameras). It is not equipped with phone connection and is thought to be used together with the BlackBerry.

Amazon.com has already promised Kindle support for the PlayBook… Any thoughts?

Meanwhile give a look to the video presentation below.

Via: CrackBerry