HP TouchPad
Encyclopedia
The HP TouchPad is a tablet computer
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...

 which was developed and designed by Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

. The HP TouchPad was launched on July 1, 2011, in the United States; July 15 in Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany; and August 15 in Australia.

Early reviews of the HP TouchPad were mixed. On August 18, 2011, less than 7 weeks after the TouchPad was launched in the United States, Hewlett-Packard announced that it would discontinue all current hardware devices running webOS. Remaining TouchPad stock received substantial price reductions.

Overview

The HP TouchPad is the only multi-touch, capacitive touchscreen tablet that runs HP webOS, which has several notable features, sharing the same card multitasking found in the Palm Pre 2
Palm Pre 2
The Palm Pre 2 is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone is the third to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...

, HP Veer
HP Veer
The Veer is a smartphone announced by HP on February 9, 2011. The device uses webOS, is powered by a Snapdragon processor, and has a 2.6-inch screen. The smartphone is notable for its credit card-sized dimensions...

, and HP Pre 3
HP Pre 3
The HP Pre 3 is a touchscreen slider smartphone manufactured by Hewlett-Packard. On February 9, 2011, the phone was announced by HP at a webOS special event held at the Fort Mason Center, San Francisco alongside the HP Veer and Touchpad. It was commercially released in the United Kingdom on...

. The TouchPad has a drop down notification system for new email, alerts, or software and operating system updates. The TouchPad can run most of the 6000+ apps available for the Pre
Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...

 phones in a phone emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...

. "Touch to Share" allows the Pre 3 to share information such as websites by touching its sensors with the TouchPad's sensors. The TouchPad can receive calls and text messages forwarded from a webOS powered phone using the same Palm Profile. The TouchPad does not have a phone radio and is unable to receive phone calls or texts by itself, though it can make and receive calls via the Skype application.

Screen, audio and input

The HP TouchPad has a 9.7 inch, 1024×768 pixel
Pixel
In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled....

, multitouch capacitive touch screen. Interaction can be by touch screen or a capacitive stylus, available for separate purchase. The TouchPad's virtual keyboard can be configured to one of four preset sizes, and has a number row on top of the common QWERTY layout. The TouchPad also features an InvenSense 3-axis gyroscope.

The TouchPad has three separate physical buttons, a sleep/wake button on the top right, a home button at the very bottom of the front that launches the card view or the app launcher, and a set of volume rockers at the right of the device. Holding the power button and the home button together creates a screen snapshot.
The TouchPad has internal stereo speakers and Beats Audio.

Connectivity

The Atheros
Atheros
Qualcomm Atheros is a developer of semiconductors for network communications, particularly wireless chipsets. Founded under the name Atheros in 1998 by experts in signal processing from Stanford University, the University of California, Berkeley and the private industry, it became a public company...

 chipset supports Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...

 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth. Although there is no phone radio on the TouchPad, the tablet can share URLs, phone calls, and text messages with webOS phones via Bluetooth pairing. Pairing with non webOS smartphones was enabled by a software update 3.0.4.

Power and battery

The TouchPad uses a rechargeable 6000 mAh
MAH
The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....

 Lithium-ion polymer battery rated at 3,7 V (total 22,2 Wh
Watt-hour
The kilowatt hour, or kilowatt-hour, is a unit of energy equal to 1000 watt hours or 3.6 megajoules.For constant power, energy in watt hours is the product of power in watts and time in hours...

). It can be charged via MicroUSB connector or optional wireless charging by Touchstone charger. When using the Touchstone, the TouchPad enters a mode called Exhibition Mode, which displays simple information such as a clock, schedule or media.

The battery life is estimated at nine hours by HP; in a review by Engadget
Engadget
Engadget is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. Though on appearance Engadget functions much like a blog and may be defined as such, much of its editorial content takes the form of an online magazine...

, the battery lasted for about eight and a half hours.

Cost of materials

The TouchPad hardware was disassembled and reviewed. The 16GB and the 32GB HP TouchPad's Bill of Materials are stated at $296.15 and $318.15 respectively with an assembly rate of $10.

Optional accessories

Touchstone

The Touchstone is a wireless charging dock. While charging with the Touchstone, the TouchPad can be set to an Exhibition mode, the user chosing whether to display photos in a digital photo frame
Digital photo frame
A digital photo frame is a picture frame that displays digital photos without the need to print them or use a computer.- Features :...

, or show upcoming appointments. The Touchstone also enables wireless communication between a HP Pre3 and a TouchPad. Tapping on a specific region will transfer web links to the Pre. This technology is known as “Touch to Share”. This accessory is HP model number FB339AA#ABA.

The Touchstone has a USB power cable attached to it with a USB Standard-A plug on its end. It must be plugged into a high-power USB power adapter, such as the HP TouchPad power adapter or a newer high-current USB adapter, because HP clearly shows a warning in the user manual to not plug it into a laptop. In North America, the Touchstone ships with the same AC power adapter that is included with the Touchpad.

Keyboard

A Bluetooth
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks with high levels of security...

 wireless keyboard with typical QWERTY layout plus additional keys for special TouchPad capabilities. There is a power slide switch on the bottom. Two AA batteries
AA battery
An AA battery is a standard size of battery. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell...

 are required. This accessory is HP model number FB344AA#AC3.

It has special TouchPad keys for: Power, Card View, Cursor Left/Up/Right/Down, Volume +/-, Mute, Brightness +/-, Fast Forward, Play-Pause, Rewind, Show Virtual Keyboard, Show Just Type, Show Notifications. The keyboard will pair with other Bluetooth devices but some key functions may be missing as the keyboard layout (outside the alpha numeric keys)is specific to the Touchpad.

Power adapter

The power adapter converts wall AC to USB DC. This accessory is HP model number FB341AA#ABA and contains the following items:
  • Wall AC to USB power adapter, which has input specifications of 100-240 Volt
    Volt
    The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

     50–60 Hz 0.4 Amp
    Ampere
    The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...

     AC
    Alternating current
    In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

    , and output specifications of 5.3 Volt 2.0 Amp DC
    Direct current
    Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

    . It is cylindrical roughly the size of a "D" battery
    D battery
    A D battery is a size of dry cell. A D cell is cylindrical with electrical contacts at each end; the positive end having a nub or bump...

     with a foldable 2-prong AC connector and Standard-A USB socket on its two ends.
  • USB cable, 5 ft (152.4 cm), with a Standard-A plug and Micro-B plug on its two ends.

The TouchPad (adapter and cable) and Touchstone (adapter-only) ships with this accessory.

Case and sleeve

The protective case doubles as a stand for watching videos or typing. There are holes on the edges of the case for access to the microUSB connector, 3.5mm connector, internal microphone. When it is folded open, there is an opening for the speaker along the "binding" edge. The case has a raised surface above the power and volume buttons, so they can easily be found. The TouchPad can charge while in the case using either the microUSB cable or Touchstone dock. This accessory is HP model number FB343AA#AC3.

There is also a protective sleeve, has a slip-in pocket and zipper. This accessory is HP model number QB459AA#ABL.

WebOS

The TouchPad was sold with the WebOS operating system, which offers video chat, wireless printing (HP printers only), email integration, ebooks, Web browsing, document editing, and access to the "HP Catalog", where additional apps can be downloaded.
WebOS is a "card-based" multitasking environment. Open applications can be arranged into "stacks." webOS unobtrusively notifies users of messages, emails, and calendar agenda items, appearing on the top right of the screen, rapidly reviewed by a swipe gesture. webOS 3.0 integrates Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...

. The current version is 3.0.4 as of an update on October 18, 2011.

Additionally, a "homebrew" package management system, called Preware, allows TouchPad owners to download hundreds of additional apps that have been written and provided by the online WebOS community. Many of these apps can be used to customize, extend, or enhance native WebOS functionality.

Android

On October 22, 2011, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) (in an Alpha version) became available for the TouchPad. This port, based on the CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod is an after-market replacement for the firmware of over sixty cell phones and Internet tablets. Based on the Android mobile computer operating system, it offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.Features supported by...

 enhanced distribution of Android, allows the TouchPad to run most Android apps natively. The Android Market
Android Market
Android Market is an online software store developed by Google for Android OS devices. Its gateway is an application program called "Market", preinstalled on most Android devices, allows users to browse and download mobile apps published by third-party developers...

, available as an add-on, allows TouchPad users to download additional Android apps. The Android port for TouchPad does not replace WebOS. It provides a "multi-boot" so that TouchPad owners can start their tablets into Android, WebOS, or other OSs
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...

. Android 3.0 'Honeycomb' was not ported to the TouchPad because the sourcecode is not avalable.
A few customers received new TouchPads with Android installed instead of webOS. HP is investigating the unofficial release.

Linux

Linux distributions compiled for the ARM architecture
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...

 have been successfully run via chroot. Also, the X11 windowing system common to many Linux systems has been ported to run within WebOS. This allows most graphical applications made for Linux to run in webOS.

A port of Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

 to run natively on the TouchPad is currently in development, which boots via the moboot multiboot bootloader (using the same method as the Android port).

Reception

On August 16, 2011, it was reported that Best Buy had only sold 25,000 of 270,000 devices that it had in its inventory and was refusing to pay HP for the rest. In Europe, the Touchpad was estimated to have sold 12,000 in its first month of release with sales slowing significantly in August. Industry commentators suggested that the lack of apps for the platform was hindering sales.

On August 18, 2011, HP announced in a press release that it will discontinue all webOS devices and is considering spinning off its personal computer unit. HP stated that it would "continue to explore options for webOS". HP CTO Shane Robison noted that the touchpad "was half a generation or a generation behind the iPad and so that wasn't going to drive volume."

On August 19, 2011, HP allowed retailers to sell all remaining stock at extremely low prices. In the USA, the price was $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model. Large numbers of buyers acquired the TouchPad at "fire sale
Fire sale
A fire sale is the sale of goods at extremely discounted prices, typically when the seller faces bankruptcy or other impending distress. The term may originally have been based on the sale of goods at a heavy discount due to fire damage...

" prices. Most brick-and-mortar retailers reportedly sold out their entire inventories within hours in the morning of August 20. Online retailers, including Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Best Buy, faced massive backlash from angry customers when they offered the tablet on their sites at $99 on August 22, sold out their inventories in record time (in case of Barnes and Noble, in less than an hour), and were forced to cancel many subsequent orders.

On August 22, 2011 a fire sale similar to those in the U.S was held in Australian Harvey Norman stores. Although the event was not advertised and staff at many stores were not informed until midday, stores in several states were sold out within an hour. Similar sales also started in the UK with several stores reducing prices at 6pm to match the US (£89 for the 16GB and £115 for the 32GB). Most sold out in minutes.

Seemingly in response to the demand for the TouchPad HP announced on August 30 that it would make another production run of the TouchPad despite an announcement the week prior that production on the hardware platform was ceasing. In an effort to mend its relationship with component suppliers and channel operators, HP decided to help them clear out inventories, including touch panels, batteries and chassis, equivalent to 100,000-200,000 units of 9.7-inch TouchPads, the sources pointed out. Some of these tablets will be used to fill existing HP Small Business orders and they will be released sometime in October 2011. On October 28, HP announced they officially have depleted their inventory of all TouchPads.

The remaining Touchpads produced by HP are being sold in bundles, where a consumer can buy the 32GB version for fire sale prices if you buy a HP laptop. On November 25, 2011 the HP Touchpad re-emerged as a bundle package if you buy any HP or Compaq
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard....

 PC the 32 gigabyte version would be an additional $149 dollars as a Black Friday
Black Friday (shopping)
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early, often at 4 a.m., or earlier, and offer promotional sales to kick off the shopping season, similar to Boxing...

 special.

HP lead all non-Apple tablets sold in US between January-October 2011, because of their fire sale, selling 204,000 units in total.

Other models

In early July 2011, HP announced their webOS hardware roadmap.

On July 12, 2011, HP officially announced a new black model, the HP TouchPad 4G, with a faster 1.5GHz processor, 32 GB of flash memory
Flash memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile computer storage chip that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It was developed from EEPROM and must be erased in fairly large blocks before these can be rewritten with new data...

, integrated A-GPS, and AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...

 3.5G HSPA+ wireless mobile broadband capabilities. Though demo models were built and shown at a press show, it was never released for sale.

In August 2011, a white model with 64 GB of flash memory, a 1.5GHz processor and Wi-Fi but without 3.5G was built in low quantities and shipped.

A "TouchPad Go" model (codenamed "Opal") with a 7-inch display, 32 GB of flash memory, a 1.5-GHz processor, and cellular capabilities was found in the FCC certification database.

See also

  • webOS, CyanogenMod
    CyanogenMod
    CyanogenMod is an after-market replacement for the firmware of over sixty cell phones and Internet tablets. Based on the Android mobile computer operating system, it offers features and options not found in the official firmware distributed by vendors of these devices.Features supported by...

  • Tablet computer
    Tablet computer
    A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...

  • Comparison of e-book readers
  • Comparison of tablet PCs
    Comparison of tablet PCs
    Below is a list of presently available and upcoming tablet computers grouped by intended audience and form factor.-Media tablets:Media tablets designed for entertainment are compared in the following tables.-8" screen and larger :...

  • Comparison of ARM tablets
    Comparison of ARM tablets
    This is a comparison of tablet computers which processors are ARM-based.-Tablets:-Systems on chips:This table compares the system-on-a-chip used in the above tablets.-See also:*ARM Holdings*Comparison of tablet computers...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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