"What makes HP TouchPad a compelling alternative to
competing products is webOS," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president
and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP, in a statement. "The
platform's unmatched features and flexibility will continue to differentiate HP
products from the rest of the market for both personal and professional use.
This is only the beginning of what HP's scale can do with webOS."
HP has announced that the WiFi version of its HP TouchPad
tablet will be available in the United States starting on July 1.
Long awaited by channel partners and their customers, HP’s
webOS 10-inch tablet will support Flash and be available both through the
channel, through U.S. retailers and direct from HP. The devices will come with
either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage for $499 and $599 respectively.
Apple's iPad 2 starts at $499. Preorders in North America and Europe for HP's TouchPad will be taken starting June 19.
At its HP Americas Partner Conference in the spring, HP
demonstrated how a webOS phone could share information such as a web page with
the webOS-based HP TouchPad tablet by just touching one device to the other.
HP’s webOS for TouchPad will also be capable of premium audio playback with
stereo and the ability to find
information on the device or in the cloud using the Just Type feature.
Optional accessories for HP TouchPad include the HP
Touchstone Charging Dock, the HP TouchPad Wireless Keyboard and the HP TouchPad
Case (sold separately).
HP will be partnering with AT&T to introduce a connected
version of HP TouchPad later this summer. More information will be available
closer to availability. TouchPad will be available at retail locations
including Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Walmart, Sam's Club, OfficeMax,
Amazon.com, Fry's, Microcenter, other leading local and regional retailers, and
HP's online stores.
Hewlett-Packard 
