HP has unveiled the HP TouchPad, the first tablet available with webOS.
The device features a 9.7 inch diagonal flush capacitive multitouch display, virtual keyboard, instant-on, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser, and access to webOS apps.
“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, in a statement. “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.”
HP's tablet can be used alone or together with a webOS phone. Calls can be answered and SMS messages received on the TouchPad, HP said. In addition, HP’s touch-to-share feature will let users touch an enabled webOS phone to their TouchPad to share web URLs.
The HP Synergy feature lets users sign into their Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo accounts and your contacts, calendar and email automatically populate the TouchPad. TouchPad includes email, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, videos and a front-facing camera for video calling.
HP is working with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite, which lets you view and edit documents, such as Microsoft Word and Excel. It also comes with VPN support to connect to corporate networks.
Amazon.com will launch a free Kindle app for HP webOS tailored for TouchPad offering access to more than 810,000 titles from Amazon’s Kindle Store. Subscriptions to multiple top magazines are also available, as are TV and movie downloads through the HP Movie Store.
Here's a look at the device's specs:
- 1.3-megapixel front-facing webcam
- Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2-GHz processor
- 9.7-inch diagonal XGA capacitive, multitouch screen with a vibrant, 18-bit color, 1,024 x 768 resolution display
- The option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage
- High-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta for access to Flash-based web content
- Wireless connectivity:
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication
- A-GPS (3G only)
- Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
- Light sensor, accelerometer, compass (magnetometer) and gyroscope
- Rechargeable 6,300 mAh (typical) battery
- Micro-USB (Charging and PC Connect) with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
- Dimensions: 190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm (7.48 inches x 9.53 inches x .54 inches) Weight: approximately 740 g (1.6 pounds)
HP said the TouchPad will ship in the summer. Pricing information is not yet available.
Hewlett-Packard 
