Gotta say, it's an odd sight coming here to MacRumors and seeing several very active threads on a competing product. Especially one that was largely ignored by the masses and put down as a failure as recently as a few days ago. It's a telling sign... (more on that in a moment)
The iPad is still a much better, more mature product of course. I've stuck with Apple through three generations of iPhones and two generations of iPads, and I'm here for the long haul as long as they keep putting out great products. The iPad checks all my boxes: design, performance, stellar manufacturer support, unprecedented 3rd party developer support. Simply can't beat it!
That said, I have 4 (!) TouchPads on order. One for my household, one we will give as a gift, and two for friends who asked me to get the order in for them. After countless attempts I managed to grab the Amazon release that happened mid-day Sunday. I tried really hard too, because it's such an unbelievable deal. Heck, it took restraint not to order even more (imagining one in my bathroom, two mounted on my car back seats, etc.).
Why, if I love the iPad so much? Simple. At $499, the TouchPad couldn't compete. It's just not mature enough to do everything you'd expect at that price. But at $100, it's insane NOT to try to get one. An advanced video player, e-reader and web surfing device at that size, speed, and battery life is worth well more than that. And with the recent OS update and the performance hacks, most of the early review complaints are pretty well addressed. It certainly lacks app selection, but base capabilities are pretty damn good.
With our new TouchPad, we'll have a spare tablet around the house to entertain my daughter (or us, when my daughter is hogging up the iPad), a really nice photo frame, a great web browser, and a spare movie player.
So back to my original point. HP claims WebOS will live on and just the HP hardware to run it will cease. They are seeking licensees. Rumor is they already have one lined up (possibly HTC). The only problem is, WebOS lacks momentum. Not enough people own one. Or at least that used to be true, before the fire sale. Now, even staunch Apple enthusiasts are falling over themselves to grab as many as they can at this price. So, all of a sudden the installed user base is going to increase by a huge factor. And the enthusiasm and press coverage is at a fever pitch. Nice move, HP.
Many have pointed out that $100 tablets are a loss leader. No company can survive doing this on a continuous basis. That's why no one is. HP is doing something unique here. They are making a one-time, massive investment in the platform. Then they are going to throw all their weight behind the software and license out the hardware end. And it's well known that hardware manufacturers are getting frustrated with Android and its low margins and high fragmentation. WebOS could actually take off.
Interesting times. Let's see what happens.
The iPad is still a much better, more mature product of course. I've stuck with Apple through three generations of iPhones and two generations of iPads, and I'm here for the long haul as long as they keep putting out great products. The iPad checks all my boxes: design, performance, stellar manufacturer support, unprecedented 3rd party developer support. Simply can't beat it!
That said, I have 4 (!) TouchPads on order. One for my household, one we will give as a gift, and two for friends who asked me to get the order in for them. After countless attempts I managed to grab the Amazon release that happened mid-day Sunday. I tried really hard too, because it's such an unbelievable deal. Heck, it took restraint not to order even more (imagining one in my bathroom, two mounted on my car back seats, etc.).
Why, if I love the iPad so much? Simple. At $499, the TouchPad couldn't compete. It's just not mature enough to do everything you'd expect at that price. But at $100, it's insane NOT to try to get one. An advanced video player, e-reader and web surfing device at that size, speed, and battery life is worth well more than that. And with the recent OS update and the performance hacks, most of the early review complaints are pretty well addressed. It certainly lacks app selection, but base capabilities are pretty damn good.
With our new TouchPad, we'll have a spare tablet around the house to entertain my daughter (or us, when my daughter is hogging up the iPad), a really nice photo frame, a great web browser, and a spare movie player.
So back to my original point. HP claims WebOS will live on and just the HP hardware to run it will cease. They are seeking licensees. Rumor is they already have one lined up (possibly HTC). The only problem is, WebOS lacks momentum. Not enough people own one. Or at least that used to be true, before the fire sale. Now, even staunch Apple enthusiasts are falling over themselves to grab as many as they can at this price. So, all of a sudden the installed user base is going to increase by a huge factor. And the enthusiasm and press coverage is at a fever pitch. Nice move, HP.
Many have pointed out that $100 tablets are a loss leader. No company can survive doing this on a continuous basis. That's why no one is. HP is doing something unique here. They are making a one-time, massive investment in the platform. Then they are going to throw all their weight behind the software and license out the hardware end. And it's well known that hardware manufacturers are getting frustrated with Android and its low margins and high fragmentation. WebOS could actually take off.
Interesting times. Let's see what happens.
