Android port for HP TouchPad one step closer

Summary: Bringing new life to your otherwise defunct tablet.

Got an HP TouchPad and desperate to get Android up and running on it? Well, this should bring a smile to your face.

The CyanogenMod team have been working hard to bring you Android on your otherwise defunct tablet, and it seems that they’re getting close. The alpha 1 and 2 builds of CM7 were pretty buggy on the platform, but it seems that the upcoming CM9 release will make things a lot better.According to the team everything except the camera and video playback works and they’re ‘well on their way in terms of progress, and hope to give you something to play with soon.’

Check out the video:

Killer Windows 8 tablet design: Bring back the HP tc1100

Summary: We are already seeing tablets with keyboard docks, but none as practical as the HP tc1100 hybrid design from years past. Let’s bring it back with Windows 8.

Tablets are here to stay no matter how you feel about them, and Windows 8 tablets will be appearing en masse later this year. We’re already starting to see the return of the convertible notebook, with several models displayed at the CES that have the tablet screen slip down on top of the keyboard for dual duty as both a tablet and a laptop. Rather than revisit the convertible notebook that yields a heavy, thick tablet, I’d like to see the rebirth of the hybrid HP tc1100 with the detachable keyboard.

I used a tc1100 for several years as my Tablet PC, and the detachable screen let me use the tablet in as light a form as possible for the time. The keyboard with its innovative hinge let me have a laptop equivalent as needed, without adding excessive weight to the gear bag. It wasn’t a thin and light solution as the tablet was thick and heavy by today’s standards.

A hybrid design using today’s hardware would be outstanding, and I believe it would be a popular for those needing a Windows tablet. Imagine a thin, one pound slate like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, with a light keyboard that could be attached when needed. The whole enchilada would be less than half an inch thick with the keyboard attached, and weigh maybe two pounds. This is entering the territory where you could leave the keyboard attached even while using it as a tablet with little penalty.

Look at the photo of the tc1100, and you can’t help but appreciate the design of the keyboard unit. The screen of the tc1100 was a bit smaller than the widescreen display of today’s 10.1-inch tablets, so the keyboard unit could be a little wider for an even more comfortable typing experience. Note the keys on the keyboard and you appreciate how thin it is while remaining as good as those bulky laptop docks.

The tc1100 tablet was thick and heavy (over 3 pounds), and this created an engineering challenge for the hybrid design. The keyboard needed to be thin and light, yet it needed to support the bulk and weight of the tablet in a variety of configurations. This challenge largely goes away with a tablet as light as the Galaxy Tab, so I believe HP or another OEM could make this design pretty easily.

Tablets available today are using a full keyboard dock, complete with second battery, and while that turns the tablet into more of a laptop than the hybrid solution I want it comes with a penalty in weight and bulk.

I have no problem carrying an iPad 2 with a light keyboard case, and this hybrid would weigh about the same and take up the same space in the bag. It would turn the Windows 8 tablet into a real laptop running Windows, and that would be appealing to both the enterprise and consumers.

HP could produce my hybrid using the same technology from the tc1100. It could use either an Intel tablet, or better an ARM-based tablet to keep the battery life and weight down. The lack of a battery in the keyboard unit would prohibit using a trackpad, but that should be OK with the touch screen tablet. It’s just as precise to manipulate the screen directly, and the arrow keys on the keyboard add precision when needed. The trackstick on the tc1100 keyboard functioned flawlessly, and would work just fine.

I would buy one of these hybrid tablets and keyboards in a heartbeat. How about you?

HP TouchPad hits Amazon, pricing not included

You can’t order it yet, but the HP TouchPad is definitely getting closer to release as it hasappeared on Amazon.The TouchPad is the webOS packing tablet that I had the pleasure of seeing last month at the launch event, and it is an exciting product.

The TouchPad is a 9.7-inch tablet with a dual-core Snapdragon processor inside that runs webOS 3.0, the next version of the HP/Palm OS built for tablets. It has the ability to work with the HP Pre 3 smartphone also announced last month.

There is no pricing on the Amazon listing, so we’ll have to wait to see how HP positions this in relation to the iPad 2. To see the TouchPad in action, check out my videos captured at the launch event. You’ll see why I am so excited about the TouchPad.

(via Pre Central)

Specs, images of HP/Palm webOS tablets leaked

Those HP/Palm webOS tablets are on their way now, and a leaked sneak peek is now circling the Internet.

Sent in by a “trusted tipster,” Engadget reports that the slate depicted above is the 9-inch Topaz webOS tablet. It will also have a little sibling in the form of the 7-inch Opal. A lot of tech industry followers are calling these images as authentic, with one even dubbing the Topaz as “a tablet-ized version of the Palm Pre.”

Some of the spotted specs on this buttonless tablet include a glossy touch screen, a front-facing camera, a trio of built-in speakers scattered on the sides, and a micro USB port on the bottom.

An AT&T LTE version is expected to launch first in July, with AT&T 3G, Verizon LTE and Wi-Fi-only editions set to drop in September. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but we should know more in general on February 9.

Read also:

• First images and specs of two HP webOS tablets leaked online -- 9-inch Topaz, 7-inch Opal

First images and specs of two HP webOS tablets leaked online -- 9-inch Topaz, 7-inch Opal

I’m still skeptical about HP being able to create a runaway success with tablets based on Palm’s webOS, but if the photos leaked to Engadgetfrom “a trusted tipster” are accurate, it’s definitely designed a sexy slate — or, apparently, pair of slates.

That’s because HP has a 9-inch tablet (code-named Topaz) and a 7-inch model (Opal) in the works, according to the roll-out details also passed along. The images suggest there’s a front-facing camera, a micro USB port, three speakers — and a lack of buttons on the front. Engadget was also informed they use 1.2GHz processors, though more details (manufacturer, etc.) weren’t provided.

Here’s one issue for these tablets: a release timeline. It appears that the Opal won’t arrive until September, though the Topaz may come earlier. That’s just way too much time to let Android tablets flood the market, along with RIM’s PlayBook and an iPad 2. Perhaps there’ll be better news when HP officially (and presumably) rolls these out on February 9.

In the meantime, what do you think? Does this change your opinion of the webOS tablets in either way? Let us know in the Comments section



 HP-Palm Deal Is Representative of the Shifting Wireless M&A Landscape

discover ........ !! hp slate 500

Since HP got its hands on Palm we have been expecting to hear WebOS news from now on, but this is certainly not the case.
In the recent past there has been a lot of talk about an 8.9-inch HP Slate. Well today the “HP Slate 500″ has been discovered on a small page on HP.com.
It’s very interesting to note that the listed HP Slate 500 tablet PC runs Windows 7 Home Premium, along with “exclusive” HP software, rather than WebOS.
Not a whole lot is known about it right now, but we do know that it is powered by an 1.6GHz processor, probably the Atom N450/N455 or the Atom Z530 processor.
It is also said to have two cameras, one for photos and videos, and the other for video conferencing.

hp slate 500

The 8.9-inch display is also said to support pen input, but right now we don’t know what technology is behind it, whether it be a resistive touchscreen, active digitizer or other.
That’s all we know right now, but now we know there is a name and a solid product hanging around, we hope to find out some more information soon!
Via PCWorld


From, read more: http://www.netbookreviews.net/hp/slate-500/#ixzz1446S7NM8

NEWS: HP: Finally ready to get serious about Palm?

Hewlett-Packard appears to adding some management heft to Palm in what could be a sign that it may be serious about this mobile device thing after all.

John Paczkowski at AllthingsD reports that Ari Jaaksi, who recently left as head of Nokia’s MeeGo unit, will be going to Palm. Palm is also adding Victoria Coleman, who ran Samsung’s R&D center in San Jose.
These two hires indicate that the webOS and Palm may get some love. Paczkowski also notes that HP has been pulling internal expertise into the Palm orbit.
It’s about time. HP has been a bit quiet about its plans for Palm. Indeed, HP announced the acquisition of Palm in April and hasn’t said much since. Six months is an entire development cycle in mobile devices.
The most jarring indication that HP wasn’t all that sure about Palm came at the company’s big printer launch in New York City. First, HP executives gushed about a printing partnership with Apple and the iOS.  And then for good measure the printer unit features a 7-inch detachable tablet console on its high-end unit. That console happened to run on Android.
When I asked why there wasn’t one mention of the webOS, the reply was that HP would integrate it at some later date. Sure, webOS tablets are allegedly coming in 2011, but there’s not a lot of room for delay.  It’s one thing if a silo-ed unit at HP isn’t into Palm, but we haven’t heard much about roadmaps for devices or the OS.
Simply put, we’re still waiting for this slide to actually happen:

The smartphone market isn’t exactly standing still so maybe these new hires can prime the Palm pump a bit.

via zdnet.com
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HP just blew up Android tablet pricing (with a printer)

Hewlett-Packard may have a very disruptive Android tablet on its hands courtesy of its eStation printer of all things.
Officially, HP isn’t in the Android tablet market. Unofficially, HP is going to be a real pain to Dell and its Streak and potentially Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

 

I got to spend a few minutes with HP’s eStation printer—actually it’s the 7-inch print console that detaches and doubles as a tablet. A few key nuggets:

• HP’s eStation console runs on Android 2.1 and will be upgraded to 2.2. That fact makes the whole WebOS equation even more curious. Why did HP buy Palm exactly?
• HP’s stealth Android tablet gets battery life of 4 to 6 hours.
• This “tablet” is connected to the Barnes & Noble e-book store.
• The printer/tablet will be available by the holidays.
• Yahoo has skinned the console for the most part. Gmail accessible via browser, but the Yahoo integration simplifies things a good bit.

 

Now there are a few limitations. For starters, HP’s tablet/console isn’t connected to the Android market, but any good geek can get around that one. And a print button is prominent everywhere. Meanwhile, the HP tablet is a bit clunky in the rear and seems slightly beefy.
Related: HP big printer plan targets living room, detachable tablets
But all of that said HP’s Android tablet is good enough (assuming HP works out a few responsiveness issues). And since it rides along with a $399 printer it may be pretty damaging to rivals. Why?

• HP’s tablet is Wi-Fi only, just what some folks want. Samsung’s tablet is tethered to the carriers and the data plans for now.
• HP is subsidizing its tablet to sell a printer (and the ink that goes with it). It’s quite genius. HP doesn’t have to negotiate carriers subsidies because ink profits can cut the tablet pricing.
• The tablet console is probably about $250 or so if you assume the actual printer part is $150.
• In any case, HP’s Android tablet works and a bundle with a printer may just move a few of these devices. The device itself had a few hitches—it was a prototype—but you could see your kid playing with it. In fact, you’ll have to hunt them down just like you would for the remote.

Here’s a video of HP’s console/tablet:

By Larry Dignan | September 20, 2010, 8:56am PDT
via www.zdnet.com
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