HEWLETT-PACKARD has unveiled its entrant in the tablet race, betting its TouchPad will keep it in the running in a booming market dominated by Apple’s iPad and devices running Google software.
The 9.7-inch tablet, running off Palm’s well-regarded webOS operating system, is HP’s gamble that there remains room for yet another mobile software platform.
This risk however has been underscored by news that Nokia may abandon its own software in favour of Microsoft’s or Google’s.
HP’s 1.5-lb tablet features a fast dual-core Qualcomm chip, supports video calling and Adobe’s Flash software.
HP said the TouchPad would be priced competitively against the iPad, which starts at €499. It will launch with a Wi-Fi-only model, followed by a 3G- compatible version later in the year.
The technology company, the world’s largest by revenue, also announced new smartphones: the Veer and the Pre3, both also based on the webOS software that HP acquired last summer in its $1.2 billion purchase of handheld device pioneer Palm.
HP has declined to provide details on wireless carrier agreements for any of its new devices. However, the company has outlined a number of partnerships it has forged to bring content to webOS devices. Amazon.com will offer a free Kindle e-reader app, while Time Warner’s Time publishing arm will sell subscriptions to magazines such as Sports Illustrated and People.
While talking up the promise of the mobile internet, executives also stressed that webOS was a platform they wanted to bring to multiple devices, including personal computers, later this year.
“We’re thinking beyond today,” PC division chief Todd Bradley said.
We have a commitment to extend the webOS footprint even further as the year progresses,” he said.
HP said webOS would “complement” Microsoft’s Windows software on PCs, rather than displace it, but declined to provide specifics.
WebOS is widely viewed as a strong platform, but HP faces an uphill battle to gain traction in the mobile market.
Its products are arriving late to a market already crawling with competition from Apple and devices based on Google’s Android.
– (Reuters)
