Despite the allure of an Android tablet, truth be told the Google OS lacks the elegance and user interface to match iOS which powers Apple’s iPad (even if the former would potentially pack a lot more power).
What the world needs is an iChallenger who can take on Steve Jobs greatest creation and actually come out victorious (or at the very least a close second).
As far as this author can tell, that company may in fact be Hewlett Packard (also known as HP).
HP has a unique vantage point of the whole tablet market. They haven’t released a model yet. Instead of simply outing an iPad alternative right away, they are taking their time and are doing it right. They might have even bought Palm for over a $1 billion dollars just for the spectacular webOS platform with the tablet market in mind. […]
The interface complete with its sliding cards and unifying goal should be up to the task. WebOS even does web browsing slightly better than Android. But more importantly, HP now owns Palm and webOS meaning the can shift huge resources into developing stellar apps. (CrunchGear)
Although the webOS is impressive, what HP currently lacks right now is a large developer community that can churn out webOS apps faster than Apple can say “your app has been approved.”
HP also needs to make sure that their upcoming slate can also out last the iPad when it comes to battery life, which is a major selling point to users existing outside of the world of geek.
While HP’s entrance into the tablet world will probably make choosing a large touch screen device more difficult (at least for the average consumer), it would help bring some much needed competition to the space as not everyone is a fan of all things Cupertino.
Originally posted on July 15, 2010 @ 3:11 pm
I’d buy an HP WebOS tablet in a second. I don’t like being told what apps I’m allowed to download. I really like what I’ve seen in WebOS and can’t wait until I can buy one.
I think if iPad 3GS (yeah, you heard me) has Retina display plus a front facing video camera, then it may threaten webOS…if you don’t mind giving up some iFreedom. ;-)