DailyTech - HP webOS Update: "Now Your TouchPad is Even More Like Nothing Else"

Submit News

Gadgets HP webOS Update: "Now Your TouchPad is Even More Like Nothing Else"
Jason Mick (Blog) - August 2, 2011 10:37 AM

40 comment(s) - last by Cheesew1z69.. on Aug 6 at 3:42 PM

HP TouchPad

HP continues to struggle to find its way in the market, despite a small contingent of loyal fans

Hewlett-Packard, Comp. (HPQ) is struggling, to put it mildly, in the mobile device sector. Its latest efforts to revive the dying Palm brand have been met with largely public apathy and have posted abysmal sales. Similarly, HP's long-awaited webOS tablet, the TouchPad, received lukewarm reviews and managed to gain less than 1 percent of the total market according to recent statistics. HP is looking now to license its webOS operating system to rival manufacturers in a last ditch bid to stay relevant.

Now HP has released the second update to webOS 3, release 3.0.2. The newest iteration of the OS contains a number of small updates which should make the user interface on the TouchPad feel a bit more usable and responsive. Among the highlights are:

The Email app offers faster scrolling and improved image rendering, as well as improved management of multiple emails in Draft and Outbox views
You can now set your wallpaper from photos in the Photos app
In the Calendar app, you'll notice improvements in layout, searching for events with Just Type, and more
Can't live without "can't"? You'll appreciate enhancements in autocorrection of contractions.

A full list of improvements is available here.

In a cringe-worthy example of marketing speak HP promises [press release] that with the update, "Now your TouchPad is even more like nothing else."

Perhaps that wasn't the best choice of words when one of the main criticisms of the TouchPad is the buggy interface and lack of apps.

Of course, HP did inherit Palm's small contingent of loyal fans, many of whom bought TouchPads. For example, on HP's blog, "RussK" cheered, "Great work guys. Keep it up. Thank you for providing a great alternative to the Apple, google, and, in the future, Amazon environment; I like the usability freedom HP and webOS continues to provide."

For these users, the update may be music to their ears. For the rest of the tablet community it's just a humorous footnote.

Comments

Threshold

Username
Password
remember me

This article is over a month old, voting and posting comments is disabled

RE: Touchpad is great!

By jamawass on 8/3/2011 3:06:14 PM , Rating: 2

You're just circling around the argument that your playbook can't do email. You expect me to send my patient's information over webmail? Regarding speed I would recommend you actually use a touchpad rather than base your opinion on reviewer's use of early builds.

Parent

RE: Touchpad is great!

By Pirks on 8/3/2011 4:18:57 PM , Rating: 2

You're just circling around the argument that your HP tablet is molasses slow compared to Playbook. My Playbook can do email, I do it regularly both with gmail and bridge to my Torch. The difference is that it feels much faster than that HP half baked thing. If you send your patient's info on anything but secure device (AKA BlackBerry) you're dumb and the moment I know my doctor or lawyer uses something besides BlackBerry to send my info around I'll dump them immediately. Regarding speed I would recommend you actually comparing Playbook with that molasses slow HP tablet and drawing your own conclusions instead of listening to your wild imagination :))

Parent