HP explodes into smartphones and tablets with new lineup

[Ben]

First up we've got the Pre 3 and Veer (http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/news/2011/02/09/HP-Announce-Pre-3-And-Veer-Smartphones/p1), which both look rather nice. The Pre 3 is obviously the flagship and carries a 1.4GHz CPU and 512MB of RAM. I know nothing of WebOS, but one would imagine that this is a rather powerful coupling! The Veer is an 800MHz scaled-down version, but it looks rather fun.

Then there's the long awaited tablet, the TouchPad (http://www.trustedreviews.com/laptops/news/2011/02/09/HP-Announce-9-7in-TouchPad--Running-webOS-3-0/p1). This runs a new version of WebOS, version 3.0, and looks extremely iPad-like! It has a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, so should multi-task very nicely indeed, and a UI that could've been stolen from Cupertino.

Nice features such as wireless charging and touching the devices to exchange data are included. A lot now depends on how long it takes the HP machine to get these to market, and whether the HP brand and management have enough savvy to pull off a success. I really want these to do well, and I imagine HP has a serious commitment to ensuring that happens.

[The Mullet of G]

a Palm with an HP badge on it, think I'll give that a miss.

[Hands0n]

The Pre kit suffered from hardware quality - be it design or manufacture it is irrelevant to the fed up consumer. So one has to hope that HP will bring something to the new devices that prevents a repeat.

[Ben]

HP can manufacture. They should be great... almost like if Nokia made a Pre (Nokia can also manufacture)!

Alternatively they'll be made by exactly the same people and with the same materials as before, and will be a bit rubbish ;)

[Hands0n]

Gosh, I hope your second scenario does not materialise. And HP need something to revitalise them. I remember when they were an industry byword in various technologies. Their test and analysis equipment was second to none. They even made the old iPAQ kit look good, rendering the Compaq kit into something sleek and slick - I still have my PDA perfectly serviceable after more than ten years (its my standby SatNav - well it was until Google Nav arrived FOC on Android).

So my hope is that they've waved their magical hands over the Pre hardware. It certainly needed it. The demo models in stores and anecdotal tales of users' experiences with the hardware did nothing to enamour me to the old Pre.

[Ben]

Oh the HP iPAQs were immaculate, 5450 and 5550 were just sublime. The Windows Mobile software running on them, however... YUCK.

Though back in those days they'd have been using very miserable Intel chippery and not the lovely mobile processors we're so fortunate to have today. Can't have helped, not when MS were so intent on having as full an OS on a little screen as possible, throwing usability to the wind.

If HP take the same care and attention with this latest acquisition then I'd say it has far more potential than the iPAQ line ever did. I'm really excited by the announcement that they'll put WebOS on PCs - to me that says that HP is deadly serious about making a play for this, in a very Apple way.

[Hands0n]

See, I can understand some of this if "cloud" computing becomes more of the norm than it is today. But right now, apart from social media and a few other bits and pieces, we are still tied to apps which generally means we're somewhat tied to Microsoft apps. Particularly in the case of business or official interactions.

In the absence of ubiquitous cloud computing I remain with the question in my mind as to whether or not the buying public can actually handle yet another OS without spontaneously combusting thirty three seconds after switching on the new device.

I could be wrong ...

[gorilla]

I'm not interested in WebOS at all. I think I should be, but I really can't get into it at all. I suppose, if HP did a deal where they bundled the phone, laptop and tablet together then I'd maybe consider that, but then again would I really fully commit to their ecosystem? Probably not.
It's also hard to imagine HP making any headway in the enterprise with these devices, after all aren't most IT managers so invested in MS? Maybe that's my own blinkered view of the enterprise.

Why make these announcements when there is no release data or price? Have these companies not learned anything from an Apple launch?

[Ben]

HP would definitely have to target the Microsoft consumer at the moment, perhaps those still uninvested in a particular ecosystem (of which there must be many; Apple may be doing extremely well, but it's easy to forget how premium their products remain). WebOS could be computing 'for the rest of us' erm, 'for the rest of us'... if you follow.

I totally agree WRT companies announcing things that are too far from release. Apple, give or take, have this spot on in most respects.