Tablet of the Week: HP TouchPad

Though it's not yet available, HP is gearing up to launch its answer to the tablet computer—the TouchPad. With webOS, it's poised to be a real competitor to the Apple iPad 2.

The HP Touchpad runs on Palm’s webOS operating system, and is the HP Touchpad tablet is the first device powered with Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 1.20GHz processor. It boasts some serious differentiators from the iPad—multiple data ports, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling and the ability to share e-mail, video and other applications by touching a phone to the TouchPadthanks to Touchstone technology.

The Touchpad possesses a crisp 24.6 cm screen, virtual keyboard, wireless printing capability, instant-on access, support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta and access to thousands of webOS applications. It’s designed to be a multitasker, allowing users to have multiple applications running at the same time. HP said that as users launch new activities, webOS will automatically group related cards – for example, an email and an associated web page – together in a card stack, so users can easily track all related items together.

The HP Touchpad is being marketed at a device used for maximum productivity. It works with Quickoffice to include the Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite, which lets users view and edit documents, such as Microsoft Word and Excel. It also comes with VPN support to connect to corporate networks. It’s also compatible with HP’s industry-leading printing solutions, so you can wirelessly print documents, photos and emails to compatible wireless and networked HP printers.

TheHP TouchPad is scheduled to be available in the U.S. within months for a rumoured US$700.