I thought I'd start a review page for the Touchpad. I got my Touchpad on Tuesday and have spent a good bit of time with it. In general, I see a lot of potential. I am disappointed that it took so long and isn't better than it is.
Now I understand most of the poor reviews that the unit has gotten. Comparing a first generation product with a 2nd or 3rd generation product doesn't is not likely to be very positive. But, most of us thought, between HP and Palm, the unit would be a lot further along. Perhaps HP is too big to be creative and responsive enough for a fast moving market like phones and tablets. However, to be fair, the things the unit does well, it does very well. And, what it doesn't do well, it generally doesn't do at all.
First, the weight. Personally, I like the feel of it. A few ounces either way really doesn't make much difference. It has a good balance and feels solid.
Second, the WebOS. I am new to it, but so far, I am impressed. The multitasking is really well done. The setup on the unit was simple and logically organized. There is a somewhat intuitive feel to the interface, even though if I knew more, it might be even better.
I setup my Exchange client with no problems and it works well. I will try to add some more accounts later for testing.
Now for the items I am disappointed with. I know it sounds like I don't like the unit, but I do, and it is so close. But, unfortunately, close only counts in horseshoes and nuclear war.
First, as far as I can tell, whoever designed this either never used an iPad or Android tablet or didn't use it much. They don't understand the first rule of the smart device market: You have to have some key working software. Okay, there is some, but in general, it is a real disappointment. There will be lots of other things needed, but everyone wants video, music, news, and a way to move data around. A lot of people will want a time manager, too. If you missed that in the design, you missed the key items.
It plays MP3s well, but without Pandora, it doesn't really matter much.
The worst thing so far is that the video player is useless. Most of the videos I see and use are AVIs and they don't work at all. And only about half of the MP4's have worked so far. One of the top priorities needs to be a movie player that isn't useless. Something like VitalPlayer for the Android.
You also need a good news reader. If you have an Android you get News360 or Pulse. Where is the comparable product?
Oh, by the way, it isn't terribly easy to find anything in the Appstore. It doesn't give enough granularity. It is hard to find the diamonds amoung the trash.
The other item that is needed is a file manager. Something like ES File Explorer on the Android. It allows you to move files from the LAN to the Local file structure and to move files inside the unit. I know the idea is that WEBOS handles it. But as far as I can tell, I have to hook up to a PC to move files. There is a paid app in the app store, but it doesn't do enough.
I have used Android up to this point. A year ago, it was pretty bad. But, today it is a great competitor. WEBOS can be there, too, but it can't take very long or there won't be a market. If HP is counting on business users only, they are probably DOA. From what I have seen, other than e-mail, business use takes a back seat to personal applications on tablets.
What do you think?
7-25-2011 It is getting better
Today, I downloaded KalemSoft Media Player and Gemini File Manger. They each fill at least part of the gap in the functionality of the Touchpad. The KamelSoft Media Player has added considerable functionality to the media play including additional codecs for AVI, etc. And, the MP4s that didn't work with the built in player seem to work with it. It is a $6.99 item but, so far, it seems to be a good investment. I had to add an app to my Android 2.2 unit to get the same capabilities, so it is makes sense that I will have to do the same for a first generation WEBOS tablet, I guess.
The Gemini File Manager is a valuable addition, because it has a nice two column, full screen, interface and has networking capablities. Currently it only works with Dropbox. But it is a step in the right direction. I had to download a file manager, ES File Manager, with this functionality for my Android also, but it was free. ES File Manager allows local network connection, which is pretty useful. This is pretty inexpensive at $2.99 though.
Last week, I downloaded SpaZ HD Beta Preview 1 to use as a Twitter client. It is worth a look. I have enjoyed learning how to use it.
I have download several news readers, but so far nothing that is as good as Pulse or News 360. NewsRoom is a start, but it is still in the phone format.
Pandora works, but it is in the phone format. And, that doesn't really matter much to the functionality.
So things are coming along. With a few more apps, it will be almost as good as my Android for my daily use. Android and iPad have a lot of apps, but how many are of any real use?
There are a few things missing. A working RDP app is essential for small businesses. A solid time management package that interfaces with Quickbooks would be useful, also.
Agreed, thanks for that review
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Well, I am wrong about at least one thing. There is a Pandora app. It works, but it is a phone app and takes a little getting used to. But, it seems to work well.
I bought Newroom hoping it will be like Pulse. It is also a phone app and will take some work to get used to. But it might do some of what I want until a better app comes along. I also bought TapNote for Touchpad which I think will be a good tool, and Internalz, so I can get to the file structure. It is a phone app, so it will be a little strange until it is upgraded.
I downloaded TED, which is a source for seminars that seem to be pretty diverse. The first one I watched was great. It showed off the video pretty well.
I'm still impressed.
I prefer to buy the Touchpad than iPad. Because Touchpad is a way better than other tablets but is a bit buggy yet, but with time and devs, all can be solved.
Good luck with devs and with OTAs touch pad FAIL and webOS phones are butt ugly with a nice OS
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I actually want to buy a touchpad....only if it doesn't become a dead system and gets reasonable support compared to android and iOS from developers
I would have to add that the font rendering is the ugliest since Windows 3.11. Seriously. The UI itself is beautiful, but reading web pages or mails hurts your eyes after a few minutes. The fonts look like they are smudged, like the screen is blurry. It is a huge fail and the biggest downside IMO. Sure, application load times are really bad, and there are no apps. But apps only need to be loaded once, and the number of apps might change. The incredibly distracting font rendering won't go away
Send an email to: Leo Apotheker, Sean Robison & Steve DeWitt. They need to hear from you.
First name.Last [email protected]
Think it's Stephen but will check. No hear back from me then it's that.
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Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
I bought one of the firesale units and starting playing with it. I have some questions:
1) It don't seem to support ad-hoc wireless networks. Is there any software I can add or configuration change I can make to change this? I have a Windows Mobile cell phone that can share its connection over wifi, but its ad-hoc only.
2) I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy. I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open in an appropriate player or reader. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
3) Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app that is quick loading that will show a file hierarchy and show or play pdf files and videos, similar to GoodReader for ipad?
4) Is there anything that will play .flv video files? The m4v video showed up in the photo viewer, but not the .flv
Thanks in advance.
guyandhisdog said:
Can only print to HP printers.
-1. My HP laptops can print to my Canon printer
Can't wait for Android on this thing
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Click to collapse
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
I know its not a HP laptop. Just sayin, one HP product can and one (newer) can't. That = -1
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
treestump said:
anyone else notice that this thing seems to crash/freeze alot? have to reboot quite often.
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Click to collapse
have u updated the pad? i've been playing with mine for 2 days and havent had a hang up or freeze yet.. u might have a faulty model
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
hurrpancakes said:
So can my Lenovo laptop.
But this isn't a HP laptop.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a review that said you can print to other printers but its a bit harder. Don't no the details sorry but at least you can. (supposedly)
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
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Click to collapse
Picked mine up Saturday morning and found that article yesterday. By all means do what it says, helps a lot. The more I use my touchpad the more I like it. Great little $100 investment IMO. Really wish there was a Wordfeud or Words with Friends app for it though. Preware should be installed on every WebOS device.
starfcker69 said:
I haven't gotten my HP Touchpad yet. Heck, still listed as "shipping soon" from Amazon/eCost.
This may be useful for improving performance until we have Android running:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/how-to-improve-the-performance-of-your-new-hp-touchpad/3866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for this link! I don't even have my touchpad yet but i look forward to being able to poke around with it and get every ounce of performance possible.
Are there any other good resources for WebOS tweaks or mods? Ultimately i'll probably put android on this thing (once the devs do all the hard work) but in the meantime, i'd like to see just how usable the device is as-is.
my gripes:
browser - not as good as Android's. some pages had minor render issues, some menus didn't work right. some flash videos would not play.
browser - only way to go "back" is the back arrow at the top left corner so you have to keep your thumb near it.. awkward to hold. why no left swipe or something?
lists, any - no scroll bars! i added like 100 bookmarks then it's a pain in the ass to get from top to bottom. have to swipe down like 10 times
camera - no app is included to use it other than skype.
video player - videos files are shown as group of big icons, no way to change that to a list view, and the space allocated for the name does not have enough characters
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
serious lack of good apps that are designed for touchpad .. maybe a dozen that i ended up keeping.
no included rss reader, calc, notes, etc.
i don't believe the Bing navi app has 3D mapping or live rerouting (for use with tether) and i didn't see any in the market.
no voice to text function ?
doesn't support mkv or avi out of the box (same for Android, iOS) .. have to reencode videos from usenet. there is a (1) paid app that can play these apparently, haven't tried it yet
no video out, rear camera, back / search / menu buttons, low-res screen, heavy... but you know that going in.
App Store - no sorting options (ie, #downloads, #reviews)
.....
things i like:
hardware is solid, battery life is impressive, viewing angles excellent, and the GUI looks polished. OS is reasonably responsive and stable (after ota update). basic functions (wifi, web, email, IM, a/v playback) work as expected.
good deal for $100.
I like my 32GB Touchpad so far, I applied the improvements and it does seem better, I have to try the overclock. It's good for the price I paid, but not for it's starting one. I'd still like to see Android on it and I hope there's more development both on webOS and Android for it.
For your news reading needs you could try the Mosaic app, it's similar to Pulse with its own twist.
os10 said:
my gripes:
no way to change the icons on the taskbar?
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You can by going into the Launcher and touching an app for a few seconds so you can move them around.
I see several steam apps, (as in Valve's digital distribution service) on the market, but as they likely require me to enter my information I thought I'd check in here first and see if anyone is actually using one without issue.
Has anyone tried any of them? I dont want to enter my information into anything that might be malicious
I've been fantasizing about a Steam app for android [or onlive], but I don't think there's any reasonable way to actually play your Steam games since they're windows (or mac) only, aside from doing something like vnc or some onlive-like service. I'm not familiar with any of the apps out there, but I wouldn't bother. At best it looks like they just offer a quick way into the forums, etc.
On a side note, onlive may eventually be available. Supposedly the Flyer has some capability, and I vaguely remember reading an article on Onlive developing more apps and a 2nd gen controller to be used on devices other than their microconsole.
ponyboy82 said:
I've been fantasizing about a Steam app for android [or onlive], but I don't think there's any reasonable way to actually play your Steam games since they're windows (or mac) only, aside from doing something like vnc or some onlive-like service. I'm not familiar with any of the apps out there, but I wouldn't bother. At best it looks like they just offer a quick way into the forums, etc.
On a side note, onlive may eventually be available. Supposedly the Flyer has some capability, and I vaguely remember reading an article on Onlive developing more apps and a 2nd gen controller to be used on devices other than their microconsole.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I suppose I should have posted what I wanted to do... durr.
I'm really just looking for a nice, integrated storefront in widget form instead of as a webpage. That, plus steam friends/community functionality, would be all I really want from a steam app.
I of course realize there is no way that we're going to be playing our steam games on our Nooks any time soon
I have a steamapp on my nexus one, All it can do is show you who is online, and a bit of other information. No chat APIs have been released by valve, there isn't much you can do that you can't do on the webpage
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.pwned.steamfriends
That looks to be about what I wanted. Much thanks
Do you know if it has a widget, or is it just a straight app?
I was wondering about the possibilities of a chrome os replacing webtop on our photons. Since it is Linux based like webtop, could it be possible to relayed ubuntop with chrome os?(see ubuntop forum for elaboration) Either way I was just thinking it would be perfect since there's Eucharistic simple GUI for the os.
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I can't believe I didn't see this post til now, sorry. Your question is very valid and deserves an answer.
ChromeOS and Moto's Webtop are, at their core, a web based OS (think cloud computing) in functionality. Granted, ChromeOS would be much smaller and faster than Moto's Webtop but still has all the failings of cloud computing. Cloud (ChromeOS, Webtop and so on) are based on the premise that you will ALWAYS have a working internet connection. We (the world) all know that this is rarely ever that case. So the premise is flawed from the start. Let's look at a real world scenario.
You need to write a report for school or work and are using Cloud (ChromeOS, Webtop and so on). While working on the report your internet connection goes down. It's a cellular outage/ internet provider outage and you do not have an alternative connection. The webpages you have open are still there but with cloud you can no longer continue to write that report. Your document creation/editing is somewhere on that, now inaccessible, internet. I, on the other hand, am running a stand alone OS (webtop+/ubuntop). Like you, my webpages are still open but I can also continue to work on that report due to me not being tied to the internet for document creation/editing.
The argument could be made that you could always use an Android office suite to continue working which is true. Try doing any real document work in android, it's a real pain in the ass. I know, as almost all things related to the Evo Desktop PC project was done in android.
Lokifish Marz said:
I can't believe I didn't see this post til now, sorry. Your question is very valid and deserves an answer.
ChromeOS and Moto's Webtop are, at their core, a web based OS (think cloud computing) in functionality. Granted, ChromeOS would be much smaller and faster than Moto's Webtop but still has all the failings of cloud computing. Cloud (ChromeOS, Webtop and so on) are based on the premise that you will ALWAYS have a working internet connection. We (the world) all know that this is rarely ever that case. So the premise is flawed from the start. Let's look at a real world scenario.
You need to write a report for school or work and are using Cloud (ChromeOS, Webtop and so on). While working on the report your internet connection goes down. It's a cellular outage/ internet provider outage and you do not have an alternative connection. The webpages you have open are still there but with cloud you can no longer continue to write that report. Your document creation/editing is somewhere on that, now inaccessible, internet. I, on the other hand, am running a stand alone OS (webtop+/ubuntop). Like you, my webpages are still open but I can also continue to work on that report due to me not being tied to the internet for document creation/editing.
The argument could be made that you could always use an Android office suite to continue working which is true. Try doing any real document work in android, it's a real pain in the ass. I know, as almost all things related to the Evo Desktop PC project was done in android.
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Click to collapse
Sorry to resurrect this. All of the above being said, would it be difficult to use the most current version of chromium OS for web top?
elessarelfstar said:
Sorry to resurrect this. All of the above being said, would it be difficult to use the most current version of chromium OS for web top?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the latest Chrome OS is still mainly a cloud based system. For what programs that do have standalone functions they still fall short of what UbunTop offers. For example, GIMP and OpenOffice are long term "standards compliant" programs and supported on multiple platforms. ChromeOS also offers far less in the way of software choices when compared to UbunTop which can run most ARM compiled programs based on Debian.
The other factor that now has to be considered is the removal of Webtop support by Motorola. Support for Webtop and webtop replacements will disappear with the ICS update on all webtop enabled phones leaving the users with Android based tablet mirroring mode. Even if you were to replace Webtop with the latest ChromeOS, it will no longer function as soon as you move to ICS. In short Webtop OR ICS, can't have both. The same applies to ChromeOS as well.
Projects, like Ubuntu Installer, that use disk images and VNC will still function on ICS. The draw back to this is that you loose audio support and external device support like flashdrives. Another issue is how VNC interacts with the disk image. There is also the issue that using disk images on the Atrix and Photon have very limited support. A specific Kernel/ROM combination has to be used to even get it to function.
I am new to my Evo View, but not to Android (Nexus 1, Viewsonic gtablet, Nook Color-rooted-CM 7.1).
My main interest in this tablet was to see if finally I can retire my paper notebook. There have been lots of good discussions about which handwriting/stylus app is best for various purposes, but (AFAIK) nothing about a secure note organization system. I want to have control over the repository/backup of my notes.
I use GDocs and Evernote all the time; most of my notes are ideally available everywhere, but there are some things I don't want synced to GDocs, Evernote, etc.
What I want is a way to easily organize handwritten notes that has this feature set:
1. Solid handwriting experience, mostly English words, an occasional graph or figure.
2. Text recognition system so I can search for keywords either from the tablet or from my computer.
3. Back-up system so that I don't loose everything if I loose my tablet, it breaks, etc.
4. Back-up system must be under my direct control. I am happy to store my notes on my personal computer(s), but don't want them out on the cloud.
5. USB sync to my computer is fine. Also syncing over the Internet is OK as long as it is SSL or comparable. I just don't want my notes easily exposed on a publicly available server which could be recovered with a cracked password.
Several years ago, when I was looking for something like this (not with a tablet, everything was PC), and I ended up using MS Onenote for my confidential notes, and Evernote for everything else. I have heard that Onenote is now out for Android, but it gets pretty poor reviews. That said, I haven't given it a fair try, so that is on my list.
Any other suggestions?
klaberte said:
I am new to my Evo View, but not to Android (Nexus 1, Viewsonic gtablet, Nook Color-rooted-CM 7.1).
My main interest in this tablet was to see if finally I can retire my paper notebook. There have been lots of good discussions about which handwriting/stylus app is best for various purposes, but (AFAIK) nothing about a secure note organization system. I want to have control over the repository/backup of my notes.
I use GDocs and Evernote all the time; most of my notes are ideally available everywhere, but there are some things I don't want synced to GDocs, Evernote, etc.
What I want is a way to easily organize handwritten notes that has this feature set:
1. Solid handwriting experience, mostly English words, an occasional graph or figure.
2. Text recognition system so I can search for keywords either from the tablet or from my computer.
3. Back-up system so that I don't loose everything if I loose my tablet, it breaks, etc.
4. Back-up system must be under my direct control. I am happy to store my notes on my personal computer(s), but don't want them out on the cloud.
5. USB sync to my computer is fine. Also syncing over the Internet is OK as long as it is SSL or comparable. I just don't want my notes easily exposed on a publicly available server which could be recovered with a cracked password.
Several years ago, when I was looking for something like this (not with a tablet, everything was PC), and I ended up using MS Onenote for my confidential notes, and Evernote for everything else. I have heard that Onenote is now out for Android, but it gets pretty poor reviews. That said, I haven't given it a fair try, so that is on my list.
Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anybody have any suggestions?
Hi all,
So I've had this tablet for a bit of time now and I've had trouble setting it up for productivity.
I'm a high school student and this tablet is my main productivity device (the HP desktop I use has the computational power of a lemon).
So I want opinions on apps and setups that will help a high-school student like me get some serious work done over the course of this year.
Currently I use:
Google Drive, because cloud syncing documents and work is glorious and has saved my life on multiple occasions
Timetable - cause I'm still settling in to my new routine
Stock calendar/S-Planner - this syncs events with my S3
A Bluetooth keyboard that gets the job done. (seperate from the case)
USB OTG adaptors for USBs and SD cards, and a 16GB USB.
Google Drive, while allowing cloud syncing, is lacking in quite a few basic features which would actually be really helpful to me, eg. Calibri font, picture inserting/editing etc, and my exams that need written material usually have to be handed in via Word document.
Polaris office and some other suits I've tried also seem to have trouble with word formatting (on a computer, words at the end of a line are chopped off and put on the next line).
A few other things I want to add:
I do a lot of my schoolwork at home using the tablet, especially for written assignments. (not sure how this would help in any way but just in case)
I would use LectureNotes, but with a finger it is REALLY inefficient. The crappy stylus I have doesn't help either.
Some of the subjects I have chosen for this year require a LOT of writing, so apps that can handle that well are preferable as well.
I don't print too much, and when I do I use the school music department (cause its free for me ahaha)
Something that syncs with Drive would be preferable as well, as I often access files from the S3 on the go.
I want to stay on stock for the most part - however if there's a really good app that needs 4.1+ for example I can consider it...
If anyone has any ideas on how I could set my productivity suite up, please let me know of apps that could help or any links thanks!
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