Quick Play Review: HP Touchpad

The HP Touchpad launched in the UK today so I went Carphone Warehouse and PC World to have a quick play.

From the hardware point of view, the device is very nice, if little plasticky. Much has been made of the fact that this tablet isn't as thin as the iPad 2. However, it isn't massively thicker and with its rounded corners it's quite pleasant to hold. As with the iPad 2, the screen is in a 4:3 ratio which works fine for most things, but is less than ideal for video playback. The screen is also very reflective.

The software was pretty intuitive. On the main screen you have a row of application icons at the bottom and at the top there is the Just Type box which lets you search both the device and the Internet by just typing. Pretty neat. In between these two items, cards are displayed (minimised windows) showing the currently running applications. If you flick one of them to the top of the screen, that closes the application. Windows from the same application, for example the browser, are displayed in this view stacked on top of each other which is a pretty elegant way of doing it.

The browser is pretty good. At Carphone Warehouse, access was blocked to the Guardian's website, so I was only able to try the BBC News website. This rendered very quickly and accurately and the device was very responsive to scrolling and zooming, but I did manage to crash the browser, ending up with with the busy animation which I was unable to get rid of without closing the browser window. At PC World, where the restrictions on the network weren't quite so Draconian, I was able to access the Guardian website and also CNET UK's video page, where thanks to Flash compatibility, I was able to see Flora Graham work her magic.

Based on a very brief couple of plays, the HP Touchpad is a pretty nice device. With WebOS being the third player in the tablet market after Android and iOS (the less said about the RIM Playbook, the better) it will be interesting to see whether a current lack of apps is a dealbreaker for potential customers. The other downside, shared with the tablets, is the price. The 16 gig version is £400 with 32 gig version at £479. For me, that's too expensive. Three years ago, I paid about £300 for a netbook, and that's the sort of price I want to pay for supplementary device to access the internet, update my social networks and play Angry Birds.