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HP webOS Tablet by 3rd Quarter THIS YEAR? (UPDATE: Christmas?)

By: , 5/8/2010 4:21 pm | 16 comments

W-w-woah.  This is new: The Examiner just put out a story today claiming that a webOS tablet, code-named “HP Hurricane,”  could be released as early as the third quarter of this year:

We first speculated that since HP bought out Palm, they would come out wth a webOS tablet. According to many industry insiders, this appears to be more of a reality  now. An insider at HP tells us that a webOS tablet under the code name HP Hurricane is likely to be released the third quarter of this year.

Well okay, let’s try and make an argument for this. HP already has the hardware: they’ve been working on the Slate device for about three years now. Plus, HP couldn’t shut up about slapping webOS on a tablet during their acquisition announcement. Indeed, webOS is quite flexible and scale-able, and already works in x86 format that would be required on their current Slate. Finally, Palm had long been rumored to be working on a tablet device of their own before the buy-out, so perhaps some of the work is already done from their end. It would certainly behoove HP to crank out an iPad killer while the waters are still hot.

Our verdict? While rumors are fun, color us skeptical. Amused, even.

Look people, this acquisition won’t be finalized until July, which just so happens to be HP’s third fiscal quarter. You’re telling us that a webOS tablet will be announced at that time? Development on devices like this take time, and to our knowledge, webOS devs have yet to be informed that they’re going to need to adjust their apps to a tablet scale. No, our money says this baby comes out in 2011. When it does, we’ll be all over it. Until then, to paraphrase our Twitter friend @benfysh, “we’ll believe it when we find it in a bar.”  ;)

UPDATE: Proof positive that no one knows when this thing will really hit… now we’re reading scattered reports that the device will launch “as soon as Christmas,” which is considerably later than July-ish.  Still, we’ve had all sorts of discussions swirling around and interesting theories.  Keep chattin’ it up! We’re reading everything you guys have to say with keen interest.


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About Dan Ramirez

Dan is a senior editor at webOSroundup. He is a physician in South Texas with an unbridled passion for webOS. He is very active on Twitter (@vara411) and enjoys engaging the webOS community.
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  • Calmpewter

    I think i just peed a little.

  • Mara

    Is probably just me, but I dont understand the x86 part on the article. I suppose you are talking about webOS already running on x86 hardware (the emulator seems to be indeed an x86 build rather than ARM), and not an “x86″ resolution? :).

    About the tablet, given webOS is so user centric and applications and gestures are desined to be really awesome using just your opposable thumb, I believe they will want to take their time to think about the new way of using gestures in a tablet and change the core applications, thats why it seems early for me.

  • http://gobico.com Dave Balmer

    Yeah, this is early. Developers woudn't have much time to make solid tablet apps in that timeframe. Most if not all apps in the catalog today are designed and coded to small screen specs, and would need a good rethink of their UIs to make the transition.

  • akitayo

    Hi I really hope a webos tablet as all of us and very soon but we have had bad experiences with the examiner as a reliable source on forums before.

  • http://twitter.com/aboutpalmpre Mark Coppock

    Actually, there are two problems with the Win 7 HP Slate. First, Win 7 needs a decent processor to be efficient, and Atom doesn't cut it. Second, Atom itself is too power hungry. So, not only does the HP Slate lack performance, it also lacks battery life. While webOS would perform much better on an Atom processor, it would woudn't change the battery life equation.

    However, I'm guessing that Palm likely has already created a webOS tablet prototype, and that this is what convinced HP that webOS is “scalable.” It could very well be that HP is already working with its manufacturing resources to take Palm's prototype and get it ready for production. And, they could do this independent of the acquisition–if for some reason the acquisition fell through, there's nothing stopping them from licensing webOS from Palm.

    Thus, while I think a webOS version of the current HP Slate isn't likely that quickly, I think that an HP-branded Palm webOS tablet is entirely possible.

  • Matt Ratcliffe

    A handful of key app programmers along with the Webos Dev team are now raising the bar and will bring us another award winning device. No 3g or 4 g needed as our webos phones all have mifi hotspots. Just put wifi and a usb port. bring it on!

  • guest

    webOS pad will do 2 apps at once. Picture two rows of cards, one on the top (or the left) and one on the bottom (on the right). You can move cards from top to bottom row in the obvious way, and vice versa; you dismiss cards by flicking off of the top of bottom. There'll be some chrome separating the two apps and there's an option to take an app full-screen. It's possible by release time the “two rows” will be an advanced feature that has to be turned on in the settings.

    If you go to a 4:3 form factor you can fit 2 apps on-screen without any issue. You want to make your resolution on the pad > 2x the phone form factor, so that you can fit UI chrome and/or put some space between the 2 apps. Apple did this math exactly right: iphone is 480×320 (2:3), and ipad is 1024×768 (4:3), and since doubling the screen resolution gets you to 960×640 they have 64×128 px hanging around for that chrome and padding.

    webOS is better positioned than the iPad is to seamlessly upscale to larger resolution b/c it uses webkit for rendering. In 2-at-a-time mode the apps are at their original resolution and so no worries. In full-screen mode webOS jumps ahead: the iPad has to upscale by pixel-doubling, which makes text look jaggy and images look blocky / clunky; webOS can just render the view html at higher resolution, so fonts will be smoother and so on.

    Designers will still have to tweak their interfaces to work right @ full-screen 4:3 (which due to increased resolution and changed formfactor is a nontrivial amount of work) but the existing base of unported non-pdk apps will look much much better on the “hurricane” than most existing iphone apps look on the ipad.

    There will be ways to support drag-and-drop from app to app but existing apps will need to be updated to support that api; it won't come for free.

  • http://twitter.com/mrjwhit Jason Whitaker

    Could HP & Palm not have been working on this for a while? The rumors seemed to be quick once the announcement was made. I'd like for them to shock the market by coming out with the tablet this year. Then to find out that they've been quietly working on this since early 2010.

  • mattratcliffe

    Matt Ratcliffe here,

    Ok let's address the merger or the buy out. Who could object? Palm would not, they need HP. FTC would not because it would not put HP in any position of power so they would approve. Wall street just needs new numbers for the 3rd, 4th and year end from HP to fold Palm in. All the merger stuff can be taken care of by the attorneys and top management.

    My belief is that the HP Slate (Hurricane) has already been reformatted to handle WEBOS. Two areas of concern would be the processor and the battery space. The processor can be reworked (1.3mhz to 1.6mhz) The unit must have new and improved battery space so that 10 hours of use can be had at a min. Ipad set that as a standard and the people who look at a unique system as WEBOS do not need to worry about power. It must print. Other areas needed:

    USB-2
    HDMI
    Front facing Camera (Has to have or I will not by one)
    Head phone plugin
    Mic near camera
    Line out
    On Screen Key Board
    Bluetooth

    Lets talk about the touch screen. Just as the WEBOS preforms on the Palm Pre the Hurricane should be the same touch. I envision the same interface as the Palm Pre with the exception of turning it landscape w the power bar at the bottom going to the landscape bottom. Please do not forget the the experience the consumer has must be simple.

    All app builders now need the api or SDK of the unit so they can adjust for a great start. Applications are something all other systems have that they bet us on. We must open with more then 2400 aps. All major vendors Bestbuy Amazon etc… must be on board w apps. WSJ Document programs etc. Newspapers, magazines…etc

    Lastly….What can I do to help…send me an emulator due to my current sitituation I'm at home 24/7 and can help.

  • mattratcliffe

    I would agree w you. I think when they met it was over the hp slate and what WEBOS could do for it. I guess 1.2 Billion made it all work out.

  • erodriguz01

    how much?

  • http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hp-Hurricane/101922246521163?ref=ts#!/pages/Hp-Hurricane/101922246521163?v=wall&ref=ts spencer

    there is a facebook group already http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hp-Hurricane/1019…

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  • http://allandelacruz.com Xacto01

    Whats with all the mockups with a large screen but keeping the same card view? Obviously Palm is smart, and would take advantage of a larger screen. I expect to see a card view that shows multiple rows and columns of cards. A launcher that shows a lot of rows too. I imagine a windows 7 style of managing cards by aligning left and right. To accentuate multitasking, a sort of Expose should be implimented.

  • http://allandelacruz.com Xacto01

    Whats with all the mockups with a large screen but keeping the same card view? Obviously Palm is smart, and would take advantage of a larger screen. I expect to see a card view that shows multiple rows and columns of cards. A launcher that shows a lot of rows too. I imagine a windows 7 style of managing cards by aligning left and right. To accentuate multitasking, a sort of Expose should be implimented.

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