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32 Reasons Why HP’s “PalmPad” Had Better Rock…

By: , 8/20/2010 4:50 pm | 37 comments

Ever since Palm was the glimmer in HP’s eye, webOS faithful have been salivating over a webOS tablet. Well, our fantasy device was finally confirmed during HP’s quarterly earnings call yesterday, when they indicated that a webOS tablet would likely come out in Q1 of 2011 (after they release a Windows 7 Slate… interesting).

We’re all rejoicing about this, crazed webOS fans that we are… except there’s one problem: nobody else knows what the hell webOS is. Oh yeah… and has anyone actually counted the number of tablets that are about to flood the market?

Well, Harry McKracken from Technologizer did just that in a great article titled “iPadversaries!” Listing each tablet that is already on the market, planned to enter the market, or still in concept form, he tallies a total of thirty-two devices considered to be “adversaries” to the iPad. (See? That’s where he got that title… just in case you didn’t figure it out.)

We break down his numbers and draw up our conclusions, after the break.

Release dates: Out of the 32 potential iPad competitors, 7 are on the market right now. 16 are planned to go on sale in fall or winter of this year. 4 are planned to launch in early to mid 2011.  4 have unknown launch dates (if at all) or are launching after 2012.

Operating systems: According to McKracken’s research, 13 of the mentioned tablets will be Android, 13 will be Windows 7, and 4 will be Linux. Throw in 1 PalmPad (webOS) and 1 BlackPad (BlackberryOS), and you have six operating systems represented when you include iOS.

It’s pretty clear that when HP’s much-anticipated webOS tablet finally launches, it will already be in quite crowded company. This is important to remember before rushing to call the PalmPad an “iPad killer.”  Equally important: as wildly successful as the magical iPad has been, the tablet market remains a niche  dominated by a single player.  It’s not even clear how popular the tablet market itself will be.

HP faces a daunting task with the PalmPad, as promising as its webOS operating system may be. It will need to overcome webOS’ complete lack of mindshare, meager (relatively speaking) developer support, and being compared to a pop-culture device, while not screaming “me too” amongst a sea of competitors. Granted, perhaps not all of them compete directly with one another (Cisco’s enterprise tablet Cius comes to mind), but again, considering this is a niche market, things are still going to be pretty crowded.

So. We could talk sexy hardware until we are blue in the face. Processors, screens, RAM, front-facing cameras… yeah, I get it.  While I agree hardware is absolutely essential, I’m wondering what HP is doing to really differentiate the webOS tablet from the pack.  It doesn’t need to be #1, but many of us webOS lovers believe in our collective guts that it deserves to be there.

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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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  • rmbpearson

    I like this. :)

  • rmbpearson

    I like this. :)

  • rmbpearson

    I like this. :)

  • rmbpearson

    I like this. :)

  • otrc

    I'm glad HP is doing it, but only in the sense that it means continued WebOS support. Maybe they will get the devices to boot faster, add doc editing, and flash support. I currently have no interest in a "pad". Just bought a Toshiba netbook last week. Battery lasts over 7-hours, it has a built-in screen protector that doubles as a keyboard and touchpad, and since I just let it go to sleep when I close the screen, it boots instantly — 40 seconds if a cold start.

  • otrc

    I'm glad HP is doing it, but only in the sense that it means continued WebOS support. Maybe they will get the devices to boot faster, add doc editing, and flash support. I currently have no interest in a "pad". Just bought a Toshiba netbook last week. Battery lasts over 7-hours, it has a built-in screen protector that doubles as a keyboard and touchpad, and since I just let it go to sleep when I close the screen, it boots instantly — 40 seconds if a cold start.

  • otrc

    I'm glad HP is doing it, but only in the sense that it means continued WebOS support. Maybe they will get the devices to boot faster, add doc editing, and flash support. I currently have no interest in a "pad". Just bought a Toshiba netbook last week. Battery lasts over 7-hours, it has a built-in screen protector that doubles as a keyboard and touchpad, and since I just let it go to sleep when I close the screen, it boots instantly — 40 seconds if a cold start.

  • otrc

    I'm glad HP is doing it, but only in the sense that it means continued WebOS support. Maybe they will get the devices to boot faster, add doc editing, and flash support. I currently have no interest in a "pad". Just bought a Toshiba netbook last week. Battery lasts over 7-hours, it has a built-in screen protector that doubles as a keyboard and touchpad, and since I just let it go to sleep when I close the screen, it boots instantly — 40 seconds if a cold start.

  • rickdarone

    I think a "Pad" device with WebOS, TI's OMAP 4, Flash, QuickOffice, and Beats by Dre would stand out from the crowd. What do you think?

    • teckiegirl

      what an awesome concept especially with beats. i would give up my ipod for that NOW

    • teckiegirl

      what an awesome concept especially with beats. i would give up my ipod for that NOW

    • teckiegirl

      what an awesome concept especially with beats. i would give up my ipod for that NOW

  • rickdarone

    I think a "Pad" device with WebOS, TI's OMAP 4, Flash, QuickOffice, and Beats by Dre would stand out from the crowd. What do you think?

  • rickdarone

    I think a "Pad" device with WebOS, TI's OMAP 4, Flash, QuickOffice, and Beats by Dre would stand out from the crowd. What do you think?

  • rickdarone

    I think a "Pad" device with WebOS, TI's OMAP 4, Flash, QuickOffice, and Beats by Dre would stand out from the crowd. What do you think?

    • teckiegirl

      what an awesome concept especially with beats. i would give up my ipod for that NOW

  • Capt4Chris

    I really do believe webOS needs to be #1. I just hope the rest of the world begins to realize this!

  • Capt4Chris

    I really do believe webOS needs to be #1. I just hope the rest of the world begins to realize this!

  • Capt4Chris

    I really do believe webOS needs to be #1. I just hope the rest of the world begins to realize this!

  • Capt4Chris

    I really do believe webOS needs to be #1. I just hope the rest of the world begins to realize this!

  • http://twitter.com/leejcj @leejcj

    I thought you were actually going to list 32 reasons. The number of competitors is still pretty shocking though. Hopefully HP will funnel some money into quality PalmPadvertising.

  • http://twitter.com/leejcj @leejcj

    I thought you were actually going to list 32 reasons. The number of competitors is still pretty shocking though. Hopefully HP will funnel some money into quality PalmPadvertising.

  • http://twitter.com/leejcj @leejcj

    I thought you were actually going to list 32 reasons. The number of competitors is still pretty shocking though. Hopefully HP will funnel some money into quality PalmPadvertising.

  • http://twitter.com/leejcj @leejcj

    I thought you were actually going to list 32 reasons. The number of competitors is still pretty shocking though. Hopefully HP will funnel some money into quality PalmPadvertising.

  • http://twitter.com/rparvez @rparvez

    HP has a couple of things going for it coming into this competition.

    1) a vertically integrated (OS + hardware) product built with the Palm engineering bench & Rubenstein.

    2) the money to market and expand their webOS product line.

    webOS out of the gate was a significantly more refined offering than anything running Android at the time, despite Android's head start in the market. Palm didn't have the resources to bring it "up to scale." and were subsequently overrun by a high volume of incrementally better products that only recently have pulled themselves out of mediocrity.

    Keeping one ear to the Android tablet space, it appears to be a repeat of the same. Google still hasn't endorsed these tablets for use with their App Market, and if Engadget's impressions are to be believed, the majority of them are crap. That will surely change, but not before the PalmPad come's to market.

    So here we are, gearing up for a repeat of 2009; only this time @Palm has had much better resources to support their efforts. I was truly hopeful that we'd see a tablet for the holiday season, but alas, it's not to be. Nonetheless, I'm incredibly optimistic about what Palm will show us, now that they don't have to make the compromises of a cash-strapped company who's trying to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace (and did so admirably, for an incredibly long time.)

    So in short, 32 competitors? Bring it.

  • http://twitter.com/rparvez @rparvez

    HP has a couple of things going for it coming into this competition.

    1) a vertically integrated (OS + hardware) product built with the Palm engineering bench & Rubenstein.

    2) the money to market and expand their webOS product line.

    webOS out of the gate was a significantly more refined offering than anything running Android at the time, despite Android's head start in the market. Palm didn't have the resources to bring it "up to scale." and were subsequently overrun by a high volume of incrementally better products that only recently have pulled themselves out of mediocrity.

    Keeping one ear to the Android tablet space, it appears to be a repeat of the same. Google still hasn't endorsed these tablets for use with their App Market, and if Engadget's impressions are to be believed, the majority of them are crap. That will surely change, but not before the PalmPad come's to market.

    So here we are, gearing up for a repeat of 2009; only this time @Palm has had much better resources to support their efforts. I was truly hopeful that we'd see a tablet for the holiday season, but alas, it's not to be. Nonetheless, I'm incredibly optimistic about what Palm will show us, now that they don't have to make the compromises of a cash-strapped company who's trying to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace (and did so admirably, for an incredibly long time.)

    So in short, 32 competitors? Bring it.

  • http://twitter.com/rparvez @rparvez

    HP has a couple of things going for it coming into this competition.

    1) a vertically integrated (OS + hardware) product built with the Palm engineering bench & Rubenstein.

    2) the money to market and expand their webOS product line.

    webOS out of the gate was a significantly more refined offering than anything running Android at the time, despite Android's head start in the market. Palm didn't have the resources to bring it "up to scale." and were subsequently overrun by a high volume of incrementally better products that only recently have pulled themselves out of mediocrity.

    Keeping one ear to the Android tablet space, it appears to be a repeat of the same. Google still hasn't endorsed these tablets for use with their App Market, and if Engadget's impressions are to be believed, the majority of them are crap. That will surely change, but not before the PalmPad come's to market.

    So here we are, gearing up for a repeat of 2009; only this time @Palm has had much better resources to support their efforts. I was truly hopeful that we'd see a tablet for the holiday season, but alas, it's not to be. Nonetheless, I'm incredibly optimistic about what Palm will show us, now that they don't have to make the compromises of a cash-strapped company who's trying to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace (and did so admirably, for an incredibly long time.)

    So in short, 32 competitors? Bring it.

  • http://twitter.com/rparvez @rparvez

    HP has a couple of things going for it coming into this competition.

    1) a vertically integrated (OS + hardware) product built with the Palm engineering bench & Rubenstein.

    2) the money to market and expand their webOS product line.

    webOS out of the gate was a significantly more refined offering than anything running Android at the time, despite Android's head start in the market. Palm didn't have the resources to bring it "up to scale." and were subsequently overrun by a high volume of incrementally better products that only recently have pulled themselves out of mediocrity.

    Keeping one ear to the Android tablet space, it appears to be a repeat of the same. Google still hasn't endorsed these tablets for use with their App Market, and if Engadget's impressions are to be believed, the majority of them are crap. That will surely change, but not before the PalmPad come's to market.

    So here we are, gearing up for a repeat of 2009; only this time @Palm has had much better resources to support their efforts. I was truly hopeful that we'd see a tablet for the holiday season, but alas, it's not to be. Nonetheless, I'm incredibly optimistic about what Palm will show us, now that they don't have to make the compromises of a cash-strapped company who's trying to run a marathon at a sprinter's pace (and did so admirably, for an incredibly long time.)

    So in short, 32 competitors? Bring it.

  • http://www.weddingmusicproject.com Brian Deyo

    I see this product similarly to otrc. It is like an iPad and even if it can't compete it is going to be a different kind of device that can keep the webOS software rolling. HP has a strong product in webOS and if they can market it right, it will shine through as the best OS. Simply including a gesture area will be one huge improvement over an iPad or anything Android has to offer. Swapping between apps quickly on android is a bear and I just can't imagine wedding planners or architects or anyone else working with clients trying to navigate through multiple screens on Android or iOS. A simple advance gesture swipe could take the wedding planner from her music list, to her website to check comments on a latest blog, to the wedding music guy, to the cake makers site, back to e-mail, and then on to a wedding song list for the reception. That kind of multitasking is possible from a technological standpoing on iOS, Android, and Windows, but non of them accomplish the true UI multitasking as well as webOS. It's like Alt-tab on the PC. It just works and works very quickly and there is nothing like it on the mobile space except webOS and cards with advanced gestures.

  • http://www.weddingmusicproject.com Brian Deyo

    I see this product similarly to otrc. It is like an iPad and even if it can't compete it is going to be a different kind of device that can keep the webOS software rolling. HP has a strong product in webOS and if they can market it right, it will shine through as the best OS. Simply including a gesture area will be one huge improvement over an iPad or anything Android has to offer. Swapping between apps quickly on android is a bear and I just can't imagine wedding planners or architects or anyone else working with clients trying to navigate through multiple screens on Android or iOS. A simple advance gesture swipe could take the wedding planner from her music list, to her website to check comments on a latest blog, to the wedding music guy, to the cake makers site, back to e-mail, and then on to a wedding song list for the reception. That kind of multitasking is possible from a technological standpoing on iOS, Android, and Windows, but non of them accomplish the true UI multitasking as well as webOS. It's like Alt-tab on the PC. It just works and works very quickly and there is nothing like it on the mobile space except webOS and cards with advanced gestures.

  • http://www.weddingmusicproject.com Brian Deyo

    I see this product similarly to otrc. It is like an iPad and even if it can't compete it is going to be a different kind of device that can keep the webOS software rolling. HP has a strong product in webOS and if they can market it right, it will shine through as the best OS. Simply including a gesture area will be one huge improvement over an iPad or anything Android has to offer. Swapping between apps quickly on android is a bear and I just can't imagine wedding planners or architects or anyone else working with clients trying to navigate through multiple screens on Android or iOS. A simple advance gesture swipe could take the wedding planner from her music list, to her website to check comments on a latest blog, to the wedding music guy, to the cake makers site, back to e-mail, and then on to a wedding song list for the reception. That kind of multitasking is possible from a technological standpoing on iOS, Android, and Windows, but non of them accomplish the true UI multitasking as well as webOS. It's like Alt-tab on the PC. It just works and works very quickly and there is nothing like it on the mobile space except webOS and cards with advanced gestures.

  • Joshua K

    WebOS and Android are both Linux based platforms. Saying “4 Will be Linux” is pretty stupid.

  • Joshua K

    WebOS and Android are both Linux based platforms. Saying “4 Will be Linux” is pretty stupid.

  • Joshua K

    WebOS and Android are both Linux based platforms. Saying “4 Will be Linux” is pretty stupid.

  • Joshua K

    WebOS and Android are both Linux based platforms. Saying “4 Will be Linux” is pretty stupid.

  • teckiegirl

    wouldn't it be great if there was a integrated touchstone on the tablet for your pre no matter what model? :)

  • teckiegirl

    wouldn't it be great if there was a integrated touchstone on the tablet for your pre no matter what model? :)