HP (re)enters the smartphone and tablet market

HP launches a new tablet and two new smartphones all running WebOS

Hewlett Packard (HP) have had phones for a long time, trouble was they were all Windows phones and while the iPaqs were good phones they didn’t sell too well, apart from on Expansys. They also didn’t have too much luck with tablets either, the Slate tablet PC can also be found on the Expansys site.

So when they bought smartphone pioneers Palm’s WebOS platform big things were expected. So after what seems like the longest gestation period ever they’ve finally announced the first devices.

HP have announced three products powered by the webOS platform; two smartphones and a tablet.

The long-anticipated tablet the TouchPad pictured top has a 9.7-inch screen, making it closer in size to Apple’s iPad than Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy Tab. It’s powered by a dual-CPU 1.2GHz Qualcomm processor.

The smartphones announced the Pre3 (right) and the Veer. The Pre3 is a successor to the existing Pre device line and includes a 3.6-inch touch-screen, 1.4GHz processor, and a slide-out QWERTY keypad. This is joined at the low-end by Veer, described as “the smallest webOS phone to date,” which includes a 2.6-inch touchscreen, 800MHz processor and slide out keypad.

The exact pricing and availability will be announced at a later date, although the Veer is set to reach the market first, with Pre3 and TouchPad following in the summer.

Was it worth waiting for? Is the webOS a sensible gamble? wouldn’t they have been better off with Android like everyone else? These are all questions we want to ask. What do you think?
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