HP Palm tablet specs outed
iPad meets WebOS
It was bound to happen: the upcoming Palm tablet's specifications have leaked out of HP.
And, WebOS and inductive charging aside - and both of these are Palm smartphone standards - it's unexceptional stuff considering what all the other tablet makers are going to offer. The specs were leaked to Pre Central.
The CPU is a 1.2GHz ARM-based boy from Qualcomm, though it is dual core. The tablet's screen is an iPad-like 9.7in, 1024 x 768 IPS (In-Plane Switching) LCD, the touch-sensitive layer capacitive. It has an "EZ-clean" coating.
The tablet - believed to be codenamed 'Topaz' - has 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n Wi-Fi, plus Bluetooth. There's a full-size Sim slot for the version with HSPA 3G connectivity - which also has GPS.
Memory: 512MB of DDR 2. Storage: 16-64GB of Flash, no memory card expansion. The only ports are a 3.5mm headphone socket and a mini USB. The audio system carries the trendy Beats brand.
Unlike the Apple tablet, there's a 1.3Mp front-facing webcam. There isn't one on the back but, realistically, who's going to use a tablet as a camera when they're out and about?
The gadget measures 240 x 190 x 14mm and weighs 700g. It sports an "upscale design with tapered edge", chirps the leaked blurb.
Topaz's 24Wh hour battery is good for at least eight hours' runtime, it claims.
HP is expected to announce the tablet on 9 February. ®
COMMENTS
screen ratios
I hate widescreen laptops, and I Say that as I type on one.
I used to have a 4:3 screen with 1600x1050 resolutipon, now I'm on 1600x800, and the big diff is that the office toolbar takes up the top third of the screen, not the quarter. What makes a good format for cinema at home isn't ideal for coding or working on text documents, and the fact that apps like office have UIs that suck on widescreens makes things worse
Re: aspect ratio...
I don't know about other people, but I use the tablet a lot for viewing PDFs/Word docs, dare I say eBooks... (things that mimic paper) and 4:3 gets you a LOT closer to an A4 or Letter paper experience than 16:9.
Sure I sometimes watch a Film if I'm on a flight or whatever, but its hardly my main movie viewing screen...
I want this to succeed
... but I too think it's too little too late. A bit of competition will always help.
Although, if it's for browsing and reading, then almost any network connected device will do.
However, I do agree that A4 (1.4:1) or 4:3 ( 1.33:1) is a better tablet ratio.
Your movie can be at the top of the device, allowing space for the control bar, or another widget at the bottom.
I like taking 16:9 pictures using my Desire, but portrait 9:16 look a bit silly, unless its for the Eiffel tower or the El Reg pillar box!
Widescreen on tablets
They have their own problems. In landscape orientation they offer just a slit to squint through and in portrait orientation they're easily too narrow. The good old 4:3 is actually perfect for tablets (and smartphones).
Cameras on the back...
Those aren't useful for shooting photos. They're very useful though when you're doing video telephony and want to show something without turning the thing around (and then not seeing anymore where the camera is actually pointing at).
Right now people are buying heaps of cheap iPod touches just to use them as home video phones with skype. Offering a tablet with no camera on the back is just plain stupid and shows that whoever designed that thing has not the slightest idea what people actually want to do with tablets, really.
