HP to revive the TouchPad as a Windows 8 tablet

**rocky272727** · 10-23-2011, 09:06 PM

Takeaway: The HP TouchPad’s enduring legacy may be how many times it returned from the dead. Here’s the latest report of its revival.
ad may have yet another life. Hewlett-Packard is testing Windows 8 on TouchPad hardware, according to broadcast journalist Clayton Morris.
Here’s what Morris reported

Sources at HP tell me the hardware team has been busy doing proof of concept work testing Windows 8 Preview Edition on the fire sale devices. Internally there’s been discussion about reviving the defunct tablets or building new devices with Windows 8 in mind… Layoff notices are also on hold as HP assesses former CEO Leo Apotheker’s decision to shutdown the PC division. Part of that assessment includes WebOS. Sources on the WebOS team tell me that HP is actively meeting with a number of interested buyers including HTC, LG, Nikon, and Amazon.

Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad offered a lot to like as a productivity device for business users, as I noted in my review in June, but sluggish sales led HP to quickly pull the plug on it in August. However, a price drop to $99 caused the TouchPad to become a runaway hit, as buyers couldn’t get enough of them in the fire sale.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that HP would be considering a re-entry into the Windows tablet market, if it stays in the PC hardware business. The company was Microsoft’s top partner during the Tablet PC era before it bought Palm and tried to go it alone in the tablet market.

As interesting as Windows 8 is starting to look as a tablet OS, I can’t say that I’m that excited about the idea of Win8 running on the TouchPad hardware. The hardware itself was nothing special. In fact, it was the biggest thing holding back the TouchPad. The WebOS software with its elegant multitasking was what I was really impressed with. In fact, the WebOS on iPad hardware — with a robust app catalog — would probably be my ideal tablet.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hin...-8-tablet/9575

Thought should share it

**marketpantry** · 10-23-2011, 10:27 PM

i already read that.. its speculation at this point, but it would make sense that if they didnt use the TP that its only a slightly different design.

**gadgetBOY** · 10-23-2011, 10:47 PM

thats retarded, i think at this point its better to just continue with the TouchPad. These idiots are going to invest in another OS when they clearly have no ambition to try harder to make it work.

**mistermojorizin** · 10-23-2011, 10:47 PM

wait, does that mean we'll be able to get windows 8 on the touchpad? that would be so awsome! windows is the only OS you need!

**drewcum** · 10-23-2011, 11:20 PM

"Can't it be both?" - Doctor on Family Guy

I like having an App catalog on WebOS with so many apps and games that I don't even have on my main Windows computer (even if it's somewhat limited). If Win8 has an App catalog then that would make a more even playing field, but because Apps are not centralized with Windows, I would miss that if I only could run Windows by itself. A dual boot feature (or triple boot with Android) would be awesome so we can have the best of both worlds. It would be even better to get IOS to work on top of that, but hey you cannot have everything, right?

**marketpantry** · 10-24-2011, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by gadgetBOY

thats retarded, i think at this point its better to just continue with the TouchPad. These idiots are going to invest in another OS when they clearly have no ambition to try harder to make it work.

They might have been paid off by microsoft.

**marketpantry** · 10-24-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by mistermojorizin

wait, does that mean we'll be able to get windows 8 on the touchpad? that would be so awsome! windows is the only OS you need!

I dont like the look of it. microsoft should just buy webos and stick to windows oses for regular pcs.

**CaptainFabulous** · 10-24-2011, 01:16 PM

I don't really see the point of Windows 8 on an ARM platform since you won't be able to run x86 Windows programs. So we'd be going from one under-developed OS to another. And who wants to have to re-buy ARM versions of all their favorite Windows programs, provided they'll even be developed? By the time (if ever that is) the Windows 8 ARM-based marketplace is as developed as iOS or Android the TP will be ancient history.

**ciscomoto** · 10-24-2011, 06:50 PM

If HP are going to dump WebOS then the TP needs something going forward for security updates etc.

Despite the fact that I have a bit of respect now for the platform since the last release (even with the gaming issues it created) it still had a long way to go to get anywhere near iOS or even Android in terms of stability, apps and future development prospects.

If the choices are going to be W8 or the jolly green robot then you have only those options, WebOS seems to have no suitors and no future :-(

ciscomoto

**sirron** · 10-24-2011, 08:06 PM

webos was a stable platform until the new update, im sure the dev that got canned had something to do with this

**Beta-guy** · 10-25-2011, 11:42 PM

HP should put Android on the Touchpad, it'd be minimal effort for HP, just compile the latest source and port it over every 6 months or so... I doubt Google would mind having yet another tablet running their OS...

**®®®** · 10-26-2011, 03:41 PM

Sounds like a real mess over at HP. Dump them all, plan to dump the rest to public, change mind, dump rest to retail and orders that were said to be cancelled, have another run to fill backorders at firesale prices (dumb business move), now possible talk of a revival with a completely different OS? How much did they lose on the hardware dump? Maybe they should have figured out what they could do with them before they dumped them... idiots.

**ciscomoto** · 10-26-2011, 03:55 PM

Maybe they should have built a hardware product that was ready for market too, but being HP they would rather shout loud and long about how much better their product is than anyone else's instead of just making a quality product that spoke for itself.

ciscomoto

**bob2468** · 10-28-2011, 04:04 PM

HP should allow the customers who bought their HP Touchpad to get a free update to windows 8 if they want to. Windows 8 looks great and everything, but I personally think that webOS is still pretty amazing.