As the tablet wars continue and enterprises try to find an option to replace the iPad has led to the latest review of the HP TouchPad in the the healthcare setting. The excitement surrounding TouchPad was based upon the OS features and the fact that it was being touted as business productivity tool.
External Hardware
Screen
The TouchPad supports 9.7 inch Diagonal LED Backlit multi-touch display with an XGA (1024 x 768). While the responsiveness of the screen was better than its predecessor the Sltate, the TouchPad screen is inconsistent in its response to touch which makes for a frustrating experience. The scrolling through screens was the one consistent item when interacting with the TouchPad.
Internal Hardware
Processor
The TouchPad comes with a 1.2Ghz Snapdragon dual core processor which should be more than enough horsepower for a tablet. However, when using the tablet to do basic tasks (web surfing, email, twitter, etc) the TouchPad was slow to respond to requests.
Wireless/Cellular Connectivity
The TouchPad comes with a wireless NIC with integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n which should be well excepted by most network administrators as it allows them to better manage the devices access to enterprise resources. The downside for connectivity is that the device does not come with a cellular card thus it is limiting to those individuals who are rode warriors where wireless isn't always available.
Operating System
The TouchPad is base upon the WebOS which has been revered as the one OS that is a true competitor to iOS. The multitasking and gestures is by far the best feature of the TouchPad and operates flawlessly during testing. The one surprising issue with WebOS is the crispness of the graphics of icons and applications. It has to be assume that this is a short coming of the OS since the video hardware is as good as the original iPad but has a far worse graphical presentation.
Applications
One of the basic requirements for new challengers to the iPad is to ensure that there are enough applications available for the buyer. The TouchPad is suffering the same fate as other tablet platforms in that there are not a lot of applications in general and very little for the Healthcare market. What is surprising, is that one of the main mediums for accessing enterprise applications, no matter the industry, is Citrix and there is not a client available for the TouchPad although it was supposed to be available at launch.
Conclusion
While the TouchPad has some nice features and in most cases is better than some Android tablets, it is not ready to be a replacement for the iPad in the Healthcare environment.