touchpad

Few things surprise us more than when laptop shoppers tell us that though they are planning to keep their new computer permanently chained to a desk (to essentially act as a desktop PC), they intend to buy a 13-inch (or even a 14- or 15-inch) laptop. If you're removing portability from the equation completely, there's little reason to ignore one of the most fun categories of laptops: the massive 18-inch desktop replacement.

These huge systems cross our door rarely--it's certainly a niche category--but the latest to do so has a potentially very clever gimmick. The $1,599 Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G (yes, it has at least three names, plus a model number) includes a touch pad that pops right out from the laptop chassis and can be used as a portable remote control.

Read the full review of the Acer Aspire Ethos 8951. … Read more

Tablets are generally expected to be "thin and light" small computers with unobtrusive interfaces. Some tablets are thinner and lighter than others, however.

While we've praised tablets like the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1 for their sleekness, and dinged the HP TouchPad for being too bulky, the Thrive poses an interesting question. Is a bulky tablet inherently a bad thing or can a tablet justify its extra mass?

In an attempt to answer that question I take a long hard look at the Thrive, including its full ports, swappable battery, and removable back panel. I … Read more

Hewlett-Packard is banking that its newly named WebOS chief, Stephen DeWitt, can tap into his start-up roots as he goes after the likes of Apple and Google with the company's fledgling mobile-device business.

DeWitt, who was named to his new position yesterday, will be busy with more than just the "official launch" of WebOS on July 17. He will also be responsible for convincing consumers that its TouchPad tablet is worth a look and that developers should start creating applications for his platform.

"There are a lot of priorities," he said in an interview with … Read more

Today, HP announced its intention to bring a 4G-compatible version of the HP TouchPad tablet to AT&T.

Exact timing and pricing have yet to be determined, but HP was nice enough to tease some of the tablet's specs. Aside from being blessed with 4G networking, the TouchPad 4G will use a beefed-up 1.5GHz processor, and have 32GB of storage and integrated GPS.

HP's competition in the current 4G tablet space includes the HTC EVO View 4G, the T-Mobile/LG G-Slate, and the (hypothetically 4G) Motorola Xoom. Manufacturers have also announced intentions to build 4G versions … Read more

Now, we could have taken the obvious route with our latest tablet Prizefight. The HP TouchPad is the new tablet kid on the block and of course the "on the nose" comparison would be the iPad 2. Less on the nose, but almost as obvious would pit the TouchPad against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Boring, boring, boring! (Incidentally, typing the word "boring" three times in a row doesn't preclude us from making the two aforementioned theoretical comparisons in the future.)

The tablet market is growing beyond Google or Apple-based devices, so we thought … Read more

Apple and Google like to boast about the size of their respective app stores as a measure of their popularity among developers, and by extension, customers. Hewlett-Packard is about to make a big push into that same market and does not have the ability to compete in that area. So rather than the size of its app store, HP is banking on the size and reach of the company to convince developers to climb aboard their WebOS ship.

When the HP TouchPad goes on sale Friday, the company says its first tablet will have between 300 and 400 native tablet … Read more

On the eve of the launch of its TouchPad, Hewlett-Packard is signaling that it's ready to stir things up in the mobile-OS business.

Today, CEO Leo Apotheker told Bloomberg that HP has had discussions about licensing WebOS.

"We are talking to a number of companies," Apotheker said. "I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations."

Bloomberg says it's heard from unidentified sources that Samsung is one of those companies, but a Samsung spokesman denied that. HP did not elaborate on who potential partners could be.

HP has revamped the WebOS operating system it bought with Palm almost exactly a year ago and made it ready for tablets. Apotheker's comments today expand on earlier statements that he would entertain the idea of licensing WebOS to other players in the mobile-devices business. … Read more

The Green Lantern's Power Ring it ain't, but a ring containing MicroPointing's touchpad is something Q might give 007. With a sensor control area of one square millimeter, the touchpad can easily be embedded in a ring.

Israeli start-up MicroPointing plans to offer the touchpad for embedding in all manner of devices large and small, including smartphones, Netbooks, remote controls, game controls, cameras, steering wheels--anywhere you might want to let your finger do some scrolling.

The touchpad could be on handsets starting in the fourth quarter of next year, according to Avi Rosenzweig, MicroPointing's vice president of business development.

The MicroPointing touchpad works by detecting the force your fingertip produces as it drags across the tiny device's three sensors, according to the company's patent application. The sensors are mounted on tiny posts spaced a few tenths of a millimeter apart--less than the size of a ridge on your fingertip.

The sensors pick up sideways force as your fingertip moves parallel to the touchpad's surface. The company's secret sauce is an algorithm that can pull detailed data from just three sensors, Rosenzweig said.… Read more

When Hewlett-Packard's WebOS tablet debuts next week it won't have nearly the number of apps as its competitors. But the company thinks it can use that to its advantage. That's where WebOS Pivot comes in.

HP introduced the feature of its HP App Catalog today for the first time. Pivot is essentially a magazine, published every month, with its app store. It will highlight featured applications, interesting developers, and popular apps.

Pivot will have articles and photos from "journalists and photographers affiliated with leading publications," and guest columns from "notable" writers, according to the company's release. All of the content will be about, you guessed it, apps. The content will be tailored by geographic region where HP devices are available and published in English, French, German, and Spanish.

Several questions probably pop to mind. Like, what does HP know about content publishing? But even more importantly, why go through all the trouble with a monthly publication for apps? … Read more