So, after purchasing the only OS that might be a credible end-user tablet experience as an alternative to Apple’s iPad (sorry, Android.  I leave my hatred of you for another post), HP decided to dump their WebOS hardware and basically implode.  With that, the TouchPad tablet became a $99 portable web browser and I became interested in toying with it.

 

Strike One:

The first observation was a pretty basic one:  This is not an iPad.  I’m trying to keep an open mind about things and at least TRY the brussel sprouts of tablet devices, but when the first thing you have to do out of the box is update the system so it doesn’t lag to the point of rage that’s a BAD USER EXPERIENCE.  After the system update most of my complaints were resolved but still there was a noticeable lag.  I tried to brush it off with “Well, it’s $99″, but they were selling this for FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.  You would think it would handle itself with the speed of an iPad for that price point.  Strike one, HP.

 

After a week of using the TouchPad I became so annoyed by the lag that I looked to the Internet for help.  Oh yeah, HP turns on detailed logging by default!  Cleaned that up and STILL lag.  Ultimately I had to go through a process of jail breaking the tablet and over clocking the processor to not have to wait 30-60 seconds for my email app to load.

 

Strike Two:

I installed a few apps and starting playing around with their App Catalog.  While the curated monthly Pivot magazine at the opening of the app store is a pleasant and unique idea, the lack of decent apps was irritating.  Add to that the “pre-installed” Kindle and Facebook apps.  When you launch them it just takes you to the App Catalog to download the actual apps.  What’s the point?  That aside, I downloaded and started using several applications, but found lag, freeze ups and bugs in ALL OF THEM.  The Time Magazine app, one which not only requires a paid subscription but comes from what you would think is a reputable source, freezes about 1/3rd of the way through this week’s issue.  So….can I have $1.99 back?

 

We’re still waiting on Strike Three at the moment, but it’s terribly frustrating that Apple is the only company that knows how to create a computing device that answers the “now what?” question that an end user will have after they go through the setup process.  It’s not rocket science, people.  I bought an extra TouchPad solely for my mother-in-law to use for Skype so she can have a little portability with her webcam.  I don’t know how I’m going to get this to work nicely for her without having to HACK the sum’ bitch.

 

Bottom line, even at $99 you get what you pay for.