Not to be a downer but they are still running a phone OS (android 2.3.5) on a tablet, which already has an OS built to run on a tablet. Beyond the technical merits of it (getting it to boot something other than webOS) this seems like a step backwards. IMO, webOS is a superior OS to Android. And now that some of the WebOS guys have been picked up by Google android can only get better.
I'd be more impressed if they got Honeycomb running on the thing.
Anyway I have a Nook Color and some of the menus scroll like crap because of the S/W rendering at 1024x600. I can't imagine the situation getting any better with 1024x768 screen.
From what I read the easiest path to getting Android tablet versions to run (Gingerbread, ICS) is to start with the phone version of 2.3.5. It seems that all of the dev teams are taking this approach. Once they finish it will be running the tablet version but of course the alpha version with phone os and no touch support is a step backwards from WebOs.
WebOs is arguably better than Android. The huge advantage Android has is apps. I've had the Touchpad for a week and feel like I've already downloaded all of the quality games in the market - can you imagine how much fun I'll be having in a year?
I'd say the biggest reason for this is that Android is still being updated while webOS probably isn't going to change much in the future. So far webOS is my favourite tablet OS though.
+1. I really don't understand why there is so much effort to install non-tablet OSs on a tablet with a lauded tablet-optimized OS already installed....
There are loads of tablet-optimized applications available for Touchpad. They are differentiated from the non-tablet versions in the app store with the word "Touchpad" displayed clearly beside them. Furthermore, the developers themselves often append "HD" to the end of their existing application names to indicate that the "High Definition" version is designed to make use of the higher resolution on the tablet vs. the phones.
I have my Touchpad just two days, and already have tablet-optimised clients installed for Twitter, Facebook, Box.net, an excellent video 3rd party video player for divx, and a comic book reader for reading my .cbr files. Combined with an excellent e-mail client and a Webkit web browser, I'm covered for my media and web browser needs.
The only thing missing right now is document editing, but that is due in an OTA update from HP which they have promised to deliver shortly (let’s hope they stick to these promises in order to try to restore some confidence in this very shaken webOS community).
So frankly as an owner of both a pre3 and a Touchpad, the whole "but webOS does not have enough apps" argument just does not ring true for me. If I want to do real work, I’ll fire up my PC. But as a web and media tablet, the Touchpad has me covered and then some.
Just because you only use your tablet for media and web browsing doesn't mean that everyone does. I like to play games on mine and the game market is embarrassingly small and will not be growing due to the discontinuation of the Touchpad. The cool thing about Android/iOS is that you can find an app for literally anything. I don't feel that way when browsing the HP market.
I love to play games too, but on my PC. I like the accuracy of a mouse and the freedom of a keyboard that I can map actions to. The thoughts of playing games with a touch screen and accelerometer is horrifying for me (at least for the games I'm interested in playing), but as you say some people are interested in this, but some people (like me) are not.
Even ignoring the small gaming catageory the market is still incomplete. As I stated before, being unable to find an app doesn't even cross my mind on Android or iOS. One of the first things I searched for was a Spotify client which doesn't exist. What amplifies this is that WebOS is (basically) dead and app devs have moved elsewhere. What happens in 2 years APIS change? How many of the existing WebOs apps will become nonfunctional?
> What amplifies this is that WebOS is (basically) dead and app devs have moved elsewhere. What happens in 2 years APIS change? How many of the existing WebOs apps will become nonfunctional?
Actually, webOS app devs are reporting increased sales due to the massive increase in webOS devices out there, due to the firesale. With regard to the long-term future and your point about APIs changing that webOS is using, I have thought about this and three things give me hope for the platform:
1. HP have stated publically that they will continue to develop webOS and the app store.
2. HP are looking for a hardware partner, and rumours are already emerging that Samsung may be that partner (webOS + Samsung hardare = win for me).
3. There are now hundreds of thousands of webOS devices out there now since the firesale. The majority of those new users are not going to install a replacement for webOS, lets be honest most people are not that technical. This new market that HP has created with the firesale will be nice to sell into for app devs and hardware makers alike.
When I'm looking for a replacement for my Pre3 and Touchpad in 1-2 years, I'm going to look at webOS devices first because that is where my cloud profile and app purchases live. If I have to jump ship to another platform because webOS really does die in the next 1-2 years, then that is a small risk that I am happy to take, especially if the initial investment for a 10" is only a hundred bucks.
is the essence of what you are saying. I thought it was silly to play on a tablet but then a friend showed me games like Fruit Ninja. And then we sat opposite eachother and played what I would call "modern boardgames" on it, silly arcade stuff, turn based strategy, etc. It was a revelation.
not trolling but I don't see how webos a tablet os is different from android 2.3. The launchers (depending on which one you install with android ) serve the same purpose displaying your apps but on android you can at least use your home screens and customize.
edit:asking a legit question, from a user experience pov.. tablet optimized os, in this case webos works in the same way as Android 2.3. What makes webos specifically tablet optimized. Just asking for clarification if he means the stock apps are optimized for tablet, the only ones making any difference would be email and calendar. On webos non tablet optimized apps show up as cards in the middle of the screen ( Pandora), its terrible.. where as on Android at least they will stretch.
You raise a good point but what most people don't realize is that tablets and phone use is completely orthogonal. You can run a phone application on a tablet but this would be the least optimal solution.
Phones give you one view and only that view. You open an application and get a list, you click an item in the list and you get the details, you click on an item in the details and you are taken to a completely different window. Need to change a preference? Click a link and you are presented with a list of preferences. Your application is no longer there (it is, but you can't see it).
A real tablet application can give you multiple views, you aren't booted from that view to change the preference. And in the case of Android those views are SW-rendered. Scrolling a very long list skips and stutters as more information needs to be loaded into framebuffer.
Stretching is just a hack, instead of being more informative its the same 480x320 information blown up to scale.
Not necessarily. Plenty of Android apps are written with flexible layouts, so they aren't stretched. They may not give you more views than the phone version, but they can still use the larger screen to display more information. One simple example of this is Firefox (which hasn't really started on their tablet version yet), but there are others.
Its been a week since the firestorm, getting CM7 working this fast is already impressive enough. I have no doubts Honeycomb will be soon.
I don't see any difference with running Android 2.3 vs webos. I find webos inferior in browsing experience, apps, localization, customization and ability in general. Webos is slick and polished, but not even close to what Android can do. I'm very much looking forward to getting Android on my tablet.
> Its been a week since the firestorm, getting CM7 working this fast is already impressive enough. I have no doubts Honeycomb will be soon.
Unfortunately Not. Honeycomb is closed source (aside if the kernel) and only available to a few OEMs.
Google maintains that it's just not ready for public release, but that was nearly a year ago now, so I wouldn't be surprised if Gingerbread was the last public release. Even more so with the recent purchase of Motorola.
(though I'd love to be proven wrong by Google of course)
Google claims that they're release the source for Ice Cream Sandwich (due before the end of the year), so we'll know one way or another soon enough.
That being said, I think Google is probably right about Honeycomb not being ready for public release. In particular, the amount of trouble they've had modifying Honeycomb to handle 7-inch tablets (and based on the reviews of the Acer Iconia A100 they've failed so far - last I heard Kindle doesn't work!) is a pretty serious indictment of Honeycomb. Especially when you consider that pre-Honeycomb, Android didn't have any trouble handling screen sizes that differed by a similar margin (consider a 4.3 or 4.5" flagship handset vs a small phone or Blackberry-style form factor).
It's running Honeycomb SDK parts on a Gingerbread kernel (since the HC device drivers haven't been opensourced). We'll call it FrankenComb.
It's not a great position to be in. As a Nook owner I take Google's "open" stance with a serious grain of salt. It's a bit like Animal Farm, it's open, but some parts are more open then others, you just have to be a certain animal to get it. It's for your own good.
really impressive and fast work! for me, however, I would like to see an implementation of Dalvik VM as a "card" similar to how they've managed to boot Ubuntu/LXDE as a "card". That way, we could retain the best of both worlds - webOS + android apps. This would be akin to the Alien Dalvik project on the Nokia stuff. Does anyone know what it would take to port Dalvik over? It must be possible, but this is outside of my area of knowledge.
Does CM7 make for a good tablet OS? Like half of the internet, I have a TP order in limbo, but this gives some promise in case support is lost for webOS.
I have a Touchpad and a Pre3, and I have to say I love them both. When you get your Touchpad, please give webOS a go as it is a fanastic platform, you may find yourself wanted to keep it and hoping that HP keep it alive (like the rest of us long-suffering webOS fans). It also has lots of tablet-optimised applications, all you could need really.
I have to say I'm really digging the Touchpad for web browsing, which is primarily would I would want a tablet for. I can see some people needing more applications, but this is fine for me.
That said, is there a way to get Gmail working through the web browser? Because I'll be sharing the Touchpad with someone else I don't want my credentials in the email app.
I'd be more impressed if they got Honeycomb running on the thing.
Anyway I have a Nook Color and some of the menus scroll like crap because of the S/W rendering at 1024x600. I can't imagine the situation getting any better with 1024x768 screen.