PreCentral: Phoenix ACL for TouchPad passes $35,000 Kickstarter goal with 10 days to spare
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By pivotCE
I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say there are more HP TouchPads left in the world than there are their matching original barrel chargers. This means if you have a TouchPad today, you’re probably using a TouchStone, a computer, or any other random USB A charging brick to (very slowly) charge your 13 year old device. And it means you’ve seen the error message in the image above every time you’ve plugged it into anything other than the original barrel charger or a computer. Fun fact, you can trick the TouchPad into charging normally and not feeding you the message by creating your own custom micro USB or USB C cable if you’ve
link hidden, please login to view. Stuff You’ll Need
Assuming you have a micro USB (ie. non USB C modified TouchPad) you’ll need:
1. A 4-wire micro USB to USB A cable
2. and 1/4 watt resistors (1 each per cable)
3. Soldering iron and solder
4. Heat shrink or electrical tape
If you’re making a USB C cable but only want to use it with a USB A charger then you’ll need:
1. A 4 wire USB C to USB A cable
2. Items 2-4 above
If you’re making a true USB C to USB C cable that you plan to use with a USB C 3.1 charger you’ll need:
1.
2.
3. Any 2-wire cable or a 4-wire cable that you’ll cut the data wires out of (green and white typically) and that you’ll cut the ends from
4. Items 2-4 from the first section above
Prepare the Wires
Regardless of which cable you’re making, the end that goes to the TouchPad will need all 4 wires and the resistors. So grab the 4-wire cable of your choice and strip the ends, and I recommend pre-tinning them with some solder.
Build the TouchPad Side of the Cable
See the image below for how to arrange the resistors. If you’re making a USB A cable, go ahead and cut into two pieces, set aside the USB A side, and grab the micro or USB C for this part.. It doesn’t matter how far away from either end you go, it’s your choice. Strip the wires back so you have enough bare wire to work with.
1. Solder the ground (black) wire to one side of the 300k resistor.
2. Solder data- (green), data+ (white), the other side of the 300k resistor and one side of the 250k resistor together.
3. Then solder the other end of the 250k resistor to the red (power) wire.
Build the Charger Side of the Cable
If you’re making a USB A cable, then all you have left to do is reconnect power (red) and ground (black) to their corresponding colors on the TouchPad side of the cable, trim off the data lines from the USB A side, clean it all up with some heat shrink or electrical tape and you’re done!
If you’re making a USB C to USB C cable grab the USB C board I linked above and your 2-wire cable (or 4-wire that you’ve trimmed the data lines from). You’ll also have to cut the end off to make room for the new connector.
1. Pre-tin the board on the two outside pads marked as VCC and Gnd in the image below.
2. Solder on the red (power) wire to VCC and then black (ground) to Gnd. If you bought the housing and boards together, don’t forget to the housing on the wire before you start soldering. You also may need some super glue to keep the plastic housing from coming apart.
3. Back at the TouchPad side of the wire, take the other end of your 2-wire cable and attach red and black to their corresponding ends, clean it up with some heat shrink or electrical tape and you’re done!
Final Thoughts
You should now be able to use any charger you want to and the TouchPad will believe you’re plugged into a normal battery charger and will allow the normal charge rate flow through.
Note, you’ve effectively removed the ability to use this cable for Data since the data lines are no longer connected.
Also, for those who modded the TouchPad with USB C, the port already has 5.1k resistance but cannot communicate that to a USB C 3.1 charger with the added resistance on the data lines. This is why the TouchPad end of the USB C cable must be a “dumb” 4-wire USB C cable and the charger end needs the 5.1k resistance to tell the charger on that end to send power. This also means that you must remember which end is which, but don’t worry. Picking the wrong direction won’t hurt anything as the USB C charger won’t allow power since the wire doesn’t tell it to. I marked the TouchPad side of the USB C cable with a dab of orange paint pen.
Finally, I hope you found this helpful or at the very least entertaining! I had fun exploring the different ways of making this work and so feel free to give it a watch.
#webos4ever
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By pivotCE
Well, it’s 2024 and technology continues to advance. The TouchPad isn’t new by any means, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be slightly modernized to be more convenient today. Specifically, it is entirely possible to convert the TouchPad’s Micro USB port to USB C for charging and USB storage access. I’ll show you how.
This is a tough mod which requires micro-soldering and modifying a PCB which you will have a hard time sourcing a replacement for without buying another TouchPad. Proceed at your own peril.
Tools for the Job
To do this mod you’ll need a few things for tools and parts. Here’s a list of what I used:
– Needle nose pliers/tweezers
– USB C boards with 5.1k resistors
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– Soldering iron, solder, flux and a hot air station
– Flush cuts
– Dremel with cutting or sanding wheel
– 28 AWG wire or smaller. 30 AWG is pretty good but any wire around 0.25mm to 0.5mm should work.
– Small file and screwdriver set
– Painter’s and kapton tape
– Metal spudger Disassemble the TouchPad
This is where you’re going to want to get that metal spudger out and be very careful not to snap clips. I can’t explain it better than iFixit already did so go check out their and then come back here.
Modify the USB Connector Board by Removing the Micro Port
There are a few ways to remove the Micro USB port. I added a bunch of flux and coated all the connectors in fresh leaded solder and then used a hot air station set to 800 degrees while wiggling the port very slightly with needle nose pliers. You don’t have to be particularly careful here so if you want to cut the port off with the dremel or the flush cuts or just rip it off with the pliers, (I don’t recommend it but…) that’s fine. We’re not using the pads it’s soldered to anyway. You should STILL be careful not to crack the board. Go slow. Be patient.
Trim the USB C Board
We need to expose the USB C port a bit on this board so let’s cut it down. Grab the painter’s tape and flip the USB C board upside down. You’ll see a small trace between the front and rear anchor points on the right side, which we don’t want to cut. Mark the tape just on the other side of that trace like I did. Dremel along the tape line until you get to the port. You can then use needle nose pliers, a flat file, and/or flush cuts to remove the rest of the board from the bottom of the port.
Prepare the USB Connector Board for the USB C Port
We need to slide the port into the old space so grab the painter’s tape again and mark off the area I marked to make room for the USB C port. You can place the port up to it like I did and use that as a guide. Grab your dremel again or a similar tool and cut out what you marked off. When you’re done, the USB C port should slide easily into the groove. It will fit tighter when we add the kapton tape in a later step.
Make Room in the TouchPad for the Added Thickness of the USB C Board
The USB C board will sit underneath the USB connector board so we have to make room by trimming away the plastic underneath. For this you’ll need to use flush cuts or any other tool you have to chip away. You could use the dremel for this if you’d like. Be careful to not go beyond the first inner layer. Beyond that is the outer shell of the TouchPad. There’s no real method here, just cut out the screw posts and chip away. Use the pictures below as a guide.
Cut the USB C Hole from the Old Micro USB Hole
To open the micro USB hole enough to fit the USB C port, take a rounded file to the left and right of both sides and just file a little bit at at time. Use a small flat file to widen the top and bottom of the port. This process is just trial and error. File a little and then grab the USB C board to test. The port will need to fit inside the hole a bit so you can push it through from the outside to test the hole size if that’s easier. Note: the USB C board will likely not rest on the bottom of the TouchPad and will float a little. This is good because it makes room for your wires and a little kapton tape underneath.
Tape the USB C Board
Since we hacked away at the USB connector board it’s possible we’ve provided the perfect environment for creating shorts! Oh no! So get out the kapton tape because we’re going to add a layer on both sides. You’ll see how I did it on one side below. Do it on both sides. You’ll also notice how I did not cover those two small square contacts just at the bottom of the tape. That’s because we need them.
Where To Get Power and Data
You’ll see the diagrams below which I’ve marked with VBUS (power), data in, data out, and ground. Obviously the old port is gone and most if its pads, but I wanted to show that both sides of the board have the connections. You could possibly do this mod differently, and if you so choose, hopefully these help.
A quick note: this mod can be done with a 4-pin USB C port. That would give you power and data just like with the USB C board I’m using in this guide, however, a 4-pin USB C board will not charge with a USB C charger (ie USB 3.1). The board I’m using in this guide provides the ability to use any charger because it comes pre-built with 5.1k resistors wired to CC1 and CC2 to ground. This is the trick that tells the USB C chargers to send power to the device.
Solder the USB C Board into the USB Connector Board
This isn’t a “how to solder tutorial” so hit up youtube and find a good tutorial that works for you. In general though, use flux, pre-tin the VBUS, Ground, D-, and D+ pads on the USB C board as well as the points on the bottom of the USB connector board.
Now for the tricky part, I didn’t list it in the Tools section above, but it would really help to have magnification or a digital microscope for this. I have these things and I used both. You might have steadier hands and better eyes than me. The picture below was my first attempt of the three TouchPads I modded, and it’s not my best soldering work, but fundamentally, this is what yours should look like.
Put the Pieces Together
You can use a bit of kapton tape to secure the wires in place a bit more if you’d like but it’s not required. It won’t short since it’s only plastic underneath. This is all press fit into place, but if you’re uncomfortable with that, you can add a little hot glue under the board as you put it back into the TouchPad. You don’t have to put the metal shield back into place if you don’t want to. It’s all a pretty tightly fit and if you find the TouchPad screen isn’t as flush as you want, just leave the metal shield off. A little kapton tape right on top would be fine instead.
Congrats, You Now Have USB C
I did this mod on three TouchPads and each one works fine with any USB charger I could find, including USB C port having USB 3.1 chargers. I can also confirm the data connection works just like it should to connect via USB mode on PC. Sadly, this doesn’t do anything to stop webOS from telling you the charger you’re using isn’t the original TouchPad barrel charger, but you can make a custom cable to stop that which I’ll cover in a future article on pivotCE.
#webOS4ever
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By News Reporter
Company Outlines Direction and “Break Through Limits” Management Policy
During Press Conference in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10, 2024 — LG Electronics’ (LG) CEO William Cho and key company executives introduced the strategies LG is implementing to achieve its ‘Future Vision 2030’ goal, during a press conference held for Korean media in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on January 10.
The CEO began the proceedings by noting that LG had identified three major inflection points – electrification, servitization and digitalization – that will ultimately reshape business and the customer experience. The company aims to overcome challenges, such as persistent market and supply chain uncertainties, and accelerate growth by building a high-performance, results-oriented organization with a winning spirit.
“If 2023 was the year in which we set the direction for new changes, we will make 2024 the year in which we truly accelerate these changes,” said CEO Cho. “Future Vision 2030 is our promise to the market and to our customers, and we will strive as a company to deliver on this promise.”
Announced by the CEO last year, Future Vision 2030 is LG’s long-term goal to transform into ‘Smart Life Solution Company’ that can connect and expand the customer experience across various spaces, including home, commercial, mobility and virtual.
Strengthening Future Competitiveness Through Investment
CEO Cho set ‘Break through Limits’ as the key phrase for, and underlying philosophy of the company’s management policy in 2024. Having already established three focus areas for future growth – a non-hardware business model, B2B expansion and the development of new businesses – LG will now make an all-out effort to further refine its portfolio.
To start with, the company will maximize the potential of its future growth engines by expanding investment based on the strategic priorities of the business. This year, the company will more than double its level of investment; putting USD 8 billion* into R&D and other critical areas to strengthen competitiveness, moving forward.
High-growth and high-profit core businesses will also see larger investment in 2024. These include B2B businesses, such as vehicle components, HVAC, built-in appliances and digital signage, as well as the webOS platform business. LG will continue to invest in new businesses, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging and robotics, and has already announced plans to invest more than USD 40 billion* by 2030 to transform its portfolio for qualitative business growth.
Furthermore, beginning this year, LG will actively seek inorganic growth opportunities, such as mergers, acquisitions and partnerships, in addition to adopting strategies designed to invigorate its internal growth engines. Emphasis will also be placed on game-changing areas of technology that add customer value, such as AI and mixed reality (MR).
The CEO identified the newly established Overseas Sales and Marketing Company as a valuable asset for helping LG “break through limits.” Already playing an important role in LG’s global success, the new organization accounted for approximately two-thirds of the company’s total sales. The Overseas Sales and Marketing Company implements specialized strategies that take into consideration the unique characteristics of each region and market. Its efforts have maximized the performance of the business, worldwide, and have played a significant role in strengthening the capabilities and growth of LG’s international subsidiaries.
Achieving ‘Triple Seven’ Goals for Growth, Profit and Value
With platform-based service businesses, the B2B business and new businesses as its three, main growth engines, the company aims to reach its goal of ‘Triple Seven’: an average growth rate and operating profit of seven percent or more, as well as enterprise value that translates to an EBITDA ratio of seven.
Last year, despite a decline in market demand, the company performed impressively thanks to the growth of its B2B business. Over the past five years, the compound annual growth rate of LG’s B2B businesses has easily exceeded double digits, with the average annual growth rate of overall sales reaching around eight percent.
The Vehicle component Solutions (VS) Company has likewise emerged as a key business for LG, achieving annual sales of USD 8 billion* in its 10th year of existence. The global transition to EVs is expected to increase the demand for high-value EV parts, one of the VS Company’s core areas of expertise.
Based on the three pillars of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), e-powertrains and vehicular lamps, the VS Company is projected to enjoy continuous, rapid growth. From 2024, it will focus primarily on securing software-defined vehicle capabilities, expanding its EV parts customer-base, and strengthening its leadership in smart lamps. To respond to the increasing number of new orders, the company will invest in boosting production capacity in Central America, South America and Europe.
The HVAC business, another important part of LG’s B2B portfolio, is growing quickly in emerging markets such as Asia and Central and South America, while in advanced markets, including Europe and North America – where demand for high-efficiency, eco-friendly products is strong – it continues to uncover new opportunities.
LG’s HVAC business aims to leverage the competitiveness of its technologically advanced components, such as motors and compressors, to expand its product lineup. After establishing a consortium for advanced heat pump research in Alaska, U.S.A., last November, LG plans to build an R&D base in Europe this year. The company also intends to broaden its business with the introduction of differentiated air conditioning products, such as the Dedicated Outdoor Air System.
Recognizing that B2B companies are impacted less directly by the economy than B2C companies, LG is actively bolstering its B2B business as a means to maintain sales and profit stability. The company has announced plans for the expansion of its B2B businesses, and is seeking to raise sales volume to more than USD 32 billion* (double the current level) by 2030 through launching a variety of new, value-added solutions.
LG will also fast-track the evolution of its overall business model, entering non-hardware areas, such as content, services and subscriptions, to complement its existing product-centric home appliance and TV companies. Leveraging the hundreds of millions of LG products already in use around the world as ‘platforms,’ the company expects to generate continuous sales and profits.
In line with this shift in business direction, the Home Entertainment (HE) Company aims to become a media and entertainment platform company and accelerate the growth of its webOS platform business. The HE Company is rapidly reinforcing the foundations of its platform business by expanding the webOS ecosystem to include smart monitors, IVI systems, and other TV makers. LG expects the webOS platform business to become one of the most potential growth engines in the near future.
The Home Appliance and Air Solution (H&A) Company, whose success is playing a preeminent role in supporting LG’s organization-wide transformation, is also developing a smart home solution business that combines services and subscriptions. The H&A Company’s ultimate goal is to deliver on its ‘Zero Labor Home, Makes Quality Time’ vision, which goes beyond home appliances to make homelife smarter and more convenient than ever.
The subscription business, encompassing ‘daily’ services that augment LG’s home appliance products, has been growing at a fast pace in South Korea. The overseas expansion of the subscription business is underway, with strategic markets in Asia the first outside of Korea to experience its many benefits.
The percentage of LG’s total sales accounted for by its non-hardware businesses – such as the webOS platform-based content and service business, and the home appliance subscription business – has more than doubled over the past five years.
Additionally, LG will aggressively promote the commercialization of intangible assets, such as its standard essential patents in critical areas of technology including communications, media, mobility and IoT connectivity. And, during its recent reorganization, the company established new business entities to commercialize its know-how in the construction of smart factories.
Moreover, LG will secure growth opportunities offering high potential and a high degree of business synergy. As a prime example, the LG NOVA will increase its startup promotion fund to more than USD 100 million by the end of 2024, enabling the company to help discover new technologies and solutions to drive future innovation, and to lead new business segments.
LG’s recently created EV charging business is emerging as a comprehensive EV charging solutions provider, boasting advanced charging units and control solutions, remote diagnosis and servicing capabilities, as well as vehicle battery diagnosis and robust manufacturing and sales infrastructure. Entering the North American market, the company has completed the construction of a charger production line in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.
In the digital healthcare segment, the company is expanding its telemedicine business in cooperation with Amwell, and will also review the viability of offering services in areas such as prevention, diagnosis, post-management and recovery. In virtual reality, another promising business area, LG is preparing for the commercialization of MR devices. At the end of 2023, the company established an eXtended Reality business unit within the HE Company, and is continuing to collaborate on augmented reality solutions with various technology partners.
In addition, the company’s Chief Technology Office (CTO), which leads the development of future technologies, is conducting intensive R&D programs to strengthen business competitiveness and discover new core technologies. In particular, the CTO is focusing on eight areas of technology: software, system on chip, AI, robotics, materials and parts, standards, next-generation computing and cloud/data.
Accelerating DX Through Data-Driven Practices and Next-Gen ERP Investment
Through digital transformation (DX), LG will provide customers with F.U.N. – First, Unique and New – experiences, and further enhance its customer-centric management system.
The company is making large-scale IT investments to establish DX across the entire organization. On top of this, LG is building N-ERP, or Next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning, to seamlessly integrate and link the company’s business processes and systems. Intellytics Customer 360, a customer data platform that enables integrated management of data gathered from diverse customer contact points, will be rolled out globally from this year.
LG’s DX efforts extend beyond the innovation of the customer experience to the improvement of value chain efficiency; from purchasing and manufacturing to delivery and sales. Last year, by applying DX to each value chain, LG raised productivity and efficiency to the value of more than USD 240 million.*
Transforming Into a High-Performing Organization and Spreading ‘Life’s Good’ Values and Philosophy
When speaking with employees, CEO Cho often quotes noted American management scholar, Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The CEO truly believes that a strong organizational culture is essential to turning strategy into good performance.
During his ‘CEO F.U.N. Talk’ with employees last December, Mr. Cho outlined the company’s vision for 2024, which includes becoming a high-performing organization. He stated that, “To accomplish this, we need to intricately connect our mission, vision and goals, and have a relentless focus on execution.”
United under the brand promise of Life’s Good, a variety of integrated brand activities, spanning marketing, ESG and CSR, will be initiated starting this year. The company will spread the values and philosophy that underpin Life’s Good with the spirit of a brave optimist, while also infusing the brand with a youthful dynamism. A self-professed ‘brave optimist,’ LG is an innovator that daringly faces difficulties, believes in pursuing opportunities for improvement, even during tough times, and finds solutions by listening and paying attention to its customers and the market.
Visitors can experience LG’s latest innovations at its CES booth (#16008, Las Vegas Convention Center) from January 9-12. For more information on LG products unveiled at CES 2024, please view the
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* Exchange rate: KRW 1,250 per USD.
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By News Reporter
Use of Plastics Made From Post-Consumer Recycled Materials to Increase Tenfold by 2025
SEOUL, Sep. 9, 2021 — LG Electronics (LG) today announced its goal to use almost 600,000 tonnes of recycled plastic by 2030 in a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain. The goal is a part of LG’s larger initiative to create a take-back ecosystem for electronic waste and increase the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials in its consumer electronics and home appliance products.
In 2020, LG utilized approximately 20,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in its products which it plans to increase more than tenfold by 2025. While recycled plastic is currently used inside LG TVs, PC monitors, speakers, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, LG will expand the use of recycled plastic to the exterior of its products as well. In addition to utilizing more recycled plastic, LG is reducing the use of virgin plastic throughout its operations as well. This year, 18 OLED TV models will be produced using less virgin plastic, an increase from 14 models in 2020, for a reduction of up to 10,000 tonnes of plastic.
LG is also increasing the target amount of take-back electronic waste from its 2006 figure of 4.5 million tonnes to over 8 million tonnes by 2030 with 3.07 million tonnes having been collected by the end of 2020. Also, LG is implementing initiatives to take back and recycle electronic waste in 52 countries. In South Korea, LG Chilseo Recycling Center, which opened in 2001, not only takes back electronic waste but also manufactures new components from the recycled plastic and ships the parts to LG’s home appliance plant nearby for use in new products such as refrigerators.
LG is focusing its efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the entire product life cycle from production and transportation to use and disposal. As a key component of its sustainable management goals, LG’s parent company entered into an agreement with the Korean Ministry of Environment and local civic groups in June to implement plastic-free management at its main R&D campus, LG Sciencepark.
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By pivotCE
During HP’s “Think Beyond” event, in addition to revealing the HP Veer, the company unveiled the latest and greatest from the new webOS Global Business Unit, which was in charge of both hardware and software engineering under their management. The devices they showed off would be the refined Pre 3 and the bulky yet powerful HP TouchPad.
The Pre 3 was for all intents and purposes, the best display of what HP’s resources could do for Palm and the G.B.U. It had a chance to both sway public opinion and make webOS competitive again from a hardware perspective, something that really hadn’t been seen since the launch of the original Pre. Sadly though, the device only saw release in the UK for the span of an entire day before HP announced the end of webOS hardware development. This made the Pre 3 both the most powerful, but also among the rarest of webOS smartphones (outside of the unreleased
link hidden, please login to view & Mako concept phones). the Pre 3 was never officially released in the U.S., yet was sold through the HP store in California before being put on sites like Amazon and eBay to be sold off. The device was made for ATT and for Verizon, yet the latter device is a far less common variant.
In terms of hardware and build quality, the Pre 3 was in it’s day, one of the most powerful smartphones available. It had 512Mb of ram to run the software, but what really turned heads was the jaw dropping single core 1.4Ghz Snapdragon Processor, which was amongst the most powerful in the realm of mobile computing at the time. The design did not disappoint either. It had the largest qwerty keyboard, battery and at 3.6 inches, the largest touchscreen of any webOS phone. It also had a subtle black matte finish that curved elegantly around the device. Marking the end of an era, Palm’s logo was replaced by that of HP. Beneath it was the induction coil of a new feature: ‘Touch To Share’. Pre 3s and TouchPads could now pair on contact and pass data between them. The slider mechanism was sturdier than that of the Pre 2 or Veer. The keyboard was spacious and my personal favorite until I used the BlackBerry Q10. It had a strong tactile feel that lasted well into nearly 9.5 months with the phone. The device looked and felt like a refined, elongated, and smoothed Palm Pre. It was one of the best phones I ever held. The device also held a 5 mega pixel camera with 720p video recording and HDR, which made the camera on the Pre 3 a little more well..less horrible. It’s not a fantastic shooter but it is the very best ever put on a webOS smartphone to date.
The more powerful hardware made webOS 2.2.4 smoother than I had ever seen it on a phone. Memory crashes were few and far between. The Verizon unit I used had pretty average call quality and the larger screen made web browsing the exact opposite of what it was on the HP Veer, being actually usable for me. I found that when placed on a Touchstone, my Pre 3 was noticeably louder with notifications and alarms and that the lock screen widgets were easier to glance at. My favorite aspect of the Pre 3 was being able to answer text messages on my TouchPad due to the Pre 3’s TTS software. Beyond that, the software experience on the Pre 3 is the same as the Pre 2 and Veer with minor differences. functions much the same as it does on other devices with the exception that the Pre 3 can overclock to a crazy 1.9 Ghz and has a few Pre 3 exclusive patches and applications.
Although the Pre 3 is a gem and is what webOS enthusiasts should consider as a daily driver if price isn’t a factor, it is not as abundant as the Pre or Veer. It is somewhat difficult to find and if you’re on Verizon, its even more of a slog. If you do find one, take it and run with it. Prices for the Pre 3 vary, but expect to spend between $250-350 on the device.
Compared to previous flagships, like the Pre 2 and Veer, the Pre 3 is much more modern in a visual sense and the hardware makes a far more capable device. This makes the gulf between it and current devices like the Xperia Z2 or HTC one M8 more bearable. I would say that the Pre 3 is very much a 2011 flagship that is wrapped in a 2014 design. I feel that the external design stays more modern than the internal hardware but it still feels zippy and responsive.
The HP TouchPad would be the final device unveiled during the “Think Beyond” event. It would be Palm’s first and officially last tablet built and manufactured before the G.B.U.’s dissolution in August of 2011. The TouchPad was a large 9.7 inch behemoth that was even for the time, a heavy and thick tablet. The TouchPad had the distinction of also being the first HP tablet with integrated Beats audio, which gave the speakers a noticeable “ommph.” The HP TouchPad also had an extremely healthy ecosystem of accessories. These included an all metal bluetooth keyboard, a touchstone charging dock, and even its own smart cover, that lacked the magnets of the iPad variant.
With regards to build quality and the hardware, The TouchPad was a general mix of bad on one end of the spectrum, to pretty good in the other. I feel that in describing the TouchPad, I need to get the bad out of the way first as it is a decidedly different device from it’s smartphone brethren. The finish of the HP TouchPad is horrid. It’s bulky plastic body makes it a fingerprint magnet. In the year that I used it, the device developed the common problem of cracks around the speaker openings. My device was never dropped and never left its case. Actually, most of the time it never left the charging dock except when I was in class where I never used it outside of sharing info or zoning out on a lecture. So the physical build of the TouchPad is surprisingly bad considering this device was to challenge the iPad 2. The speakers unsurprisingly are really good…when they don’t clip out or distort through general use. Although to be fair this was uncommon for me and the times it did happen usually came from a result of extended or
binges. The hardware that runs the TouchPad is an underclocked 1.2 Ghz Snapdragon Processor with 1GB of RAM and a single front facing video camera (The White 64GB TouchPad had the processor bumped to 1.5 Ghz but that version is hard to come by). The screen had a resolution of 1024×720 for a very standard VGA screen resolution. There also exists a 4G version that comes with a standard 32GB of storage and the sped up 1.5 Ghz processor.The software aspect of the HP TouchPad is a very unique story, so I will tell it in three parts. Firstly, the standard webOS experience, with Preware and without. Then I’ll examine the , which gives access to some Gingerbread applications through a dedicated app store. Finally, I’ll discuss Android and other systems installed on the TouchPad as dual boot options.
The HP TouchPad launched with webOS 3.0 and it was both a drastic departure from where the O.S. started and a glimpse of the brilliance of where it could go. webOS on the bigger screen showed great potential for the O.S. as everything looked nice and scaled beautifully. The gestures to swipe between applications and swipe them away functioned much in the same way as it did on the phones. webOS 3.0 brought with it a ton of new features, including TTS and the Enyo application language. With the multitude of improvements to the platform, the application experience was good, yet third party support was minimal. Quality applications for the HP TouchPad were few and far between. The app catalog had a unique magazine-like section called Pivot, which featured applications in themed editions. When it was abandoned, it was eventually colonised by the webOS community to host new content. The latest version is what you are reading now.
One major problem of webOS 3.0 was how un-optimized and buggy it was when first launched. Although some fixes would come through five software updates, it would only go so far. Applications were prone to either crashing or randomly reloading, the “too many cards” bug was back in full effect and overall everything felt slow and very unintuitive, which showed how rushed 3.0 was. With Preware though, a huge amount of the TouchPad’s problems from a software perspective were patched and smoothed out and made the device a much more refined and polished experience. These efforts culminated in the release of a rewritten system manager: .
Although Preware would prove to be an almost indispensable piece of software, there was another matter that had to be dealt with: The cripplingly low application count. This would be solved with the addition of a piece of software called the Application Compatibility Layer which was the result of a successful kickstarter campaign by . The money funded further development of work by . What is so special about the software is it allows to run on webOS. It is a relatively small selection, but things like Skype, Netflix, and supplementary document editors are available to augment the applications of webOS. What this does to the tablet is both amazing and sobering. Sure you get enhanced usability, but the available apps are based on Gingerbread, an older Android O.S. that isn’t much in the way of looks and the older version sometimes has problems with applications even working properly. While this isn’t a huge deal breaker, it does show that the HP TouchPad, from a software perspective, is a truly ‘Frankensteinian’ creation, requiring different patches and non-native Android apps to make it live.
Even though ACL is only a temporary fix that just manages to keep the tablet outside the realm of uselessness, there are those in the development community who have managed to port every version of Android from Gingerbread to KitKat to the tablet. This opens the device to a whole new world of possibilities for those who still hold on to the HP TouchPad, nearly three years on. Android and webOS have always had a rather odd relationship. It has been of general benefit for our platform, whether it be from ACL or a full-on port. Android on the HP TouchPad is a relatively easy thing to do. While you can get stable builds of 4.0 all the way to 4.3, later Android builds are either in early Alpha or Beta stages. In order to get the very latest Android O.S. you will most likely take a massive hit in almost basic functionality. Android has managed to keep the HP TouchPad relevant even in 2014. It isn’t webOS, but it is a different, larger and more diverse avenue for TouchPad owners to travel. It is somewhat unorthodox to mention Android when discussing webOS, but it is both a part of our tablets history and something that can be considered when looking at purchasing a TouchPad. To further emphasize the flexibility of the tablet, you can install Ubuntu Touch, Arch Linux, Open webOS (), and even Linux from a webOS card. It is dang impressive.
With regard to cost, the HP TouchPad can be an investment depending on where you look. Typically, places like Craigslist and eBay are great places to look as people tend to knock down the prices to the sub $200 dollar mark. But, if you want peace of mind, look at Amazon’s selection and note that it does go into the $300 dollar mark for some models. In terms of investment, it is a solid one that every webOS enthusiast should consider.
Do I recommend the Pre 3 and the HP TouchPad? For starters, I do solidly recommend the Pre 3, regardless of the carrier. The Pre 3 is the last great smartphone from Palm. It is the very best our platform can offer and its very existence is an important piece of history for webOS users. If you have the money and want a beautifully crafted phone, buy the Pre 3 and never second guess it. About the HP TouchPad, I am a little more on the fence. I do recommend it, but only if you are able to embrace some its quirkier software aspects and its rather damning build quality. But what you get, is a device that has possibly the most devoted software community in the mobile arena. With a little bit of work, the software that is available fully unlocks the device’s potential and gives you one of the most dynamic, fun, and useful software suites regardless of your platform preference. The HP TouchPad to me in my 13 months of using it, has proven its bulky, plastic weight in gold. It is for all of its flaws, a masterpiece.
To conclude, thank you for joining me in this look back at webOS: Both the history and the devices that define our small but great community. I will be creating different content in the future for pivotCE and I hope you enjoy reading these articles as much as I enjoy writing them.
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