Touchpad Versus the iPad 2 (And Other Tablets With Lots More Apps) - Some Perspectives After a Week's of Use

This is an email I've sent Dave the Mobile Sage this morning:

One of the most interesting thing about the iPad over the Mac is that I don't have as much distraction as it is on the laptop. Not that there is a death of apps. It's the the fundamental change in its use. Maybe it's the switching back and forth between apps.  


And in using the Touchpad over the last week, I find the distraction on the Touchpad even less than on the iPad. That is because it is because of the dearth of apps.

Well, I'm sure this was not HP's intention to begin with.  I've been able to write my novels, write blogs, communicate with friends via the IM app, and surf the Web and keep up with what's going on around the Internet.

What I cannot do is play a lot of the games in the iPad when I'm don't have it with me.  What I cannot do is watch many of the videos on Hulu or Netflix.  What I cannot do access a lot of the tablet-ready apps for my workflow.  I have had to figure out new ways to access information that was easier to do on the iPad.

It is the lack of distraction on the Touchpad I find more interesting.  And I owe it all to the lack of apps.  I'm not saying that is a good thing.  It's actually a bad thing because the Touchpad has a lot of potential.

Not "had".  I still like to think that someone like Amazon will take Palm and Web OS off HP's hands and turn it into something great again.

Regardless of whether you're an Apple, Google, or Microsoft fan, the more competition we have in the market, the better.  Up next is Android 4.  I have high hopes for it, just like I did for Web OS.

Well, back to my distraction free Touchpad when I out for my coffee run tonight.