Move over iPad, here comes the HP Tm2

I’m pleased to announce the addition of a new member to our household: an HP Tm2 tablet PC.

Amanda had been struggling for quite some time to squeeze the last ounces of life from our two aging laptops; namely, a 5-year ASUS and a 3-year old Averatec. Amazingly, the ASUS is probably in better shape (though I suppose it should be, since it cost twice as much when I bought it) but both of these computers have been though a lot of use and abuse, especially during our college days. There comes a time in every computer’s life when it’s time to sign off for the last time and rest easy after a job well done.

With all the hubbub in the press about tablet computers, I had been giving a lot of thought as to whether the Apple iPad (or something similar) would fit the bill, as opposed to buying another full-fledged laptop. I always love a good excuse to go hunting through tech reviews to find the absolute best fit for someone’s needs. What Amanda really needs is a computer that works great on a couch or bed, something light-weight and responsive, to be used primarily for keeping up with blogs and email, watching Hulu and Netflix, and the occasional editing and organizing of digital photos and video. I really wanted the iPad to fit the bill since I’ve been so happy with my iPod Touch. At first glance, it made sense — the iPad will be dead simple to use, it comes with a lot of cool apps, isn’t terribly expensive, and has the polish and wow-factor that Apple always seems to deliver. Alas, upon closer inspection, the iPad falls flat in several key areas:

1) No Flash plugin for the web browser means no Hulu (not to mention countless other video sites that rely on Flash). I’d wager there will eventually be a Hulu app for the iPad, but that wouldn’t address the general lack of Flash support.

2) No Silverlight plugin means no NetFlix Instant Viewer — that’s a dealbreaker right there. It’s also possible, perhaps inevitable, that there will be a Netflix app in the future, but there are nothing more than rumors to go on at this point.

3) No DVD drive, so she wouldn’t be able to watch rented movies or create her own DVDs. Is it too much to ask for a slot-loading DVD drive? It would add too much thickness and weight, I suppose. I know streaming HD video is the way of the future and all that, but here and now, most of us are still watching good old DVDs. It’s also strange that Apple went with the old-school 4:3 ratio on the screen rather than the standard 16:9 ratio of HD video.

4) No USB port. Apparently Apple will offer an optional USB adapter (costs extra, of course), but once you start adding on dongles and adapters to a tablet device, you’re losing too much of the sleekness and convenience that makes the device appealing in the first place. With the standard configuration, you can’t just plug in a digital camera or camcorder and get going.

5) No multitasking. It’s true that the iPod and iPhone can appear to multitask from the user’s point of view, though I suppose you might more accurately call it something like stateful task switching. Every app takes up the full screen while running, but you can always go back to the main page and launch another app. Meanwhile, most programs do a good job of saving the exact contents of what you were doing when you quit, so it’s all there when you return, but it’s not the same as the true multitasking environment we’re accustomed to in Windows and OS X. This isn’t necessarily a problem on a pocket-sized device, but I think it will become a serious hindrance to the workflow of a larger device capable of more full-featured applications.

6) Limited storage. The iPad offers storage from 16 GB to 64 GB. That’s decent for something like an iPod Touch that’s primarily for music and apps, but even the maximum 64 GB won’t go far when you start adding tons of movies, photos, music, and larger apps. Worst of all, there’s no way to add additional storage via SD card or other flash-based memory stick.

This all just goes to show that the iPad isn’t a full-fledged computer; though, to be fair, Apple never claimed it would be. There will be a lot of Windows-based iPad imitators coming down the pike this year that will offer many of the features the iPad lacks, but we didn’t feel like waiting. Happily, after surveying the techscape, it turns out the HP Tm2 fits the bill and is already on the market today. It has just about everything the iPad lacks (Flash, Silverlight, multitasking, USB, SD card slot, install any program you want,  ample storage space, etc.) because it’s a “real computer” running Windows 7. It can be used as a traditional laptop with a nice full-size keyboard and touchpad, but the fun factor kicks in when you rotate the screen around and use it as a multitouch tablet. Like the iPad, you can use your finger(s) for input, but wait, there’s more! The screen also includes a Wacom digitizer for use with a digital pen. Windows 7 is quite touch friendly out of the box, and HP has included several touch-enabled applications as well. It’s not quite as responsive as the iPod Touch/iPhone, but it’s getting close. The one thing I would have liked to see in this computer was a built-in DVD drive, but an external USB drive gets the job done — no special adapter needed.

Now I’ll admit, this thing costs a lot more than the cheapest iPad, but then again, but it offers far more bang for the buck if you want a computer you can work as well as play on. A very well-equipped Tm2 (which includes 6 GB RAM, discrete ATI graphics, and a 500 GB hard drive) ships for $899. While I have no doubt the iPad will be perfect for a few key applications and “good enough” for many others, I wouldn’t want to be constantly running up against its limitations — some of which are inherent to the form factor, but some are imposed by Apple. As always, your mileage may vary, but so far Amanda has found the HP to be an ideal computer for her needs.