HP has been pushing hard to get the tablet out so that it could start competing in the suddenly overcrowded tablet market, but had to wait for developers to work on some apps for webOS 3. It came down to HP deciding to launch the device without QuickOffice editing in order to have the product available now instead of waiting more weeks or months before the TouchPad could be found in stores.
The 9.7 inch screen on the TouchPad will have a UI optimized to fit the bigger screen and will also be the first webOS powered device with a front-facing camera. The tablet will also have a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and as we earlier reported, can be reserved starting today at a price of $499.99 and $599.99 for a 16GB and 32GB model respectively. Just remember that until the update is received, when it comes to documents on the HP TouchPad, what you see is what you get.
But there is some good news. One of the slides shown by HP at the internal presentation hinted at a white version of the tablet. With a picture of the HP TouchPad on the screen, the slide said, "Available in gloss black (shown) or HP dove white finish (not shown)".