TouchPad will run on the updated webOS operating system, which HP acquired in its purchase of Palm last April.
The device, which is set to be offered as a WiFi device in the first stages of launch with a 3G and 4G version to follow, is 13 millimetres thick, weighs 1.5lbs, runs a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, includes a front facing camera and comes with either 16GB or 32GB memory. It is set for release this summer.
TouchPad also features a webOS communication suite powered by HP Synergy that keeps the user connected and creative, making communications simpler, richer and under control. webOS multitasking lets users have multiple applications running at the same time, and shows the user their activities in the form of cards, rather than application icons on numerous homescreens.
With the HP Synergy feature, users are able to sign in to thier Facebook, Google, Microsoft Exchange, LinkedIn and Yahoo! accounts and their contacts, calendar and email automatically populate the TouchPad.
HP also announced two new smartphones, also to run the updated webOS: the Pre 3, with twice the resolution of the previous model, plus GD video recording capability and a front facing camera, which will be released in two versions, HSPA+ and EVDO Rev A, both out this summer; and the Veer, due out in spring, and tiny compared to the Pre. Both Veer and the new Pre can function as personal hotspots, allowing a 3G connection to be shared between several WiFi devices.
Veer is the smallest webOS phone to date, the size of a credit card and as thick as a deck of cards, offering the higher end features of a smartphone, such as easy messaging and access to apps, social networks and the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta in the browser for access to rich, Flash-based web content.
The small device runs on an 800-MHz processor and sports 8GB of internal memory, plus runs HP Synergy. It also has a full slide-out keyboard, vivid touchscreen, access to thousands of webOS apps and a five megapixel camera.