HP TouchPad vs iPad vs Xoom vs PlayBook

HP TouchPad
Like the iPad, the HP TouchPad has only one physical button on the bezel

When the new HP TouchPad joins the Motorola Xoom and

BlackBerry PlayBook

in hitting the market, we'll have three really serious challengers to the

iPad

.

And, perhaps most interestingly, all will be running different operating systems. So let's compare how the three newcomers stack up against the hottest tablet yet released.

In terms of releases, Motorola won't say anything about the Xoom's UK release date, though it is pencilled in for the first quarter of 2011 in the US. However, it depends on when Google is planning on getting Honeycomb out the door. Likewise we should be seeing the PlayBook arrive in the Spring or early Summer. But HP has been a little more coy and we could even see the HP TouchPad arrive in the autumn.

And, of course, we're also expecting iPad 2, so we'll be updating this piece when we know more about that new device.

OS

This is the biggest difference between the four tablets. The iPad runs Apple's own iOS, the Moto Xoom Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the BlackBerry PlayBook runs RIM's own Tablet OS and likewise the new HP TouchPad also has a bespoke OS. The Touchpad will run Palm's webOS, first developed by Palm - who HP then bought. The tablet will run webOS 3.0.

HP touchpad

WEBOS: HP bought Palm and is now taking full advantage of its webOS platform

The Motorola Xoom was the main unit used to demo Android 3.0 Honeycomb at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, though we only saw videos of OS features running on the new device.

Contributor

Dan (Twitter, Google+) is TechRadar's Former Deputy Editor and is now in charge at our sister site T3.com. Covering all things computing, internet and mobile he's a seasoned regular at major tech shows such as CES, IFA and Mobile World Congress. Dan has also been a tech expert for many outlets including BBC Radio 4, 5Live and the World Service, The Sun and ITV News.