HP TouchPad 4G Visits The FCC, Heads To AT&T

The HP TouchPad will soon be getting a 4G version on AT&T's HSPA+ network. The 4G model just passed through the FCC today with documents showing all its proper 4G labels, indicating that it's on track for release sometime this month. A leaked roadmap in July had pushed HP to confirm the 4G TouchPad to arrive in August, but they also revealed some interesting spec boosts.

The TouchPad 4G is expected to sport a faster 1.5GHz processor instead of the 1.2GHz processor of the WiFi-only models. This probably won't sit well with customers who bought the original TouchPad just a month ago. Add to that the slew of discounts being offered in recent weeks for the TouchPad, which just got its price dropped permanently by $100 today.

Although a specific launch date is still unknown, the 4G TouchPad has been listed at $699 on Amazon for the 32GB model. Now that the WiFi-only model is at $499, it'll be interesting to see how consumers react to paying an additional $200 for the privilege of AT&T's HSPA+ connection and the extra burden of a data plan. Make sure to check out our full review of the WiFi HP TouchPad to get a taste of what to expect with this new version.

[via Engadget]