HP TouchPad Arrives In UK

In the UK and envious of the HP TouchPad that landed in the US at the top of the month? Fret no longer, webOS fans; the 9.7-inch slate has finally gone on sale, priced at £399 for the 16GB WiFi-only version and £479 for the 32GB model. As in the US, there's still no integrated-3G option on offer.

As for whether the TouchPad is actually worth it, that depends on what apps you need and how much you like webOS. In our review of the platform we found it to be one of the most intuitive tablet OSes around, with slick multitasking and an elegant notifications system. Our impressions of the TouchPad hardware, though, were more mixed, with the plastic chassis falling short of the iPad's sturdiness and premium feel, and multiple hiccups where the 1.2GHz dual-core processor felt rushed.

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Nonetheless, it's an interesting proposition, though we might be tempted to wait and see what apps webOS developers release to suit the larger display. HP's line-up will make more sense when the Pre 3 arrives later in the year, given it uses the clever tap-to-share functionality to swap information like webpages with the TouchPad. Still, given reportedly poor sales of previous Pre versions in the UK, it's not even confirmed that the carriers will offer the smartphone.

You can find the TouchPad at Carphone Warehouse, among other retailers.