My TouchPad Today: That was a Fast Fifty Dollars from HP!

Back on August 8 I did a post called Not So Fast, HP! which was about the $50 app catalog credit given to assuage early adopters who missed out on the original, pre-firesale price reduction on the TouchPad.

The $50 didn't even come close to making up for the poor state of the TP at its July 1 debut.

They did a little better on that front later when they rebated the extra we paid and got our cost down to the firesale price.

But getting back to the fast $50...

In that August post I was bitching about how the $50 credit wasn't actually going to cost HP $50 and how most users would be hard-pressed to spend that amount on apps before the credit expired at the end of the year.

Well, it turns out that I've spent the fast $50. ($49.93, to be exact) Shazam!


Lets take a look at some of what I downloaded to burn through these bonus bucks..

• Picsel Smart Office
• Splashtop Remote Desktop HD
• Audiophile HD Pro
• KalemSoft Media Player
• Audubon Birds
• Tea Reader
• NomNomNom Reader

How did you burn -- or not burn -- through your $50 credit from HP?



This post was drafted on my TouchPad



Follow me on Twitter... @rnolan1087

My TouchPad Today: Splashtop Remote HD - The Tortoise or The Hare?

During my past couple of days of tinkering with (actually trudging along with) Spalshtop Remote HD for the TouchPad, I can truthfully report that Mr. Hare never made an appearance.

This puppy -- er, tortoise -- will never be confused with anything related to speed.

It lives in the same neighborhood as families named Sluggish and Finicky.


All of that being said, the slowness probably isn't actually Splashtop's fault. This is, after all, a remote desktop app, subject to the whims of the Internet connection gods.

And is the finickiness related to the same gods? I'm thinkin' "yes".

So what's the problem here?

Me thinks that it goes directly to the concept of remotely controlling a mouse-based device with a multi-touch device... You can do it, but how much can you actually do, and how much can you actually do well... and what's the cost in terms of time and effort expended?

Sure, you can stream video or audio. Sure you can read/surf with it, but the experience starts to break down and become an exercise in frustration when you need to scroll vertically in a window. Too much effort for too little in return.

A deeper breakdown of the experience reveals itself when you attempt to create some content in an application like PowerPoint. Yes, it can be done, but, once again, at what cost?


So, getting back to the fabled Tortoise and the Hare...

Splashtop Remote or any other similar app is almost guaranteed to be the Tortoise.

The real questions are how much do you really need remote access via your TouchPad and what type of work do you need to accomplish?

Assuming that your need is more in the direction of accessing content, rather than creating content, Splashtop Remote HD is a good purchase for your TouchPad. Otherwise, consider yourself warned!



Follow me on TouchPad... @rnolan1087