Hasta La Gadget!

HP introduced the TouchPad tablet in February. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

It certainly wasn’t poorly performing software that killed the TouchPad.

Sources at The Next Web reports that HP’s webOS team hacked an iPad 2 to run the software — and it ended up running more than twice as fast on Apple’s tablet as on the TouchPad.

Even before the TouchPad tablet or Pre smartphone were officially released, the webOS developer team was so fed up with HP’s lackluster hardware that they “wanted them gone.”

HP rocked the tech world yesterday when it announced the company would no longer be producing webOS hardware, including the TouchPad tablet and Pre smartphones, after acquiring Palm last year for $1.2 billion. The webOS software could still be licensed to third-party manufacturers. HP CEO Leo Apotheker cited lack of traction in the marketplace as a major reason for abandoning the mobile operation.

The team of developers also deployed webOS within the iPad’s Mobile Safari browser and got similarly speedy results. The TouchPad features a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with A8 architecture, while the iPad 2 houses a dual-core A5 chip based on the faster Cortex-A9 architecture.

According to The Next Web:

The hardware reportedly stopped the team from innovating beyond certain points because it was slow and imposed constraints, which was highlighted when webOS was loaded on to Apple’s iPad device and found to run the platform significantly faster than the device for which it was originally developed.

I personally checked out the HP Veer when it debuted, and I found webOS to be really refreshing and intuitive. My main issues with the device were definitely hardware-based: not enough memory, and not a powerful enough processor.

Your laptop keyboard isn’t working, and you want to try your hand at mending it yourself? Chances are you’ve turned to the online repair community iFixit for a detailed, step-by-step account of how best to do that. If not, you’ve probably seen one of their gorgeous teardowns that strip a gadget apart piece by piece to reveal what makes it tick.

Today iFixit has announced it will be releasing its innovative manual-making software to the masses. It’s called Dozuki, and it features two products, Guidebook and Answers, that aim to provide the maker and DIY community with “service manuals that don’t suck.”

Owner’s manuals are normally tucked into the product’s box, where they’re immediately lost or discarded upon the gadget’s removal from said box (unless you happen to be especially organized, as I’m sure some of you are). If you want to tweak something, or if something breaks, you’ve got to dig up that manual, flip to the right page where the cryptic, often picture-less directions usually end up causing about as much headache as help. iFixit began in 2003 to fix that problem by providing easy-to-use, photo-heavy repair instructions that could easily be viewed on a computer, laptop, or tablet.

Guidebook is Dozuki’s documentation platform. It lets users create how-tos or provide service documentation that’s then available to everyone online as a PDF. On a tablet — a very convenient mode for accessing such information — this can be viewed in iFixit’s own iPad app, or another PDF reader like GoodReader. iFixit also has an HP TouchPad app.

“I used our iPad app to fix my car the other day. The form factor melts away, and you’re holding the manual. I’m positive that tablets are the best way to use how-to information,” says iFixit chief Kyle Wiens.

Dozuki’s Answers service is a question and answer platform for experts. It aims to turn “expert conversations into a useful (and searchable) knowledge base.”

iFixit hopes manufacturers and mainstream DIY companies like Home Depot and Radio Shack will join the community and provide their documentation, which customers can then expand upon, creating a fruitful, positive experience for companies and do-it-yourselfers alike.

“Imagine if retailers were to start integrating how-to information in their stores. They’ve got all this useful information about how to learn plumbing, and they sell all the parts, but they haven’t made it easy for people to connect the two,” Wiens says. “We can do that, and we can make it mobile so they can use it in store kiosks, or so customers can access it while they’re working on projects.”

Dozuki is currently in private beta, but will be fully available this fall. You can add yourself to the beta invite list if you’d like to check out the service early.

Image courtesy iFixit

We’ve all tripped on power cords, sending laptops or other precious items tumbling to the ground. With the introduction of the MagSafe connector, back in 2006, Apple fixed the problem for clumsy MacBook owners, but has since left plugged-in iPad users up a creek. Cupertino was awarded a patent yesterday to integrate the magnetic (trip-safe) cord into future iOS devices like the iPad, potentially solving the dilemma for good. The Haus of Jobs also snagged patents for magnetic assembly and a “securing system,” whatever that means.

Update: Oops! While the patent does mention the possibility of integrating this technology into a “tablet computer” or “cell phone,” what we’re looking at isn’t actually a MagSafe patent specifically for iOS devices — it’s a movable magnetic coupling.

Apple snags MagSafe patent for iOS devices (update: it’s a movable magnetic coupling) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is the Elastick. See if you can guess what it does

The object you see above is a strap-on. A strap-on stand for the iPad, that is. Here it is in action:

It’s called the Elastick, and is an iPad stand for musicians. The four loops hook around the corners of the tablet and the phallic proboscis will either support it like a kickstand, or slot into any microphone holder you might find on stage. This is smart, as history has already design a mic stand to fit pretty much any situation.

The Elastick isn’t limited to the iPad, either, or even just tablets in general. Anything that has four corners and is big enough to stretch the straps can be stuck in there. The stick is made from black ABS plastic, and the straps from silicone.

As you may have already guessed, the Elastick is a Kickstarter project. The minimum pitch that will get you a unit is $40, going up to $50 at retail.

If it makes it to production, that is: Judging by the horrible sound quality on the pitch video, and the lack of punctuation and even correct spelling on the Kickstarter page, it doesn’t look like the designers pay much attention to detail. Still, now the idea is out there you could always take a trip to your local adult toy store and pick up another kind of strap-on to do the job.

Elastick project page (Google cache)[Kickstarter via Core77]

Sweet jumping jehosaphat, the patent suit madness just won’t end. Only a month after the ITC sided with Apple and HTC offered a standard-issue plea for cooperation, the Taiwanese company has filed its own infringement complaint against the Cupertino crew. This isn’t the first suit brought by HTC against Apple, and we’re sure it won’t be the last. In fact, the two have a long history of engaging in the most common form of competition for smartphone makers. (Why let your products do the talking when you have high-priced lawyers on retainer?) The three patents at the heart of the complaint cover not just the iPhone and iPad, but also the company’s computer line — in particular WiFi networking features and the combination of PDA and cellphone functionality. You can check out the patents in question at the more coverage links and you’ll find PR right after the break.

Continue reading HTC drags on the patent war, files yet another complaint against Apple

HTC drags on the patent war, files yet another complaint against Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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