The 10 Best Things to Do With Your New $99 HP TouchPad
By Sascha Segan
- August 22, 2011 12:56pm EST
- Comments
The $99 HP TouchPad is one of the best tech deals of the year—possibly one of the best tech deals ever. Even though the TouchPad's webOS may never see another product, the TouchPad is still a powerful, flexible tablet, and $99 (or $149 for the 32GB) is a killer price.
There are a few thousand compatible apps for the TouchPad, including some big names such as Skype and Pandora. The tablet is a dandy Web browser and a great video player. It could fit into plenty of places in your house and your life: here are 10 we picked out.
In the Bedroom
Alarm clock. A good alarm clock can run you up to $50, and it doesn't do a fraction of the things the TouchPad does. It can't wake you up to the day's news, it won't show the weather, and it probably can't store as many tunes. Since the TouchPad's Touchstone charging dock runs $79.99, you'll probably just want to prop your TouchPad up on something; we suggest a book and a bit of silly putty.
Weather station. The TouchPad's full-screen WeatherBug app is a great way to see what you need to wear in the morning. I particularly like the "virtual window" view, which shows what the sky supposedly looks like right outside your window. It's great for people who live in dark little apartments.
In the Kitchen
Recipe bank. At my house, we're constantly dragging a laptop into the kitchen to view recipes. The TouchPad makes things easier—not just with recipe apps like iCookBook ($4.99) and Epicurious, but with the ability to hit all of the mainstream receipe Web sites.
Internet radio. My kitchen chores require radio. Fortunately, with the TouchPad, there's a wealth of choices. You can download Pandora for custom music, iHeartRadio for mainstream music and talk stations, or TuneIn Radio for local radio stations in your city.
In the Living Room
IMDB. I watch a lot of TV, and I'm constantly thinking—who is that guy? Where did I see him before? Oh, and can I get the teaser for the next episode? One of our family laptops often perches uncomfortably on the edge of the couch calling up IMDB and various TV network sites, and the TouchPad could easily become the "extra screen" for your TV and movie viewing.
Baby's first tablet. I positively cringe when I see people letting their kids play with $500 iPads and $600 iPhones. But a $99 TouchPad? Hit it, kids! There are a few childrens' books/coloring pages apps out there for the TouchPad, such as Scruffy Kitty ($2.99) and Coloring Book ($1.49), as well as some simple sketching apps, a typewriter app, and of course, the Web browser.
Video phone. What's better than one $99 TouchPad? Two $99 TouchPads! Skype for the TouchPad lets you make video calls to other TouchPads or Skype-compatible phones and PCs.
In the Office
Web site demo screen. Here at the PCMag.com offices, we have our site displayed on several monitors in the hallway, all hooked up to an expensive mess of cabling and a PC in the back room. A $99 TouchPad, linked to your Wi-Fi network, is a quick, easy way to show the work your business does—no cabling required.
In the Back Seat
Mobile video player. I hate how sedated my daughter gets when she's watching a movie or TV show on a long trip. On the other hand, I love how sedated my daughter gets when she isn't constantly bugging me for something to do. I have mixed feelings. The TouchPad is a great size for showing the kids movies or TV shows, and 16GB or 32GB allows enough space for several ripped and re-compressed DVDs.
E-reader. I put this down at the bottom here because I don't feel like 10-inch tablets make very good e-readers—they're big and heavy, and the LCD screens are more tiring on the eyes than the Amazon Kindle's e-ink screen. But you can't deny that the TouchPad, with its Kindle app, is cheaper than the $139 Kindle, and that the TouchPad's multimedia-friendly Web browser is a lot better at reading newspapers and magazines than the one found on the Kindle. Custom newspaper and magazine apps for the TouchPad include Time, People and USA Today.
For more, see PCMag's full review of the TouchPad and the slideshow below, as well as The 10 Best Apps For The HP TouchPad.
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Monday, August 22, 2011
The 10 Best Things to Do With Your New $99 HP TouchPad | News & Opinion
Hurricane Irene threatens South Florida - Hurricanes
Irene became the season’s first hurricane early Monday, raking Puerto Rico with 75 mph winds and churning on a track that appeared likely to leave it largely unscathed by the mountains of Hispaniola.
That could allow Irene to strengthen, potentially into a major hurricane, before it approaches the mainland United States later this week.
At 8 a.m., Irene was beginning to move away from Puerto Rico and was expected to skirt the northern coast of Hispaniola later Monday. The heavily populated Southeast Florida coast was near the center of the forecast cones for later in the week but the National Hurricane Center stressed Irene’s path remained uncertain and it could make landfall anywhere from the Florida Keys to the Carolinas.
Most computer models steered Irene just off the coast of Florida, with the storm’s eye looming off Miami-Dade and Broward counties early Friday, but they varied on the timing of an anticipated turn that will be the key to where — and whether — it would make landfall. A wobble one way or the other in the next few days could mean the difference between a close shave for South Florida and a direct hit.
“Don’t just pay attention to the skinny black line,’’ stressed Dennis Feltgen, a National Hurricane Center spokesman. He urged South Florida residents to monitor the storm carefully, double check supplies and review hurricane plans.
Despite crossing Puerto Rico, Irene gained strength and appeared much better organized overnight.
Rain bands and gusty winds flood streets and left tens of thousands without power outages in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and shut down the airport in San Juan, packed with passengers stranded by canceled flights.
Maria Antonia Ordonez, 59, said she secured the shutters of her house in historic Old San Juan after inviting neighbors over for dinner and wine.
"You can hear the wind, the gusts are relentless," she told The Associated Press. "I can’t see anything because I’ve closed everything."
Forecasters said Irene tracked more to the north than originally expected, taking it directly across Puerto Rico but also putting it on a path that would likely skirt the highest mountains in Hispaniola, which had broken up Tropical Storm Emily earlier this month. If that happens, Irene would move into warm waters and atmospheric conditions that could fuel a significant increase in wind speeds.
“It would not surprise me if this cyclone became a major hurricane at some time during its lifetime,’’ wrote senior hurricane specialist Stacy Steward in the center’s 5 a.m. analysis.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic were bracing for impacts. The Dominican Republic, which saw bridges and roads washed away by Emily, could again see damaging deluges.
In Port-au-Prince, the government put residents on red alert and urged the half-million still living in makeshift tent communities a year after a devastating earthquake to seek shelter with friends and family. The U.S. Navy ordered its hospital ship, the USNS Comfort, which had been stationed off the city for months, to steam for safer waters until Irene’s passage.
Strong winds and rain were battering the outlying Puerto Rican islands of Culebra and Vieques, where 150 tourists were evacuated, according to Gov. Luis Fortuno. At least 120,000 people were without power and another 13,000 without water as the storm approached.