Unreleased 7-inch TouchPad Go reviewed, deemed a good tablet

Although webOS is now an open-source platform available for all, that doesn't mean we can't take a look at some cool hardware of what could have been. The TouchPad Go — a 7-inch version of the TouchPad was never mass produced or officially announced, but webOS Nation got their hands on a prototype and gave it a thorough review.

In an alternate universe, the TouchPad would have been a huge success and HP would be rolling in the dough, having repositioned itself to be more like Apple — that is a vertically integrated company that controls both the software and the hardware.

The TouchPad being a complete flop pre-fire sales, HP didn't bother announcing the smaller TouchPad Go that made its way onto the Internet.

One thing the TouchPad had in common was its screen aspect ratio being 4:3 as opposed to most other tablets being 16:9. The same goes for the 7-inch TouchPad Go. Other than its plastic case, this is what a 7-inch iPad would look like and feel in the hand.

WebOS Nation's Derek Kessler put the Go through the review grinder and found that it's actually fast and responsive. The size is great and webOS 3.0 doesn't falter, running all of the apps that the larger TouchPad runs without problems. Kessler says the 5-megapixel camera is okay, but ultimately still sucks. He also praised the matte back, SIM card slot, quasi-removable battery and sharp 1024x768 resolution display.

After reading Kessler's review, I'm saddened that HP never released the Go. It seems like a legitimately good tablet despite its smaller proportions. It's a real shame we'll never see be able to buy one, unless HP decides to resurrect its tablet business.

Via webOS Nation

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