HP Releases Over-The-Air Update For WebOS TouchPad

The update automatically moves TouchPads to WebOS version 3.0.2 and also adds minor functionality improvements to WebOS applications, such as faster scrolling and image rendering in e-mail, calendar tweaks and automatic correction of contractions while typing, HP Palm employee blogger Jon Zilber said in a Monday blog post.

The HP TouchPad debuted last month to mixed reviews, with critics calling out HP for sluggish WebOS performance, the paltry assortment of WebsOS applications, and complex setup. CRN's Ed Moltzen suggested that all of these flaws gave the impression of a product that had been rushed to market.

Jon Rubenstein, who at the time of the TouchPad's launch was senior vice president and general Manager of HP's Palm global business unit, acknowledged the WebOS 3.0 issues in the wake of the TouchPad launch in an email to employees, noting that HP planned to fix them with over-the-air software and app catalog updates.

"We still have work to do to make WebOS the platform we know it can be, but remember … it’s a marathon, not a sprint," Rubenstein said in the email.

Ari Jaaski, head of WebOS development at HP, also weighed in and suggested that early HP TouchPad performance issues could have resulted from the simultaneous calibration of multiple email and other services taking place in the background at startup.

"Our products are very good already now, and they are only getting better through oncoming software updates; over-the-air, of course. We are extremely committed to take the webOS experience further," Jaaski said in a post to his personal blog.

But HP subsequently reshuffled its executive leadership around WebOS and TouchPad. Stephen DeWitt, former head of HP's Personal Systems Group, took over for Rubenstein as head of HP's WebOS business unit, with Rubenstein moving to the role of senior vice president for product innovation in PSG.