Topaz Specs! Exclusive details on Touchstone v2 and much more!
We've received a massive document detailing HP's plans for the Topaz webOS slate from last year. While these details aren't final, what we know is that HP is planning to make the Topaz highly competitive with the iPad from both a hardware and a software perspective.
Context & Ripple Effects
The Topaz leak has been building for weeks: Engadget first surfaced the codename and keyboard accessory in December 2010 (Palm's 'Topaz' codename), and just days ago detailed the dock-and-services strategy around it — cloud storage, Beats audio, Tap-to-Share pairing with smartphones (Touchstone dock, cloud storage and Beats audio). PreCentral's new document is the fullest picture yet: actual internal specifications, plus plans for a second-generation Touchstone.
First-order effects
- HP gains a concrete, if unconfirmed, hardware-software roadmap for its first webOS slate — the specifications document gives suppliers, carriers, and the developer community something concrete to plan against ahead of any official announcement.
- Touchstone v2 extends the accessory line beyond charging into what the earlier coverage suggested is an ecosystem play, making the dock a differentiator rather than an afterthought.
Second-order effects
- Apple faces a competitor attacking on integration — dock, phone pairing, and services — rather than raw specs, which pressures the iPad's own accessory-and-ecosystem narrative.
- WebOS app developers get a signal that a volume tablet platform may be coming, affecting where they allocate porting effort relative to Android tablets and iOS.
Third-order effects
- If HP ships the Topaz as specced, the structural bet is that a phone-maker's playbook — owned OS, shared accessories, device-to-device handoff — can carve out tablet share against an incumbent that owns both hardware and store; the leaked document is the clearest evidence yet of how far HP intends to follow it.
The trend: Post-iPad tablet entrants are shifting from spec-sheet competition to ecosystem competition — docks, phone pairing, and services — as the only credible way to challenge Apple's integrated hardware-software lead.