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HP update to boost TouchPad 'functionality'

Hewlett-Packard will issue an update to enhance functionality of the TouchPad tablet, the company told CNET.

Brooke Crothers Former CNET contributor
Brooke Crothers writes about mobile computer systems, including laptops, tablets, smartphones: how they define the computing experience and the hardware that makes them tick. He has served as an editor at large at CNET News and a contributing reporter to The New York Times' Bits and Technology sections. His interest in things small began when living in Tokyo in a very small apartment for a very long time.
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Hewlett-Packard told CNET on Monday that it will deliver a future update to boost the TouchPad's functionality. HP also said it has seen "huge spikes" in TouchPad activation in the wake of the decision to discount the tablet.

Hewlett-Packard

On August 19, HP slashed the price of the 16GB TouchPad to $100, setting off a buying frenzy at stores like Best Buy and online. HP's action came after announcing the shuttering its WebOS device business. The TouchPad uses the WebOS operating system.

"We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalog," an HP spokesperson told CNET today in response to an e-mail query. HP would not elaborate on what those enhancements would be.

HP also said that it is seeing "huge spikes in activations and between 3-5X downloads of apps" as a result of the fire sale launched on August 19.

"HP is fully committed to the ongoing support and service of customers who purchased webOS devices...We plan to continue to investigate the best ways to leverage WebOS software and grow the applications," the spokesperson said.

And HP continues to offer free apps. Today, it announced another "six pack" of free apps, including Angry Birds Rio HD and FlightPredictor HD.

And there is a free Quickoffice update too. "Quickoffice HD adds editing capabilities (for Microsoft Word and Excel) to give you more abilities to draft and update documents," HP said.