HP TouchPad Offers Video Calls, Flash Support, And Other Things The iPad Lacks (HPQ, AAPL)

If you can't beat ‘em, join ‘em. And when you do, make sure you take note of their website so that you can follow up with a similar design. Today, Hewlett-Packard HPQ made it official: the company will enter the tablet market this summer with the HP TouchPad. While it might sound like a silly computer accessory (or a control mechanism applied to hundreds of laptops worldwide), the HP TouchPad is actually a very cool and very promising tablet that aims to one-up Apple's AAPL iPad. HP is touting its webOS as being a “breakthrough interface” that features a “spacious workspace” and activity cards that provide an “easy way to visualize and organize what you're working on.” In short, that means that users can pause a game, tap an e-mail notification, check the calendar, read a restaurant review (or surf Benzinga.com, eh?), send an IM, and switch back to the game without closing a thing. Out of the box, the TouchPad will come equipped with Box.net and Google GOOG Docs support. Users will also be able to print wirelessly to compatible networked HP printers. Most significantly, the TouchPad will support a beta of Adobe ADBE Flash Player 10.1. Books, TV shows, movies, video games and other traditional tablet items will also be offered. As far as new technology is concerned, HP is boasting video calls (think FaceTime for a tablet) and TouchPad/Pre3 connectivity, which will allow users to tap the two devices to share URLs. Users will also be able to receive text message and answer phone calls on the TouchPad.