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HP Palm TouchPad and BlackBerry PlayBook share similar user interface
HP Palm TouchPad was announced at the recent "A New HP World" event in Shanghai, and with Research in Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook launching next month, it seems that both tablet devices have some things in common.
HP and Reseach in Motion (RIM) are pointing fingers at one another, well, commenting on the resemblence of their tablet devices. HP acquired Palm last year and this year, it launched their TouchPad which runs on Palm's WebOS platform. RIM is known for their BlackBerry smartphone devices though the company has also hopped onto the tablet bandwagon, and has unveiled the PlayBook at CES 2011 in January. At one glance (above picture), one can easily see the similarities in terms of user interface of both tablet devices: The TouchPad and PlayBook have the same app bar at the bottom with various colorful icons; the status/time and date bar at the top; and the home screens that can be easily navigated with a swipe of your finger.
It is sometimes inevitable that similarities do exist between products, and for consumers, it doesn't really matter to them who is copying who. End of the day, whether the product will sell depends on its usability, features, performance and price tag. According to HP and RIM, both companies have said they will continue to optimize their products to bring the best experience to users.
Source: PC World
