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HP Hijacks the Apple Smart Cover Design for the TouchPad

By | May 20, 2011 | 2 comments
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Apple may not have been the first to bring the tri-fold tablet cases to market, but they were certainly the first to make them popular. In fact, the first one we saw was the Convertible Magazine Jacket for the original iPad. HP is becoming the latest bandwagon jumper with a new case, mimicking this same design.

HP’s tri-fold case bends and folds in the same manner as Apple’s Smart Cover, contorting itself into a stand for viewing or into a slight incline to make typing more comfortable. This copycat case does lack some of the elegance of Apple’s case. Instead of adhering with a slim-profiled magnet, it is integrated into a full and bulkier case.

The other feature that HP’s case doesn’t have is the ability to instantly wake the device upon opening and put it back to sleep upon closing. Most people agree that this is one of the largest advantages of the Smart Cover, making it quick to pull your device out and have it ready to work in a moment –and in turn, shut it down and be on your way.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Apple should feel very good right now.

The HP TouchPad is the latest player to the tablet game, following on the heels of the recent release of the BlackBerry Playbook. They will try to compete with the current market big-boys, the Apple iPad, Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom. There is currently no firm release date for the TouchPad, though expectations and speculations are that it will be available very soon.

[via Precentral]

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  • http://www.ipad2forfree.co.uk cheesy

    im guessing apple would want to launch a case against hp now for replication of the use of their product design concept

  • Stanleymtoney

    How can you be a bandwagon jumper when your case was announced first? HP announced their case in Feb and Apple in March. I agree the auto on and off could be cool (don’t have either kind of tablet yet) but the ability to charge through the case on a touchstone is the different main feature. The touchstone charging is one of the best built-in features of the WebOS ecosystem.

    As to price. HP is planning 6 combinations of connectivity(wi-fi only, 3g and 4g) and storage (16 GB and 32 GB). But I agree thy need to do better on price to stand out.