The first thing I requested when invited to the Australian launch for the HP Touchpad was the hashtag I could use to talk about it online.
I sent out the first #TouchPadAus tweet, probably before it was expected, announcing a sense of excitement to play with new technology over a few drinks. If I’m getting away from my desk to do something different, I want to share, to use the hashtag and start conversations with other interested types and invited parties. Let’s call it getting the party started.
On the night, at Trackdown Studios, it was a matter of mingling with the bloggers, lifestyle media, genuinely excited HP staff and fun agency types – exchanging Twitter @names, adding each other to Google + and tweeting photos out as an ice-breaker, before the real conversation began.
Over exotic cocktails peppered with rose buds, pomegranate seeds and a generous dash of spirits we got to talking about how the line between our personal and professional lives are becoming ever-blurred, evidenced also in how the TouchPad by HP is working to integrate our social networks so that the data we have online is synced even more seamlessly with the device.
For me, a zealous oversharer of everything from our book publishing trajectory to my social clients and even my son’s escapades, this is a natural extension of my offline self into an online world. This ability to connect with other like-minded peeps online, sharing what we know and what we do has a life-impacting quality, so I’m all for increased synchronicity.
After an entertaining introduction from HP and then cheeky Russell Brand via a series of videos, we took to a series of demo TouchPads like moths to a flame, hovering and fluttering in what seemed like a speed-dating session for a new mate. A newer, more intuitive, faster, multitasking, friendlier, groovier tech mate. Would it surpass our iPad? Would we leave them for the new kid on the block?
The opportunity to test out the TouchPad and talk to HP first-hand got the room circulating as well as giving us a red-hot go on the new features. One feature I enjoyed was the ability to easily attach multiple files to emails – because I’m looking for the most mobile, functional, multi-taking device possible to give me the same access as running a business from my desk – but in a cafe, at a swimming lesson, in a post-office queue or from a workshop.
Bringing home the cool vibe was the VJ, Sampology, who did a real-time set syncing classic video footage with beats. This is possibly the only dude in Australia who is doing these tricks and it’s happening. Here’s some footage.
Watch the HP TouchPad with interest – the Wifi version will be available from Harvey Normal from $599 on August 15 – to see which new apps come in, find out how users enjoy it and tracking momentum for the early adopters to break from the iCrowd for the enhanced useability on offer. Personally, I’ll be hanging out for the 3G version – and hoping they can pull something off that’s also toddler-proof!
To participate in competitions to win an HP TouchPad, head to their Facebook page.
More information about HP TouchPad, including product features and specs, is available here.
Awesome Sarah..Both on the touchpad and the new blogsite..Well done…xx