HP Touchpad

£89 (16GB) and £115 (32GB) RRP clearance pricing subject to availability, www.hp.com

It may seem slightly odd reviewing an internet tablet which has just been discontinued by its manufacturer, its pioneering “webOS” operating system abandoned and its retail pricing reduced in the mother of all fire-sales. However, the HP Touchpad’s short time on the shelves has been dramatic to say the least. HP initially priced the 16GB model at £399 and 32GB at £479, just below the iPad. Even with its vibrant 9.7in LED-backlit display, nippy 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core APQ8060 processor and impressive eight-hour battery life, the Touchpad received a luke-warm response from customers and the press.

Unlike most of the iPad’s arch enemies which employ Google’s open source operating system Android, HP decided to re-write the rule book and design a new mobile operating system from the bottom up. In actual usage, webOS is refreshingly intuitive – chief among its attributes is true multi-tasking with web browser windows; emails and apps all appearing like decks of cards on your desktop that you can flick between. The downsides to this Arab Spring of operating system revolutions are, as you’d expect, a corner shop of apps compared to Apple’s hypermarket, and sometimes unforgivable slowdowns.

Despite these foibles, the Touchpad is a sensational purchase. Why? HP have slashed the price to only £89 (16GB) and £115 (32GB). They are discontinuing the tablet and most likely webOS too. However, with forums littered with geeks modding Android to run on it, the Touchpad is definitely worth a punt.