toshiba's attempt at a tablet... the ipad isn't so bad

  This is the Libretto, obviously an attempt to compete with the iPad. It's just a concept but is scheduled to be released before Christmas. Except there is a problem.
  People criticize the iPad as just being a giant iPhone, which is pretty much true. What they don't want to acknowledge though, is that the iPhone OS is a great touchscreen operating system, probably the best out there. there are a few things that make a touchscreen OS great:

• Large, easy to press buttons
• Responsiveness
• Screen sensitivity
  
• Ergonomically pleasing placing of buttons
• Simple, straightforward menu layouts

  Easy enough, right? Apparently not. You see, when a company tries to build a tablet with the Microsoft operating system, it fails every time. Why? None of the things listed above are ever met. The main reason is the operating system. Running Windows 7 on a touch device is simply stupid. You don't see Snow Leopard running on the iPad. Apple has even redesigned a few things that make the OS easier to use on a bigger display.
  This amount of detail is always neglected in anything from Microsoft or their hardware companies. Apparently you can just throw a touchscreen on a small computer and call it a tablet. Do you know how hard it is to press tiny that X is on Windows to close an application on a touchscreen? Now imagine that twice as small on a tiny display, and imagine your frustration as you try to click "End Program" on a tiny "This Program is Not Responding" window. There's more: since there won't be a closed application pool, you will have to continue to run software on it that isn't optimized for the touch display.
  What's worse is that this thing is made of flimsy black plastic. Most likely the screen will be plastic too. Plastic screens are horrible for touch input, and they don't feel nice when you're pressing a button.  Even so, they try to make this device usable by stealing something from Apple, the Home button. Guess what else? An eReader.
  Take it from me. My dad has a touchscreen HP, and it is so impossible to use that he doesn't even try anymore. I tried to use it, and let me tell you: it is impossible. The on-screen keyboard is so horrible, even if you make it half the size of the screen, it inputs wrong letters... if it even recognizes that you are pressing the screen. Many reviews I have read have complained about the keyboard being sluggish. (PCPro, CrunchGear) I cannot even begin to imagine the agony of trying to type on a tiny one of those.
  What's worse is that they claim Microsoft Office will work on it. Have fun picking a font. Can't see what you're typing because the screen is too small? Good luck trying to zoom in. What makes all of this worse is that computer companies have been making touchscreen laptops with the full Windows OS since 2000. They don't sell because they suck. Have they even tried to produce a usable product? No. They just release new versions, the next as frustrating as the last. Don't like it? "Use a stylus" they say.

Compare	libretto	iPad
Touch optimized	No	Yes
Camera	1megapixel	No
Touch optimized apps	No	Apple approved ones
Hardware	Plastic	Aluminum, glass
Wifi	Yes	Yes
3G	Yes	Select models
Base storage	62GB	16GB
Screen size	2 7” screens	9”
eReading	Yes	Yes
Processing	1.2Ghz	1Ghz
Multitouch	No	Yes
Weight	1.77lbs	1.5lbs
Screen resolution	1,024x600	1,024x768
Battery life	3.5 hours	10 hours
Base price	1,080	499