HP TouchPad tablet apps will sell via ‘Pivot’ magazine

HP’s new TouchPad will use an online magazine called ‘Pivot’ to sell users apps, as well as a traditional app store.
The forthcoming HP TouchPad will include a new way for people to buy apps, based around an online magazine called ‘Pivot’. Writers whose work has appeared in established media such as the New York Times, will be commissioned for the magazine.

Although the new method aims to complement the App Catalog, HP’s conventional app store, it will hope to address a problem that has been particularly difficult for Google’s Android Market, where consumers have struggled to find the best or newest apps.

Pivot will be monthly, and begin when the TouchPad launches in mid-July.

HP said that “Pivot will showcase a broad range of applications – and the developers who create them – by providing customers the freedom to explore based on their interests and lifestyles.”

Richard Kerris, vice president, webOS Worldwide Developer Relations, said HP was “investing in new ways to help market their applications on our platform”.The new product was also praised by magazine producers. “Pivot has the right focus,” said Joe Simon, chief technology officer, Conde Nast. “It provides an enriching experience for customers and is a great environment for developers considering the platform.”
The TouchPad will, however, be likely to face criticism from those comparing it to other platforms because it will probably launch with just a few hundred apps. Earlier this year the firm claimed the tablet would be “better than the number one tablet” currently on the market.