Like the first Android 3.0 tablets and RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook before it, the TouchPad ships with some rough, buggy spots in its software, hobbled features that need a fix through a later over-the-air update, and a lack of compelling apps that could make this tablet the one to own.

During my hands-on time with the TouchPad, six points in particular stuck out as disappointments.

It's only fair that I call out the HP TouchPad on how it handles images; after all, I relentlessly ragged on Google's Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) for its inside its native Gallery app. The thing is, the TouchPad isn't a whole lot better off. I saw artifacts (including jaggy aliasing issues on high-resolution images scaled down by the TouchPad to fit its display), inaccurate colors, and a lack of detail and crispness (though this effect was not nearly as bothersome as on Android 3.0).

Google got its act together and improved its Gallery performance in Android 3.1, though I'd posit that the color handling and sharpness could be improved even further. HP reps told me that it was looking into the rendering issues I called out; let's hope that an over-the-air update addresses these problems soon.