HP TouchPad Snapdragon chip capable of 1080p, 3D, says Qualcomm

The Qualcomm-made Snapdragon processor that will power the HP TouchPad tablet has serious potential — but is it enough to compete with Apple's juggernaut device?

Chip-maker Qualcomm announced Thursday details about its new 1.2GHz dual-core APQ8060 Snapdragon processor, which powers the newly-announced HPTouchPad tablet computer.

The chip, which uses the Adreno 220 graphics processor, allows for the rendering of up to 16 megapixel still images, and 1080p high-definition video capture and playback of stereoscopic 3D images, which can be ported through an HDMI output to autosteroscopic display panels or 3DTV. This means users can, potentially, shoot their own 3D flicks, and watch them without wearing the glasses. No word yet on whether the TouchPad will actually have this functionality.

In addition, the Snapdragon chip is also capable of “console-quality gaming,” as well as “full web browsing with Adobe Flash 10″ — a direct dig at Apple’s Flash-less iPad if we’ve ever heard one. (In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year: The iPad does not support Adobe Flash. We hope, however, that iPad 2 will.)

Revealed at a press conference yesterday, the HP TouchPad touchscreen tablet will run on HP’s updated webOS 2.1 operating system. Like the iPad, the TouchPad has a 9.7-inch screen, as compared to the 10.1 inches for which most iPad competitors have opted. The screen has a 1024 x 768 resolution — the same as the current iPad and possibly the iPad 2.

HP’s TouchPad weighs 1.5 pounds and is 13.7 mm thick. It will reportedly come in both the 16GB and 32GB varieties. And should be available sometime this summer.

As we’ve noted, the TouchPad has some serious hurdles to overcome if it hopes to stand a chance against knocking Apple out of the tablet market throne. It’s name, for starters, is generic. And HP still has to figure out how to compete with the App Store’s impressive inventory of software. And by the time HP releases the TouchPad, Apple will undoubtedly have released the second generation iPad, which is guaranteed to raise the bar for any company hoping to break into the tablet market.

But who knows? Maybe the impressive stats of this new Snapdragon processor — which no other tablet so far uses — could move HP to release something spectacular.