To be fair, the processor really isn't that slow. As the article on the front page of this site demonstrates, it is pretty much on par with the rest of the tablets out there in terms of performance. The only reason it seems laggy is because the OS was poorly optimized compared to iOS or Honeycomb.
The main reason it is laggy is because HP enabled maximum logging on it by default. If you follow the directions found on many sites, you can disable the logging and the tablet is much, much faster than before and solves many of these issues. Why HP shipped it this way boggles the mind and if you guys haven't disabled that stuff, see my link earlier and disable it for a much better experience. Also load Preware and install Uberkernal and Govnah, which will allow you to overclock the CPU (it is a 1.5 Ghz CPU which HP only runs at 1.2 Ghz by default).
The biggest problem with the tablet, IMO, is the lack of OS support. I've played with my Touchpad since I got it yesterday and as my first exposure to webOS, I will say that I am impressed and find it unfortunate that it wasn't given more of a chance. However, HP has said that webOS development will continue and they're going to try to license it to others; IMO, that was the reason they got rid of these so cheaply -- they wanted to get a larger installed base out there and fuel some level of adoption and third-party development so it would be easier and more lucrative to license webOS.
And besides all of that, you guys who are bashing the Touchpad and are saying "I wouldn't even buy one for $100!!" are missing one very important point. An Android flavor of some sort is going to end up on this tablet eventually (some have already done it). The hardware is fine -- no issue there; I just wish they would've added a card slot of some sort (of course, you get 50 GB of online storage free, so that helps). So even if development doesn't take off enough on webOS to save it, there is an extremely high probability that we'll be able to load Android and access those apps. If/when that happens, those of us who did buy the tablets for $100/$150 will be the ones laughing.