OK, We didn't see that coming! The HP Open webOS project has released its debut build of Open webOS 1.0 on schedule, Its now available for developers... It might means we might see a device running Open WebOS from HP by early Next year.

This release follows a couple beta updates this summer from HP. In addition to drumming up developer support, HP faces the challenge of seeing Gram, the webOS/Palm spin-off from HP, stand on its own. HP has put a lot of effort into this Open webOS initiative, even as it looks like they will re-enter the smartphone market with some Android devices. See the OS in the Video Below!

 

Source

 

HP is moving forward with its plans to open source webOS, after failing to sell it off last year. The company says it plans to complete the open sourcing process for webOS by September, which will be called Open webOS 1.0 when it is released. Today, HP is getting the ball rolling by releasing the Enyo 1.0 Javascript framework, as well as the cross-platform Enyo 2.0 core, under open source licensing.

Enyo is the framework used to create webOS apps on the HP TouchPad and other HP webOS devices. Enyo 1.0, which will not be developed any further, will let developers bring their webOS apps to other platforms. The real future of the framework lies in Enyo 2.0, which can create apps that run across mobile devices and desktop web browsers. Right now HP is only making the core of Enyo 2.0 available, which will let developers begin making apps, with a UI widget set and other features to follow.

 

 

HP could return to webOS to make new tablets in 2013, using the freshly open-sourced platform for larger mobile devices though smartphones are still off the menu. Having announced that webOS will be an open-source platform moving forward, and then confirmed that there are no immediate plans for new webOS devices.

2012 will see HPs Windows 8 based tablets reach the market, the company has previously suggested, using Microsoft freshly updated platform with its finger-friendly Metro UI. The OS has obvious advantages for HP, being directly compatible with its laptop and desktop hardware, and thus applicable both to a consumer market looking for iPad/Android tablet alternatives, and enterprise/vertical markets needing something that can integrate with an established ecosystem of Microsoft-based PC hardware.

 

 

 

HP will announce a decision regarding the future of webOS within the next two weeks, CEO Meg Whitman has confirmed, as the company attempts to hold off Apple and readies its first Windows 8 tablet. Apple could well overtake HP in 2012, Whitman said in interview with French paper Le Figaro, though the chief exec said the products she has introduced into the pipeline should make the company more competitive when they arrive in 2013.

Many have been waiting on HP official position on webOS, with rumors swirling that the company isstill looking to offload the platform it acquired as part of the Palm buy several years back. "This is not an easy decision, because we have a team of 600 people which is in limbo" Whitman suggested. "We need to have another operating system."

 

Best Buy announced today that it will be offering a new deal on the HP TouchPad starting on November 1. The tablet was originally priced 599USD at launch and went for 99USD during a short fire sale period at HP and select retailers, but has since gone back to an average price under 300USD. Starting next month, Best Buy will price the 32GB TouchPad for 149.99USD when purchased with an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop, or all-in-one computer.

The HP TouchPad tablet sold out quickly during the fire sale following the announcement that it would be discontinued back in August. The $99 fire sale TouchPad tablets proved so popular that HP scheduled another production run of the tablets to fulfill backorders.

 

 

According to the Guardian, internal HP sources have revealed that the company will be shutting down WebOS. HP had just confirmed yesterday that it will be keeping its PC business, reversing plans to spin-off the PSG division, and although it had insisted back in August that it would continue to support the WebOS software, a complete shutdown of the division looks to be imminent.

There are currently about 500 employees working in the WebOS unit, but several top-level staff have recently left, which is a telling sign. Its believed that some WebOS staff will be moved to a different division within HP, while others will be laid off. "There is a 95% chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it’s for the best" said one WebOS employee.

 

 

 

After HP thought it had enough of Palm and decided to stop producing the phones and the TouchPad, it was only a matter of time before the retail stores that were selling these devices exclusively would be shuttered.

Before the shops were closes, however, HP did offer some tantalizing discounts on the remaining products to clear the stocks. On the last day, the HP Veer was being sold for $50, the Pixi for $25 and the TouchStone was being sold for $2.50.

 

 

After HP announced that they will no longer be producing webOS products, and after watching people stampede their local Best Buy stores in order to snatch up one of those the newly discounted $100 TouchPads, folks started wondering if webOS, which has some amazing potential, will disappear.

 

According to two internal HP memos leaked to PreCentral, webOS will live, but now in the way that you would expect. The first memo, from Todd Bradley, Head of HP Personal Systems Group , otherwise known as the division that is responsible for personal computers and webOS devices, and the division that HP wants to either sell off or spint out, says: "The teams in webOS software engineering, worldwide developer relations and webOS software product marketing join the Office of Strategy and Technology) under Shane Robison. This change is effective immediately. The remainder of the webOS team, under Stephen DeWitt, will continue to report into PSG, later today, Stephen will reach out to these teams with an update."

As for the second memo, this time from Shane Robison, he details how things are going to work: "The webOS software engineering, developer relations, and software product marketing teams will become a part of OS&T, effective immediately. Ari Jaaksi, senior vice president leading webOS software engineering, and Richard Kerris, vice president leading webOS worldwide developer relations, will report to me. Lee Ott, the senior director of webOS software product marketing, will report to Ari. The webOS software employees join HP Cloud Services, Vertica, and Business Solutions as an incubating business group. However, while these teams will be joining OST we have decided not to initiate any integration activities. These teams will continue to operate under their current systems and processes until further notice."

 

 

Its been four days since HP announced they will discontinue the webOS phones and tablets. Since that day a lot has happened.

First, HP slashed the TouchPad price to $99 in the USA. Hours later most of the retailers were out of stock. The same thing is expected to happen in Europe any day now, but there is nothing official so far and no significant price cut has been witnessed on a large scale though some users report temporary price drops at some retailers.

Second, Microsoft has made a move to the webOS developers, offering them free Windows Phone tools, phones and training.

Thirdly, the Android community stepped up and founded a project that aims to port the open-source Android to the Touchpad in an attempt to breathe life into the otherwise nice-looking hardware.

Today HP went ahead and did the same thing with the just released HP Palm Pre 3. The US geeks might have been lucky to get cheap TouchPads, but they will not be able to do the same with Pre 3. HP is cancelling the Pre 3 launch there before it's even happened.

The European HP Pre 3 however is already rolling out so HP now plans its next logical move slashing the price of the phone down to $99 (SIM-free). The price cut is expected any moment now in France and in the UK. The Pre 3 is already out of stock in Germany so it won't get it is out of the promotion before it's ever happened.

 

 

If you were wondering what would happen to all those TouchPads sitting in warehouses after HP decided to abandon webOS, you now have the answer. HP just announced a mouth-watering discount on the ill-fated tablet, with the base 16GB model now costing a mere $99 and the 32GB for $150.

Of course this means that now everybody wants one. Most places that were accepting bookings for the device are now flashing the "Out of Stock" sign and you would have to be lucky to get one. Thats just for the online stores though. Starting August 20, you can get the TouchPad at the new price in brick and mortar stores, but again, only if you get there in time cause I believe there will be quite a demand for these at those prices. But if you do get one it would be quite a steal. The TouchPad may not have done so well but it still is a decent tablet and for that price is terrific value.

 

 

We certainly hope you have not just spent your hard earned money on a webOS device when reading this. In today third quarter results report, the computer behemoth announced that it "will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones."

According to HP, "The devices have not met internal milestones and financial targets." To put it better in plain language,they did not sell enough webOS devices hardly a surprise given the lack of developed apps for the webOS ecosystem.

 

The beautifully looking OS might just continue living on in printers or cars entertainment/navigation systems, or get licensed to an interested party. However, as far as mobile devices are concerned, it is all over.

 

HP TouchPad users grew impatient yesterday as HP promised an update to the tablet at the end of July. Good things come to those who wait, it seems, as the update has just started rolling out today. Sure, its a day late, but better than never.

 

Apparently, the developers have been hard at work on this update, and we can probably expect a very polished upgrade once it finally starts hitting TouchPad tablets.

 

 

 

 

HP and AT&T just announced that the US carrier will be getting a pimped up version of the TouchPad in time for the back-to-school season. The AT&T-edition of the webOS slate will have its dual-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz, rather than the 1.2GHz of the regular one.

The AT&T-bound TouchPad will also be packing 4G connectivity, which will make it the first version of the slate with network data connectivity. Unfortunately, this will not be an LTE radio, but a 3G one with 21 Mbps HSPA capabilities, but thats still cool.

We are hoping that the CPU boost will take care of the lagging issues that were widely discussed in the first batch of TouchPad reviews that surfaced. The webOS-slate implements some pretty cool UI design ideas and we would really want to see it succeed. Not to mention that more competition always leads to better products.

 

 

 

HP needs to do something about it to excite the market and the media about the platform. Android is taking over the world, iOS will have its dedicated following and there is Microsoft pouring billions in Windows Phone 7. So what can HP do? It's too late to repeat Apple success, so a different strategy is needed.

 

They are now too late to pitch Nokia, The Korean company is the world second largest handset maker with ambitions to become the number 1. An array of devices covering every aspect of the market - from super-low-end feature phones to high-end smartphones is there, covering every possible price point. In addition, Sammy also has a vast distribution network, rock-solid supply chain, and a whole portfolio of patents. All said its the company every platform maker should pitch. And most of them already did so there are Samsung smartphones running both Android and Windows Phone 7.

 

HP should convince Samsung to make webOS devices

We've already heard HP is thinking to license webOS. If they manage to convince Samsung to jump on board they may actually have a chance to fight Google and Microsoft. What the "webOS world" needs is the webOS-based Galaxy S II. Moreover, the webOS-based Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 8.9 could help the platform as well.

 

Whats in it for Samsung?

They already have their own platform, though that has not stopped from making smartphones running other mobile platforms. The way I see it, they could only benefit from such a partnership with HP taking part of the bill. What Samsung should do is use the existing hardware and simply cram new software (webOS) inside. HP could additionally help with marketing and distribution of the new devices, pitching its enterprise clientele.

 

Lets face, not many people like the TouchPad. The money HP asks for its first webOS tablet gets you a comparable Android-based tablet and even the Apple iPad. As far as I can tell, more tablet hardware options are needed to make webOS appealing to developers.

 

Samsung cool but thats not enough

If I were at HP I would also be interested to have Asus on my side. What the Taiwanese company is doing is extra-ordinary. Their existing line-up includes the Eee Pad Transformer and that phone turned tablet - Padfone. Those two devices alone could help a LOT. Then there is Amazon, but I already covered that scenario.

 

 

 

There is potentially some bad news if you are a webOS fan on Sprint, as a new rumor suggests that the Pre 3 will not be coming to Sprint and that HP has no immediate plans to produce webOS products for this carrier in the immediate future.

The report comes from unnamed sources and its a far cry from Sprint being the carrier that was thought to bring Palm back to glory with the launch of the original Pre a few years ago. Considering this may be the last carrier that has unlimited data offerings, its kind of a shame.

The HP Pre 3 does look like a cool handset with its 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor and the latest version of webOS, so look for it to perhaps land on AT&T and Verizon later this summer. If you happen to have picked up a TouchPad tablet, the Pre 3 will also have some cool Touch-to-Share features.

 

 

Under normal circumstances, this statement would have instantly been qualified as a rumor. Not today, folks. According to the CEO of HP, the electronics giant is in talks with "a number of companies" which have expressed interest in obtaining a license to use its WebOS mobile operational system.

To make the matter even more interesting, it appears that one of the companies which is involved in the licencing talks is no other but Samsung. As you can guess, both parties have declined comment. This is a very interesting piece of news to hear, knowing that today, Samsung is among the most important makers of Android devices.

 

I think that selling the rights to other companies might be the key to salvation for WebOS. It is a beautiful, yet underdeveloped OS which, with the right amount of attention, paired with proper investment, has the potential to become an alternative to Android and iOS. Right now however, it certainly is not.

 

 

The hardware giant is preparing to launch Pivot, a monthly digital publication exclusively offered on its forthcoming TouchPad tablet. Rather than running pure advertorial, the hybrid magazine/app guide will offer visually-driven features, reviews, columns and other content written by professional journalists and guest writers.

At first glance, Pivot appears to be yet another digital lifestyle magazine, but there is actually a lot more going on. HP says Pivot core mission is to show off the TouchPad capabilities and developer community, while also educating users about the device new webOS app store.

Preaching to the converted through a device-locked publication is an expensive project, but it might be a necessary evil for HP. Last year the the company scooped up smartphone veteran Palm (and its webOS platform) for a hefty $1.2 billion. Since then, HP has been playing catch-up while working to integrate the webOS into mobile devices like the TouchPad.

Now that the TouchPad release is imminent, its up to projects like Pivot to remind consumers and developers alike that webOS is still alive and kicking. "We want our partners to experience webOS as the growing platform of opportunity" said Richard Kerris, HP vice president of webOS developer relations in the announcement. "We are investing in new ways to help market their applications on our platform."

 

 

Palm Pre 2 users on Verizon will finally get the webOS 2.1 update for their phones. The update is being rolled out gradually so not all devices will get it at once.

Among the list of new features is Exhibition, which launches a bunch of apps such as the clock, photos or agenda when you dock the phone, voice dialing, support for Bluetooth keyboards, ability to backup call history, text and instant messages, email fixes, messaging fixes, photos app fixes, updates to Tasks and security updates.

 

 

 

Since the Pre 3 came into the picture, we have been wondering how the Skype integration will work well, now we have a good idea thanks to some leaked HP Pre 3 screenshots. They give us a little information about the upcoming software partnership, and while its in another language, we still get a pretty straightforward gist of the features it will enable.

 

First off, this service is for the new webOSthat will be launching alongside the new Palm Pre 3, now handled by HP. Skype will work similar to the app we currently have on Android devices. It will allow you to either have a pop-up every time you want to make a call to ask if you would like your normal phone company to handle it, or leave it to Skype to connect the call for you. If having to choose every time you make a call gets annoying, you will also have the option to make Skype only handle those expensive intentional calls and the rest will be left to your service provider.

 

Now here is where the annoying bit comes in: this software will have the ability to make Skype video calls, something the Android counterpart does not do, and it will be able to do this with the first version that will ship with the phone. This feature is very big because Android users have been waiting for it to happen for ages now, and so webOS will have at least one thing it can hold over current Android phones. Another important thing to note about this is the ability to make both video and voice call over 3G as well as Wi-Fi for certain companies.

 

 

Folks in the UK will be able to get their hands on two new QWERTY smartphones next month. First is the Motorola Pro, an Android based phone with a candybar design and a QWERTY keypad and the second is the HP Pre 3, which is based on Palm webOS and a has a portrait sliding QWERTY keypad.

The Motorola Pro is slated for launch in mid-July, according to a retailer in UK. They have put the phone on pre-order on their site for £350 ($567), even though the price is not confirmed.

 

 

As for the HP Pre 3, another retailer has put the phone up for pre-order for the same price as the Motorola Pro, i.e., £350 and expects the handset to release by July 8.

 

 

After announcing that the TouchPad will go on sale on the 1st of July, HP has now also revealed the official pricing for its accessories. The Touchstone charging dock will be priced at $80, the wireless keyboard will be $70, the case will be for $50 and the standard charger will cost you $30.

Along with the pricing, HP has also released a slew of YouTube videos showing the new TouchPad in action, doing stuff like multitasking, web browsing, gaming, typing, etc., you know, the stuff that you would normally do on a tablet along with stuff that is exclusive to the TouchPad, such as the Touchstone technology and wireless charging. Must say though there is a heavy Apple vibe to all the videos. Even the music sounds similar, with the word magic being thrown around a few times.

 

Video Below!

 

HP is yet to give any official launch date for their upcoming TouchPad tablet but it seems Amazon could not hold it in any longer and had to tell someone. So what we have here might just be a goof-up or an attempt to keep user interest up in the device.

 

Discovered by an Engadget reader, if you are curious as to when the TouchPad will be launched, all you have to do is type "hp touchpad" in the search field on Amazon and then you get this little ad that bares it all. It seems July 17 is the date when you will officially be able to get your hands on the first WebOS tablet, which is still well over a month from now.

 

 

I hope HP has good reasons for this late launch. Honeycomb tablets are not doing particularly well and HP has a chance to get in take the number two slot in the tablet race if they can just hurry up a bit. Meanwhile, those iPad 2 are practically walking out of stores on their own by now.

 

 

We get it HP, you have an awesome new tablet at your hands and you think it is going to do really well. But there is no need to go ahead and invent new numbers to describe its future position in the market. So stoked is HP Eric Cador about the upcoming HP TouchPad that in a recent press conference held in Cannes he went on to say:

"In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP products from our competitors, we became number one; in the tablet world we are going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus."

 

I am sure Apple must be real worried right now. Not because of the TouchPad but because someone invented a new number before them. As for the other tablet manufacturers, we hope they don’t start coming up with their own new numbers.

 

 

The HP Pre 3 just received its first pre-order deal, courtesy of Amazon dot de. The 2.2-inch-screen WebOS smartphone will set you back 449 euro (about $640) with free shipping in Germany. There are still no estimates as to when the phone could arrive at your door but Amazon says it will sendout emails when they have more information.

 

The Pre 3 packs the WebOS UI, 5 MP autofocus camera with HD 720p video recording, 1.4 GHz Snapdragon MSM8x55 and 512 MB RAM. It also upgrades the screen department with a 3.58" WVGA (480x800) display.

 

The HP Veer 4G will be launched, exclusively in the US, on the ATT network and it will set back users $99.9 on a two year contract. It will be available in-stores and online from 15 May.

The Veer 4G will be offered in either black or white color and is the smallest of the WebOS-yielding pack from HP.

On the inside, its powered by a Qualcomm NSN7230 processor, clocked at 800 MHz, with Adreno 205 graphics, a 5 MP fixed-focus snapper, 2.6-inch capacitive touchscreen display and WebOS 2.1.

The HP Veer 4G keeps all those specs inside a minuscule figure of just about a credit card. The 4G at the end of the phone's name stands for HSDPA 14.4 download speeds, not the real LTE stuff.

 

 

Contrary to what you might have been expecting, the HP Veer won't be showing up in stores quite as soon as was promised.

 

As the history books show, O2 Germany Twitter feed, 'o2inside', has been a steady source of all things Veer and one of their latest posts eludes to a June release, rather than May as was previously thought. This does not sit with the tiny handset big launch party in the US which is still scheduled to take place on the 2nd of May and so we can only assume this rescheduling is primarily going to affect its European release.

If you simply cannot wait for the diminutive WebOS device, O2 have kindly setup a site (in German) which will notify you at the very first sign of availability. The site also lets you reserve your handset up to a chosen number of days if you do not have time to pick yours up at launch.

 

 

In case you have not heard HP is preparing to launch a webOS-based tablet called TouchPad this summer. It will run on the tablet-optimized webOS 3.0 that nobody has seen. Up until now.

 

 

Today five screenshots taken from a webOS 3.0 emulator escaped into the wild for our viewing pleasure. The shots give us a glimpse into the browser, messaging, maps and music apps plus the dock icons and notification area.

 

 

As you can see all the apps use a minimalistic and intuitive interface. The Web (the browser app) has been renamed to Browser. There you can also see the new virtual QWERTY keyboard, which has a dedicated number row and a Next key to ease your interaction with various page elements (such as text fields).

 

 

Nowadays we are already very used to seeing the latest gadgets in music videos, prior to even those getting to the shelves. And in most cases those gadgets are doing the impossible stuff, nobody thought they can. And in most cases they really cannot do it, its just some visual trickery to make us want to buy it pronto.

 

In this case, though, we caught the HP Pre 3 and the HP TouchPad, sharing a scanner picture wirelessly without even touching each other. All the while among them are music superstars Dr.Dre and Eminem.

 

 

I cannot imagine how much HP paid in order for Dr.Dre to use their devices in his video, but its surely worth it. And the cool part of it is that this time there is no magic, there is no lie. The HP Pre 3 and TouchPad can actually do the thing that they are advertising, while a very few other devices can do the same thing.

 

---

Looking to experience the webOS user-friendliness in the most compact shell possible? Or is it a gift for your heavy-texting girlfriend that you are after? Then you will be glad to find that the HP Veer is just a couple of months away from hitting the shelves.

The news came through the O2 Germany Twitter account. The carrier will be having the little fella on its shelves in May. There is no information about the Veer pricing, but we are guessing that will be available soon.

Previously HP mentioned that they are going to release the Veer in Q3 of 2011, but obviously they are at least two months ahead of schedule.

 

Hey, Pre 2 owners: want the webOS 2.1 action that Germans have been enjoying on their Pre Pluses for a couple weeks now? Of course you do  and HP got your back. The new update been posted with support for the Touchstone's Exhibition mode, Voice Dial, and a plethora of updates to existing apps throughout the system.

On a related note, remember Classic? The old-school Palm OS emulator for webOS was so neat back during the Pre introduction that Palm worked closely with the developer to get it supported and available but when webOS 2.0 happened, Palm dropped the emulator like a hot potato by removing critical stuff from the platform updated libraries.

Well, with some sweat, blood, and a whole lot of elbow grease, it appears that PreCentral forum members have somehow managed to get Classic working on webOS 2.1 once again and you can, too, with a ten-step procedure. It feels like Palm OS is becoming more of a vintage novelty than a mission-critical platform by the day, but hey, we can understand the sentimental value.

 

 

Its been a long waiting, but finally the results of the Palm acquisition by HP is bearing fruit. HP just presented the HP Veer and HP Pre 3 smartphones in the MWC11 with many New Features, but the Most Interesting Feature was the weOS 2.2, but what about our old friend Pre 2 ??

WebOS 2.2 will have Many Improvements and New UI (User Interface), HP Product manager said that "it will be Faster, more reliable, more Beautiful and more Smart".

The webOS 2.2 is set to be Released this Summer along with the Pre 3, but HP Also didn't forget the Pre 2 as it will get the webOS 2.2 Update too later this summer after the release, the latest webOS version for the Pre 2 was the web OS 2.1. 

To see what the webOS 2.2 will look like check the Video Below!

 

 

 

 

One hot tablet we are all waiting for is the HP TouchPad. With a new iPad on the horizon, and a flood of Android tablets on the way, the TouchPad with webOS is a nice breath of fresh air. The OS itself is very elegant, the design looks sexy and the hardware and internals boast the latest and greatest in processing technology.

 

Dr. Dre most certainly has, and the tablet makes a cameo in his new video for "I Need A Doctor." In it, Dre reflects on his past and Eazy-E and somehow ends up getting himself into a spectacular car crash, resulting in a coma. Doctors, baffled by his condition and aided with the HP TouchPad, are doing everything they can to revive him. Of course, it’s nothing a little angry scream-rapping by Eminem cannot fix. Before we know it, Dr. Dre is back to life and getting his swole on, presumably ready to kick some obscure ass.

 

 

 

The HP webOS event today went off like gangbusters, and we were excited to see that HP has been busy building out their next generation of Palm devices, powered by webOS the Palm Pre 3, the TouchPad, and the smaller Palm Veer. We had a chance to go hands-on with the all-new Palm Pre 3 during the demo session immediately following the webOS event. In comparison to the Palm Pre and the Palm Pre 2, the new Pre 3 is significantly larger. Thats not a bad thing, though, because the 3 boasts more power, more screen real estate, and a new version of webOS that throws even more functionality into the innovative mobile OS that Palm created not too long ago. So, how does the 3 size up against the competition? Well, to put it simply, the competition should be worried.

Starting from the hardware, the Pre 3 is one solid piece of kit that’s painted in a black, soft-touch finish.. The handset feels heavier and bulkier than its outgoing predecessors, but in a way that makes the smartphone feel like more of a premium product than previous smartphones bearing the “Pre” brand. With that heavier in-hand feel, the device also feels like its made from higher quality materials that could just be a trick of the mind, but the point is that the 3 material quality is top notch. Industrial design is likewise impressive, although the latest addition to the Pre family bears an aesthetic that’s more of an evolution than a revolution. Smoother edges, like the elongated lip under the keyboard, give the 3 a more natural hold.

 

The Pre 3 features a 1.4GHz Snapdragon processor, 3.6-inch WVGA display, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, GPS, WiFi (B/G/N), EVDO 3G data connection, HSPA+ data connectivity for world roaming with full 3G, Bluetooth 2.1 with EDR, GPS, and will come in 8GB and 16GB onboard storage options.

The slide-out QWERTY keyboard slides vertically, which is, in our opinion the most comfortable and usable orientation for a physical keyboard. Fortunately, the keyboard keys are now larger and easier to type on. It may not be as noticeable from the side-by-side picture of the Pre 2 and the Pre 3, but the keys are indeed larger just enough to feel a difference under your fingertips. The slide mechanism feels and solid as the rest of the phone. It slides up smoothly and confidently, with no real play or "wiggle" in the hinge hardware. Thats a really good thing, considering the keyboard much improved feel there is nothing worse than pulling out a great keyboard, only to be reminded of the shoddy hinge construction every time you want to shoot out an email.

Video Below!

 

 

 

HP said we should expect their WebOS 3.0 debut tablet in the summer. It turns out that it may take them less to introduce the TouchPad to the market. An unofficial source claims that April is the launch month for the new device.

With a new device, especially the company debut into the tablet game, HP should be very careful. They have to polish the interface, hardware and software before releasing it to the masses. HP expects the new TouchPad to ship around 4-5 million units, worldwide.

 

Now thats a surprise HP officially confirmed that the Pre Plus will not get a chance to taste webOS 2 and yet here comes the update. As of today owners of the O2 Palm Pre Plus can get the over-the-air firmware package that takes their smartphones to the latest webOS 2.1, seen only on the new HP Pre 3 and HP Veer for now.

 

There is no information yet as of when other countries/carriers might follow and given that HP obviously is not much into this update it might not happen at all. Still we are hoping for the best.

 

Even if the OS update results in the occasional bug, due to the year-old hardware it would still be better to enjoy the latest and greatest of webOS on your smartphone. So what are you waiting for go and get it. Just do not forget to stop by the comments section below and tell us how it went and what the performance is like.

 

 

 

HP said we should expect their WebOS 3.0 debut tablet in the summer. It turns out that it may take them less to introduce the TouchPad to the market. An unofficial source claims that April is the launch month for the new device.

With a new device, especially the company debut into the tablet game, HP should be very careful. They have to polish the interface, hardware and software before releasing it to the masses. HP expects the new TouchPad to ship around 4-5 million units, worldwide.

 

 

webOS fans who do not want to wait for the HP Pre 3 or perhaps the Veer may go for the Pre 2 in the meantime. The webOS 2.0-powered device is landing on Verizon Wireless tomorrow, when you will be able to grab it for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in Verizon Wireless rebate and with a new two-year customer agreement.

 

As you know, the Pre 2 is pretty much the same as the original Pre, rocking important changes under the hood. The new webOS smartphone comes with much faster TI OMAP 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, contact integration via HP Synergy and a new version of webOS. Rest of the specs remain intact and include a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, 3G, WiFi, 3.1-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen, GPS that sings along VZ Navigator, 3G Mobile Hotspot capability and so on.

 

 

The HP TouchPad just went official. The new Touchpad, which was previously rumored as HP Topaz, is ready to impress with some excellent collaboration with its phone siblings just tap a Pre 3 on the tablet and your call is transferred from the phone to your TouchPad over Bluetooth.

With a dual-core processor and webOS card-based multitasking, the HP TouchPad will eat those older tablets for breakfast. The TouchPad uses a 9.7-inch touchscreen with 1024×768 and at its heart beats a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 ticking at 1.2GHz. The Touchpad will surely need the extra power with its convenient multitasking and Flash 10.1 support in the browser.

 

There will be 3G-enabled models which will pack a GPS receiver, and another version with neither 3G or GPS. Interestingly, there will also be a 4G LTE version, most obviously, a nod to Verizon.

 

Wi-Fi b/g/n is supported either way, as is Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP. The HP TouchPad has a front-facing 1.3MP camera for video calls, but no camera on the back. A 3.5mm audio jack, stereo speakers and something that HP calls Beat audio engine will tale care of the audio department. There will be two options for the internal memory 16GB and 32GB.

 

All that gadgetry is packed inside a 240x190x13.7mm body weighing 740 grams . There is a hefty 6300mAh battery feeding the dual-core CPU and big screen.

 

 

 

Its been a long waiting, but finally the results of the Palm acquisition by HP is bearing fruit. HP just presented the HP Veer and HP Pre 3 smartphones, as well as the HP TouchPad tablet, all running webOS and Its been almost a year since HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion and we're finally seeing devices coming out as a result of the acquisition. The “Think Big. Think Small. Think Beyond” tease that HP threw at us is now demystified.

Think small. Part of HP message materialized in the form of two webOS running devices the tiny HP Veer and the HP Pre 3.

 

HP Pre 3 (Photo Above)

Lets start with the Pre 2 successor the HP Pre 3. The new Pre 3 features a 3.6-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 pixels of resolution and the usual slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The HP Pre 3 has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and a LED flash, plus a 1.3-megapixel front-facing one for video calling.

 

Under the hood, there is a screaming 1.4Ghz Snapdragon 8x55 processor and 512MB of RAM. There are 8GB and 16GB storage options, but there still isn't a microSD card slot.

The Pre 3 connectivity is pretty standard with a Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n on board and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. There’s also a built-in A-GPS module, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor and a light sensors, plus a compass.

So far the Palm Pre 3 is designed to be dual mode phone, meaning it comes with both GSM/HSPA+ and CDMA radios on-board. We guess there will be a GSM-only version further down the road.

 

---

 

HP Veer

Moving on, here's the second smartphone today, the ultra-compact HP Veer. The HP Veer runs webOS 2.2 and packs a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. It has even managed to fit a gesture area below the screen.

As big as credit card and weighing a smudge over 100 grams, the Veer is rocking a 2.6-inch capacitive multi-touch display with a resolution of 320x400 pixels.

 

For a device its size the Veer sounds quite powerful. Its the first ever to use the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7230 processor ticking at 800Mhz and will rock the amazing 512MB of RAM the same amount the Palm Pre 2 has!

As connectivity goes, the HP Veer supports HSPA+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. unlike the Pre 3, the Veer has only quad-band GSM telephony support, no CDMA here. The available storage is 8GB. Unfortunately, there is no microSD card slot.

The HP Veer has a 5 megapixel camera on its back, but it's only a fixed focus unit, though it's reportedly of the "enhanced" variety.

The new WebOS smartphone will have a unique integration with the just announced HP Touchpad tablet. The feature is aptly called Touch-to-Share and allows you to transfer a website, a document, a song, or even a call from the phone to the tablet or vice versa just by putting the phone on top the tablet.

HP plans to release the Veer some time this spring, while the Pre3 will be available in the summer. There's no word about pricing yet.

 

 

HP are gearing up for their webOS event next week with a teaser video for whatever it is they will be showing off having been released.

Its a pretty short video and does not really tell us very much other than whatever the device is it will have curved corners, a few buttons and a charging connector. Hardly revelatory stuff. The whole idea around the event is the phrase Think Beyond so predictably the speculation has already begun with some good money being put on the video showing glimpses of a tablet device.

Video Teaser Below!

 

Palm and their webOS were expected to be the next big thing in smartphones, but unfortunately the company ran out of money before it managed to make an impact. However now that they have the backing of HP there is every chance that the excellent OS will get the chance to prove its worth in the tablet world.

Some photos of the upcoming HP Topaz tablet leaked, along with the detailed specs sheet and it all looks pretty promising. Built around the Qualcomm MSM8660 Snapdragon platform, featuring two Scorpion cores running at 1.2 GHz and the new Adreno 220 GPU, the Topaz will have all the computing power it needs to run webOS on the 9.7-inch XGA (1024 x 768 pixels) screen. The available RAM will be 512MB, while the storage options will include 16, 32 and 64GB.

 

 

Dual-band Wi-Fi b/g/n and Bluetooth will come on every HP Topaz, while 3G+HSPA and LTE radios will come as an option. A front-facing 1.3MP camera will allow video chatting with the 700 g weighing device, while the built-in accelerometer and gyroscope should enhance gaming capabilities.

 

The HP Topaz will have two integrated speakers plus a 3.5mm audio jack. Its dual 3150 mAh batteries should keep it going for over 8 hours. Oh and by the way, full Flash support is said to be high on the developers’ priority list so the Topaz will most likely feature it.

With HP/Palm just a few weeks away from their 9th February event in San Francisco that looks to herald the appearance of two new webOS tablet devices Engadget have been getting the low down on said devices.

The two tablets are apparently called Topaz and Opal, presumably codenames, with Topaz being the larger of the two at 241x190x13mm, which is pretty much identical to the iPad dimensions. Opal is the smaller of the two tablets at 180x144x13mm, which is shorter, but wider, than Samsung Galaxy Tab. Opal is expected to launch first, Topaz perhaps being as much as three months later to the shops.

The tablets will feature what HP are calling premium audio, which Engadget are saying will mean the tablets will feature HP Beats audio processing technology. The tablets are also said to come with 'tens of gigabytes of cloud based storage.

Now whilst we are on the subject of cloud based storage this is where these tablets get really interesting if Engadget report is to be believed. Engadget received an anonymous tip about a consumer survey conducted by a research company in North America, which is strongly suspected of being on behalf of HP. The survey reveals some rather interesting features that might creep into these tablets, features like 'Tap-to-Share'.

Tap-to-Share does pretty much what it says on the tin, you tap two supported devices together e.g. a phone and a tablet and you can seamlessly transfer a song, document, website or whatever. Think Bump, but built right into the device.

That also ties in with a slide Engadget got their hands on detailing an ability to move content experiences between devices. That should, in theory at least anyway, allow you to switch between devices without any loss of content. Apps, saved app states and documents could perhaps be launched from the cloud so in the end it would not matter what device you were using. Of course this last part is still speculation at the moment, we do not know exactly how far reaching the concept will be advanced in these tablets.

 

Sometimes executives can be most forthcoming with information and we can add Todd Bradley, a VP at HP, to that list. During an interview with CNBC he was asked about HP plans to compete with the likes of the iPad and the answer he gave was "you and I will talk about that on the 9th".

That sounds pretty clear as a date for HP webOS tablet to launch. Bradley went on to say that HP decided not to unveil its tablet at CES because of the saturation of tablets and devices on show, which would presumably rob a webOS tablet of some of the limelight. Instead the unveiling looks to be happening in San Francisco on 9th February, which should allowfor the press to focus on whatever is announced.

 

 

Palm is probably not the first manufacturer that comes to mind when you think of touchscreen keyboards, famously having plumped for a hardware solution pretty much consistently. Even more so that Blackberry one might argue.

Well that looks to be changing with the discovery of a full on touchscreen keyboard tucked away in the latest version of webOS 2.0 Its not fully functioning and will require a bit of jiggery pokery and patience with its bugs, but it does hint that touchscreen devices sans keyboard are on their way from HP/Palm in the not too distant future.

 

 

Video Below!

 

 

The recently announced Palm Pre 2 smartphone has just been launched in the US. Unlocked Pres come directly from HP and cost way less than here in Europe. HP has already started taking orders and phones are dispatched within 24 hours.

The Palm Pre 2 arrives with a faster processor (1GHz), a 5MP snapper and a scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass covering the 3.1-inch HVGA touchscreen with multi-touch support.

The successor of the Palm Pre Plus also packs 16GB of non-expandable storage and 512MB RAM, a built-in GPS receiver as well as support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. On top of that it runs the latest version of the webOS platform, webOS 2.0, which brings along a handful of improvements including even better multi-tasking, Flash capable web browser, etc.

US customers can get the unlocked Palm Pre 2 for 450 USD (330 Euro) and in UK 400 GBP (470 Euro).

 

 

 

Some rather exciting footage from the Web 2.0 summit today as Google CEO Eric Schmidt showed off an unannounced device, much speculated to be the Nexus S.

Google have said that there would be no Nexus Two and if you watch the video Schmidt does not use the term Nexus S at any point, however, he does make a point of saying that he has never said there wouldn't be a successor to the Nexus One.

Mr Schmidt also commented that Gingerbread would be released in the coming weeks and we got to see it in action on the unannounced device.

Mr Schmidt reason for showing off the device was demo its NFC (Near Field Communications) capabilities, something he said Google wanted to support now so expect to see it cropping up in more devices as we move forward.

 

 

long video below it will worth a watch!

 

Yesterday we posted that HP latest smartphone, the Palm Pre 2 will be available SIM free in the UK from November 15. This smartphone will be available soon on the airwaves of Verizon Wireless in the US. But the good news is that, Palm Pre 2 is already up for sale in Germany. If you live in Germany, then you can get this handset easily from the Palm website.

 

 

Palm Pre 2 is the first smartphone which runs on the HP latest operating system, the webOS 2.0. It comes with a 3.1 inch touchscreen display, 1GHz processor, 5 megapixel camera with LED Flash, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi, 16GB of internal memory, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, Stereo Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 Beta, 5.5 hours of talktime and so on.

 

 

Palm Pre 2 has the model number 1075EU-UMTS and it is listed in Palm's website for €499 ($690).

 

 

 

 

 

Palm have been dealt a heavy blow in the UK as it emerged that all of the UK major networks have turned down the Palm Pre 2. The device will of course be available for British customers to buy SIM free, but none of the networks will be stocking it in their portfolios.

Orange said they had no plans to stock it and Vodafone followed suit, even though their French division, SFR, does offer the handset, Vodafone UK will not be putting it on their shelves. Even O2, who bagged an exclusive deal to sell the original Pre last year are distancing themselves from it, and that's despite the fact that they will continue to offer the Pre Plus and Pixi.

Its not the sort of start HP would have hoped for its handset division after purchasing Palm, but with more devices on the way perhaps they can change the networks minds.

 

 

 

 

We already know that HP are planning on squirting out a bevy of webOS devices some time in the future, but we now have some kind of unofficial confirmation that reveals a list of 5 codenames for said upcoming devices.

 

A keen-eyed WebOS Internals user Destinal has dug around the code for the recently released webOS Doctor for webOS 2.0, and came across the references in a string of code that displays "temporarily not restoring logs for newer devices."

 

The Devices Code-names are Stingray, Mantaray, Broadway, Windsor and Roadrunner (Palm Pre 2).

 

This only confirms the existence of 4 new devices floating around Palm/HP HQ, and does not even guarantee their release let alone give us juicy details like form-factor or hardware specs.

 

 

 

HP have stepped forth and ended the speculation surrounding the Pre 2... by announcing it. The new handset, as seen in leaked pictures before now, will launch on SFR in France this Friday with Verizon in the U.S. and an unnamed Canadian network getting their hands on it in the coming weeks. No word as yet of availability on any other networks or in any more countries.

The handset keeps the same basic design as the original Pre, but there are some tweaks here and there, not to mention some hefty improvements beneath the hood, The display will be glass with a sleeker, streamlined design or to put it another way its a Pre only thinner. The processor has been beefed up to 1 Ghz and the camera will also see a boost to 5 MP.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Pre 2, like the original, is the underlying OS powering the device. webOS 2.0 will see some new features introduced such as HP Synergy for linking up email and social media accounts alongside support for Adobe Flash 10.1 beta. HP are also promising users true multitasking.

 

So stay tuned for More info about this phone Soon!

 

A French network has been letting slip some details about the next iteration of Palm Pre, un-originally titled the Pre 2. The biggest piece of information in the leak of course is that there is even a Palm Pre 2 at all. Until now there hadn't been any sort of official confirmation that the handset even existed. The leaked info is rather sparse, but there are a few choice snippets to pour over:

• 1 GHz processor
• 512 MB RAM
• webOS 2.0

SFR also comments on webOS 2.0 supporting Push for the likes of Facebook, which presumably means that messages, notifications, etc will be pushed to your handset. The picture used in the leak looks remarkably like the original Pre, which may or may not be a good thing depending if its the Pre 2 shown here and your point of view. Some may have hoped for a different design whilst others may still pine for its pebble beauty. At any rate its coming, we just don't know when yet.

 

PreFox is an early proof-of-concept web browser for webOS based on the the same source code as Mozilla Firefox for Mobile.

 

The default webOS browser is fast and simple to use but Mozilla Firefox for Mobile features many benefits:

• Better support for web standards allowing rich sites like Flickr to function correctly
• Multiple tabs and session restore
• Remembering cookies and passwords for sites
• Built in synchronisation of bookmarks and history with desktop Firefox
• The awesomebar
• Support for many add-ons

The challenge was to see if the current Palm Pre hardware and its platform webOS was capable of running such a full featured web browser. The answer is, probably yes, but there is still work to do.

Startup is too slow. It is probably not possible to equal the startup speed of webOS built in browser but it still needs to be faster to be useful.Currently PreFox runs and can be used to browse the web but the following key things keep it from being truly usable:

• Memory use is currently too high often giving the “Too many cards” errors.
• Sometimes while running PreFox will become slow for periods of time, clearly it is doing something in the background that needs to be identified.
• Various UI and functionality tweaks specific for webOS.
• 
  

In the case of the first three a lot of the work that the Mozilla team are doing to improve things on the Android platform will translate directly to PreFox.

 

PreFox requires webOS 1.4.5 and so far has only been tested on a Sprint Palm Pre. It probably works a little better on a Palm Pre Plus but I have no idea whether it would even start on a Palm Pixi.

 

We have already seen Many WebOS2.0 Rumors and images appear online featuring the upcoming webOS 2.0 update to the mobile Operating System, But its Leaked with a Video to seeing it in motion. Palm webOS 2.0 has finally made an appearance on an YouTube Video showcasing the New WebOS UI and Home screen and showing off that more smooth look and feel.

 

Unfortunately, the Youtube Video has been removed Due to a Copyright Infringements.

 

Via MobileCrunch