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.