It’s been a while, over two years to be exact, since Palm blew the industry away with a device that promised to be a fresh take on the smartphone concept. Unfortunately, being the small company that they were, Palm did not have the resources to take webOS (their Linux based operating system) to the masses. The company was fighting for capital and thanks to lackluster sales because of carrier exclusivity, webOS faded from the spotlight even though it remained one of the most polished and best thought out mobile operating systems on the market. The fact that hardware quality was an issue initially also played a factor (I personally went through a record 5 Palm Pre’s before switching to a Touch Pro 2 in the summer of 2010).
Then came the talks of buyouts and mergers and even licensing the OS to run on other OEM products. All in all dozens of companies showed interest in acquiring Palm, and why not, they held hundreds of patents, which are still used today I might add, and were one of the original players in the smartphone market. Rumor has it that RIM, Apple and Nokia all looked into acquiring Palm, Apple, mainly for Palm’s large patent portfolio. But it was HP who eventually scored in a $1.2 billion acquisition deal. Needless to say, the worlds largest computer manufacturer was ready to play business and shortly after the acquisition, the relationship between them and one of their biggest partners, Microsoft, began to strain as the company announced that it would not be supporting Windows Phone 7 and instead focus on webOS as it’s mobile and tablet operating system.
Things remained pretty quiet for months as the corporate shuffle took place behind closed doors. Some of Palm’s most valuable executives jumped ship, either that or they were made to walk the plank, running to such rivals as Nokia (MeeGo) and Android, but some new talent came on board as well such as those responsible for Google Maps UI moving from Mountain View and heading over to HP’s new location at Palm. Jon Rubinstein, the guy singlehandedly responsible for turning Palm around took an executive seat at HP and development on the future of webOS began.
By summer of last year, it was clear that HP and Palm were working on something big. Both companies made it clear that new devices in both the phone and tablet sectors were due in the following year and webOS would be integrated in HP’s web connected printers and devices. Unfortunately, for many who held the name of Palm dear, that moniker began to phase out and instead of HP/Palm webOS, it was HP webOS. A sad end to nearly two decades of innovation, but one that ushered in a new era.
That era began today when after months of speculation and leaks as well as HP’s invitation to it’s February 9 event, the newest webOS devices were announced and demoed.
HP Veer
The Veer is the smallest of the webOS family which lends credence to HP’s slogan for it’s press event today: “Think big, think small, think beyond!” The phone features a 2.6-inch capacitive touch screen which supports multi touch gestures as well. The screens resolution is 320 x 400. Needless to say, HP will be marketing this device to those who are looking for a smaller form factor. On the rear of the device is a 5 megapixel EDoF camera that will support HD video shooting. The phone sports HSPA+ compatibility which hints that this will be a GSM device, possibly coming to AT&T. The phones processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7230 processor (the first device to use this new processor) with a clock speed of 800MHz. The phone will have 8GB of internal storage and from what HP has said so far, microSD support will not be included. webOS 2.2 is running the show.
The phone does look cute, at least in my opinion, but I still question the keyboard. As an owner of the original Pre, I have to say that while I had no trouble typing on the keyboard, it was a bit cramped and I really wish HP would bring an on-screen keyboard to the device.
A video demo can be viewed below courtesy of Engadget.
http://www.viddler.com/simple/62b9bec1/
HP Pre 3
The Pre 3, as the name would suggest, is the third generation Pre. The phone has gotten significant changes under the hood although the changes in looks are minimal. For starters the device sports a 3.6-inch screen, up from 3.2 inches on the previous generation devices. The screen is capacitative and sports multitouch support as well. The screens resolution is 480 x 800 which brings it up to par with most of the cellphones that are currently on the market.
The camera is identical to that of the Veer with support for HD video shooting as well, but you will find a front facing camera for video conferencing and from what HP has said today, Skype is coming to webOS this year. Most interesting is the fact that the processor has been upped from a 600MHz clock speed to 1.4GHz thanks to a new Qualcomm MSM 8×55 CPU. It’s not dual core but it still trumps the clock speed of any processor currently in mobile phones. The cellular radios read HSPA+ and EVDO Rev A, yes we’re talking about a world phone here. Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n on the 5GHz spectrum is included as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with an A-GPS receiver. Touchtone charger support is a go for the entire webOS family and the Pre 3 is no exception.
HP TouchPad
The TouchPad is the most anticipated device from HP’s announcement today. The tablet features webOS 3.0 (the two other phones are stuck with version 2.2) and has a 9.7-inch display that carries a front facing camera which HP claims will get Skype support (preferably before launch). The tablet weighs a mere 1.6 pounds and is only 13.7mm thick.
What really sets the tablet apart from the rest is the inclusion of a dual-core Qualcomm 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU along with an inbuilt gyroscope, accelerometer and compass. The device will sport 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi along with Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and A-GPS on the 3G models only. HP says, and I quote, that the memory is “twice that of the Pre,” which means that this tablet should have more than 1GB of RAM, perfect for all the multitasking one could want.
The virtual keyboard on the TouchPad can be configured to 4 different sizes including small, medium and large. HP has scored deals with Kindle to bring a version of the Kindle app to the TouchPad and by the looks of things, it is amazing. There is support for wireless printing as well as GoogleDocs and Quick Office support. You can also take advantage of Dropbox and Box.net compatibility.
The TouchPad supports Touchstone charging as well as the ability to “bump” another webOS device on the tablet for information exchange. Other accessories include a case, stand and wireless keyboard.
Availability for the device is set for the summer of 2011 and HP says that the WiFi version will be first out of the gate with a 3G and 4G model due in the coming months. Unfortunately pricing has not been determined yet and I could only guess as to how much the device could cost.
Video demo of the device can be viewed below, courtesy of Engadget as well.
Worldman Writing Samples 