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HP has posted updates for webOS. It now has webOS 3.0.5 available for owners of the TouchPad, which the company initially launched and then quickly shelved last summer. It's also making a separate release, webOS 2.2.4, available to Pre 2 and Pre 3 smartphone owners.
New scoops both public and private have suggested that Palm, and later HP, may have ultimately had hurdles at the corporate level, not just technical, to ever challenging Apple or Google. WebOS didn't have either the needed management or engineers to bring it to completion, a New York Times source said, and there were few WebKit-savvy developers weren't already working on iOS or Android. This was compounded by a rush to finish the OS in nine months, which required taking shortcuts such as skipping proper APIs (app programming interfaces) until later, hurting the ability for third-party developers to sign on.
American webOS fans despondent at HP's decision to exitmobile hardware were given a chance to buy in on Saturday after eBay auctions surfaced for all three. Two auctions for the Pre3 on AT&T and Verizon have recently ended that showed both carriers were at one point committed to the flagship phone. Both have carrier-specific boxes and art, and the AT&T version had already been relabeled as the Pre3 4G to show its support for 14.4Mbps HSPA on the network.
Despite HP's suggestion that its webOS smartphone business is alive and well, the company has reportedly eliminated plans to launch the new Pre3 handset in the US. The device is said to be heading to France and the UK as an unlocked handset for just $75, a fraction of the typical unsubsidized price for a new high-end smartphone.
HP's recently installed webOS leader Stephen DeWitt on Monday said that the decision to drop webOS mobile devices hadn't affected plans to bring webOS to PCs. In an interview, he insisted that plans were still underway to dual-boot webOS and Windows. He added in the AllThingsD conversation that he saw webOS as a "popular platform" on multiple "connected devices," including printers.
HP's webOS developer relations VP Chuq von Rospach posted a letter Friday pledging support for the webOS App Catalog even in the face of the endof HP webOS hardware. The company would not only continue to support the app store but refine it as well. The company would "enhance [its] merchandising and presentation" of apps and build the ecosystem further, he wrote.
Orange may be the first major carrier taking on the HP Pre3 in the UK. The smartphone, although not yet appearing on any of the carrier's sales-related pages, has cropped up on Orange's support page. The phone, had been showing up for pre-sale at several UK retailer's sites, with an expected ship date of July 8 but has now had one of its first official appearances.
HP has informed its registered developers over e-mail that they should start making their apps for the Pre3 smartphone ready. As such, an updated emulator is available, along with supporting documentation that is due to go live this week for Early Access program members. What's more, HP is in the process of testing exisitng smartphone apps for compatibility with the Pre3, suggesting its launch is imminent.
Sprint is quitting its one-time hope of a completely unique iPhone rival and dropping webOS from its lineup, contacts revealed Friday night. A reliable source for This is my next understood that the carrier was not only declining to carry the Pre3 but that HP doesn't have future hardware on the platform in the known schedule. It's not clear which side had quit the other.
A leaked roadmap has shown HP's webOS plans for the rest of the year. The schedule slipped out to PreCentral shows the current TouchPad being followed by a 64GB model in August that wouldn't just have more storage but get a full-fledged unique design. It would have a faster processor, possibly a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon instead of the present-day 1.2GHz chip, and would come in an Apple-like glossy white.
HP in an unusual tactic gave early adopters of the TouchPad a discount based on loyalty to the webOS platform. Anyone in the US or Canada who can prove they bought a Palm Pre, Pixi, or their Plus equivalents will get a $50 rebate on a 32GB version of the new tablet. The deal is valid anywhere the TouchPad is on sale and will last through the end of July.
Verizon has begun making webOS 2.1 available to its subscribers with HP Pre2 smartphones. The update appears to be a controlled rather than a generally available or automatic release. It fixes a number of issues with the previous release, as well as adding some new functionality.
Canadian carrier Rogers gave a possible clue as to the launch window for the HP Pre3 through a new memo. A sheet mentioning that the Wi-Fi TouchPad would reach the carrier's stores on July 15, two weeks after the US, also notes that its webOS smartphone companion could be arriving four days later, on July 19. MobileSyrup's source didn't have a price for the phone.
The HP Pre3 smartphone has now gone up for pre-order on Amazon Germany. It is priced at 449 euros (the equivalent of $640) and ships on June 6 in Germany. The date, hopefully, will also be the one during which the handset ships in the US as well.
HP CEO Leo Apotheker has warned staff in a new company memo that the company is likely to face more trouble in its current quarter ending in July. Echoing an outlook warning from February that proved true for the winter, he said it would be "another tough quarter" and demanded that every division cut back on expenses. The company had to "watch every penny" and keep new hires to a minimum, Apotheker said in Bloomberg's version of the note.
HP appears to have equipped its upcoming Pre3 handset with global roaming capabilities. The feature was revealed in FCC filings for an HP device that matches known specs for the Pre3. Tests for the CDMA variant indicate additional support for quad-band GSM networks alongside WCDMA bands at 900 MHz and 1200 MHz, which would enable roaming capabilities in Europe.
An FCC filing published Tuesday may have been the go-ahead for HP's upcoming launch of the Pre3 and with a software update surprise in tow. Although not identified by name, the phone is running on AT&T's 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G bands. Unusually, it's running webOS 2.3 and suggests HP plans to be at least two versions ahead of today's 2.1 by launch.
Texas Instruments started the week by promising a very small wireless power chip, the bq51013, that could lead to the technology spreading to other devices. Its design measures just 0.12 inches at its longest point, 80 percent less than TI's previous version, but can still provide the 5W of inductive power needed for smartphones, MP3 players, and most other mobile devices. It backs the official Qi power standard and should work with any charger that supports the standard.
HP on Friday helped developers get started on next-generation webOS hardware with the webOS 2.1 SDK. The kit gives access to Exhibition for Touchstone-based apps, Just Type searches and direct Synergy hooks. Much of the emphasis is on the Veer, HP said; the 320x400 resolution is the same as that for the Pixi, making it possible to port apps from the tiny phone over to the faster, more advanced slider.
HP chief Leo Apotheker in his major strategy briefing on Monday outlined an aggressive plan for webOS. He expected that the TouchPad and smartphones like the Pre3 and Veer would all be shipping by June and would be part of "wave after wave" of releases. HP eventually hoped to ship 100 million webOS devices, although Apotheker didn't say when this would happen.
HP has begun distributing webOS 2.1 updates for Palm Pre 2 handsets, though the current release appears to be limited to unlocked devices. The over-the-air download enables users to take advantage of the new Exhibition utility for access to the clock app, photo slide shows, and calendar view. Other improvements including voice dial, additional backup options, and support for Bluetooth keyboards.
HP chief Leo Apotheker in an interview said webOS would be a regular feature of all HP computers in the future. Expanding on details from the webOS event, the executive promised that all 2012 HP computers would boot webOS as well as Windows. He told Bloomberg he hoped to spur on app creation that would make HP's PCs stand out from the generic crowd.
HP signaled potential problems with its home business both in its past quarter and in the near future. The Personal Systems Group, which covers its PCs and mobile devices, saw its winter revenue dip one percent year over year in a market where others were growing. It specifically singled out the home as sales of regular PCs, like the Pavilion line, plunged 12 percent.
The webOS 2.1 firmware for the Pre Plus handset has now been made available for download in Germany, despite HP saying earlier this month it won't upgrade older handsets to the firmware. This includes the Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus, and HP may still stand by its decision, as it's just carrier O2 that is upgrading the Pre Plus and no one else, at least thus far.
HP developer Ben Combee promised late Thursday that the TouchPad would run older webOS apps. The tablet and any other webOS 3.0 devices would run apps built in the old Mojo kit as-is, with an onscreen gesture space to make up for a small app running on the much larger screen. They won't scale up, however.
HP in the aftermath of its webOS event on Wednesday said it had scrapped plans to bring its webOS 2 update to older phones with a promise of some consolations. The Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus were all deemed too slow to run the major revision. Mobile division head Jon Rubinstein told Engadget that the company had "missed a product cycle" in the fiscal crisis that eventually led to the HP buyout.
HP as promised launched two new smartphones at its webOS event. The Veer is billed as one of the smallest smartphones ever and has the front surface area of a credit card; it tucks a slide-out keyboard underneath a 2.6-inch, 320x400 display. It still has an 800MHz processor fast enough to handle Flash and has HSPA+ 3G support for fast downloads on major networks.
Verizon's plans to at last launch the Palm Pre 2 were supported on Friday with a high-profile slip from one of the network's internal websites. HP's webOS phone should reach online and retail on February 17. The version of the slider shown at Engadget would support the earlier Palm hotspot feature and would qualify for prepaid data.
HP's new CEO Leo Apotheker said in an interview late Thursday that at least some of the webOS hardware due at the February 9 event will ship quickly. He promised the BBC that these would be real, near-term introductions and that the hardware would be ready 'just a few weeks later.' The company was backing away from the mistakes of premature announcements that it made with devices like the Slate 500, which was unveiled in early January 2010 but didn't ship until October and had lost nearly all attention to the iPad.
HP has already begun distributing webOS 2.1 updates to Pre 2 handsets on the Canadian carrier Rogers. Version 2.1 is said to include Exhibition in the app drawer, providing an additional interface to view content such as calendar updates, images, and a clock. Users can also access the Voice Dial feature from the app drawer.
A CNBC interview with HP's Personal Systems Group Executive VP has revealed some hints about what can be expected at the planned February 9 event. Todd Bradley confirmed the event will focus on webOS and that a broad public set of announcements can be expected as well. Bradley didn't quite confirm that a tablet will be shown off, but did say HP bought Palm for a strategic reason and webOS was largely the aim.
HP's and Palm's webOS tablet was given some of its first more tangible details through a leak of an accessory. Internally, the slate is now codenamed the Topaz and will have a companion Bluetooth keyboard. Details unearthed by Engadget suggested it would take cues from Apple's Wireless Keyboard with a numberpad-free, chiclet layout but also with special function keys that work both for a mobile OS and the desktop, in this case webOS and Windows.
HP today was found to have filed a trio of trademarks for devices that could represent of Palm's 2011 webOS lineup. The USPTO filings refer to the Gyst, Myte and Veer in generic terms but which could fit the description of a smartphone. PocketNow suggested the three could be the previously codenamed Mantaray, Stingray and Windsor, since the previously mentioned Broadway may be the Pixi 2.
HP's Josh Marinacci, a Palm veteran, has announced that it plans on updating all existing webOS handsets to the latest v2.0 software. Developers must still sign up for the Early Access program to create apps for webOS 2.0, despite the existence of the v2.0-equipped Pre 2 on the market. The public SDK is expected to be released closer to the arrival of v2.0 updates for older phones.
Verbatim has just announced the release of its new MediaShare Mini network box for the home. The device connects to TVs and/or computers and lets users stream multimedia content, or play back local files from connected USB drives. The thumb drives also automatically connect to the network, sharing their files.
The Palm Pre has reportedly received its official end-of-life designation in Sprint's inventory system, officially marking its discontinuation from the carrier. An inventory screenshot posted on PreCentral lists the Pre among other "EOL" devices such as the HTC Snap. The move had been viewed as inevitable, after the device was recently pulled from Sprint's website.
Sprint has quietly pulled the Palm Pre smartphone from its lineup, as the phone is no longer available from its website. The carrier has not replaced the original webOS smartphone with any of its newer iterations such as the Palm Pre Plus or the now HP-made Palm Pre 2. The only remaining Palm device remaining under Sprint is the original Pixi, which lacks Wi-Fi.
French carrier SFR accidentally gave away HP's smartphone plans in a major fashion with a page for the Palm Pre 2. The promo suggests speed is the focus with a much faster 1GHz processor (up from 500MHz) with the same 512MB RAM as the Pre Plus. It adds that webOS 2.0 will ship with it and will make Facebook a heavy focus, with push messages, status updates and Facebook Chat woven into the OS.
Just over a month after the release of webOS 1.4.5 for Sprint's Palm Pre, Pixi and Pixi Plus and Pre Plus handsets, the Verizon and AT&T versions are getting their own software updates. Like in the other handsets, the newest software brings with better support for 3D gaming and other PDK features in the Plus variants, longer battery life and an improved Mobile Hotspot functionality with Windows Vista 64-bit.
The recently frozen PS3 jailbreak has been reworked to be usable through smartphones. After having been open-sourced as PSGroove, PSJailbreak is now available through code (PSFreedom) that runs from an attached Nokia N900, Palm Pre and even the Dingoo. In most cases, the technique works by catching the Sony console on startup and inserting an exploit of a memory heap overflow hole that defeats the blocks placed on what apps can run.
Verizon appears to be phasing out a variety of smartphones, including the Palm Pre Plus, BlackBerry Storm2 and Curve 8530. Although the Pre Plus had already disappeared from both the AT&T and Verizon online stores, the latest report suggests that the latter carrier does not plan to restock the device in its web-based store or retail locations.
Wireless provider Sprint has put up their changelog for webOS 1.4.5, with the software due for a release on Tuesday. Among other things, the release is expected to bring with it PDK app access to Sprint's Pre and Pixi smartphones and 3D gaming for the Pixi Plus and Pre Plus. The software was already released in other markets, and includes a plethora of smaller fixes.
Confirming earlier reports, Radio Shack is in the process of eliminating Palm's Pixi and Pre handsets from its store inventories, according to a Barron's report. The retailer is attempting to clear out space to prepare for the arrival of several newer handsets. The company has yet to define which devices will be added, although an unnamed BlackBerry is said to be a potential candidate.
Apple veteran and current Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein has admitted several shortcomings of its initial strategy with Sprint, according to an interview with Fortune. The executive admitted that he would have wanted a shorter deal with Sprint, the carrier that established an exclusive agreement to distribute the Pre handset.
Pal is allegedly dropping its current advertising agency, Modernista, and is negotiating with several other agencies to handle upcoming campaigns, according to an AdvertisingAge report. The Boston-based agency was responsible for creating the surreal Pre ads featuring actress Tamara Hope.
The next iPhone will continue to exacerbate Palm's troubles, according to UBS analyst Maynard Um. Despite the buzz surrounding the Pre announcement early last year, Palm recently cut its guidance for the current quarter. The company cites "slower than expected" sales of the Pri, Pixi, and newer Plus variants.
Palm is currently demonstrating Epic Games' Unreal Engine 3 running on a Palm Pre Plus at the Game Developers Conference this week. The company managed to get the engine working on webOS just two weeks after receiving a test version of the Unreal Development Kit, according to CNET. The technology is currently used in PC and console games such as Gears of War 2 and Unreal Tournament III.
Palm sales through Verizon are allegedly falling "well short" of initial expectations, according to Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek. Although Palm has yet to disclose specific guidance regarding sales forecasts, the analyst believes the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus handsets have reached sales numbers that are less than half of the target levels.
Palm Pre Plus buyers are reporting that the recently purchased phone doesn't have GPS functionality in Google Maps. The Verizon device will not find a GPS signal when in the Google Services menu from the Location Services option and the user's location cannot be determined. A return trip to Verizon reportedly yielded no favorable results either.
Verizon Wireless has allegedly placed an order for 400,000 Palm devices, an unnamed source has told the Boy Genius Report. The order is claimed to be an even split between two devices, with 200,000 Pre smartphones and 200,000 Pixi handsets.
