HP to enter all-touchscreen smartphone segment?

A picture of what is purported to be the first webOS smartphone to feature an all-touchscreen has surfaced courtesy of a PreCentral tipster. The current HP Pre 2 and the forthcoming HP Pre 3 have followed in the footsteps of the original Palm Pre and feature very similar sliding designs that combine a physical QWERTY keyboard with a touchscreen interface. The original Pre, one of the first smartphones to combine a physical keyboard and touchscreen, generated a lot of excitement early as it was seen as an ideal cross between a Blackberry and a modern touch OS similar to iOS.

If accurate, the leak indicates that HP has decided the time is right to also offer a webOS device that eschews a physical keyboard in order to deliver a device with a fully configurable interface and significantly larger display. Millions of users are now well-trained in using all-touchscreen interfaces as among the smartphone class, these types of devices now dominate. Physical keyboards, however, still have appeal among business users and heavy texters, but an all-touchscreen phone would address the wider smartphone user base, which also expects to be able to enjoy multimedia on a larger screen.

Little is known about the specifications of the device at this stage, although the phone could carry the codename “Stingray.” It is thought to have a screen resolution of 480x800 and incorporates what appears to be a front-facing camera or proximity sensor. Other hardware details aren’t known at this stage, but if the Pre 3 is any guide, it could feature a 1.4GHz processor and have HSPA+ capability.

In a separate leak, PreCentral, has also been supplied with a photo of the upcoming Pre 3 operating on the Verizon network. The Pre 3 is known to be a “world phone” that will support both 3G CDMA and 3G HSPA networks, making an appearance on Verizon quite likely while Sprint could also support the device if it was given the opportunity.

By Electronista Staff