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.
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.
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.
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 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.
Verizon's online store has dropped its last of the current webOS phones by shedding the Palm Pixi Plus. The phone is vanishing several months after the Pre Plus exit and just over a year after it reached stores. Verizon hasn't officially confirmed that the phone is out of stock.
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.
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 on Tuesday sent out invitations for a special press event on February 9. The San Francisco meeting was only described as an "exciting webOS announcement" and hinted that there might be "big" and "small" hardware. The gathering is the first in two years from the Palm team to have gone outside of CES.
HP's plans for a Pixi 2 may have been given away on Tuesday by a promo page on Sprint. Although supposedly advertising the existing Pixi, the image shows a device with what looks to be a front camera next to a sensor. Its wallpaper and keyboard are also visibly different than in any of the other product shots in the gallery.
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.
Palm is reportedly readying a new smartphone that could be set to launch as early as next month. The leaked information, which was posted on PreCentral, allegedly comes from an internal meeting with Todd Bradley of HP's Personal Systems Group. The device is said to represent the "smallest smartphone ever available."
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.
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.
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.
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.
Palm's webOS 1.4.1 update, currently being distributed to devices in Europe, reportedly supports Mobile Hotspot functionality for subscribers on O2's network. The latest offering provides the same basic features as the app for Pre Plus and Pixi smartphones on Verizon's network, allowing the devices to be used as a modem tethered via Wi-Fi.
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.
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.
A recently spotted FCC filing reveals that Palm will soon release a version of its Pixi handset that will support Verizon's network and have integrated Wi-Fi capabilities. The currently available Pixi also operates on CDMA but notably doesn't have Wi-Fi to keep its costs down.
An unnamed source claims to have seen someone using an AT&T-branded Palm Pixi handset on San Francisco's mass transit system. The early look is just an indication and there is no official word from neither AT&T nor Palm about whether the Pixi is actually coming to the provider. Thus far, the Pixi is only available with a Sprint connection.
On her talk show on Thursday, Ellen DeGeneres gave away a Palm Pixi cellphone, Barnes & Noble's Nook reader, a MiFi 2200 mobile hotspot, a Powermat wireless charger and Nokia Booklet 3G netbook to every member in her audience. The bundle was the first in a series of giveaways, dubbed 12 Days of Giveaways.
Palm surprised Pixi owners this morning by pushing webOS 1.3.2 to their phones. The fix doesn't currently have any release notes but appears to boost performance for the phone, which uses a slower processor than the Pre and has been more likely to bog down with multiple apps open. The slightly older phone as such may not need the upgrade.
The recently launched Palm Pixi handset is now selling for just $25 at Amazon, or about $75 less than it did at launch, though it still requires a two-year contract with Sprint. It's not known why the price cut has been made just days after the phone's release.
