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Refresh Roundup: week of May 7th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
HP Veer 4G, Pre 3 and TouchPad celebrate a melancholy birthday
Just one year ago, HP officially introduced the TouchPad, Pre 3 and Veer to its lineup. Much has happened in the 365 days since that time, which marked the end of the Palm brand, the discontinuation of the company's webOS hardware development and the decision to open source the crown jewel, webOS. Today, we hope you'll join us after the break as we bow our heads, sing some praises and remember the final three members -- for now, anyway -- of HP's webOS lineup. We'll have fireworks at the end.
HP TouchPad Go gets reviewed, but remains already long gone (video)
While we already rode the white unicorns of HP's now disintegrated webOS series, there was one little filly we didn't get to saddle up. A developmental model of the seven-inch TouchPad Go has now made it into the hands of webOSnation and has been given a thorough going over. The major differences from its bigger brother? A rear-facing 5 megapixel camera and a smudge buffering matte finish on the back are the main signifiers. Aside from those (and an experimental build of the next firmware update), it's a tiny TouchPad. The Go matches the resolution of the original, also packing the same processor innards of the defunct white TouchPad. Those unwilling to accept the future of webOS can still absorb the full critique of what could have been in a video review after the break.
HP TouchPad Go gets stopped for more close-up photography
We're unlikely to ever get our grubby mitts on a final model, but that hasn't stopped a developmental flavor of this seven-inch slab getting another going over in China. Unceremoniously revealed as the TouchPad Go in FCC filings earlier this year, this seven-inch tablet packs in 32GB of Sandisk storage alongside 1GB of RAM, plus 3G bells and GPS whistles. Palm Joy notes that the tiddly TouchPad is flatter than the original, with the physical button centered on the longer side and an additional rear-facing five megapixel camera. The back of this tablet also has a Pre-esque matte finish, nixing the fingertip-magnet gloss of its bigger brother. You can grab another shot after the break, but if that doesn't quench your thirst there's plenty more at the source link.
HP's 7-inch TouchPad Go surfaces on a website that isn't selling it
You're still not any closer to being able to buy one, but HP's mysterious 7-inch TouchPad has now gotten a bit less mysterious. After turning up at the FCC under the TouchPad Go moniker in August, the device has now shown up for some less-than-flattering pictures on the Chinese ZooPDA forums -- you may have heard of some other complications that happened in the interim. As you can see, this model packs the same 4:3 aspect ratio as the standard TouchPad, as well as most of the same internals -- the notable exceptions being both front and rear-facing cameras, and what appears to be an NFC chip (conveniently mentioned in a spec list printed on the back of the unit). This particular unit also has a removable back cover, which appears to provide access to the battery and a SIM card slot, although it's possible that's simply a result of its prototype status.
Opal: the 7-inch HP tablet that almost was
Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but alas, HP ultimately didn't. Such is the tale of the behind-the-scenes gaffes that almost saw webOS launch on a path to success, and instead, ended in the platform's corporate disavowal. The story may be all too fresh in our memory, but did you also know we were this close to a fire sale for a lesser-sized tablet? According to a report on gdgt, HP's QA team had in its possession a production-ready model of the "Opal" tablet, and were in the process of debugging the unit. The aborted 7-inch little brother to the TouchPad had reared its head at the FCC only two weeks ago, en route to a future AT&T home in both 16GB and 32GB versions as the TouchPad Go. Though the passing days bring further bits of this muddled HP puzzle into perspective, it appears likely this mini webOS tab may never know the appreciative touch of consumer hands. And with the recent news of an overseas-only bow for the Pre 3, all that remains to be seen is what'll happen to our recently adopted TouchPads.
HP TouchPad Go hits FCC on the way to AT&T (updated)
There's a lot to be said for timing. Earlier today, HP quietly rolled a permanent price drop on the first generation TouchPad, and now it seems that the 4G version of the a seven-inch webOS slate has paid a visit to the folks at the FCC. The filing has "TouchPad Go" written all over it -- literally -- plus a few labels sporting "HSPA+ AT&T." Update: Turns out we were mistaken about this being the Touchpad 4G, as you can see on the labels below, this is the seven-inch TouchPad Go, previously known as Opal. This smaller HP tablet will apparently come in 16 and 32GB models, and you'll be able to get a WiFi only model as well.
HP messes with our brains, files six new TouchPad trademarks
HP has filed a bunch of TouchPad-related trademarks all in one go, and they must mean something, right? The USPTO database shows a TouchPad7, TouchPadGo, TouchPadFlex, TouchPadTwin, TouchPadGeo and TouchPadPro; unfortunately though, the descriptions provided with each trademark are so broad as to be useless, so we're not going to indulge HP by speculating as to what each moniker might mean. Who knows? Maybe it's all bluff, designed to spook other tablet manufacturers into taking up trout fishing instead, or maybe Jon actually did convince Leo to approve a webOS tablet for every day of the week. In the world of trademarks, stranger things have happened. [Thanks, Brum]
