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Apple applies for 'digital handshake' patent powered by invisible ink
Time for the usual disclaimer, since we're taking a journey into the murky world of Cupertino's patent applications -- it's just as likely we'll never see or hear of this tech again as it is to wind up in the next iPhone. While everyone else is betting on NFC, Apple wants to use next-generation cameras and invisible ink to negotiate digital handshakes. Snap a picture of a cash register with a barcode and your iDevice will generate a unique ID to pair up -- but in order to keep the technology secure, the codes would have to be painted on with "invisible" fluorescent coatings. When you're pairing two iPhones (for example) to share contacts, the key could be generated on one of the screens while the other took a picture of it. If this all seems too complex, boring and pointless now, just think: this could be how we log into Foursquare in a decade's time.
Switched On: Wanting webOS
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The last Switched On discussed why HP could have more success licensing webOS than Palm or PalmSource ever did with Palm OS. To put it in the context of a more modern conflict, HP's handsets could be the equivalent of a Google Nexus devices (but selling better in HP's ideal), competing with phones from other Android stakeholders. Even the Nexus phones, however, are ultimately produced by existing licensees such as HTC and Samsung. WebOS as a licensed operating system would likely compete most directly with Windows Phone 7, an OS that offers licensees and consumers some choice but preserves a consistent user experience -- particularly as it is trying to court developers. Unlike Windows Phone 7, though, webOS is rapidly being expanded to new form factors, with the TouchPad serving as the first tangible proof. HP has said that it's most interested licensing to companies that wouldn't compete with it in its core markets. For now, let's count out HP's major PC competitors Acer, Dell (which once may have tried to build its own webOS-like platform when it acquired Zing), Lenovo and Toshiba. However, many companies that could help develop meaningful (in terms of absolute volume but also as a relevant development platform) scale for webOS in at least the US market offer, at minimum, handsets. A handset licensee could imbue webOS phones with features such as a 4.3-inch display that HP has shied away from, but which has been present in many successful smartphones.
HP TouchPad review
As things get older they tend to get bigger. It's the same for people, corporations, models of cars, budget deficits... and so it is for webOS. As Palm was in the process of being subsumed its great mobile operating system was being eyed for much broader things, far bigger than the little phones it had previously been flashed on. Things like printers and desktops and laptops, but for its first proper foray outside of a phone it has a tall task: compete in the brutally vicious tablet space. Its weapon is the TouchPad, a 9.7-inch tablet from HP that got official back in February and will be available July 1st (if you don't manage to find it earlier) -- $499.99 for the 16GB model, $599.99 for 32GB. That's exactly on parity with the WiFi iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, current kings of the tablet court. Does this plus-sized Palm progeny really have what it takes to hang at that price point, or is this just a chubby pretender that's outgrown its britches? Read on to find out. %Gallery-127378%
Screen Grabs: Dr. Dre video for 'I Need a Doctor' features HP Touchpad, Pre 3, weird Dr. Dre floating in a glass tube
If you have pleasant memories from your youth of a Dr. Dre in happier times, chilling with Snoop somewhere in LBC doing things we can't discuss on a family-friendly site such as this... well, you're in for a bit of a shock to the system with this latest video. The clip for I Need a Doctor -- which is really more of a short film -- features a brutally mangled Ferrari 360 Modena, Skylar Grey, and an angry Eminem (is there any other kind of Eminem?) yelling at Dr. Dre while suspended in some sort of creepy life-supporting fluid. Oh, but let us fast forward to the technology angle: Dre's already hooked up with HP for Beats, and the trend continues here with the appearance of a Touchpad and Pre 3 doing a little Touch to Share action around the 4:20 mark. Follow the break for video. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HP's Touch to Share eyes-on, starring the TouchPad and HP Pre 3 (video)
Tablet manufacturers love to talk about how magical their devices are, but HP's Touch to Share truly is something else -- you simply bump a paired Pre 3 into an HP TouchPad slate, and the data beams over the air -- in this case, loading a website URL a la Chrome to Phone. While it uses the same induction coil technology to connect the twain as HP's Touchstone dock (and Bluetooth to actually pipe those packets through the ether), you don't actually need a Touchstone to make the magic happen this time around, only a pair of compatible devices. Representatives tell us that you do have to pair them beforehand, as well -- you wouldn't want an errant Pre 3 owner to swipe your banking session while you're on the go, now would you? Don't miss the video above. Nilay Patel contributed to this report.
HP Touchstone Touch-to-share lets devices swap URLs, 'Exhibition' mode added for phones
So, HP is extending "Touchstone" to mean more than "that heavy, slanted magnet thing that my Pre always slips off of." For starters, the TouchPad has a Touchstone charging dock -- it's not magnetic, but at least you don't have to worry about plugging the thing in, and it's particularly suited to working with a keyboard. But that's not the real magic. HP has enabled its three new webOS devices (The TouchPad, Veer, and Pre 3) to communicate over Touchstone using "Touch-to-share" tech. You simply place your phone on top of the TouchPad, as illustrated, and whatever you're viewing on the phone pops up in the tablet's browser. We're not sure how this works bi-directionally, but HP mentions both scenarios, so hopefully it shouldn't be that difficult to configure the URL to come from the tablet and land on the phone. The two devices have to be on the same webOS account, however, so don't get any crazy ideas about sharing URLs with friends. Naturally, there should be a lot more "Continuous Client"-style uses for this tech in the future, but we'd say URL pushing is a good start. Finally, the old-fashioned Touchstone is going to work with the Veer and Pre 3, which will now be sent into an "Exhibition" mode when docked. The mode allows the phone to display photos or upcoming appointments, depending on the user's particular level of sentimentality. For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
HP's 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer
There she is, the HP TouchPad. It's the webOS slate we've been yearning for ever since probing (then) Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein on our first-ever Engadget Show, but sadly, it looks as if HP has yanked any and all Palm labeling from the final product. Introduced today in San Francisco as part of a newfangled webOS triumvirate, the TouchPad (previously known by Topaz) is shaped almost exactly like the iPad. It tips the scales at 1.6 pounds and measures 13.7mm thick, which is somewhat of a downer for those already put off by the heft found in Apple's slate. As we'd heard last month, HP's shipping this one with its own Beats audio engine, Touch-to-Share (a feature that lets users easily transfer a website, document, song, text or call from the phone to the tablet -- or vice versa -- simply by tapping the two devices together) and a huge reliance on the cloud. Also of note, Jon just mentioned that this is only the "first in the webOS TouchPad family," hinting that the Opal may be just around the bend. Other specifications include webOS 3.0, "true multitasking," Touch-to-share, instant-on productivity, a 9.7-inch display (1024 x 768 screen resolution), a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon CPU (!), inbuilt gyroscope, accelerometer, compass and 16GB / 32GB of internal storage space. There's also a front-facing 1.3 megapixel webcam, support for video calling, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, A-GPS (3G model only), "twice the memory of a Pre 2" and a set of stereo speakers. Rubenstein claims that this here tablet is "screaming fast," and the software UI we're seeing looks downright luscious. There's a new paneled email application a Growl-like pop-up notification system, support for Skype calling, compatibility with Amazon's Kindle e-book store, plenty of cal / email integration courtesy of HP Synergy, a slick virtual keyboard, VPN support, wireless printing as well as Google Docs, QuickOffice, Dropbox and Box.net compatibility. One of the killer features that can't be found on a competing tablet right now is this one's ability to talk to the Pre 3 -- so long as there's a Touchstone involved, one can have their Pre 3 and TouchPad communicate, even piping over notifications and texts from the phone onto the slate. It's a brilliant idea, and we're obviously amped to see just how well it's implemented. Over on the accessories front, there's a case / stand (which includes a handy flip-out kickstand for desk use), a wireless keyboard (yeah, this one!) and a new Touchstone dock that enables all of the wireless communication magic between webOS devices. If you're curious about specific models, the first out of the gate will be a WiFi only version, with 3G and 4G variants to follow suit in due time. As for the all-important pricing and availability? "Coming this summer," with pricing to be determined "at a later date." Bah, humbug! Update: Video after the break, and have a look at our hands-on here! %Gallery-116085% %Gallery-116097% For more on all of HP's webOS announcements today, click here!
