Webos2.0
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Palm Pre 2 swims across the English Channel in three days, launches November 12th in the UK
French citizens have been enjoying webOS 2.0 with their morning baguette for over two weeks, but it's one step closer to home today -- Pocket-lint reports that the Palm Pre 2 will launch in the United Kingdom this Friday. What's more, the 1GHz handset won't be chained to a British carrier, but rather released into the wild completely SIM-free, which probably means future Just Typists will need to buy it direct from HP. As for the promised pre-orders for US students, we're sorry to say they've failed to materialize; the Facebook page that once clearly stated "preorders begin 11/8" now simply reads "Palm Pre 2 coming soon." Soon enough for you?
Sean Hollister11.09.2010
Palm Pre 2 pre-orders will start November 8th, says HP
Whether called the Pre 2 or Pre Plus 2, there's no denying that the first webOS 2.0 device is coming at us in a fast and furious fashion. Verizon docs already revealed it was on that carrier's November roadmap, and now HP's Facebook page for students has narrowed pre-order availability down to a specific date: November 8th. That's next Monday, folks! No more info is available at this time, such as whether that will include the promised unlocked GSM Pre 2s or whether they would be forthcoming at a later date. Either way, we're excited to see this 1GHz vessel sail in and bring us all that improved webOS goodness. [Thanks, Michael]
Vlad Savov11.02.2010
Unlocked GSM Palm Pre 2 to be 'available direct from HP,' Gorilla Glass on the front
We've been toying with a Palm Pre 2 for a few weeks now, but given that it's not "final hardware," we can't exactly make any firm judgments on the unit itself. Tim Pettitt, product manager for HP Palm, can. In speaking with MarkGuim.tv (and slyly handling a Verizon Pre 2), he not only confirmed that the company was relying on a layer of the famed Gorilla Glass to keep the front as scratch-resistant as possible, but also that the five megapixel camera is capable of capturing a shot every second. More importantly, however, he made clear that it wouldn't be just the developers nabbing an unlocked GSM Pre 2. According to Tim, that very handset will be "available direct from HP.com," though he stopped short of saying whether it would support T-Mobile's AWS 3G band. For AT&T loyalists, however, we're guessing this may be the best way to nab webOS on the network that's still rethinking possible. [Thanks, Fuu]
Darren Murph10.30.2010
Palm Pre 2 for Rogers in the wild
Curious where Palm model number P102UNA -- the North American UMTS variant of the Pre 2 -- might be headed? Since Bell and Telus rolled out their HSPA networks, Canada's become far more averse to CDMA than the US has, so it makes sense that they'd be getting Palm's latest handset in a GSM flavor, not a CDMA one (à la Verizon). To that end, MobileSyrup's managed to score some shots of a Rogers-branded Pre 2 strutting its stuff, though they don't have a date or price -- and Palm's official line is still "in the coming months." Anyone out there planning on moving to France to get it sooner?
Chris Ziegler10.27.2010
Adobe confirms Flash Player 10.1 is coming to BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 and more
We've already known that Adobe would be bringing Flash Player 10.1 to Windows Phone 7, but the company has just now made that fully official at its currently-happening MAX conference (alongside its Air 2.5 announcement), and it's also confirmed exactly which other mobile platforms the plug-in will be headed to. That includes WebOS 2.0, which we've already seen first hand, along with BlackBerry OS, Symbian, MeeGo and, last but not least, the LiMo platform -- those will all of course join Android 2.2, which already supports the plug-in. Unfortunately, there's still no timeline for a release on each platform, with Adobe only saying that Flash 10.1 is "expected" to hit each mobile OS. Head on past the break for the relevant snippet from Adobe's press release.
Donald Melanson10.25.2010
Palm Pre 2 and webOS 2.0 showcased in new commercial
It's hard to tell if the ad embedded after the break is purely official, but it definitely reeks of HP. In a good way, that is. Uploaded by the same fellow that gave us our first sneak peek at webOS 2.0, this "Sizzle" ad shows 34 solid seconds of Palm Pre 2 action, complete with a glimpse at Angry Birds, Facebook and all sorts of new 2.0 features. We're aren't totally digging the tunes, but otherwise, it looks to be rather attractive -- way better than the first wave of original Pre ads, that's for sure. Update: Hey, hey -- looks like the ad's now embedded on Palm's website. Kudos!
Darren Murph10.25.2010
MotionApps' Classic emulator for webOS doesn't -- and can't -- work with 2.0
If you've still got some critical Palm OS apps after all these years... well, maybe it's time to try to find a way to move on. But in the meantime, you might be a little distraught to learn that MotionApps' Classic emulator is completely borked in webOS 2.0. Turns out there's a rather unrecoverable reason for that: Palm has apparently elected to remove the Classic ROM from webOS 2.0's binaries, which MotionApps claims is a violation of the agreement the two companies had in place. As a last-ditch effort to get things rolling again, MotionApps has turned over Classic's source to Palm, but it's not looking good; in light of that, they've stopped selling the app effective immediately, though they're saying they'll continue to support customer on webOS 1.x (which, for the moment, is still pretty much everybody). After this, looks like the only way to get your Palm OS on will be to hit up Access for some Garnet action -- so the question is, just how hardcore of a legacy user are you?
Chris Ziegler10.25.2010
webOS 2.0 review
When it comes to webOS 2.0 (now actually called HP webOS), it almost felt like we'd never see the version number, let alone get to review it. It's been an intense few months for Palm: after floundering in the early part of the smartphone wars, it was scooped up by HP for a tidy sum of $1.2b. Though it seemed like the dream of webOS could fade away, the company made it clear that it had plans to not only continue the work Palm had done in the mobile world, but extend what the tiny company had created to other platforms as well (tablets, and yes, printers). We've heard a lot of talk from both parties since the acquisition, but have seen little in the way of proof that progress was indeed being made -- but that's all changed today. Palm has officially released its second generation OS into the wild, along with a new, beefed up version of the Pre (at least in France -- North American handsets are coming soon). The company offered us an early developer phone to test out the new OS and see if the combination of tightened code and a significantly faster device (the Pre 2 clocks in with a 1GHz CPU) could make a difference between last place and a fighting chance. We've taken an extensive look at the new OS, so read on for our full take! %Gallery-105426%
Joshua Topolsky10.19.2010Palm gets official with webOS 2.0 and Pre 2: hitting France on Friday, Verizon 'in the coming months'
And just like that, the rumor mill smirks. HP has just come clean with a device that we've been hearing more and more about over the past few weeks, and with it will come the next generation of webOS that we've been hearing about for even longer. The Palm Pre 2 will be the first device to ship with HP webOS 2.0, with the revamped and renamed (presumably to use on more than just Palm smartphones) mobile OS promising "true multitasking," Stacks (for organizing apps) Just Type, HP Synergy (links your email and social networking accounts), Exhibition (enabling users to run apps designed specifically for the Palm Touchstone Charging Dock) and support for Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 Beta. It's also bringing along a new Favorites tagging option, Skype Mobile (on the Verizon version only), text assist, integrated Quickoffice, VPN support, a redesigned launcher and full support for Bluetooth keyboards and SPP peripherals. As for Pre 2 itself? Little is being revealed at the moment, but we're told to expect a 1GHz CPU, a five megapixel camera (LED flash, extended depth of field, geotagging, and video capture), glass display and a "sleeker, streamlined design" that still combines a touchpanel with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. In other words, it's a faster, slimmer Pre, and some would argue it's what the Pre Plus should've been. At any rate, SFR customers in France will get first dibs on Friday, with Verizon and an undisclosed carrier in Canada scheduled to get it "in the coming months." Oh, and as for US-based developers? They'll be able to purchase unlocked UMTS versions of the Pre 2 (!) in their homeland, though pricing remains elusive. Update: The Pre 2 portal is now live, showcasing a 3.1-inch 480 x 320 (HVGA) multitouch display, a black enclosure, Exchange support, built-in GPS, ambient light / proximity sensors, an accelerometer, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 16GB of inbuilt storage space, a battery good for around 5.5 hours of talking and a 3.5mm headphone jack. %Gallery-105382% %Gallery-105381%
Darren Murph10.19.2010
Palm Pre 2 coming to Verizon?
It seems like we're getting closer and closer to the arrival of the Palm Pre 2 and webOS 2.0, and it looks like Verizon will be in the mix -- we were just sent this image of Big Red's internal VZLearn portal showing Pre 2 device training. We still don't know when it'll actually hit or what pricing will be like, and we don't know if it'll hit Sprint and AT&T as well like the OG Pre, but we're guessing we'll find out soon enough -- keep a sharp eye, we'll let you know. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Nilay Patel10.14.2010
Palm Pre 2 in the wild?
Okay, now that we've got a bigger shot of this thing, we can definitely say that it's neither a Pre nor a Pre Plus... so assuming it's not some sophisticated fake, you're feasting your eyes on Palm's next-gen model here. Given how close it is to the model it'll presumably be replacing, we can't help but feel like the Pre 2 should've actually been the phone we call the Pre Plus today -- and it should've launched six (or more) months ago -- but in the event webOS 2.0 doesn't come to older devices, we suppose that alone will be the impetus some current owners need to upgrade. 'Course, the 1GHz processor should be nice, too. Hit up the source link for a few more shots of it slinking around the wild; meanwhile, we await Palm's move on an official announce. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Chris Ziegler10.12.2010
France's SFR jumps gun, announces Palm Pre 2: 1GHz processor, 512MB RAM, webOS 2.0
It's unclear if the tiny, little shot posted on French carrier SFR's Club SFR pour Palm blog is in fact the rumored upcoming Pre 2 or just an old Pre shot, but let's put it this way: considering that we can't readily tell the difference, it better be an old one. At any rate, the sparse details in the blog post line up with everything we're expecting so far, namely that the new model will use a 1GHz processor -- presumably a TI OMAP3630 -- and will sport a full half gig of RAM on board. Between those two spec bumps, we'd fully expect the refreshed webOS 2.0 to scream... but we won't really know for sure until Palm gives us something to work with. In the meantime, SFR, thanks for the teaser. Update: Check out another shot from SFR's site after the break -- it looks like they don't have any intention to pull the news down, otherwise we have to believe they would've done so by now.
Chris Ziegler10.11.2010
WebOS 2.0 gets fresh round of screenshots; new Palm phones and Touchstone certified?
The name of certification firm TÜV Rheinland may not ring a bell, so allow us to jog your memory: these are the guys that outed the GSM versions of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus prior to their announcement earlier this year. Hence, the interwebs are paying pretty close attention this evening now that we've found US and Canadian certifications for Palm models P102UNA and P102EWW (first unearthed by homebrew hub WebOS Internals), which -- following Palm's typical model numbering convention -- would correspond to North American GSM and CDMA versions of some new device, respectively. To put things in perspective, the P101UNA was unearthed in the certification database on January 23rd and announced for AT&T on March 22nd, so we could reasonably still have a couple months' wait on these... or a couple days. No way of knowing yet how Palm plans to play this. There's also a listing for a new "inductive battery charger," which would certainly imply a new Touchstone -- which may or may not still bear the Touchstone name. On a related note, we've received a slew of new webOS 2.0 screen shots -- and while some of them look familiar, our eyes were drawn to the sexy new "classic" and flip-style digital clocks. Important? Not necessarily, but sometimes it's the little touches that count. Hit up the gallery for the full show (and don't forget our first batch from a few weeks back, while you're at it). [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]%Gallery-103357%
Chris Ziegler09.27.2010
Palm webOS 2.0 preview video hits the wilds
First things first -- before you jump on past the break and mash play, mute your speakers. Mute. As in, off. Alrighty, now that you're prepared, you've got two minutes and 14 seconds of teasing just a click away, as some sure-to-be-yelled-at developer has leaked a sneak peak into the wide, mysterious world of webOS 2.0. Not that we haven't seen a cornucopia of screenshots already, but at least this emulation vid gives you a better idea of how things will actually flow once it gets released to end users. Oh, and as for those DropBox and MobileMe integration rumors? Looks like that's just QuickOffice being QuickOffice. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Darren Murph09.15.2010
WebOS 2.0 beta screenshot extravaganza
We've heard about Palm's big plans for webOS 2.0 -- heck, we've even seen a handful of pictures here or there. And now we've been graced with lots, lots more. We're still not sure the exact origins, as they both came to us unsourced at around the same time. But, be it PreCentral forums or Chinese site Crooked neck (a.k.a. Wibozi), we're still graced with two dozen new screenshots that showcase features beyond Stacks and Just Type. Plenty of extra services are on display, including favorites like Dropbox and head-scratchers like MobileMe (we know Palm has something of an Apple complex, but the benefits of MobileMe are pretty minimal beyond iPhone integration). There's also default app selection for filetypes, which is a welcome addition we've enjoyed on our Android sets. Just in case all the screenshots go poof, we've got them in a gallery below. Let your imagination run wild, or at least in a bigger fence. [Thanks, kkhanmd]%Gallery-101558%
Ross Miller09.07.2010
Palm puts webOS 2.0 SDK into limited release starting today
Palm fans, get your party hats on. Today the company is announcing the beta release of its SDK for webOS 2.0, which means we're getting dangerously close to a proper 2.0 release for devices. And who knows... maybe the phone-maker will decide to throw a new device our way to go along with the OS. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Starting tomorrow, a select (though rather wide, says Palm) group of developers will be able to start toying around with the latest and greatest SDK for the company's mobile operating system, and it looks like the new software brings some tasty morsels to the table that you're definitely going to want to chow down on. We got the scoop directly from Palm on just exactly what kind of changes you'll be seeing in the first version of 2.0, and we've rounded them up in a neatly digestible form below, so read on after the break and get the full story.
Joshua Topolsky08.31.2010
webOS 2.0, 'Roadrunner' device showing up in app logs?
We know that Palm plans on having webOS 2.0 out of the door this year -- and that it's "aggressively" cranking on its hardware roadmap -- so they've got to be in the later stages of testing at this point if they hope for any retail launches in time for the holidays, right? On that note, the developer responsible for the webOS flavor of Foursquare has noticed both webOS 2.0 entries and references to a new, previously unheard-of device codename "Roadrunner" in his app's logs on webOSroundup's Metrix analytics service; it can all be faked with enough effort, of course, but it would make a lot of sense for Palm's peeps to be testing new hardware and software with some of the more popular apps in the Catalog. For now, we're categorizing this one in the "totally plausible" category until we hear differently -- question is, what form is this Roadrunner gonna take?
Chris Ziegler08.12.2010
webOS 2.0 coming 'later this year,' says HP's Rubinstein
HP's Jon Rubinstein -- formerly of Palm CEO fame, of course -- just mentioned in an interview with Fortune that webOS 2.0 is on track for "later this year." Considering that 2010 is more than half over, that doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot of time -- but with a mix of presumed kick-ass HP hardware in the pipeline running webOS, we imagine this should all dovetail nicely. On a related note, Rubinstein again drove home the point that they're developing new hardware "aggressively," so let's hope we finally see a Pre 2, a Palmpad, or heck, a frickin' LifeDrive 2 in the next few months.
Chris Ziegler07.22.2010