Mobile
HP Palm Shows Strong webOS Commitment with 5 Possible New Devices
In addition to the Palm Pre 2 running on webOS 2.0, which is more of a refinement of the original Palm Pre with an updated processor and Gorilla Glass screen, PreCentral is reporting that HP Palm is showing that the new venture is committed to the webOS platform with four additional codenamed devices. The codenames, which were discovered in a webOS 2.0 ROM image for carrier SFR, shows five names: the roadrunner–now believed to the Palm Pre 2, broadway–rumored as a Pixi 2, mantaray, stingray, and windsor.
We’ll have to see if HP Palm can gain market share. Despite a lot of positive press behind the original Palm Pre and webOS, Palm never was able to translate media enthusiasm into consumer sales for a variety of different reasons. For one, in the U.S. market, Palm had given partner carrier Sprint too long of an exclusivity period. Additionally, a slow growing applications catalog, lack of enterprise-ready software such as a documents viewer and editor, and quick battery drain on webOS didn’t help either. Moreover, while the Palm Pre, touted as having an organic design to feel like a pebble in the palm of your hand, was innovative and different, the Palm Pre did suffer from a plasticky build quality. With a refined Gorilla Glass touchscreen rather than the slightly curved plastic display of the original, the Palm Pre 2 will hopefully feel more solid.
At its unveiling, Palm presented webOS as a serious challenge to iOS by offering a more natural user interface with multitasking via its Cards paradigm. The device also supported multitouch, deep integration with emails and social networking services, and an elegant interface and experience. Since its release, however, much of webOS’s advantages have been eroded as Android has added social network integration and Android’s notification bar mimics webOS’s notifications. Also, now BlackBerry has released BlackBerry 6 OS, which offers enhanced notifications and Microsoft’s debut of Windows Phone 7 presents an attractive consumer-centric UI for webOS 2.0 to challenge when HP Palm releases its next generation Pre.
Hopefully, with HP’s backing–the company has committed to bringing webOS to more devices–the new HP Palm will have more resources to bring more form factors and different devices to market. Palm’s initial webOS entry was limited to the original Palm Pre (and Pre Plus) and the Pixi (and Pixi Plus)–both with a QWERTY keyboard.
PJBeee
11/08/2010 at 3:22 pm
Wonderful. Sorta. So where is the update to WebOS 1.4.5 that properly formats contact notes that they broke in 1.4.5. Where is desktop hotsync, or some way to see your data online and download it? Where is FLASH which was promised at the end of 2009?
Can you tell I’m a bit upset? I LOST MEMO DATA in my last Pre swap (the Pre went partially bad, and even though the data was fully readable on my old Pre AND I was told it was backed up to the clown er.. cloud, IT WAS NEVER THERE despite many attempts by Palm to restore it).
I have a Sprint Pre FYI.
PJBeee
11/08/2010 at 3:27 pm
To continue.. The joke is that HP/Palm seems to continue to think that they are a hardware company, while, really, WebOS should be licensed to other hardware vendors. They can still sell the Pre and Pixi, but look at Android, which now has a larger user base than iPhone. AT&T is part of the problem, but look at Window$ vs MacOS. ‘Nuff said.
guest
11/16/2010 at 6:09 am
you got it right.
Palm Pre has a great operating system the OS2, but Palm has destroyed its marketability by not allowing any App’s to get out there.
Android out for couple months and it has more users and app’s now that the Iphone.
What’s up with that Palm? That should have been you Palm, not Google, Google a search engine company beat you to the punch beating the Iphone….
A dollar and a day too late for Palm.
guest
11/16/2010 at 6:12 am
meant webOS, not OS2.
also, meant to agree with your comment on how Google licensed the Android….Just like how Microsoft beat Apple in the desktop arena.
OMG!_webOS_Ponies!
11/08/2010 at 8:34 pm
I’m a Pre user from July ’09. When I realized they basically turned Palm Desktop into legacy software, I looked for another notes solution. I loved having desktop sync, didn’t care for the cloud. After trying multiple solutions, I have ended up with using https://simplenoteapp.com/ I can access it thru Noted! on the Pre and using an unrelated app ResophNotes ( https://www.resoph.com ) on my PC, I have Pre, pc and cloud access to my notes.
Since I am using up to 3 different computers these days, it helps.
And, if I’m not happy with the next gen webOS tools, I can easily migrate my apps to the next device, which will most likely be Android.
I’m content with my Pre for now – I’ve got it tweaked out and it does what I need/want it to do.