Continuing its hot streak of being a hotly debated topic all around, some might have been taken off guard by RIM’s choice of choosing the PlayBook moniker for their tablet as opposed to other names like the BlackPad or SurfBook. Now, the next tablet name that’ll be in the minds of people will be the one coming from HP’s camp which is going to be powered by their tried and true webOS platform – and is scheduled for a 2011 release.

Although it’s a safe bet to refer to it as a webOS powered tablet, some interesting tid bits managed to ooze out of an analyst meeting which was held today. Specifically, HP’s Todd Bradley referred to this upcoming device as the “PalmPad,” which is interesting since HP filed a trademark for that back in July. He said, “We’ve already announced the expansion of our future product portfolio well beyond smartphones. We’ll have a webOS-powered PalmPad that will be set for release early in 2011.”

Now it’s rather difficult to say whether or not it accidentally slipped out, but would nevertheless seem like a fitting name. Still, we never know what to expect when it comes down to model names.
via PreCentral

Things are shaping up for the first new releases after Palm’s acquistion by HP. The German TÜV certification standard body, has listed two new Palm devices under the codings of P102UNA and P102EWW, in its database. Given the fact that the Palm Pre Plus in its GSM/CDMA versions is coded as P101UNA / P101EWW, the source argues that what we are seeing finally, is the next Palm Pre in the works. A new version of the Touchstone has also surfaced in TÜV’s database.

Meanwhile, after we reported that webOS is being branded as HP webOS from now on, a few more screenshots of the operating system’s next version have emerged. It looks like video editing and other modern mobile OS marvels will be built-in, so webOS 2.0 is shaping to be another great competitor in the already overcrowded touch UI market.

source: PreCentral & Engadget

Some times there are perks when it comes to being a developer – especially right now if you happen to be one for Palm’s…we mean, HP’s webOS mobile platform. Most recently, Palm sent out an interesting piece of information which mentioned that “Qualified Developers” would be able to fetch themselves a Palm Pre Plus which is running until October 31st.

For starters, it doesn’t explicitly say what are “qualified developers,” so it’ll be interesting to see how they clarify whether a specific developer is a qualified one or not. In addition, there is no mention about which specific version that’s being given out – or maybe they’ll be given the option of choosing their flavor; GSM or CDMA.

Regardless, if you’re an existing developer for the platform, it wouldn’t hurt to send out an email to inquire more about this special promotion.
via PreCentral

If some of today’s modern day consoles just don’t feel up to par with what you long for, then you may want to check out a Super Nintendo emulator that just made landfall with webOS handsets. Available for the enticing price of free, the SnesEMU v0.0.3 app will  be highly valued to those individuals who wish to experience some long forgotten classic console games in the palm of their hands – literally!

When it comes down to controls, you can either use the on-screen transparent buttons – which can rather be difficult to handle. Or you can simply assign a button on the keyboard that doesn’t take away from your view of the screen. Still, you’ll need some time and patience to get a feel for it since the keyboard may not be as good as your usual game pad. Nonetheless, you can kill plenty of time and relive some of those classic games.
via PreCentral

An e-mail that was sent from HP to developers makes notice of the “applications initiative” that has begun after their acquisition of Palm a few months ago. This initiative includes a tablet device similar to that of the Apple iPad.

When HP acquired Palm, they also acquired Palm’s webOS mobile device platform. According to the text from the e-mail, this operating system will be the core for all of HP’s mobile devices going forward, whether it is cell phones or tablets.

For a tablet, webOS may be a great ground to build on given its true multitasking capabilities. The system uses “cards” that allow users to browse through open applications, whether it is the internet or text messaging. True multitasking has yet to find its way to the Apple iPad (although iOS 4.2 will add that feature).

It was the opinion of many that Palm’s webOS phones the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi were solid devices in the software area, but lacked the hardware to go along with it. HP is certainly going to address the documented hardware issues. It could be a marriage made in heaven given the quality of HP’s hardware, and the potential that webOS possesses. HP’s first webOS device is rumored to be arriving somewhere in early 2011.

The tablet war has already started to heat up, with manytrying to reach the bar that the Apple iPad set earlier this year. Will a tablet device form HP running on webOS be able to give the iPad a run for its money? Only time will tell, but here’s to hoping that time speeds the heck up!
source: Engadget via Pre Central

After the first screenshots of Palm’s (or should we say HP’s) next webOS version leaked, we are now treated to a short video preview of some of its new features. We don’t know how long will that video be up, considering the way Palm halted the admissions for the SDK shortly after some virtual keyboard screenshots were leaked.

Judging from the video it seems that the MobileMe and DropBox integrations we saw earlier are actually part of QuickOffice. The preview shows a bit about the cards management, and some new notification features, so you can watch it below to explore what Palm and HP have in store for their future touch-enabled devices. We cross fingers they don’t pull the plug on the video too soon.
source: PreCentral

Market research firm IDC determined that the smartphone market this year will increase from 2009 by 55.4%. To better illustrate, that’s a shipment of 269.6 million units in 2010 versus 173.5 million in 2009. They attribute much of this forecast growth to models such as the BlackBerry Torch, the HTC EVO 4G, and the Apple iPhone 4.

They go on to speculate about the competing OS market shares by estimating their percentages in 2014. It’s no surprise that Android climbs by 51.2% over the next few years. Some of their other forecasts, however, might come as a bit of shock. One of these is that Apple’s iOS decreases by 25.8%. Perhaps we are just too in love with the iPhone to imagine it losing ground. Perhaps its loss of market share over the following years is due to other OS’s like Android gaining better brand recognition.

Tell us what you think…
source: Business Wire via Unwired View

Would you believe that it has been well over a year since the world was first introduced to webOS? During that time, we saw Palm’s quick ascent to the top where they ultimately plummeted down to reality as they were eventually bought up by HP. However, we’ve started to hear rumors of late regarding a refreshingly new face-lift to the once highly prized platform. Everyone still sporting a webOS smartphone are actually waiting in anticipation for webOS 2.0, but it looks as though we’re all getting a slight preview of the upcoming update.

Chinese website wibozi.com posted some revealing images regarding webOS 2.0 which should naturally get users up on their feet – especially when 24 screenshots provide us all some quick insights about it. Based on the captured images, we can expect to find multiple IM account types, Google Docs support, remote files storage with QuickOffice, Cisco VPN support, and Dropbox to name a few. Obviously this may be considered a boatload of new information to absorb, but isn’t that supposed to happen whenever a mobile platform is on the verge of releasing a highly anticipated update? Especially when it’s more than over due at this point?
source: wibozi.com (translated)

Captain Kirk sported some interesting gear that would naturally appease the most hardcore Star Trek fan out there, but the real life Captain Kirk nonchalantly whipped out one smartphone that some would be surprised to see the old captain packing. During the taping for The New York Times’ online Screen Test series, William Shatner, or simply the Shat, spent the time talking about the beloved series, but interestingly enough, took out his cell phone to take a call from his daughter. No, it wasn’t some kind of Star Trek oriented looking handset, but instead, just simply the webOS powered Palm Pre. It’s hard to see which version he is carrying, but you can distinctively hear the default webOS ringtone playing as he’s receiving a phone call. Although it wasn’t the focal point of the video, it’s nice to see someone like the good captain keeping it real.
via PreCentral

Loose lips sink ships goes the old saying, and passing along secrets about webOS 2.0 can sink a software developer. After someone revealed some secrets to PreCentral about a virtual keyboard for the next webOS build, Palm responded by freezing early access to the SDK. Obviously, the virtual keyboard is a major part of the design of the new OS and based on the tweet sent out by the manufacturer, Palm is a little perturbed. Developers shouldn’t expect to receive anything from Palm until Palm is good and ready to release it. In other words, developers have been grounded by Palm and sent to their room without dessert.
source: everythingpre