Gartner is a well-trusted tech oracle, but when it comes to predicting events in a 5-year timeframe, predictions become largely equivalent to palm-reading. Well, there might be one exception – tablets. Apple has basically created the tablet market with the original iPad and Gartner’s latest prognosis says that Cupertino is to remain the dominant company. But even Steve Jobs won’t be able to sustain the overwhelming popularity that the iPad is enjoying nowadays – the tablet’s share will slip to some 69% this year and continue falling to around 47% in 2015.

Google’s Android Honeycomb has the support of pretty much every other manufacturer out there, but this – in Gartner’s views – won’t prove enough for a quick start. Honeycomb tablets are to conquer the market gradually, starting from a 14% share in 2010, to reach nearly 20% this year and sprinting to the finish to close the gap with almost 39% in 2015.

The other major contender out there seems to be RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook. The 7-inch tablet holds ground with its business allure and QNX-based platform, but it will encounter one major obstacle on its way – apps. Nevertheless, Gartner forecasts bright future for the tablet which will supposedly occupy 5.6 of the market this year, only to reach the healthy 10% in 2015. But finally, HP’s TouchPad will face the most difficulties. Gartner’s predictions speak for a slow start for the tablet which will finish 2015 with a weak 3% presence.

Just last week, the analysts from Gartner presented us with their 5-year perspective on the cell phone market, but it was a whole different story with Android on top of the charts and Windows Phone picking up pace. Microsoft’s OS, somewhat surprisingly, is not even in the forecast here, which makes us think that we might see a whole new model to reflect the three-horse race that Redmond wants to stage. Whatever the future brings, one thing is certain – the market will be a very competitive one and this is always good for the end-user.

source: Gartner via mocoNews

In a world of iPads and Honeycomb tablets, one operating system stands truly unique – you guessed it right, it’s webOS. As we’re approaching the “summer” release date of the HP TouchPad, folks over at PreCentral have gotten hold of five precious screenshots of webOS 3.0, the tablet-optimized version of the platform.

First and foremost is the wittily called “Browser.” You should be already familiar with the on-screen keyboard on webOS 3.0, but nothing is better than a real screenshot confirming a five-row layout, with a separate row for numbers and symbols. The default seems to be for lowercase letters, at least until you switch using the Shift button, just like on a regular keyboard. Everything keeps the signature webOS looks with the familiar Prelude font, rounded shapes and minimalistic styling. The top holds navigational keys, as well as three buttons on the right for sharing, opening a tab and bookmarks.

In the Maps department, settings look austere as well, freeing up space on the 9.7-inch screen. You have a search box, as well as separate buttons for switching between “Search” and “Directions.” Finally, the top right holds the additional information and bookmarks keys. By the looks of it, we’re treated with Bing maps. While it definitely has its pluses such as the scale bar in the bottom right, we would prefer to see the data-rich Google Maps.

Messaging is equally simplified, with two panes allowing you to view your contacts (on the left), while you chat with a particular person (on the right.) Next on the list is the contextual menu, brought up by hitting the upper right corner clock/battery bar. It grants you quick access to the date, battery status and brightness controls among others. You’ll also see the VPN toggle switch, particularly useful for corporate folks.

Finally, the Music application carries strong resemblance to iTunes, both in color and styling. We can’t say much except for the obvious – it supports filtering your media by songs, artists, albums and genres. Finally, we still have months until summer, so everything is subject to change, but it’s very likely for the basic apps to stay this way. So what are your thoughts – webOS 3.0 has the looks, but will it match other operating systems in content? Sound off in the comments below.

source: PreCentral

Thanks, Philip!

webOS might be the first thing that pops into your mind when you see a portrait QWERTY slider, but this latest leak could change your perception of an HP/Palm-branded handset altogether. This yet unannounced device by HP comes without a physical keyboard, according to a tipster, who shared the image below with tech blog PreCentral.

Judging solely by the visual appearance, the handset seems to sport a thinner profile and a slightly larger screen than the one on the Pre 3. On top, it features a front-facing camera of sorts, which could well turn out to be just a proximity sensor. Unfortunately, that’s where information gets scarce, but folks over at PreCentral theorize that the device could be the HP Stingray or HP Windsor, which were uncovered in webOS 2.0 code back in November of last year.

The yet unannounced HP handset

The HP Pre 3 running on Verizon

Continuing to see who can outgun each other in the other in terms of pricing for the Palm Pre 2, both Verizon and HP seem to be on the ropes with one another. It wasn’t too long ago that HP slashed the price of it to free for a brief period of time, but since then, it has been brought back to its usual $149.99 on-contract price point.

Well, HP is here once again to the rescue if you want to experience the most up-to-date webOS smartphone in the US market. In fact, they’re selling the same handset for free with your signature on a 2-year agreement. Naturally, the new price point easily blows past what Verizon is asking for from its customer – which is still a cold hard $150.

Still, we have yet to see any movement in terms of no-contract pricing. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t worry because it’ll more than likely happen once the newest members of the webOS family start to appear in the future.

source: HP via PreCentral

Two days ago we told you that Angry Birds Rio is available in Apple’s and Amazon’s app stores, and now it’s announced that the game is to land on two more platforms – Symbian^3 via the Ovi Store and webOS via the Palm App Catalog on April 8.

As we informed you, the game is to offer 60 new levels and new nemesis – the pigs are replaced by some evil monkeys. That, reportedly, is a result of the fact that Angry Birds Rio is based on the upcoming movie RIO from Twentieth Century Fox, which is to make its debut in the theaters on April 15.

We don’t know about you, but we are most eager to watch RIO – if it’s only half as good as the Angry Birds games, then we will have plenty of fun come April 15.

source: Geek.com via Symbian Freak

O2 Germany tweeted a few hours ago that the compact HP Veer will grace the carrier’s shelves in May.

We hope that this means we will see the phone around the same time in most of Europe and the US, but we await an official confirmation just to be sure.

The HP Veer is a tiny handset with a 2.6-inch screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It’s powered by the same processor that is running on the T-Mobile G2 – Qualcomm MSM 7230 clocked at 800MHz and offers a 5MP camera plus 8GB build-in storage.

You are surely a happy chappy if you are in the market for a compact QWERTY handset, as quite a few promising phones that fit this description – like the HP Veer, the Samsung GALAXY Pro and the HTC ChaCha (ChaChaCha) – are to be released in the near future.

source: O2 Germany’s Twitter via Engadget

A fresh promo video for HP products reveals what could be a rear camera on the HP TouchPad tablet with webOS. The video was shot as an introduction for the HP Summit 2011, where Leo Apotheker, the new CEO, outlined HP’s intent to focus on cloud-based services, and stated that webOS might be running on 100 million HP devices, at times parallel with Windows.

We don’t know what to make of it, except that it really looks like a rear camera, not just a sticker, and with something like an LED flash to boot. In the video a father seemingly takes a snapshot, or is aligning somehow an image of his son’s room, to print him the dinosaur wallpaper he asks for.

Either the video has been created before HP made the final decision what to include in the TouchPad, using another prototype, since rear camera is not one of the features listed, or it will be included, after all, between now and June, when the HP TouchPad hits the market.

The scene, where the webOS tablet sports a rear camera, and some sort of AR app, starts at about 2:25 in the video below.

source: HP via PreCentral

Most recently, Germany O2’s variant of the Palm Pre 2 began receiving its webOS 2.1 update, but some wondered if the roll out would be expanded to other devices as well.

Fortunately, it appears that the case is so as unlocked versions of the Palm Pre 2 are also starting to see the official webOS 2.1 update. With it, owners can expect to find two specific new features that will come to be appreciated by anyone – these include Exhibition Mode and voice dialing.

First and foremost, the new Exhibition Mode is supported with native apps on the device like the time, photos, and agenda apps. However, it can also be enabled by certain third-party applications as well. Secondly, voice dialing surely took some time to come around, but it’s now finally accessed by simply holding down the volume key or holding on the phone dial pad. Furthermore, there are also some other bug fixes along for the ride to smooth out some security issues with the platform.

So if you’re sporting an unlocked Palm Pre 2, you can essentially get the update by running the update app on the handset.

source: HP via Mobileburn

As we all continue to wait for Big Red to make a move in potentially lowering the price of the Palm Pre 2, HP has gone ahead once again to lower its price point through their HP Wireless Central online store.

Previously, we’ve seen them already bring it down to as low as $30 with a contract, but it didn’t take them long to bring it to a new level that everyone would be content about it. Precisely, they’re now selling the Palm Pre 2 for the 2-year contract price of free – whereas Verizon hasn’t moved from its $149.99 on-contract pricing. So if you’ve been patient in holding off a purchase for the most up-to-date webOS smartphone on the market right now, then it’s about time you made a move and go buy this one.

Obviously, HP can’t go any less from what they’re offering right now – that’s unless they decide to give customers money back to purchase it. In any event, the ball is now in Verizon’s court because we’re sure consumers are waiting for them to follow accordingly.

source: HP Wireless Central via PreCentral

In the very near future game creator Rovio will be releasing an update to the Angry Birds Seasons game with special levels designed for St. Patrick’s Day that includes the pigs wearing green Irish hats.

This edition of the game is called “Go Green, Get Lucky.” In the preview trailer posted at the bottom you will see that the levels more closely resemble that of the original Angry Birds than those found on other seasonal variations such as Valentine’s Day and Christmas. Guess you can only do so much with a St. Patrick’s Day theme.

The game should be available shortly considering St. Patrick’s Day is March 17. As always, the update will be free and will find its way to iOS, Android, WebOS and Symbian. Check out the trailer and tell us what you think in the comments below.

source: Slash Gear